At the center of its source code, “VisionQuest” is another exploration of grief in a way “WandaVision” couldn’t.
This reviewer has seen all eight episodes of “VisionQuest.” Spoilers ahead.
Acceptance as the First and Final Step
“VisionQuest” is about fathers and sons. It’s about refusing the existence of a loss so painful you deny your own self. It’s about the need to feel things lest we lose our humanity, and it’s also about how to maximize the amount of time you can get Paul Bettany to monologue for an Emmy.
We meet this version of Vision (White Vision, the one sent to destroy Wanda Maximoff for the Westview incident) in the aftermath of “WandaVision” and “Agatha All Along.” He is quiet, lonely, lives in his own head, and rejects efforts to join in the communal spirit of Sunday dinner. Over the course of eight episodes, he grows from this unassuming, efficient killer to a self-assured dad and hero who puts himself back together again.
Bettany is unparalleled in this role, among many others he’ll play this season. He plays The Vision with such a meticulous level of love and care, it’s hard to see anyone else ever playing the role. There were two particular moments where the story allows Bettany to just monologue, commanding the camera, the audience, and everyone he is speaking to. There’s no way this show could exist without this specific actor playing this character.
Vision’s eventual growth is borne out of his gradual acceptance that there is only one Vision, not him and “the other one.” There’s an entire episode that’s basically dedicated to getting him to this place and it’s coupled with high stakes and imminent danger, you know, the usual. If ever things got shaky narratively, Bettany was there to pull us right back to the heart of it with those blue eyes.
The Opposite of an Empty NEST
On the outside, The Vision might be a chill barback/bartender, but on the inside his system is host to a slew of Stark Industries refugee A.I.s: D.U.M.-E. and U. (general maintenance A.I.s), J.A.R.V.I.S. (security A.I.), F.R.I.D.A.Y. (socialization A.I.), and E.D.I.T.H. (recreational A.I.). This little dysfunctional family also includes “Avengers: Age of Ultron” villain Ultron (James Spader), who enjoys annoying Vision, occasionally hacking him with memories he doesn’t like to see.
Every A.I. has their own unique and interesting relationship with Vision, but the one with Ultron is the most developed, nuanced, and evolved. Their somewhat dad-son relationship is tense most of the time, but, every so often, steps into friendly territory. Never quite knowing what Ultron’s truly thinking leaves you wondering if anything he says is genuine, a testament to Spader’s acting.
This family that Vision has haphazardly built inside of him is a bit overwhelming at first, but they grow on you and when the hits start coming you feel for them. It’s a needed development considering Vision’s other family steps into the picture, causing stress for a Vision who is already struggling with showing affection.
The Family That Saves Together…
Vision’s family dynamic is complex, to say the least. Most of the series he believes he’s the copy of The Vision we know in “WandaVision,” the wife of whom is dead, along with twin sons that never technically existed. Except they do now.
Truthfully, even though the show tries to explain the journey to this odd family, its still a lot to put on an audience. The show wants you to accept this family as is, while at the same time tries to establish a similar level of familiarity with this Vision and Thomas Shepherd (Ruaridh Mollica). There’s a friction there that makes it hard to achieve this, even though the ingredients are right there for their bond: they’re not the original versions of themselves.
The writers seek to find other ways to connect Thomas and Vision’s floundering relationship; one way through the bounty hunter, Paladin (Todd Stashwick). Towards the middle of the season, we find out Paladin’s blood-bound oath is on shaky grounds, making him constantly question who he is. The parallels to the Vision and Thomas’s journeys are obvious, all of these uncertain of their roots, but would rather stick their heads in the sand. This entire show is filled with sad, stuck men in perpetual denial.
Of course, hanging over dad and son is the kid’s pending discovery of what actually happened in Westview and what his mother did. The show does a fantastic job building up the tension to this eventual reveal, giving us plenty of room to breath when it finally does happen.
Back to Sitcom Style With Diminishing Returns
Along with themes of grief and family tying the two shows together, the sitcom-style set really cements the connection between “WandaVision” and “VisionQuest.” While each new episode doesn’t quite follow the episodic tropes of its predecessor, there are enough elements that pull from classic sitcoms, cop shows, spy thrillers, and more.
But that was sometimes to its own detriment. At times, Ultron seems to just exist to whip out quips, while covertly helping. The show is, at least, self-aware enough to call it out via Vision, but it does get old. While I’m endlessly fascinated with how shows like this one and “Lanterns” can tell fantastical stories on limited budgets, the strain of it starts to bleed through eventually. The concept of being in Vision or some other A.I.’s mind is cool, it also felt too limited to a single room with decor that switched out every so often. This, too, got old.
On the positive side, the ending of episode 3 into 4 is so damn spooky and creepy, its release timing almost perfectly to Halloween; maybe relying on sitcom tropes can be fun.
Where Does the MCU Go From Here?
The big question on everyone’s mind as we barrel headfirst into “Avengers: Doomsday” is how this show will tie into the Big Picture. Not to completely spoil the ending, but the story itself doesn’t seem all that concerned with answering the question. It does give the world back the undisputed Vision, but does that mean we’ll see him again in the massive upcoming crossover? Bettany’s not confirmed as of right now, so who knows.
As far as the other characters, with the remaining A.I.s finding their own paths, there’s projects they could intersect with like the newly announced “Zodiac.” The dawn of the X-Men’s arrival is nigh, meaning the twins may have a more important part of the next phase of this universe. All speculation, of course. Let’s see how many billions “Doomsday” makes first.
Final Thoughts
“VisionQuest” isn’t perfect, but it’s got Paul Bettany acting his ass off, which is more than most shows streaming can say. You can feel strains of the limited budget, but when the story tugs on your heartstrings you’re not wondering why Ultron and Vision are still in their human forms or why the same loft shows up in three different scenarios. The acting carries the story forward past its constraints with something important to say about grief, loss and how we self-identify.
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