![]() Monica learning of her mother’s death is just a taste of the collective trauma that the Blip would cause. In the long term, this is a miracle, a universally joyful event, but in the short term, half of everyone on Earth or elsewhere has just missed five years of history, and the other half is about to be faced with the people they’ve had to mourn and move on from. The scene of the reverse rapture in the hospital is tense, panicky, and as unsettling as the disappearances had been. In the most recent MCU film, Spider-Man: Far From Home, the return of the half of the population who were dusted by the Snap is only depicted briefly and is played for laughs, given the comical nickname “the Blip.” Here, we get a more earnest depiction of what it might be like for billions of people to suddenly reappear wherever they were when they died, without any idea that they were even dead. Monica is quickly informed not only that she’s been (accurately) presumed dead for the past five years, but that her mother has died of cancer during her absence. The majority of viewers who are familiar with the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are ahead of her from the get-go, and understand that Monica must have been among the 50% of all life in the universe who was snapped out of existence by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, and is now coming back to life during the climax of Endgame. ![]() “We Interrupt This Program” opens as the body of Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) reassembles from cosmic dust and she awakens in a hospital room, where she believes she’s simply dozed off. Until now, WandaVision has separated itself from the rest of the Marvel Studios oeuvre by not holding the audience’s hand, but now we’re getting the full guided tour when wandering around for a bit longer might have been more fun. While an episode like this isn’t unexpected, and is probably necessary to make the series comprehensible in the long run, taking a break from the show’s central gimmick so soon is a bit of a disappointment. Utilizing the familiar tone of a Marvel movie (though mostly sans action), “We Interrupt This Program” draws back the curtain for viewers who hadn’t already pieced together the mystery, but doesn’t add much to it, focusing instead on the grander Marvel Universe outside. With the Marvel flare, of course.After three episodes that held to a rigid but intriguing formula, WandaVision ’s fourth chapter is a dramatic departure from what we’ve seen so far, a more conventional drama that investigates the show-within-a-show from without. And that husband who has had zero investment in anything Marvel for the past 13 or so years is now waiting for Friday nights. Even I have developed some of my own theories that I’m excited about and can’t wait to see play out. Maybe not in the deep dives of theories or historical timelines, but in the creativity and sensation of “hey, I feel like a part of this.” Marvel has always seemed to have a little something for everyone, and WandaVision, while incredibly different, is no exception. Something I have always enjoyed about Marvel is how, even without the background knowledge of the comics, I do feel like there is always an open spot for someone new. But it was a great lead in for “We Interrupt This Program,” and the Internet (and my brain) is abuzz having seen just how intricately the masterminds behind the MCU have connected this show to the larger universe…or should we say multiverse? Episode three (and fresh in technicolor) was the oddest episode for me, and gave me more questions than answers. Episode two pulled back the veil just a bit, while also sending us spiraling into a chaos of theories regarding just how aware people are (and aren’t) that something is off. Episode one introduced us to Westview and Wanda’s seemingly sitcom perfect life with Vision, both of them working to blend in and create a home. Up until this point we’ve seen glimpses of “the outside” of Westview, but the central focus has been on Wanda herself and the world in which she clearly has some control. Don’t get me wrong, I especially enjoyed the the look and feel of the first two episodes (as did my typically uninterested husband), but to see old faces, new faces, more easter eggs and throwbacks to previous installments than I could count, and an uncensored interaction with Wanda herself got me all hyped up for where this can take us next. ![]() ![]() And when I mean showed up, I mean THIS felt like the Marvel I’ve been tracking with since Iron Man was released in 2008. Marvel showed up with Friday’s 4th episode of WandaVision. Doing this spoiler-free isn’t the easiest thing, but it’s what I’m going for.
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