#52.57 THE MIRROR CRACK'D FROM SIDE TO SIDE
Holy shitbags, what in the name of Stan Lee is going on??? This is, without a doubt, the most surreal, outlandish and audacious piece of television I’ve ever watched. And it’s on Disney.
Let’s take a deeper dive into this amazing show, so *spoiler-alert* but also probably not, because I don’t really know what’s going on. It’s like looking through Wanda’s forcefield and kind of seeing what’s happening inside, but not really be able to process it. Impossible to know if you’re not in it, so think of me as a random FBI officer standing outside Westview, scratching her head. Here are a few half-baked theories for you to ponder as you trawl the seven-minute credit sequence for clues.
If you’ve watched Infinity War, you’ll know that Vision died at the end – twice. He’s really dead, no more, ceased to be, etc. So how on earth (or wherever they are) is he living with Wanda in suburban bliss? Is it Wanda’s dream? Which begs the question: why does Wanda’s subconscious take the form of a series of classic sitcoms?
And then there’s all the weird stuff. Every now and then, something unsettling happens – anachronisms and aberrations that are not part of the sit, and definitely not com. Glitches in Wanda’s matrix – a vivid red toy helicopter nestling amidst the black and white bush, an urgent radio message during a planning committee meeting, a guy coming out of a manhole covered in bees, for Chrissake. Then there’s Wanda herself, whose facial expression sometimes flickers into a different, darker dimension. And the supporting cast, playing their parts with increasing agitation, desperate to break out of character. As they move through the ages into technicolour, the sense of unease is heightened. Nothing is quite right. Wanda’s controlling everything, but she’s not in control. Things are starting to unravel…
Then episode 4 comes along and blasts your brain apart. Now we’re outside the world, looking in and we can see a bigger picture, but it’s still fuzzy as fuck, and although the screen has widened, we’re way off a 360° view. The authorities are stumped, watching Wanda’s nutty sitcom play out with no idea how to interrupt it, no clue how to rescue all the people trapped in it, one of whom should be dead. As they strive to make contact, trying to infiltrate this microcosmos, we see those aberrations all over again, from a different angle: the helicopter (a drone), the radio message (an FBI agent), the beekeeper (a SWORD guy in a hazmat suit) – transmogrified versions of the original interlopers. But these are clumsy attempts, poking the bees’ nest with a stick. Eventually Wanda loses patience and there’s a fiery confrontation that’s both jaw-dropping and very, very sad. You realise what she’s doing (sort of), and why it’s doomed to failure. Her vision is distorted by grief.
Bloody hell, this show is incredible. A properly bold, dazzlingly innovative and wildly entertaining spectacle that makes your head spin. I really love Marvel movies – in fact, Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favourite films of all time. They’re written with such tremendous wit and heart, by teams of people who really know what they’re doing – who, unlike Wanda, are in complete control. I’m trusting them to bring me out of this in a thrilling, enthralling and perplexing way, and I can’t wait.
Holy shitbags, what in the name of Stan Lee is going on??? This is, without a doubt, the most surreal, outlandish and audacious piece of television I’ve ever watched. And it’s on Disney.
Let’s take a deeper dive into this amazing show, so *spoiler-alert* but also probably not, because I don’t really know what’s going on. It’s like looking through Wanda’s forcefield and kind of seeing what’s happening inside, but not really be able to process it. Impossible to know if you’re not in it, so think of me as a random FBI officer standing outside Westview, scratching her head. Here are a few half-baked theories for you to ponder as you trawl the seven-minute credit sequence for clues.
If you’ve watched Infinity War, you’ll know that Vision died at the end – twice. He’s really dead, no more, ceased to be, etc. So how on earth (or wherever they are) is he living with Wanda in suburban bliss? Is it Wanda’s dream? Which begs the question: why does Wanda’s subconscious take the form of a series of classic sitcoms?
And then there’s all the weird stuff. Every now and then, something unsettling happens – anachronisms and aberrations that are not part of the sit, and definitely not com. Glitches in Wanda’s matrix – a vivid red toy helicopter nestling amidst the black and white bush, an urgent radio message during a planning committee meeting, a guy coming out of a manhole covered in bees, for Chrissake. Then there’s Wanda herself, whose facial expression sometimes flickers into a different, darker dimension. And the supporting cast, playing their parts with increasing agitation, desperate to break out of character. As they move through the ages into technicolour, the sense of unease is heightened. Nothing is quite right. Wanda’s controlling everything, but she’s not in control. Things are starting to unravel…
Then episode 4 comes along and blasts your brain apart. Now we’re outside the world, looking in and we can see a bigger picture, but it’s still fuzzy as fuck, and although the screen has widened, we’re way off a 360° view. The authorities are stumped, watching Wanda’s nutty sitcom play out with no idea how to interrupt it, no clue how to rescue all the people trapped in it, one of whom should be dead. As they strive to make contact, trying to infiltrate this microcosmos, we see those aberrations all over again, from a different angle: the helicopter (a drone), the radio message (an FBI agent), the beekeeper (a SWORD guy in a hazmat suit) – transmogrified versions of the original interlopers. But these are clumsy attempts, poking the bees’ nest with a stick. Eventually Wanda loses patience and there’s a fiery confrontation that’s both jaw-dropping and very, very sad. You realise what she’s doing (sort of), and why it’s doomed to failure. Her vision is distorted by grief.
Bloody hell, this show is incredible. A properly bold, dazzlingly innovative and wildly entertaining spectacle that makes your head spin. I really love Marvel movies – in fact, Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favourite films of all time. They’re written with such tremendous wit and heart, by teams of people who really know what they’re doing – who, unlike Wanda, are in complete control. I’m trusting them to bring me out of this in a thrilling, enthralling and perplexing way, and I can’t wait.
Credits
Producer
Babs Digby
Writer
Beth Morrey
Web Designer
Ian Morrey
Beta Reader
Tom Price
Background Extras
Wilf Price
Edmund Price
Polly Price
Edmund Price
Polly Price
Catering
McDonald's
Music
Hymn Arrangements for the Young Pianist
Poet
Alfred Tennyson
Head-scratcher
Beth Morrey
Sofa Companion
Tom Price
Feminist Inspiration
Samantha Stephens
Loser
Darren Stephens
Driver
Ian Morrey
Cameo
Stan Lee