TL;DR – This week reconnected me back to the story with some strong themes, which was important after last week’s outing.
Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service used to view this series.
VisionQuest Review Introduction
Today we dive into the penultimate episode of VisionQuest, and for the first time, I am a little concerned. I came out of last week’s Deadlock, feeling quite concerned with the direction of the show. Some of the reveals left a bad taste in my mouth. However, Terry Matalas has not done me wrong yet, so I am here to see if he can bring it all together.
So, to set the scene, everyone is working through the fallout of Deadlock, with Vision (Paul Bettany) and Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica) trying desperately to save Lisa (Lauren Morais) from the nanobot that Jocasta (T’nia Miller) sent into her brain and is slowly rewriting who she is as a person. Meanwhile, Jocasta and Ultron (James Spader) have made their way to her mortal grave and unlocked five of the six locks needed to unleash her plan of world domination, which is when the mysterious benefactor arrives to both parties, offering them hope, or sending them to ruin. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.
Sins of the Parents
One of the main themes this week, and of course our opening stinger, is all about the sins of our parents. While we might like to pretend that we are all tabula rasa, but the actions of parents directly shape us, even if we have never met them. This takes on a very literal sense when their legacy is literally written into the code of Jocasta, Ultron, and Vision. Indeed, much of the episode is a clockwork shift between Jocasta and Vision as they plumb the depths of their code for the secrets hidden below. Ultron is Vision’s father, or he sees himself that way. All of AI stems from a man hiding from the loss of his son. Thomas has finally accepted that Wanda and Vision are not his parents, but also they are, because family is forever.
Past and Future
The other main theme this week is the intersection of the past and the future. From a meta sense, part of this episode is linking VisionQuest back to all of the MCU. Vision is a copy. Vision is the Vision. Vision is something more. He is the building blocks of everything that has come before him, but also building towards the future. All of this is captured in Paul Bettany fighting with Paul Bettany as Paul Bettany watches on. The grief of losing the past, but then the realisation of there still being a future. Finding yourself at the bottom of your deepest despair. Look, as far as mystery boxes go, it is not a bad one. It also gives the episode the propulsion it needs to blast into the final episode next week.
Recommendation
In the end, do we recommend VisionQuest? Yes. I was concerned after last week, but I am glad to see that those concerns were answered this week in way that reconnected me to the story. More still, for a penultimate episode, it did exactly what it needed to do: make me very interested to see where this all pans out. Also, I hope that is not the last we have seen of FRIDAY. 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 – Terry Matalas
Written by – Matthew Okumura
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, Mary McDonnell, & Emily Hampshire
With – Howard Saddler, Charlie Russell, Johnny Austin, Dulchie Conner, & Michael Akinsluire
