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anonthenullifier · 4 years ago

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“I think this one’s going to be it.”

Vision remains unconvinced despite the realtor’s optimism. “We shall have to see.”

It’s the fifteenth town they’ve looked at, the thirtieth house, and nothing so far has been perfect. All the blogs online and the pamphlets at the realty office and the conversations with Mary, his persevering and upbeat realtor, have informed him that perfection can rarely be bought, but if he can find a home with good bones and have a can-do attitude, he can make it perfect. This he does not disagree with, at least when it comes to the house, but the town itself cannot be so easily molded and that has led to the disparaging length of the search.

Mary holds up her clipboard, blocking out the afternoon sun, watching him stare at the town’s main square. “Why don’t I go along to the lot and you just get a feel for the place as you mosey on over?”

“Very well.”

“Okay, take your time.” She gets back into the blue sedan she drove down in and leaves.

There is a particular atmosphere he is trying to find, a homey, old-fashioned quality. The first place he investigated was New Rochelle, the very location of the van Dyke household, and it was charming in its quaintness and soothing in its familiarity but it was also a tourist trap, signs speaking to its history and a handful of people wandering with cameras to see the house from the show. What Wanda deserves is the feel of a small town, not the exact replica and so he hired Mary and they have discreetly traveled across New York and now, growing desperate, have dipped into New Jersey. To be fair to the realtor, he is not an easy client, quick to determine if the feel of the area is off and speaking to her in the only comparisons he can make based on his knowledge of Wanda’s preferences. Some towns were too Gilmore Girls or not enough Bewitched, others only had one corridor that spoke to Family Ties while the rest felt like a modern city. They’d trudged through areas that felt like the Munsters and others where he knew it would turn into the Twilight Zone simply based on the odd stares and eerie feeling from the facade of happiness in towns long past their prime.

Vision surveys the current possibility and is not immediately disappointed. The town square houses a gazebo, well kept and inviting with its lattice work and the shrubbery framing the grass around it -an ideal spot for a picnic or a tea during their lunch hour, assuming they try out true domestication of idle employment. Lining the main road are small shops and little restaurants, eclectic in their conglomeration and relatively satisfactory to stroll beside, or so he tests, hands in his pockets and his disguise reflected back to him as he stares into a clothing shop where a mannequin rests in a red, billowy dress Wanda would adore.

A little spark jumps in his chest as he keeps moseying, the closest approximation to hope he has felt in his search, spurred on by the flower cart overflowing with roses outside a little boutique and the way all the townspeople have either smiled or waved at him when their eyes briefly lock. Vision is not known for his imagination which is why it is fascinating how easily he can picture walking this street, Wanda’s fingers twined with his, an ice cream cone from the creamery on the corner in her hand, her joy bubbling over as she tells him the latest frivolity of gossip in the town.

It’s when he turns down the road where Mary is waiting in her car that his synthetic heart begins to whirr at the trees lining the street, their thin leaves shading the few houses that stand with picture perfect porches for a lemonade in the stifling summer sun or a hot chocolate when fall begins to run its frosty fingers in the air. Curious as to their scientific categorization, Vision studies one, his hand running over the grayish bark that ripples with diamond-esque patterns. Slowly, and as inconspicuously as possible, he leans in and sniffs, cataloguing the pungent odor, one that if he was pressed to describe it would be spicy...not one of heat but of the spice that always filled the compound when he and Wanda baked after going to pick apples. The long leaves are pinnately organized, forming couplings that cling to either side of the branch. The final piece that leads to its categorization is the round green seed hanging below a pair of leaves. It is a Juglan nigra , the black walnut and all he can hear in its swaying leaves is the riotous laughter from Wanda as the van Dyke household fills with walnuts.

Vision smiles, overcome momentarily at the rightness of it all.

But there is one more determination before he commits to this life, before he decides that this is what he wants to promise Wanda the next time they meet. Apprehensively he approaches the car, tapping on the window to let Mary know he is ready. “What’d you think so far?”

The falsity of her grin should be alarming, yet he knows he is to blame for it, having had to inform her of her failure to find him what he wants dozens of times before . This time, however, he is happy to inform her, “It is quite promising.”

A real, full bodied smile erupts on her face. “Good, because I watched every season of that show just to figure out what it was you wanted.”

“It has been successful so far.”

