La Ron S. Readus
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WandaVision (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2021-01-25 21:01:00 +0000 UTCReaders, I promise you that I wasn’t trying to make this video right now.
Ever since Disney+ and HBO Max made it known that they weren’t following Netflix and Hulu’s model of releasing the entire season of a show in one sitting and opted for weekly releases instead, I chose peace instead of chaos and vowed to wait until either the entire season or a significant chunk of the show was available for me to binge
That’s pretty much how I was able to make my video on Raised By Wolves Season 1 within the week of its premiere; the first three episodes were available to me right off the bat and I was able to both binge-watch and make a video about them.
But while I was able to keep my vow when it came to BOTH seasons of The Mandalorian, WandaVision seemed to have tested my patience.
Despite giving certain influencers and reviewers access to the first three episodes before the series premiere on Disney+, Marvel Studios only released the first two to the public on January 15, 2021.
Take into consideration that the episodes so far have only been a half-hour or so long to match the runtime of a prime-time comedy sitcom and probably won’t cross over into a longer runtime until episode 4, and its pretty safe to assume that this isn’t gonna be enough for me.
And I pretty much came to that conclusion after watching the first two episodes of WandaVision, stating on my Twitter that after watching them, I’m probably not gonna make a video about it until the season/mini-series is finished.
That also meant I wasn’t going to watch any more of it UNTIL the season/mini-series is finished so I could happily binge-watch it because I HATE the ritualistic weekly television torture that is episodic television, but that's a topic for another video.
Then episode 3 was made available to the public on January 23rd, and nobody would shut the fuck up about it.
Honestly, I cannot figure out for the life of me why they only decided to release the first TWO episodes of the series on January 15th as opposed to the 3 that everyone else got a chance to see
/Because not only do the collective first three episodes put a lot of things about this series into perspective once watched back-to-back, but I was able to figure out what was going on -- and possibly which direction the show’s gonna head from episode 4 onward -- thanks to noticing a few psychological thriller tricks throughout the narrative thanks to a video game that was the talk of the town back in 2017/
I’m of course talking about Team Salvato’s Doki Doki Literature Club.
For those unaware, Doki Doki is a dating simulator where you -- the male main protag -- find yourself joining the Literature Club of a Japanese High School thanks to your childhood friend Sayori. You meet the other three members, Yuri, Natsuki and the club leader Monika.
Now because it’s a dating sim, you’re free to choose to romance any of the members of the club through a mini-game that lets you create poems that reflect their personalities, so it’s a pretty normal dating sim.
Y’know, as normal as a dating sim CAN be for those who regularly play them. I only ever played Dream Daddy, so my knowledge is a bit limited.
However, the only character you can’t really seek romance with is Monika. And that’s where we step into the psychological thriller-slash-horror of the game.
/Because Monika -- from the moment you start your new game -- is self-aware./
She knows she’s just a character in a game and that YOU are playing it. And because of that, she has the ability to MANIPULATE aspects of the game; including the personalities of the other ROMANCEABLE characters in the dating sim that aren’t aware of the fourth wall before them.
Because of this, she begins to do so -- subtly at first, then more rampant the more things don’t go her way -- in order to not only force you to spend time with her that you otherwise shouldn’t be able to...
/But also break the game while exposing the player to some pretty disturbing alterations of the originally romanceable characters all for the sake of having YOU -- the PLAYER, not the character you’re playing -- all to herself/
(Game Grumps Natsuki neck break)
Now while I didn’t play this game personally, I was both told of it by friends of mine who played it and were legit freaked out and watched various lets plays of the game.
And while my friends were traumatized, my psychological thriller Satoshi Kon-lovin’ ass ATE THIS SHIT UP.
Despite never playing it, I LOVE this game
Ever since it came out, I always wondered how the premise -- as altered as it would need to be to fit the medium -- would look if it took the actual thriller-slash-horror of being trapped in an ever-shifting reality that could mold and shape someone against their wishes to fit the overall ideal of one individual
But it took me watching the third episode and then reflecting on the events of the first and second to realize that I was seeing that played out.
Because despite the comic arc that inspired the story, WandaVision -- at its heart -- IS Doki Doki Literature Club. And Wanda is Monika.
Now like I said before, Readers. I didn’t IMMEDIATELY pick up on that realization until after I saw the third episode.
Because with the way episodes 1 and ESPECIALLY episode 2 played out, the series felt like it REALLY wanted you to believe that Wanda wasn’t responsible for what was going on in Westview. Even when they finally introduced Teyonah Parris in the latter.
/Go figure her actions in episode 3 would be the key to me realizing how everything was ACTUALLY playing out./
Now those of us who’ve been keeping up with any and everything news-wise involving the MCU from Phase 4 onward know that Teyonah’s character is Monica Rambeau; Maria’s daughter from Captain Marvel all grown up.
/We knew she was either going to be part of SHIELD or SWORD -- the SHIELD-like organization for space and interdimensional threats that was teased during the end-credits of Spider-Man: Far From Home when it showed Nick Fury overlooking the construction of the organization’s headquarters in space./
/But in Episode 2 of WandaVision, when we’re INTRODUCED to Monica properly, we see her hesitate when she meets Wanda and instead introduces herself as/ (Geraldine)
Now because of how the show presented itself during its marketing, those of us who watched Episode 2 without seeing the following one just thought that this was her being unable to remember who she was; someone that -- like the rest of the town -- was being forced to live out this alternate reality that...
/According to the episode, someone or someTHING trapped her in/ (who’s doing this to you, Wanda?)
The reason why we were absolutely sure of this -- or, at least, I was originally -- was because in the second trailer for WandaVision that uses footage from Episode 3 in it...
