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Description
Here's my review of the latest Disney+ smash hit, and the beginning of a new chapter for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The series follows Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch three weeks after the events of Avengers: Endgame as she lives an idyllic suburban life in the town of Westview, New Jersey with her android lover Vision, who Thanos presumably destroyed during the events of Avengers: Infinity War. As Wanda tries to conceal her true natures, they begin to enter new decades and encounter television tropes, gain two sons, Billy and Tommy, as they enter the 1980s, and the couple suspects that things are not as they seem. Meanwhile, Wanda's actions are being observed by not only their nosy neighbor Agnes, but also the agents of S.W.O.R.D. led by Monica Rambeau, Jimmy Woo, Darcy Lewis, and S.W.O.R.D.'s director Tyler Hayward. What's really going on here, what surprises are in store, and what dark secrets will be revealed?

Pros:
1. Wanda/Scarlet Witch is a very likeable and well developed protagonist.
2. Vision is a great secondary lead.
3. Monica, Jimmy, Darcy, Billy, Tommy, "Pietro", and the inhabitants of Westview are all very likeable side characters.
4. Agnes/Agatha Harkness and Hayward are both pretty good villains.
5. A good chunk of the comedy is very well timed and humorous.
6. Highly impressive special effects and visuals.
7. Very well crafted sets and costumes.
8. The show has a surprisingly very dark tone, but it's handled very well and still makes plenty of room for more lighthearted moments.
9. A great amount of drama and suspense that leads to some very tearjerking moments.
10. Some very engaging action scenes.
11. Christophe Beck delivers some very well done music.
12. Great chemistry and development from the characters.
13. The show's storyline is very well written. It successfully fuses the modern superhero genre with classic/modern sitcoms, pays great tribute to the sitcoms that they're representing, has plenty of great twists and turns, has a good amount of easter eggs and references to the larger MCU and some things from the comics, and perfectly sets up some of what's next to come in the franchise.

Cons:
1. The laugh-track, like in many modern sitcoms, can get pretty annoying.
2. It can get really slow at times. Especially during the first two episodes.

Overall:
This is a great start to a new era for the MCU, and I can't wait to see what they have in store next. For any fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is a must watch.

Rating:
9/10 (Amazing)

