‘WandaVision’ – ‘Episode 2’ – Review

With a flutter of magic and a few sparks, we’re back for another episode of WandaVision, along with being in a brand new decade in the early 1960s with all their hip leanings. And things are about to take another strange turn for Wanda and Vision in this one.

Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) are beginning to find their feet in the community of Westview. But a disturbance in the community finds Vision looking to join the neighbourhood watch, while Wanda busies herself with the local Talent Show. But when it’s curtain call a mistake could give our two outsiders away, and a little magic is needed to save the day.

Transitioning from the wholesome era of the 1950s to the hip groove of the early 1960s, we now find Wanda and Vision in an episode that is a fitting tribute to classic 1960s sitcom Bewitched. And in this episode, our characters are looking for any way to fit in. This new style of sitcom, along with a new decade, also leads to a complete overhaul of this second episode’s production, and director Matt Shankman focuses in a larger view of Westview and makes everything cozy, with an emphasis on appearance. It’s also fun to see our second episode of WandaVision grow outwards as our characters interact more with Westview as a community, and there’s plenty of hi-jinks for sure.

Episode 2 of WandaVision is important as we get to see Wanda and Vision interacting with a more steady stream of supporting characters, and this raises the stakes for whether or not they’ll actually be caught out this time. While Wanda falls in with the local women of the planning community, who have a very ‘Stepford Wives’ feeling to them, we also see her learning what it means to be normal, or at least trying to do so. But still, she can’t help but poke fun at the absurdity of the other characters around her. Gossip’s the only currency around town, and not just for Wanda, but Vision also falls in with the town’s husband’s and soon is a bit more worse for wear for doing so.

Olsen and Bettany make a fine couple in Episode 2 of WandaVision and are able to roll in the good-natured comedy that audiences can equate to Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York. Shankman and his team also feed into Wanda’s status as a witch in this episode, and it’s fun to see her magical powers come to life in her pursuit of normality…and plenty of hilarity does ensue. This episode finds its heart in Wanda and Vision’s continued journey to build a home together, and even though they face their first real ‘marriage test’ in this episode both of them are stronger for it.

Episode 2 of WandaVision is also important in setting up the rhythms that we can expect from the show going forward, along with all other MCU based shows on Disney+. Its focus on a self-contained episode, that builds out a deeper and more overacting narrative is something that audiences will also appreciate. One thing that I loved about this episode, just like the first, was its use of ad breaks, and this innovative and narrative-driven use of product placement is sure to get audiences excited, along with having them ponder what is to come next.

We also get to see the theme of reality and illusion played out again in Episode 2 of WandaVision, and it’s clear that our characters our both in control of their fantasy, along with being controlled by it at the same time. While Wanda and Vision are blissfully happy in their ‘ideal world’, it certainly is not without its difficulties, and it’s only by the sudden appearance of their powers that things work themselves out more often than not. Wanda and Vision are very much still learning who they are, and it’s this conflict between reality and illusion where the tension is beginning to rise and I’m sure this will be explored in later episodes.

Things are getting interesting in the suburbs of Westview, and Episode 2 of WandaVision had plenty of quirks that audiences will love…along with a very big surprise that comes at a critical time in the episode and is sure to have big implications down the line. So you’d better keep watching to see what happens next.

WandaVision streams every Friday night on Disney+.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures