This article contains spoilers for VisionQuest Episodes 1-2.
Every now and again, Marvel Television comes to London to debut their new shows as part of the London Film Festival. With VisionQuest, it’s quite different to any show we’ve gotten overall from Marvel Studios. As it has been advertised, VisionQuest is a conclusion to a trilogy that first began with WandaVision and Agatha All Along. It’s a story that has been building up since Marvel Studios delved into television on Disney+, and it’s a very successful start.
The weekly talk behind WandaVision conjured up theories, some of those theories belonging to Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision’s (Paul Bettany) two kids, Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica) and Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke). In Agatha All Along, we got to see Billy Maximoff all grown up and learn about what exactly happened to him. There was also a small tease about the whereabouts of his brother, Tommy. Thankfully, VisionQuest doesn’t waste any time and lays hard on the relationship between Tommy and Vision.
At the start of VisionQuest, we find Vision back in Edinburgh working at a pub that he and Wanda used to frequent. A short recap kicks it all off with Vision still in the middle of trying to figure out who he currently is. Despite all these memories of a life that he previously had, which involved a lover, kids, and friends, these are all just hollow memories at the end of the day.
He is not that Vision, and he’s still on the path to being his own person. Vision’s not alone on this journey, as he has various Stark Industries’ AI assisting him in his own mindscape, which he calls home. Similar to Wanda in WandaVision, he’s created a safe haven for himself where Dum-E (Henry Lewis), U (Jonathan Sayer), J.A.R.V.I.S. (James D’Arcy), F.R.I.D.A.Y. (Orla Brady), E.D.I.T.H. (Emily Hampshire), and Ultron (James Spader) reside, assisting him on this self-discovery journey.
While Vision doesn’t see himself having any sort of family, the supporting cast that surround him end up filling in that role. He recognizes J.A.R.V.I.S. as his older brother and Ultron as his father, who he keeps locked up. There’s constant mention of Vision having no emotion, but the small decision to have Ultron involved with his life is a sign of his human side, which came from Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and most importantly Wanda Maximoff piercing through. It’s an interesting dilemma that Terry Matalas puts into perspective. Does having the memories of someone that you can’t recollect make you that person? It was a question asked at the end of WandaVision that’s taking center stage of VisionQuest. It all comes back to the ship of Theseus.
In juxtaposition, we have the introduction of Tommy Shepard, who is also dealing with an identity crisis himself. He’s struggling to know whether the memories of his father and past in Westview are reality or a figment of his imagination. We’re introduced to him in the first episode, getting a glimpse of the criminal lifestyle that he lives, using his speed to his advantage. It connects back to what we learned about Tommy from Agatha All Along with the swimming pool incident, which we get to learn more about.
Tommy is just as lost as Vision is, and the pair being brought together within these first two episodes allows for the story to take a fascinating direction. Quest is in the name of the show. We’re following Vision on this path to rediscovering himself, and Tommy might be part of the key to figuring that out. There’s a scene towards the end of the second episode where Tommy tells Vision, “I don’t know what you are, but I know you’re my something,” and this is a scene that highlights how they’re two characters that need each other to understand just exactly who they are. Vision, a robot with memories that aren’t his… but are. Tommy, a boy with the memories of someone who shouldn’t exist. What Terry Matalas sets up with these first two episodes is enough to keep tuning in weekly for VisionQuest.
What stands out with VisionQuest is that it holds its own identity like the other entries in the trilogy. WandaVision was largely a sitcom. Agatha All Along stuck to its comedy roots but leaned more into the supernatural. VisionQuest does the same with also keeping in the comedy elements, but Jac Schaeffer leaves with Terry Matalas coming in to deliver their sci-fi expertise, which makes VisionQuest feel unique within its own right and a reminder of what we’ve been wanting from these Disney+ MCU shows from the beginning.
Paul Bettany needs to deliver his praise, as he’s played many versions of the same character throughout the MCU. In VisionQuest, it’s clear that he’s not the Vision that we know and love. He makes this known to his friends and his enemies. Bettany delivers a heartwarming performance that feels human down to its core, which helps to elevate Vision’s quest throughout this show. With the short time we’ve gotten them together, his chemistry with Ruaridh Mollica is magnificent. Mollica makes this role his own, as we get this heartwrenching look into Tommy’s life as he searches for that identity of his.
Returning for the first time since Avengers: Age of Ultron is Ultron, with Spader reprising his role. Even when he’s in his human form, Ultron remains calculated and menacing, being two steps ahead of everyone at all times. He’s without a doubt the standout of the two episodes with his devilishly delicious delivery as the character. The thought of Ultron, Vision, and Tommy sharing the screen already with all three actors giving their best performances already sounds like a recipe for the best MCU trio we’ve received in a long while.
VisionQuest’s premiere is one of the best starts to an MCU show we’ve gotten and is a great sign of the things that are to come over the next few weeks. It throws you straight into the mystery of Vision and Tommy as they go on this journey of trying to find their identity. For fans of WandaVision, it already stays interconnected with the threads that were weaved in that show and Agatha All Along, feeling like a true successor to those two shows. The performances are outstanding from Bettany, Spader, and Mollica, and Emily Hampshire particularly stands out from the rest of the supporting cast with her unpredictable, adventurous, and bubbly nature.
From its first two episodes, it’s already filled with so much heart and emotion that’s tangled within the strings of generational trauma that’s brought from Ultron, connection, and family, which will be discovered between Vision and Tommy as the show continues. The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues on their streak of great shows and films.
