WandaVision has proven itself as something of a gamble for Disney. For the first Marvel television show brought to Disney Plus as well as kick off Phase 4, Disney could have taken a safer route and opted to release a more action-heavy show first. Such a decision would have fit more in line with the preconceived notions of their fanbase and received more universally positive reception. Instead, they opted to release a show heavily inspired by classic sitcoms with hints of a darker underlying mystery sprinkled throughout. The show is not the same flavor of Marvel that fans are used to, and part of that has to do with the weekly release format that the show has opted for.
Typically the only waiting that Marvel fans do is between film installments to the MCU. The previous run of Marvel shows like Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist all released their episodes at once for binging on Netflix. This means that Marvel fans expect to sit down and enjoy the next chapter Kevin Feige bequeaths upon the world all at once. WandaVision not only bucks that trend with a weekly release, but it does so in a way that’s totally unexpected. It’s a brave choice on Marvel’s part, but does it work? There are arguments for and against this release method, but the most recent episode of the show reveals how it has divided fans.
For those who grew up with sitcoms, the first three episodes of WandaVision can feel like a nostalgic trip down memory lane. However, these types of shows have largely fallen out of favor with general audiences and most television networks have taken a drastic turn from the multiple-camera style and have branched into many different styles. While it’s true that WandaVision may approach these time periods as it has continued to jump through these eras, this does not change the fact that for some the first three episodes will be difficult to get through as they are simply not used to this kind of television.
Think about it this way: the original Iron Man debuted in 2008. Many children have grown up with Marvel movies and audiences born around this time would only be about 13 years of old now in 2021. The target audience for Marvel is younger overall, so asking a 12-year-old to invest in a plot hidden under layers of old sitcoms might not be the most enticing proposition. The weekly release format potentially further exacerbates this problem due to the rise of streaming culture.
Netflix rolled out its streaming services just about a year before Iron Man hit theaters. This means that the same audience that has grown accustomed to the regular cadence of Marvel films has also grown up with Netflix as a steady presence in their lives. This means that when Disney+ puts out shows like The Mandalorian and WandaVision at a weekly pace they’re the exception due to brand name; not the standard rule. This is an audience used to binging, something they can’t do unless they wait until the end of a show’s run. Waiting could still be fun, but it means they risk missing out on the conversation surrounding these shows.
The reveals made in episode 4 of WandaVision capitalize on the first three episodes of the series and justify the price of admission so to speak, but those who didn’t love the first 3 episodes may have expressed some negativity to others in the time leading up to the fourth episode. This may have deterred new viewers from jumping on board, whereas when a new Netflix show is released people are talking about it in its entirety. There is more risk associated with new viewers to WandaVision because they may not like its approach and nobody can guarantee that the entire thing will pay off in the end.
Now for the positives. While it’s true that the target audience for Marvel is younger due to toy sales and videogames, there has also been an interesting shift at a cultural level because of Marvel. Superhero movies aren’t just popular, they’re the big-ticket events now; everyone can enjoy them regardless of their age. The weekly release format may differ from what fans expect, but Marvel has typically been at its creative best when it subverts audience expectation.
Take WandaVision for example. Sure, there are plenty of silly jokes and scenarios at play in the first three episodes, but the fact that the show is sprinkling small hints that something else is going on under the surface is demanding its audience’s attention in ways no other MCU property has before. This is part of the show’s strength with a weekly release: it encourages conversation between other fans and the sharing of theories about the show online. It also helps to make each episode more than what it originally seems, as each reveal thus far has re-contextualized the events that preceded it.
Take for example the huge reveal that episode 4 brought to the table. The audience now knows of Monica Rambeau and S.W.O.R.D’s involvement in investigating the town of Westview, New Jersey. It’s also revealed that Wanda is controlling the false reality surrounding this town in some capacity. However, because the audience had to speculate on the small breadcrumb trail that Marvel has left for viewers along the way, the largest reveal that Vision could still be dead and his corpse is being controlled to move through this show with Wanda the reveal hit that much harder. Had the show been released all at once it’s not that the reveal would have been less interesting, but it wouldn’t have had as much of an impact as there are still many huge reveals yet to comes.
The other bonus of this is that fourth episode directly points out and explains some of the weirder moments in the earlier episodes. Think of the beekeeper from S.W.O.R.D or the radio on the table when Wanda goes to the pool to meet the other women in her neighborhood. We get the reveal that the first was an agent sent to enter Westview from underground, while the second was Agent Woo making a call on the radio.
Audiences don’t get a full explanation of some of the stranger moments of Wanda and Vision’s dinner with his boss, but now with this new reveal they can go back and watch it again and see that Vision’s boss starts choking when Wanda is questioned about why they moved to town. Forced to acknowledge her past, just like she was with Rambeau’s mention of Ultron in episode 3, the illusion stutters, and the wife of Vision’s boss struggles to tell Wanda to “Stop” as her magic does not allow her to break character. It seems more likely that the show will continue to make these reveals, and the weekly schedule will give fans additional time to re-watch past episode and glean additional information that wasn’t readily apparent the first time around. This is the show’s greatest strength, but also potentially the biggest hurdle for parts of the audience.
New episodes of WandaVision are available to stream every Friday on Disney+.
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