Production Notes and Trivia:
1. By September 2018, Marvel Studios was developing several limited series for its parent company Disney's streaming service, Disney+, to be centered on supporting characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films who had not starred in their own films, such as Wanda Maximoff. Actors who portrayed the characters in the films were expected to reprise their roles for the limited series, including Elizabeth Olsen as Maximoff. The series were expected to be six to eight episodes each, have a "hefty [budget] rivaling those of a major studio production", and be produced by Marvel Studios rather than Marvel Television, which produced previous MCU television series. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was believed to be taking a "hands-on role" in each limited series' development, focusing on "continuity of story" with the films and "handling" the actors who would be reprising their roles from the films. By the end of October, Paul Bettany's Vision was expected to play a significant role in the series, which would focus on the relationship between Maximoff and Vision. In the following months, the titles Vision and the Scarlet Witch and The Vision and Scarlet Witch were both reported for the series.
2. Jac Schaeffer was hired in January 2019 as head writer of the series after previously writing for Captain Marvel and Black Widow. Schaeffer was set to write the first episode and executive produce the series. That April, Disney and Marvel officially announced the series as WandaVision, and Matt Shakman was hired to direct and serve as an executive producer in August. Feige also executive produces alongside Marvel Studios' Louis D'Esposito and Victoria Alonso. The title was suggested by Feige, and Schaeffer insisted that it be kept as she felt it was the perfect title for the series. There was some backlash when the title was announced as it was perceived to be "the silliest title possible", but Schaeffer felt viewers would change their minds once they saw the series. Feige said the series would tell the story of Maximoff and Vision, show what Maximoff can do, explore who Vision is, and introduce the comic book name "Scarlet Witch" to the MCU "in ways that are entirely fun, entirely funny, somewhat scary, and will have repercussions for the entire future of Phase Four of the MCU". He added that viewers would not need to be familiar with the MCU to understand the series, but there would be a "wealth of rewards" for those who have seen all the films and knew the plans for Phase Four.
3. Schaeffer received comics material and an outline of what Marvel Studios hoped to accomplish with the series, in order for her to help shape their ideas into a coherent structure. Feige came up with the idea of having Maximoff and Vision living in a fantasy world of "suburban bliss" based on his love of sitcoms and how they can be used to escape from reality; Schaeffer helped figure out what that meant for the characters. Feige was visually inspired by Mike del Mundo's "Norman Rockwell meets Leave it to Beaver" covers for the comic book series The Vision by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and pitched the series to Olsen and Bettany as a combination of that comic book and the "House of M" storyline by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel. Other inspiration was taken from the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline by Bendis and David Finch that preceded "House of M", as well as The Vision and the Scarlet Witch, including the run by Bill Mantlo and Rick Leonardi, and the run by Steve Englehart and Richard Howell, and the "Vision Quest" storyline from West Coast Avengers by John Byrne. Feige, Schaeffer, Shakman, and co-executive producer Mary Livanos dedicated themselves to "nail[ing] down" the series' irreverent tone. Schaeffer was inspired by Thor: Ragnarok as well as the Marvel Comics-based series Legion, which she felt had broken the mold of what Marvel stories could be and were daring, original, and "bananas", which she felt allowed WandaVision to also be unique and different.
4. WandaVision takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and directly sets up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in which Olsen reprises her role as Maximoff. Schaeffer said Feige handled all the connections between the various MCU projects, but she and Shakman did have conversations with the creative teams of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as well as Marvel Studios' other Disney+ series, to discuss the connections between stories and to ensure an effortless "handoff" from WandaVision to the films. The series features a fictional sitcom called WandaVision, and has been described as part "classic sitcom", part "Marvel epic" by Feige, "super avant-garde and weird" by Bettany, a "full-on action movie" mixed with sitcoms by fellow actor Teyonah Parris, and a series that is "marrying epic superhero action with small-town sitcom silliness" by Livanos. Livanos added that the series would take advantage of audience expectations for sitcoms and deviate from the family sitcom structure in some episodes, while making the audience question where WandaVision fits into the MCU timeline.
5. Schaeffer hired eight writers for the series' writers room, including four women and several people of color, because of her belief that "stories are better the more perspectives you have". Megan McDonnell served as a staff writer on the series, before being promoted to story editor. Many of the writers had previous television experience, which Schaeffer used to help craft each episode within the larger narrative, as one of the initial challenges was figuring out how to tell the story in the long-form structure of a limited series rather than a film. Schaeffer said the series could never have been a film because it needed to be established with a true television aesthetic for the sitcom scenes before that could be broken. She found the central idea of Wanda being responsible for the series' sitcom reality to be a simple concept, and felt it would be more compelling if it was revealed as a mystery first. The writers decided to do this with Wanda and Vision through the first three episodes, before the fourth episode retold those events from a real world perspective to provide answers for viewers. When devising these early episodes, Schaeffer was concerned about how long they would be able to remain in the sitcom reality without needing to reveal parts of the larger mystery. Following the "enormous info dump" in the fourth episode, Schaeffer explained that there would still be more to learn about Wanda's perspective through the rest of the series, but she hoped that providing answers then would help the audience experience the rest of the series as an "emotional and a psychological journey, rather than a sneaky mystery the whole way". Schaeffer compared the final series to a multi-issue comic book, and said it remained very close to her original pitch.
6. Shakman and Schaeffer said the series was "a love letter to the golden age of television", though it pays tribute to many eras of American television. They focused on family sitcoms over other types such as workplace sitcoms because the family aspect kept the series centered. Schaeffer and Shakman studied past sitcoms to learn their "trappings and styles", while avoiding tropes from older sitcoms that would not be acceptable in a modern series. Schaeffer, Shakman, and Feige spoke with Dick Van Dyke, the star of the eponymous 1960s sitcom, to learn about the making of that series. Other sitcoms that inspired the series include I Love Lucy, My Three Sons, Father Knows Best, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Family Ties, Out of This World, Malcolm in the Middle, Modern Family, and The Office. Meta references are made to Full House, which starred Olsen's older sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley. The fictional sitcom features fake commercials that are "slightly nefarious", including promotion for the organization Hydra, which Feige said were "part of the truths of the show beginning to leak out". He felt that new MCU viewers would see these as strange versions of commercials from the different sitcom eras, while viewers well versed in the MCU would be able to see connections in the commercials to past events. Several commentators believed the commercials were analogies for traumatic events in Maximoff's life. Schaeffer acknowledged this speculation about the Easter eggs in the commercials, while also highlighting their role in giving the series a structure and rhythm that is "very much part of the fabric of the sitcom aesthetic".
7. Schaeffer compared her work on the series to Black Widow, saying WandaVision would be the polar opposite to that film's style of aggressive, visceral action. Shakman and Schaeffer watched all the existing footage of Maximoff and Vision, including footage that did not make it into the previous MCU films such as unused dailies. While exploring this footage, Schaeffer was drawn to mundane character moments such as Maximoff and Vision enjoying their time in Scotland in Avengers: Infinity War. Schaeffer said there was a wonder and sincerity to the pair, and felt their family dynamic within a sitcom setting would result in a calm, warm feeling despite the ridiculous premise. She found the pair appealing because they are both outsiders who "find each other. They're both different with capital Ds." Schaeffer was committed to making sure Maximoff was depicted as a fully realized character in the series, including showing aspects of her that had not been seen much previously such as her joy and humor. A great concern for Schaeffer, Livanos, and the writers was avoiding a portrayal of Maximoff that made her seem crazy or out of control, as some of her comic book appearances have done, and Schaeffer hoped the series would give a "nuanced portrayal of a very complicated woman". The series explores how Maximoff grew up in an Eastern European country and relied on black-market American products such as television, with her father selling DVDs of American sitcoms, which helped form Maximoff's love of them. The series also introduces the organization S.W.O.R.D. to the MCU. Schaeffer explained that its name was changed from Sentient World Observation and Response Department as it is in the comic books to Sentient Weapon Observation Response Division due to a reason related to the larger story.
8. The series' fifth episode introduces Evan Peters as Wanda's brother "Pietro Maximoff". The character was previously portrayed in Avengers: Age of Ultron by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, while Peters played a different version of the character named Peter Maximoff in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series.
9. Costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo said it was rare for a singular piece of media to progress through so many different decades without its characters aging. Olsen enjoyed exploring how women were viewed in society in each decade through Maximoff's costumes. The suit and wedding dress worn by Vision and Maximoff in the opening titles were both made for the series, with the dress created as an homage to Audrey Hepburn. With the series shifting from black and white to color, the various designers worked together to ensure a unified look for the characters and sets. Production designer Mark Worthington said his team learned how different colors work in a black-and-white format. Prop designer Russell Bobbit previously worked on the film Pleasantville, which Shakman said the series had a "spiritual connection" to along with The Truman Show. Hair stylist Karen Bartek created 22 wigs for the series to represent the different eras.
10. The series end credits features "swarms of LED-style glowing lights forming into constructs from the show" that is reminiscent of the art style in the "House of M" comic storyline.