/We see and hear THIS interaction/ (Who are you? I don’t know)
But then when we WATCH Episode 3 we find out that what the trailer showed us was actually a red herring.
/Because in the scene BEFORE the one used in the trailer -- after the twins are born and Wanda brings up her twin brother Pietro -- Gertude says this:/
(He was killed by Ultron, right?)
Now how would Geraldine know that if she was being affected by what was overtaking Westview like everyone else? Outside of the Avengers, the only other individuals who would have that information are either government officials, or SHIELD-slash-SWORD themselves.
And then to make matters more complicated-slash-clear, we find out that scene in the trailer in question not only was brought upon her mentioning Pietro’s death by Ultron, but we get a very different version of it.
/Not only do we see the SWORD necklace she’s wearing, but there’s a completely different response to Wanda’s question than what was presented in Trailer #2/
(Who are you scene)
That’s right, Readers. The canon version of this scene doesn’t have her respond with “I don’t know.” As a matter of fact, she doesn’t respond at all, outside of a worried shake of her head.
And just like that told us the VIEWER, it ALSO told Wanda everything she needed to know about her. And, as a result, told US a good amount of information regarding Wanda’s current state of control.
/Once after seeing Geraldine ejected back into reality, and again after Vision asked Wanda where she went/ (She had to rush home)
It’s obvious that the only way Monica-slash-Geraldine would know that info about Pietro to trigger such a reaction from Wanda was if she were a plant by SWORD to help Wanda “wake up” for lack of better words by gaining her trust and slowly coaxing her and the rest of Westview out of this altered reality.
/Because -- at least, to a certain extent -- no one is DOING this to Wanda like episode 2 was trying to establish. She’s doing it herself./
WandaVision episode 3 has established that whatever it is that’s happening to Westview and the citizens within it, Wanda is consciously responsible for it in one way or another
And everyone in this town is suffering because of it, forced to have their original personalities shifted and altered outside of what they traditionally were before this gigantic use of her reality-altering power in order to fit her various ideals of what she wants; a perfect life with Vision.
But where the citizens of Westview differ from Doki Doki’s Sayori, Natsuki and Yuri, is that while they don’t know Monika is altering their dialogue and personality to make them distrubingly unappealing to the player of the game, the citizens of Westview actually KNOW that they’re in an altered state of reality and are constantly having their personalities and identities toyed with.
/They just can’t do anything about it; they’re trapped./ (Escape scene from episode 3)
/And the only way they can have a say in the matter, is if they act in a way that plays into the scenarios they’re given in every iteration of the world Wanda simulates in order to try and reach her./ (Stop it from episode 1)
But when someone or someTHING finds a way to breach her reality enough, WANDA’S the one that reverts and changes it.
/Like when it happened at the end of Episode 2/ (No)
/Or even when Vision himself starts to realize something is wrong in Episode 3, and the scene just restarts with a more “scripted” take/
And the only way she can’t alter the state of someone’s memory, or personality, or just simply either rewind or completely redo a scene to her liking, is if she isn’t focusing on it.
/Which is how after the twins Billy and Tommy were born, Vision was able to realize that the presence of Monica “Geraldine” Rambeau nearly got his neighbor Herb to confess something that spooked him before Agnes stopped him from confessing and he continued to play his part./
The people on the outside looking in think that Wanda is trapped in this adjusted reality that’s affecting the entire town and are manipulating her abilities to trap the residents, but they’re unaware that Wanda is ABSOLUTELY aware of what she’s doing.
/At least until Monica tells them now that she’s been yeeted out of the Westview Teledome/
And just like Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki in said game, the citizens of Westview -- and even Vision himself to a certain extent -- are being forced to live out Wanda’s ideal of a perfect life with Vision against their will, having their personalities altered in order to match said scenarios and keep them from resisting.
Now am I saying that Wanda is actually the VILLAIN of this series? No.
While episode 3 definitely put a lot in perspective regarding what’s going on with both Wanda and what she’s doing to Westview, we also have to take into consideration that while Wanda IS doing this to the town, there are -- in fact -- other forces at work here.
/Especially now that Billy and Tommy -- the twins that were part of the Marvel Comics arc that acts as the main inspiration for the show -- have now entered the picture./
And we also can't forget about Agnes -- the MCU version of 616’s Agatha Harkness
/Who in Episode 3 seems to be just as stuck and affected as the rest of the citizens of Westview, but might have revealed her true allegiance to the series ACTUAL antagonist in Episode 2./ (The Devil is in the details)
M-Me...Mephisto; I’m talking about Mephisto.
But it’s like I said, Readers. This is just what I’ve been able to put together from the first three episodes, and previous knowledge of the comics that have CLEARLY inspired this miniseries. And as of the time of this recording, there are still 6 more to go.
In all honesty, the only reason I decided to even MAKE this video was because after hearing about how much info Episode 3 revealed and making the decision to watch it BECAUSE of that, I was impressed with how the promotions tried to tell us one thing was going to happen in the show, only for the actual show to do something else ENTIRELY.
Plus, I’ve ALWAYS wanted to see how the concept of Doki Doki Literature Club would play out in a Film and TV format, and it looks like I’m gonna get my wish.
But I must reiterate that I HATE watching weekly episodes of TV shows, and this will be the ONLY video I’m doing on WandaVision until it's finished in March
So with that being said Readers, your homework assignment for the day: Write in the comment section below where YOU think WandaVision is going with its narrative
Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, if you’re digging the Doki Doki Literature Club feel the series is currently giving off as much as I am.
Whichever you decide to answer, I’d love to know your thoughts.