“Come on.” She leads him down the road about ten feet before waving her arms like one of the women on game shows who is in charge of the grand prize. “Here it is.”

“I, um,” it must be some form of humor he has yet to master because there is no actual house, merely a stretch of grass with a lonely sign declaring For Sale! “Where is the house?”

Her laughter does not allay his discomfort at all, “Based on our search so far and how particular you are,” this is said with a friendly needling that no doubt hides some resentment, “I decided to find you the town and let you build the perfect house.”

The words wash over him, cling to his mind until he can comprehend the meaning. And then he can feel his lips curve up and part into a bliss of possibility. Before him is an empty lot, but in his mind he is already constructing the foundation of their future. After all this business with the Accords he simply wants a quiet life and before him it stands, floor by floor he sees the house form, visualizes himself bringing Wanda home for the first time, scooping her up to carry her across the threshold, her arms tight around his neck. They’ll paint the outside together, argue over the best place for the couch and whether the television should be a focal point. He’ll cook for her in the kitchen as she sits at the counter, informing him of his missteps before they happen. At night they’ll sit on the back porch, under the walnut trees and enjoy the silence of the world revolving. It is everything she had told him about, everything she has quietly smirked at while they watch her favorite shows, thinking he did not see her wistful enjoyment at a life of domestic bliss.

“I’ll take it.”

“Do you want some time to think?”

“No.” Vision shakes his head for added emphasis. There is a rightness here, an all encompassing hope for what their lives can be. “It is perfect. You can contact Stark Industries for the mortgage information.” Yes, this is where they can finally be together, where they can experience a life so far denied. This is where they’ll grow old together and never want for anything but each other.

#wandavision #scarlet vision #wandavisio spoilers #slightly #vision #I just have a lot of emotions #and needed to write some fluff #mine

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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WandaVision: The Sitcom Influences of Episode 8

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This article contains spoilers for WandaVision episode 8.

Like episode 4 before it, WandaVision episode 8 drops the show’s sitcom homage format entirely to delve deeper into the context of the world outside the hexagon and Wanda’s own history. That doesn’t mean, however, that “Previously On…” still doesn’t find the time to shout out some classic television.

In fact, this penultimate installment may feature WandaVision’s most important sitcom reference yet by taking things back to the very first episode with the help of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Allow us to explain…

The Dick Van Dyke Show

As Agatha takes Wanda on a Christmas Carol-style trip through her past, the first stop is naturally in Sokovia, where they witness the day that Wanda and Pietro’s parents died. Before the violence in the streets escalates and a Stark bomb destroys their home, however, we see how Wanda came by her love for American sitcoms.

Her father is a DVD salesman, and on the days that he isn’t able to sell his wares, he settles in for Maximoff family TV night. On this particular day, it’s Wanda’s turn to pick what to watch and she selects what seems to be a recurring favorite for her: The Dick Van Dyke Show. Wanda also has a very specific episode in mind: season 2 episode 21. “Oh, the walnut episode!” her father happily exclaims.

Now, anytime a Marvel property takes the time to mention another bit of media, specifically by name, it’s probably worth noting. In this case, Wanda’s choice of episode seems particularly important. For not only is “It May Look Like a Walnut” one of the best Dick Van Dyke Show episodes ever and a TV classic, it also has some surprising thematic ties for WandaVision itself.

“It May Look Like a Walnut” can be found just about anywhere on the Internet in its entirety, including on YouTube or via a Hulu subscription. The episode opens with Rob Petrie (Van Dyke) and his wife Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore) in bed (or in separate beds, rather, as was customary on television at that time). Rob is watching a sci-fi movie that is apparently so eerie and terrifying that Laura can’t bear to look at the TV. Thankfully, Rob describes the plot of the film to his wife in detail.

The unnamed film is about a civilization of aliens from the planet Twilo who send their representative Kolak (who looks like actor Danny Thomas) to Earth to disrupt humanity’s development. Kolak does so by introducing tainted walnuts into our food supply. When opened, these walnuts contain a grape-sized seed made up of the Twilo-ian chemical element “absorbitron.” Anyone who eats the walnuts slowly takes on the appearance of Kolak, which means developing eyes in the back of their head. Those who eat the walnuts also lose their thumbs and sense of imagination. Rob notes that those are the two factors that allow humanity to enter into space and are therefore threatening to the Twiloites.

