The Snowball Effect

Nothing but love for this episode, I promise.

ONE

Bubble-wipe to a real life iceberg scene. Over wintery landscapes, the French narrator speaks of the mighty iceberg that can sometimes stray into warmer waters. 

TWO

Cut to the three-palm island as an iceberg floats in. Now we look at Bikini Bottom, that cozy community, as snow begins to fall.

THREE

Continued scenes of snow-covered undersea buildings as the weather fish, wearing a trapper hat, reports on the winter blanket covering Jellyfish Fields and the neighborhoods.

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NEBULA, FOUR

Angry and jealous. Oh, is Nebula a Four! All of the hurt she’s suffered, physically and emotionally, have left her wide open to more pain. She doesn’t armor up like most people would. She attacks, yes, but deep inside she hopes for love. The more vulnerable she feels, the harder she hits. 

She’s portrayed so beautifully, so accurately, that I really have nothing more to say. Gillan leaves it all on the screen for everyone to see. 

Previously On

LEFTOVER NINE

We start with “Previously on Wandavision”, but this isn’t a normal recap of last week’s episode. (I don’t think. You never know when you’re being trolled on this show, lol.) A news report lays out “Devastation in Sokovia”, and then gives us background on the Maximoff twins, including footage from Marvel movies. Hayward speaks during the report, detailing that Wanda stole Vision’s body, and we see Darcy tell Vision that Wanda killed him. That we know from last week, but now we have actual movie footage that shows the event. Thanos pulls the infinity stone from Vision’s head. 

ONE

The recap ends with Agatha’s introduction of herself in the basement, also seen last week.

Roll logo montage.

TWO

Cut to torches and a title screen: Salem, Massachusetts, 1693.

Agatha is dragged through the woods by women in cloaks. Forming a circle, they place Agatha on a scaffold in the center and restrain her with magical bonds. An older angry woman asks Agatha if she’s a witch. Yes, she says. You’ve betrayed your coven, says Angry. You stole knowledge and practiced dark magic. At first Agatha looks cowed, but it’s an act. “Help me, mother,” she calls to Angry. She turns the power of the bonds back on the witches’ circle and drains their life away. Angry blasts her with a super beam, but Agatha drains her, too. Reaching down to her mother’s skeleton, Agatha unpins a brooch from the bodice and floats up and away.

THREE

(There is no Three.)

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Mum on a Pig

This is another repurposed piece, with the mum added to a finished encaustic. Hilariously, I never published the pig (below), although I thought I had. (I’m busy looking through the archives this morning so I can link to a post that doesn’t exist . . . lol.)

Well, he’s a good boi, but I didn’t do him justice, and now he’s under a flower.

GAMORA, NULL

Ah, the Front Row Kid! She’s obedient as a child, which wounds Nebula, and she’s obedient as an adult, working for the betterment of the universe against her father’s wishes. Every other teammate should and does drive her crazy with their disorder.

I quite dislike Gamora, possibly because she strikes too close to home! Here’s where I think the portrayal goes wrong, though: the dilemma of a Front Row Kid is that they’re only organized on the outside. On the inside they’re terrified of failure. I don’t see that tension in Gamora. She’s too physically competent. It gives her a confidence that her personality shouldn’t have.

I would’ve liked to see the portrayal go either into One, as a physical and orderly being, or into Six, as a cerebral and orderly being. As a One she would’ve been less uncomfortable with the other teammates, and she would’ve had a playful, biting wit that nailed their disorder. As a Six she would’ve been less confident, less physically capable, but her moral certitude would’ve persuaded and comforted the other teammates.

Is it fair to call this Gamora a Null? I could probably call her a Four as a kind of catch-all, but Nebula owns that Enneagram number so thoroughly that anyone else feels false. I could call her a Nine based on her physical competence and her stoic personality, but she doesn’t have the generous sweetness of a Nine. Possibly a Three, based on her get-’er-done competence, but she’s too uncertain to be a Three. I think they miswrote her. I’m sticking with Null.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

On my first watch, this is the episode that started lowering my opinion of Wandavision. Watching it again, I dislike it even more. Let’s see if its structure is partly responsible.

(Again, I don’t recognize the homage of this episode. I’m just not up-to-date on certain eras of television programs!)

ONE

Light music as Wanda sleeps in bed. She reaches over to Vision’s empty side. Now she talks to the camera while sitting in a chair and wearing a robe. It’s like an interview and/or like therapy. She’s in bed again (still) when the boys come to her and say their game is freaking out. We see them using controllers, which change to joysticks, and then to a deck of cards. Completely under the covers, Wanda says she’s resting her eyes. Back to her interview, she decides to have a day to herself.

When she pushes back the bedcovers, she reveals her Halloween costume. Noticing she’s still in yesterday’s clothes, she cringes. In the kitchen, now in her robe, she takes an almond milk from the fridge and Sugar Snaps from the cupboard. The milk changes to a carton of whole, and then to a glass bottle of milk. Eating her cereal, she stares at it.

Interviewing, Wanda says she’s not sure why things keep changing. Credits for this show begin, with “Wanda” written on everything. The music is boppy and upbeat. It ends with all the “Wanda” titles finally joined by a “Vision”.

An overlay identifies “SWORD temporary retreat eight miles outside Westview.” Director Hayward and another officer speak. The broadcast signal is gone, they say. We don’t know SWORD’s plans, but whatever it is launches today. Behind them is a very large Hex wall.

TWO

Cut to Vision, still in costume, lying on the grass. This is the last place we saw him. Waking, he is surrounded by the circus. “You the new clown?” the strong man asks. Chained to the front of a truck is Darcy. You don’t remember me from last night, Vision asks her. She breaks free (fake chains) and walks away from him, thinking him a creep trying to hit on her.

Wanda asks the kids, “Have you seen your dad?” One of the twins mentions Pietro’s comment about rekilling Vision. He’s not your uncle, replies Wanda. Throughout is a sarcastic tone with clever patter. (It’s obnoxious, actually.) I have no answers, Wanda shrugs. She settles herself on the couch and takes the remote from the boys.

THREE

In comes Agnes, who quickly assesses the mood and offers to take the boys. Wanda is very grateful. “Let’s go, I won’t bite,” Agnes says. 

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