As a lifelong movie fan with a soft spot for Spielbergian "blockbuster" filmmaking, I love the MCU and view it as the pinnacle accomplishment of the genre. What they have done is just stunning, and so, so much fun. The MCU is peak Hollywood.
Among the many reasons why so many love these films, one of the biggest is that they constantly challenge the audience. Which, of course, is not usually part of the expected cocktail with "blockbuster" movies. None of the 23 movies is going to wait for you to catch up. They aren't necessarily going to give you a first act explaining how or why any of this is happening, they just go.
They say, "this is one unified world in which people like this exist and this is really happening. Got it? Okay, so this one is called "Ant-Man.' Ready? Here we go!" And we're off to the races.
That's what I love about WandaVision. It is kicking off the next phase of this glorious thing by NOT slowing down to spoon feed anybody who doesn't already know. Instead, they challenge you to orient yourself and keep up. You don't have to know everything to enjoy any given MCU movie, but the more you know, the more you are rewarded with layer after layer. That's also why they are so great for multiple viewings. Almost all of them get better the more you re-watch them.
The word you see most often in praise of WandaVision is "Bold." That's really true. Because the temptation to dumb down WandaVision so they don't lose anybody - with the pressure of launching Disney+ and the need to re-energize the MCU after losing huge stars like Downy and Evans, and tragically, Boseman - must have been huge. And pre Marvel Studios there is absolutely no way caution and bean-counting wouldn't have won the argument faster than you can say "Ewoks will make great merchandising opportunities!" Bottom line, if this was 20 years ago, this show would be stupid. Or at least it wouldn't be off the charts "unexpected."
Often, when faced with something as confusing as the early episodes of WandaVision, I might cut my losses and move on. The difference here is that the MCU has earned my trust. I don't know where this is going but I am very confident it is going somewhere really interesting and fun.
Then, episode 4 aired last Friday and... boom. I am so into this show now.
