What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:
*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*
TV
WandaVision (2021)
I went into the show with high expectations and a fair bit of skepticism, but I came away from WandaVision pleased to have watched it.
The story remained engaging throughout, mixing in elements of action, mystery and comedy to name just a few. But also, due to the nature of the setup, the show also pays homage to a multitude of eras, from I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show of the 1950s to mockumentary style family sitcoms of the 2010s, complete with confessionals.
As much as the plot kept me engaged, I was also fascinated by the characters and the inner working of their minds. While the performances were a bit too big for my liking sometimes (like the scenes near the end when Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) are having their battle mid-air), I really liked some of the quieter moments between Wanda and Vision (Paul Bettany), as well as seeing Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) as she tries to navigate the world after her return from the blip and back in the field.
While I do wish we had gotten a bit more depth to the new characters that have been explored, I feel like Marvel is saving that up for its future installments, and considering all the pieces they set up in this show, I’m sure the cinematic universe is only going to continue to expand. White Vision (is that a thing?), Rambeau’s introduction to the Skrull and Wanda unleashing her powers has set up the threads for so many new stories.
Overall I came away from the show impressed, and as a first foray into shows on their own platform, Marvel has set a high bar for its upcoming line-up. I’m looking forward to what they have in store next.
Into the Ring (2020) – Ep 9-16
The second half of the show took the momentum from the first half and absolutely ran away with it. Into the Ring continued to be just as delightful in it’s second half, blending story, characters and themes into a compact and entertaining package.
The main take-away for me from this show is that humans are inherently fallible. They all make mistakes, some that they can recover from, some that are unforgivable and some that they don’t even see as mistakes in the first place.
No one gets life handed to them on a platter on the show, whether that be our leads or any of the many supporting characters, but those that work hard and love what they do can get joy out of their lives, even when they don’t necessarily achieve their goal. Hee-soo (Yoo Da-in) was content campaigning even though she knew that the people around her didn’t have confidence in her. Woo-young (Kim Mi-soo) and Han-bi (Shin Do-hyun) respectively discovered and rededicated themselves to their passions. Council member Shi (Lee Chang-jik) found inspiration from Se-ra (Nana) to achieve more than was expected of him, even when Se-ra herself considered her political career a failure.
Although Se-ra faces all sorts of hardships over the course of the show, from discovering Council member Bong’s (Yoon Joo-sang) hit-and-run to being ousted from the Chairperson position and then nearly voted out of office, she always manages to persevere. That’s not to say they don’t show her being angry or upset, assigning blame to herself or engaging with the other council member. But it also shows that she takes her lumps in life and learns from her mistakes. She has a lovely, supporting network of people around her who are willing to fight for her when she can’t, willing to console her when she loses, and willing to celebrate with her when she wins. The show allows her to grow organically, not into a perfect person, but into a more self-aware one who may still have the occasional stumble.
By contrast, Seo Gong-myeong (Park Sung-hoon) seems to get the perfect happy ending. He gets his old job back, is in a loving relationship with Se-ra, has abandoned his snake of a father and acquired two new parents in Yeong-gyu (Ahn Gil-gang) and Sam-sook (Jang Hye-jin). That he got such joy out of simply having someone to greet when he returned home made me both happy and sad. That even those simple things resonated so profoundly is a testament to the writing on the show.
This show is easily one of my favourites, striking just the right balances between writing, directing and performances. I like to think the characters live on in this universe, going about their jobs, sharing their lives and bringing about small but significant changes towards making Mawon a better place to be.
Colourful Granny 