The next morning, Rob walks into the living room, only to slip on a pile of walnuts. He congratulates Laura on her very funny joke but she insists that the Twiloites must have put them there. She then reveals that their egg carton is filled with walnuts and packs a walnut in his breast pocket for work. At work, all of Rob’s co-workers seem to be in on this prank. Rob’s desk and bookcase are full of walnuts. Then, none other than Danny Thomas appears, speaking in a British accent like Kolak. Rob loses his thumbs (which consists of the actor merely tucking them onto his palms) and runs home terrified. There he opens a closet door only to find a mountain of walnuts cascading down upon him with Laura atop it. In WandaVision episode 8, Wanda sees this scene on the still-operating television in the crater of what was once her home.

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Rob then finally wakes up to discover that this was all a dream. Despite Laura worrying about the film giving her nightmares, he was the one it really tormented (though she says she had a nightmare about Danny Thomas too). Not knowing what else to do, the Petries do what just about anyone would: turn the TV back on. They watch some mindless late night exercise program and the episode ends.

So why would showrunner Jac Schaeffer, writer Laura Donney, and the rest of the decision-makers at Marvel decide to reference this particular episode during a formative moment in Wanda’s life? Well, for starters: it’s great. In 2009, TV Guide ranked “It May Look Like a Walnut” as the 13th best episode in television history. If Wanda Maximoff was going to develop a lifelong TV obsession, then we had to be assured that she was watching the good stuff.

But in addition to its general quality, “It May Look Like a Walnut” has some real thematic similarities with WandaVision. Marvel has made it quite clear that Phase 4 is destined to spend more time among the stars in outer space. Captain Marvel is still out there, playing intergalactic cop. Her little buddy Monica Rambeau is now grown up and seemingly just received powers (and an appropriately spacey outfit) that should make space-travel possible. The Eternals are also out there, in parts unknown. And not-for-nothing, but sci-fi concepts like multiverses will clearly play a big role in the MCU going forward. Wanda, herself, is even set to join Doctor Strange and his Multiverse of Madness soon.

To put it lightly: there aren’t many episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show or any other classic sitcom that rely on the plot of a fictionalized sci-fi movie. In choosing this particular installment, WandaVision clearly wants to highlight that science fiction aspect of it. In some ways, that episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show is like an episode of WandaVision, itself. They both marry the mundane with high concept (and quite frankly, silly) science fiction.

The plot of one unnamed fictional sci-fi movie isn’t all that “It May Look Like a Walnut” is about though. In fact, most of the episode takes place after Rob has watched the movie and described its plot to Laura. Most of the installment’s running time takes place in what Rob thinks is the real world but is really a dream. Rob therefore has a sense through most of the episode that something is really off…and that his reality may in fact be fabricated. Now, who on WandaVision does that remind you of? That’s right: pretty much everyone. But Wanda in particular, of course.

In hindsight, WandaVision’s first episode, inspired and modeled after The Dick Van Dyke Show, now feels particularly resonant. Wanda watched Rob Petrie lose his mind over walnuts countless times in her childhood. And then in episode 1, there she is in that same living room (or a close facsimile of it) – with her mind thoroughly lost…even if she doesn’t fully realize it yet. At least she still has her thumbs…for now.

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Other Sitcoms

Since, WandaVision doesn’t fully embrace the sitcom format this week, there aren’t many other shows to mention. But just about every sitcom that was previously featured on WandaVision does return in some fashion.

In addition to The Dick Van Dyke Show, Wanda’s father’s TV box set options include: Who’s The Boss?, The Addam’s Family, I Love Lucy, Bewitched, Malcolm in the Middle, and I Dream of Jeannie. Wanda is also seen watching episodes of two series beyond just The Dick Van Dyke Show.

During her time as a HYDRA lab experiment, Wanda watches some of The Brady Bunch. The episode in particular appears to be season 1 episode 7 “Kitty Karry-All Is Missing.” The plot of “Kitty Karry-All” features Cindy Brady’s beloved doll going missing. Naturally she suspects her brother Bobby stole and hid it. In reality, however, the Brady family’s dog Tiger took the doll and hid it in his doghouse.

Get a load of this ass clown. Terrible!

Finally, when Wanda is a newly inducted Avenger, she spends her time watching Malcolm in the Middle with Vision at Avengers HQ.

The post WandaVision: The Sitcom Influences of Episode 8 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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