Terry Matalas and Marvel Television happened to call this show VisionQuest, but yet everything that surrounds it within these two episodes that makes it such a visually compelling watch comes from Ultron (James Spader) and Jocasta (T’Nia Miller). There isn’t any fault with Vision’s (Paul Bettany) character, but the writing for these two episodes between these recent episodes is easily some of the best we’ve gotten from the character, and it’s James Spader and T’Nia Miller’s performance that allows for the dialogue to be so vast and rich.
As each week arrives, we continue to get an episode that arrives exceedingly better than what was put on display from the previous week. VisionQuest remains a reminder of what we were missing out on when WandaVision was airing but also arguably shows the missed potential behind that show. It’s still too soon to tell, as we’ve yet to reach the finale, but if they manage to stick the landing, VisionQuest can easily hold the crown for the best in the trilogy and one of the best Disney+ MCU shows that we’ve gotten.
In Episode 5, we find that Vision and the rest of the A.I. are trapped inside the attic with no way of escaping. The only way is to lower the firewall, which would risk Ultron becoming free. It’s an extremely exposition-heavy episode as they try to figure out what Ultron is up to while they’re trapped. There’s no denying that this episode in particular slows down, but this is the exact slow pacing I needed after the pacing from the previous episodes that just works perfectly for VisionQuest. If you’re a fan of Doctor Who, this feels close to those Doctor-lite episodes, except Vision is still very much present here.
Instead of just following straight up what Ultron has been up to, which would’ve been a slog to get through. Thankfully, Vincenzo Natali’s direction allows for some of the best visual storytelling that we’ve seen all season. They frame the exposition through Vision and the A.I. watching delayed footage, and we get to see them placed within this footage, coloured, while the rest of their surroundings remains black and white with this vintage VHS effect added to it. It’s framed as if it’s a stage play, and these scenes only work because of James Spader’s craft. He engrosses you in the conversation and kills it with the monologues.
The time between Ultron and Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica) is excellent, but this show seems to shine when it focuses on the relationship between Ultron and Jocasta, which is seemingly to die for. A large amount of even Episode 6 revolves around the two characters still figuring each other out while strangely also falling for each other (which can only eventually go wrong), and due to the writing from Nicole Falsetti, it remains more engaging than the action that takes place within the episode. James Spader’s outstanding prowess matched with T’Nia Miller’s powerful performance makes for one of the best pairings in the MCU.
We finally return to Madripoor, and we also get the return of Raza (Faran Tahir), who first appeared as Tony Stark’s first enemy in Iron Man (2008), but all of that feels like a secondary thought when the dialogue ends up being as strong as it is with this episode. Vision and Tommy get to shine in the final moments of the episode as Tommy asks Vision, “What’s WandaVision?” Vision’s answer of it being “that grief on display” really changes the perspective of that show and how it connects with both Vision and Tommy.
There are some downfalls to the two episodes, and its tendency to struggle whenever the focus is removed from Ultron and Jocasta. With how strong their writing and performances come across, everything else aiding it seems like a bit of a downgrade, although not a substantial one. Although Paladin gets more to work with in this episode, he’s still a character that feels surface level and one that I’ll likely quickly forget once the show concludes. Despite seeing the return of a Phase 1 villain, it doesn’t hold any actual weight to the show, as he’s thrown to the side as quickly as he’s introduced, and it just feels like an unfortunate jingling keys moment for fans that doesn’t land as well as they probably hoped. Paladin’s mention of Werewolf by Night and Daredevil had a stronger effect than Raza’s return, and that’s saying a lot considering they refused to name those characters.
VisionQuest is getting better and better with each coming episode. It stays its strongest when it focuses on the singular dynamics, whether it be with Vision and Tommy, Vision and Ultron, Ultron and Tommy, or Ultron and Jocasta. This show continues to be a strong argument for why we should keep James Spader returning for future instalments in the MCU but also why we should be keeping T’Nia Miller on board as Jocasta. It would be a wasted opportunity for them to waste her character in this show, but with how Episode 6 ends, it seems like we’re only beginning to get started with her.