Description
Here's my review of the latest Disney+ smash hit, and the beginning of a new chapter for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The series follows Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch three weeks after the events of Avengers: Endgame as she lives an idyllic suburban life in the town of Westview, New Jersey with her android lover Vision, who Thanos presumably destroyed during the events of Avengers: Infinity War. As Wanda tries to conceal her true natures, they begin to enter new decades and encounter television tropes, gain two sons, Billy and Tommy, as they enter the 1980s, and the couple suspects that things are not as they seem. Meanwhile, Wanda's actions are being observed by not only their nosy neighbor Agnes, but also the agents of S.W.O.R.D. led by Monica Rambeau, Jimmy Woo, Darcy Lewis, and S.W.O.R.D.'s director Tyler Hayward. What's really going on here, what surprises are in store, and what dark secrets will be revealed?

Pros:
1. Wanda/Scarlet Witch is a very likeable and well developed protagonist.
2. Vision is a great secondary lead.
3. Monica, Jimmy, Darcy, Billy, Tommy, "Pietro", and the inhabitants of Westview are all very likeable side characters.
4. Agnes/Agatha Harkness and Hayward are both pretty good villains.
5. A good chunk of the comedy is very well timed and humorous.
6. Highly impressive special effects and visuals.
7. Very well crafted sets and costumes.
8. The show has a surprisingly very dark tone, but it's handled very well and still makes plenty of room for more lighthearted moments.
9. A great amount of drama and suspense that leads to some very tearjerking moments.
10. Some very engaging action scenes.
11. Christophe Beck delivers some very well done music.
12. Great chemistry and development from the characters.
13. The show's storyline is very well written. It successfully fuses the modern superhero genre with classic/modern sitcoms, pays great tribute to the sitcoms that they're representing, has plenty of great twists and turns, has a good amount of easter eggs and references to the larger MCU and some things from the comics, and perfectly sets up some of what's next to come in the franchise.

Cons:
1. The laugh-track, like in many modern sitcoms, can get pretty annoying.
2. It can get really slow at times. Especially during the first two episodes.

Overall:
This is a great start to a new era for the MCU, and I can't wait to see what they have in store next. For any fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is a must watch.

