TL;DR – How do you visualise robots hunting each other down in cyberspace? Well, with a play, my dear.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service used to view this series.

VisionQuest Review Introduction

Well, we have entered that back half of this series, and so far with No Strings, Theseus, Reboot, & Malware we have gotten a lot of setup, a lot of sheer glances, and a lot of furtive statements. But we don’t have a lot of solid ground, and we are running out of time to stick that hard landing. Will today’s episode prove to be that foundation?

So, to set the scene, well, this is not good. Vision (Paul Bettany) gave Ultron (James Spader) access to his body to stop Jocasta (T’nia Miller) from killing everyone, including Thomas (Ruaridh Mollica). Still, once you give Ultron a crack, he takes a mile. In this case, by locking Vision, EDITH (Emily Hampshire), FRIDAY (Orla Brady), DUM-E (Henry Lewis), & U (Jonathan Sayer) up in the loft he was once trapped in. But sure, they may be in jail, but four AI programs with moxie can still achieve a lot. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

Abstract Interpretation

If there is one thing you need to prepare yourself for with this episode, it is the fact that it is going to be an abstract experience. It is almost as if they needed an old-fashioned bottle episode and just ran with it. How that is realised is frankly more like a play than an episode of television, with the AI programs taking up a fly-on-the-wall look at what went down after they were incarcerated. Besides a stray Star Trek reference, this is a section that is playing in a space I have seen before: the musical translated onto the big screen. Well, those without Wicked budgets. It is a very discordant structure, which the show plays into, and while it is very garish on a visual level, the narrative aspects land.

Time to Stop Flirting

While there is a lot about this episode that I liked, any time you let Paul Bettany, James Spader, & T’nia Miller run amok is a good time. It is starting to feel like all we are doing is buying drinks at the bar, and that is it. Well, I think it is time at least that you took me dancing or at least got me a dinner and movie. Sure, I do like you dropping that narrative ‘textbook endgame’ sass; I’m only human. Also, the sly hints as to Ultron’s real plan are delightful because James Spader plays it so. However, we are five episodes into an eight-episode series, and I hope we do not have a rushed exit strategy waiting for us.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend VisionQuest? Well, I would be lying if I didn’t say that this episode did raise some concerns, such as how the world did Lisa (Lauren Morais) get on that plane? And has she just been watching us sleep? But it was fun to watch them take a big swing on the production design this week, and if nothing else, the cast is game for everything. Have you seen VisionQuest yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of VisionQuest
Directed by – Vincenzo Natali
Written by – Christopher Monfette
Created by – Terry Matalas
Based On – WandaVision and Agatha All Along by Jac Schaeffer & Marvel Comics
Production/Distribution Companies – Marvel Television & Disney+
Starring – Paul Bettany, James Spader, Ruaridh Mollica, Todd Stashwick, Lauren Morais, T’nia Miller, Orla Brady, Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, Mary McDonnell, & Emily Hampshire
With – Jennifer Connelly