Review: Wandavision – Now in Color s01e03

Last Week, Wandavision premiered with a pair of episodes that showed it was adept at creating a mysterious and intriguing world.  So mysterious in fact that on Disney Plus they were initially labelled as ‘Episode 1’ and ‘Episode 2’.  This week they are joined by episode 3, ‘Now in Color’, and the first two gain the titles of ‘Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience’, and ‘Don’t Touch That Dial’.  *Warning: Spoilers Ahead!*

There is a big chance that this renaming of the episodes is entirely deliberate and not just some quirk of the Disney Plus platform, as leading into this series there was very little detail about exactly what it was about, and how it would be setup.  While these new titles don’t entirely give anything away, they do play into the concepts we have seen revealed so far, so leaving them off did increase the mystery.

This week, ‘Now in Color’ continues the slow reveal of the mystery, and does so in a very satisfying manner.  There are none of the ‘Lost’ style antics of adding too many extra questions with no reveals here for instance.  After the reset at the end of the last episode, the show’s setting has now moved on from the 1950/60s to a late 1960s/early 70s style of sitcom, and is clearly styled on The Brady Bunch, The Monkees, Good Times, and The Mary Tyler Moore show.  From the opening credits use of multicoloured repeats of the name, and the 3×3 grid style of the images, they have firmly established the shift.  Interestingly, the appearance of the pictures in hexagons in this opening montage could allude to the Beekeeper we’ve seen earlier, although what is behind that mystery has yet to be seen.

The whole plot in this episode revolves around Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) pregnancy and the ramifications of it.  For both Wanda and Vision (Paul Bettany) the rapid pregnancy takes them by surprise and at other moments is taken entirely in stride.  There are moments when their focus is almost as if it was planned and they are going about their lives doing the normal things, and then other moments when the oddity of it all suddenly hits them.  Building a crib and painting a nursery seem perfectly reasonable, and then the reality of hiding it from the neighbours, or getting to grips with the foetus size based on fruit comes into play.

Aside from those moments of confusion over how this could be happening, the neighbours are the main oddity that prompts questions in Vision in ‘Now in Color’.  Herb (David Payton) for some reason seems to slip out of character and starts to trim through his wall instead of the hedge, yet when questioned by Vision doesn’t really acknowledge it.  Later, when Herb is talking to Agnes (Kathryn Hahn), Vision’s suspicion is raised again, but he fails to get a satisfactory answer despite Herb appearing to be on the verge of revealing something.

The big reveal in ‘Now in Color’ is Geraldine (Teyonah Parris) though, as she brings together this sitcom world that’s been established, and what we would consider the MCU world.  First of all she becomes part of a series of set pieces where Wanda attempts to hide the pregnancy, including all the classic tropes of hiding the bump behind a fruit bowl, distraction, and wearing an oversize coat.  Her role quickly changes though, as she has to help deliver Wanda’s twins, due to Doctor Nielsen (Randy Oglesby), who is probably a reference to the Nielsen ratings, being away preparing for his holiday.

The references continue in this episode, with the names chosen for Wanda’s twins being the same as in the comics. After the twins are born, Geraldine is in the house with Wanda, as she sings a Sokovian lullaby and mentions her twin, Pietro, probably the first time we’ve heard his name in the MCU for a while. Almost like a fourth wall break, Geraldine states that Pietro was killed by Ultron, which shows her hand a bit too much and jars with Wanda. After becoming very inquisitive of who exactly Geraldine is and what her Sword shaped necklace means, we see Geraldine ejected through a haze of coloured static back into what is presumably the MCU world. Our reference point for this is that, aside from the other clues, the aspect ratio of the picture changes from the old TV 4:3 format to widescreen.

This show evolution so early on in its run is very welcome and indicates that we are not going to be drip fed tiny droplets of information, dragging it out forever.  While what we have been given isn’t exactly a complete look behind the curtain, there is enough there to really draw you in and intrigue an audience.  A lot of good questions have been raised so far, and genuinely tease.  If necklaces for instance have significance, what does Agnes’ one mean?  Is she in a different organisation to Geraldine?  Why did Herb sort of konk out for a short period, and just how aware of the time reverses/resets are other people when they happen?

I am sure that viewers will all have theories about how this all adds up, and what significance it will have the for ongoing MCU, including her scheduled appearance in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’.  The end sequence in ‘Now in Color’ for instance suggests that Wanda’s Westview isn’t just in her mind, but is an actual physical manifestation.  Has she created a pocket universe, and is that expanding or is she creating more of them each time she reverses time?

As they always said at the end of the classic TV show ‘Soap’: “These questions, and many others, will be answered in the next episode of…” Wandavision.  I for one look forward to whatever this show brings us in its continuing jaunt through the sitcom world, and hope that it keeps up this excellent standard.  So far, all signs point to this becoming so much more intriguing than it is already, and we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.