Marvel’s “WandaVision” on Disney+ is a Crashing Hit
Illustration by Carolyn Burt | The Corsair
For the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 2021 blasted off on Friday, Jan. 15, with Disney+’s first Marvel Studios series, “WandaVision.'' Disney+ launched the series with the release of the first two episodes at once. According to Disney+, 655,000 households tuned in to watch the opening episodes. In the first week, the episodes were watched approximately 6.5 million times, according to Neilsen ratings.
Picking up on the story timeline sometime after the “Avengers: Endgame” movie, the series portrays itself as a familiar nostalgic sitcom but features the Marvel characters, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). They are living ideal suburban lives in the town of Westview, New Jersey, as ordinary humans, hiding their true, well-known super identities.
The series also includes supporting characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) from Captain Marvel, Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) from Thor, Jimmy Woo (Randall park) from Ant-man and the Wasp). As the series evolves, they pass through new decades of “TV Tropes” or cliches while an underlying story begins revealing itself.
The first two episodes of the series were released on the same day and both received a 100% rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics. Episodes three and four received lower critic ratings, possibly because these episodes stretch and complicate the mystery of what “WandaVision” is really about. As episode five started filling in the blanks, it scored a 100% critics rating.
Created for the Disney+ streaming service by Jacqueline “Jac” Schaeffer, “WandaVision” is very different from anything yet seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while Disney+’s last knockout hit series, “The Mandalorian," had a storyline that was considered more easily accessible to general audiences who weren't necessarily Star Wars aficionados, the “WandaVision” series is more of a surprise storyline that has fans delighting in the twists and turns and almost unnoticeable background characters and clues. Having at least some insight about the history of Wanda and Vision, or having seen “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Avengers: Endgame,” would help viewers pick up on some of these clues and indirect references, known to fans as “Easter Eggs”.
Corsair Staff writer Josh Hogan sits for a photo opportunity presented by Disney’s California Adventure, for fans of Marvel Studio’s “WandaVision” on Monday, Feb. 8 2021, in Anaheim, Calif.
(Rebecca Hogan | The Corsair)
Disney+ decided to have “WandaVision” follow the same release model as “The Mandalorian,'' releasing one episode each week. This model is different from the model of other streaming services but worked very well in building the show’s intrigue and giving fans time to absorb, discuss, and build anticipation for the next episode. The team behind "WandaVision" felt this would create a bigger impact on pop culture.
"I love the idea of week-to-week [episode release]. Binging has its place, for sure, but there’s something about the mystery — especially for a show like WandaVision — where people can think about what they’ve watched and come up with their own theories and it builds anticipation," said "WandaVision" director Matt Shakman in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Shakman continued by saying, "But I also have to say, because we’re involved in a great meta-project with WandaVision being this love letter to the history of sitcoms, is that coming out weekly also feels right for our show, because we’re coming out the way those shows used to come out, so it all seems to make sense.
They were right on target with that decision. Each new episode is so anticipated that at 12 a.m. on Feb. 19, the release time of “WandaVision” episode seven, the streaming demand was so high that Disney+ crashed as millions of viewers tried to access episode seven. Disney+ also crashed at 12 a.m. on Feb. 26, due to the high demand, as once again millions tried to access episode eight.
With only one episode left in season one of “WandaVision” -- episode 9 will be released on Friday, March 5 -- it is still unknown whether the series will conclude or have a cliffhanger leading into season two. However, “WandaVision” will tie into the upcoming 2022 Marvel Studios film, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”.