Rating:
9/10 (Amazing)

Production Notes and Trivia:
1. By September 2018, Marvel Studios was developing several limited series for its parent company Disney's streaming service, Disney+, to be centered on supporting characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films who had not starred in their own films, such as Wanda Maximoff. Actors who portrayed the characters in the films were expected to reprise their roles for the limited series, including Elizabeth Olsen as Maximoff. The series were expected to be six to eight episodes each, have a "hefty [budget] rivaling those of a major studio production", and be produced by Marvel Studios rather than Marvel Television, which produced previous MCU television series. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was believed to be taking a "hands-on role" in each limited series' development, focusing on "continuity of story" with the films and "handling" the actors who would be reprising their roles from the films. By the end of October, Paul Bettany's Vision was expected to play a significant role in the series, which would focus on the relationship between Maximoff and Vision. In the following months, the titles Vision and the Scarlet Witch and The Vision and Scarlet Witch were both reported for the series.
2. Jac Schaeffer was hired in January 2019 as head writer of the series after previously writing for Captain Marvel and Black Widow. Schaeffer was set to write the first episode and executive produce the series. That April, Disney and Marvel officially announced the series as WandaVision, and Matt Shakman was hired to direct and serve as an executive producer in August. Feige also executive produces alongside Marvel Studios' Louis D'Esposito and Victoria Alonso. The title was suggested by Feige, and Schaeffer insisted that it be kept as she felt it was the perfect title for the series. There was some backlash when the title was announced as it was perceived to be "the silliest title possible", but Schaeffer felt viewers would change their minds once they saw the series. Feige said the series would tell the story of Maximoff and Vision, show what Maximoff can do, explore who Vision is, and introduce the comic book name "Scarlet Witch" to the MCU "in ways that are entirely fun, entirely funny, somewhat scary, and will have repercussions for the entire future of Phase Four of the MCU". He added that viewers would not need to be familiar with the MCU to understand the series, but there would be a "wealth of rewards" for those who have seen all the films and knew the plans for Phase Four.
3. Schaeffer received comics material and an outline of what Marvel Studios hoped to accomplish with the series, in order for her to help shape their ideas into a coherent structure. Feige came up with the idea of having Maximoff and Vision living in a fantasy world of "suburban bliss" based on his love of sitcoms and how they can be used to escape from reality; Schaeffer helped figure out what that meant for the characters. Feige was visually inspired by Mike del Mundo's "Norman Rockwell meets Leave it to Beaver" covers for the comic book series The Vision by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and pitched the series to Olsen and Bettany as a combination of that comic book and the "House of M" storyline by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel. Other inspiration was taken from the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline by Bendis and David Finch that preceded "House of M", as well as The Vision and the Scarlet Witch, including the run by Bill Mantlo and Rick Leonardi, and the run by Steve Englehart and Richard Howell, and the "Vision Quest" storyline from West Coast Avengers by John Byrne. Feige, Schaeffer, Shakman, and co-executive producer Mary Livanos dedicated themselves to "nail[ing] down" the series' irreverent tone. Schaeffer was inspired by Thor: Ragnarok as well as the Marvel Comics-based series Legion, which she felt had broken the mold of what Marvel stories could be and were daring, original, and "bananas", which she felt allowed WandaVision to also be unique and different.
4. WandaVision takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and directly sets up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in which Olsen reprises her role as Maximoff. Schaeffer said Feige handled all the connections between the various MCU projects, but she and Shakman did have conversations with the creative teams of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as well as Marvel Studios' other Disney+ series, to discuss the connections between stories and to ensure an effortless "handoff" from WandaVision to the films. The series features a fictional sitcom called WandaVision, and has been described as part "classic sitcom", part "Marvel epic" by Feige, "super avant-garde and weird" by Bettany, a "full-on action movie" mixed with sitcoms by fellow actor Teyonah Parris, and a series that is "marrying epic superhero action with small-town sitcom silliness" by Livanos. Livanos added that the series would take advantage of audience expectations for sitcoms and deviate from the family sitcom structure in some episodes, while making the audience question where WandaVision fits into the MCU timeline.
