Who IS Vision?

Despite my many issues with A.I., I find stories discussing it fascinating. Because humans love being existential, and A.I.’s perfect for that. So when Marvel announced that VisionQuest would cap off “The Westview Trilogy”, which includes WandaVision and Agatha All Along, I was excited. It didn’t hurt that the show features a revived Tommy Maximoff. Essentially, I was intrigued.

Taking place after Agatha All Along chronologically, the show follows Vision trying to survive in England. He has the memories and humanity of the classic Vision, but he’s confused by them. He doesn’t consider them genuine, and the A.I. companions in his mind are unable to help him. All of this is challenged when an assassin’s sent after him and a shadowy figure starts messing with his mind, with the revelation that one of his children might’ve survived Wanda’s hex complicating matters. Desperate for answers, Vision soon realizes some wounds never fully heal.

For a show with a lot going on, VisionQuest never once feels confusing. This isn’t easy, since A.I. philosophizing about sentience can be boring. It helps that the A.I. companions are good in their own rights. Special credit to Emily Hampshire as E.D.I.T.H. We’d already heard her in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but Hampshire delivers with her quirky interpretation of Tony Stark’s A.I. goggles.

The real MVP of this show is Paul Bettany. He’s so committed to Vision that he even burst blood vessels in one of his eyes, something the effects team digitally edited out. I’m not a diehard fan of Bettany, but no one does Vision justice like him. Especially as someone without a purpose, a “wounded deer” that tires his colleagues. It’s a great performance.

I also think the underlying story about A.I. is fascinating. The idea that robots can be human, yet also not human at the same time is funny and on-the-nose given society’s current obsession with A.I. in reality. There are A.I. writing tools, A.I. drawing tools, even A.I. music tools! Yet none of them can recreate the warmth of the human spirit accurately. And the show understands this, even making it into a running joke throughout.

Despite this, it also never forgets the human touch. It may tackle A.I. concepts, but it never takes the easy way out with A.I. doing the artistic labour. This isn’t like the title sequence in Secret Invasion, which generated controversy for using A.I. No, this is artists mimicking A.I.’s limitations to tell a story. It sucks that this is impressive, but that highlights exactly how degraded art has become.

And it works. It works so well I never once questioned the gaping logic, even laughing at some of the obvious tricks that make A.I. slip up. (Vision and Ultron trying to discern the number of fire hydrants in a captcha’s a perfect example.) Because people have become numb to A.I., for a world replicating that believably is impressive. It also makes me wish Vision’s headspace was real. Almost.

Another detail about this show that makes it work is that it references WandaVison in a way that isn’t forced. This could’ve been a shameless retread of that series, but doing that would feel cheap. Instead, the one time it calls back directly it’s as a meta-commentary. It’s also funny to watch. I genuinely laughed out loud a few times.

Would I consider this the best in The Westview Trilogy? No. It’s too messy narrative-wise to be like WandaVision was, frequently espousing philosophy at the expense of pacing. But it’s certainly more ambitious, and it takes darker turns as well. This is especially true with revving up the violence and blood, such that this might skew toward an older demographic. I don’t usually say that about MCU shows not part of the Marvel Spotlight label, but I am now.

My one concern here is that this could lead to edgier material The MCU isn’t ready for, especially since that’s what caused the downfall of American comics. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle when that happens, so I recommend Marvel shows (and movies) tread carefully. They can test the waters, but people should never forget that The MCU’s demographic is children. That needs to remain the standard, however tempting.

This is middle-of-the-road for The Westview Trilogy, despite liking all three entries. It may not be the tightest-written, and its final two episodes are movie length, but it’s a decent show that nails the landing. That’s not something I can say of many shows, as they bungle their finales constantly. VisionQuest, however, isn’t the final chapter here, and the finale calls attention to that, so the curse of bad final episodes is avoided. I only hope the show’s post-credits stinger leads to a satisfying movie. Seriously, I want The Avengers: Doomsday to be good!

Give this show a watch if you’re an MCU fan. It’s not “the greatest ever”, but you could do much worse. And it’s still a satisfying ending to a trilogy of shows. Besides, what do you have to lose if you don’t enjoy it? Not much.