5. Schaeffer hired eight writers for the series' writers room, including four women and several people of color, because of her belief that "stories are better the more perspectives you have". Megan McDonnell served as a staff writer on the series, before being promoted to story editor. Many of the writers had previous television experience, which Schaeffer used to help craft each episode within the larger narrative, as one of the initial challenges was figuring out how to tell the story in the long-form structure of a limited series rather than a film. Schaeffer said the series could never have been a film because it needed to be established with a true television aesthetic for the sitcom scenes before that could be broken. She found the central idea of Wanda being responsible for the series' sitcom reality to be a simple concept, and felt it would be more compelling if it was revealed as a mystery first. The writers decided to do this with Wanda and Vision through the first three episodes, before the fourth episode retold those events from a real world perspective to provide answers for viewers. When devising these early episodes, Schaeffer was concerned about how long they would be able to remain in the sitcom reality without needing to reveal parts of the larger mystery. Following the "enormous info dump" in the fourth episode, Schaeffer explained that there would still be more to learn about Wanda's perspective through the rest of the series, but she hoped that providing answers then would help the audience experience the rest of the series as an "emotional and a psychological journey, rather than a sneaky mystery the whole way". Schaeffer compared the final series to a multi-issue comic book, and said it remained very close to her original pitch.
6. Shakman and Schaeffer said the series was "a love letter to the golden age of television", though it pays tribute to many eras of American television. They focused on family sitcoms over other types such as workplace sitcoms because the family aspect kept the series centered. Schaeffer and Shakman studied past sitcoms to learn their "trappings and styles", while avoiding tropes from older sitcoms that would not be acceptable in a modern series. Schaeffer, Shakman, and Feige spoke with Dick Van Dyke, the star of the eponymous 1960s sitcom, to learn about the making of that series. Other sitcoms that inspired the series include I Love Lucy, My Three Sons, Father Knows Best, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Family Ties, Out of This World, Malcolm in the Middle, Modern Family, and The Office. Meta references are made to Full House, which starred Olsen's older sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley. The fictional sitcom features fake commercials that are "slightly nefarious", including promotion for the organization Hydra, which Feige said were "part of the truths of the show beginning to leak out". He felt that new MCU viewers would see these as strange versions of commercials from the different sitcom eras, while viewers well versed in the MCU would be able to see connections in the commercials to past events. Several commentators believed the commercials were analogies for traumatic events in Maximoff's life. Schaeffer acknowledged this speculation about the Easter eggs in the commercials, while also highlighting their role in giving the series a structure and rhythm that is "very much part of the fabric of the sitcom aesthetic".
7. Schaeffer compared her work on the series to Black Widow, saying WandaVision would be the polar opposite to that film's style of aggressive, visceral action. Shakman and Schaeffer watched all the existing footage of Maximoff and Vision, including footage that did not make it into the previous MCU films such as unused dailies. While exploring this footage, Schaeffer was drawn to mundane character moments such as Maximoff and Vision enjoying their time in Scotland in Avengers: Infinity War. Schaeffer said there was a wonder and sincerity to the pair, and felt their family dynamic within a sitcom setting would result in a calm, warm feeling despite the ridiculous premise. She found the pair appealing because they are both outsiders who "find each other. They're both different with capital Ds." Schaeffer was committed to making sure Maximoff was depicted as a fully realized character in the series, including showing aspects of her that had not been seen much previously such as her joy and humor. A great concern for Schaeffer, Livanos, and the writers was avoiding a portrayal of Maximoff that made her seem crazy or out of control, as some of her comic book appearances have done, and Schaeffer hoped the series would give a "nuanced portrayal of a very complicated woman". The series explores how Maximoff grew up in an Eastern European country and relied on black-market American products such as television, with her father selling DVDs of American sitcoms, which helped form Maximoff's love of them. The series also introduces the organization S.W.O.R.D. to the MCU. Schaeffer explained that its name was changed from Sentient World Observation and Response Department as it is in the comic books to Sentient Weapon Observation Response Division due to a reason related to the larger story.
8. The series' fifth episode introduces Evan Peters as Wanda's brother "Pietro Maximoff". The character was previously portrayed in Avengers: Age of Ultron by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, while Peters played a different version of the character named Peter Maximoff in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series.
9. Costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo said it was rare for a singular piece of media to progress through so many different decades without its characters aging. Olsen enjoyed exploring how women were viewed in society in each decade through Maximoff's costumes. The suit and wedding dress worn by Vision and Maximoff in the opening titles were both made for the series, with the dress created as an homage to Audrey Hepburn. With the series shifting from black and white to color, the various designers worked together to ensure a unified look for the characters and sets. Production designer Mark Worthington said his team learned how different colors work in a black-and-white format. Prop designer Russell Bobbit previously worked on the film Pleasantville, which Shakman said the series had a "spiritual connection" to along with The Truman Show. Hair stylist Karen Bartek created 22 wigs for the series to represent the different eras.
10. The series end credits features "swarms of LED-style glowing lights forming into constructs from the show" that is reminiscent of the art style in the "House of M" comic storyline.