By Cadence Powers
Vision’s closing shift at a bar in Edinburgh, may seem like a normal, human, night. He says goodnight to the bar owner, Fiona Gurthie (Polly Frame), cleans the bar, and moves heavy barrels. But when Vision sneaks into the walk-in freezer and reveals the form of a robot exoskeleton underneath his skin, the viewer is transported into a whole other world—one made entirely of Vision’s subconscious.
However, Vision’s subconscious is not his alone. J.A.R.V.I.S (James D’Arcy), a housekeeping AI, F.R.I.D.A.Y (Orla Brady), a socialization AI, E.D.I.T.H (Emily Hampshire), a recreational AI, D.U.M.-E (Henry Lewis) and U. (Jonathan Sayer) two maintenance AI’s, and Ultron (James Spador) shares the consciousness with him.
Vision doesn’t know who he is; he is bits and pieces of all the people that created him, the people that loved him in his past, and all of the AI’s that now are downloaded into his mind. On top of all of that he is now being hunted by a bounty hunter known as the Paladin (Todd Stashwick).
Meanwhile in London, Lisa Molinari (Lauren Morais) and Thomas Shepherd (Rudardh Molica)—also known as Tommy—seem to be petty thieves. However, after a simple heist goes wrong, they become entangled in a dangerous plot. But it was not the petty thievery that caused their entanglement, it was Tommy’s family history…
“VisionQuest” is set to be the conclusion of one of the best creative trilogies Marvel Studios has ever done. “VisionQuest” is preceded by “WandaVision” and “Agatha All Along.” A decent amount of the content in the show relies on the foundation the previous two series have established, and is meant to be a continuation of several ongoing plots. “VisionQuest” continues on the pattern of the last two series: good visuals, set design and writing.
Visually the show relies heavily on practical sets and incredibly stylized pieces. The house Vision creates in his mind for himself and the other AIs is a practical set that possesses many props, costumes and naturally integrated CGI. The scenes shot outside of the sets have good, compelling visuals that feel narratively relevant.
In terms of writing, the first four episodes have started off with interesting themes. One of the core themes of the entire trilogy has been grief, with “VisionQuest” being no different. In this case, Vision doesn’t know who he is, and is mourning a version of himself that he knew existed, but is not him. Especially in his relationships to other characters, Vision has to grapple with the fact that he, or a version of him, was someone different—who had different relationships than he has now.
Another core theme of these first four episodes is family connection. The show questions what it means to be part of a family, and what it means to connect with family members you never knew. The show also does a lot of interesting questions around the ethics of AI.
It is a very intentional choice in a time so focused on AI integration, to see an AI as a central character in a show that used no AI in its production. Throughout the show, the AIs have conversations about what it means to be human, what it means to put emotion into art and what it means to be connected to other human beings. “VisionQuest” has handled this content well so far, and am curious to see how they handle it throughout the series.
Needless to say, I am very excited to see what the studio does with this project. The writing is incredibly compelling, the set design is well done and, in terms of a Marvel Studio project, it is incredibly refreshing.
Images Courtesy of Marvel Studios
“VisionQuest” is currently available to watch on Disney+
Cadence Powers is a senior Professional Writing and Information Design Major. She is a sucker for atmospheric, over-the-top set design. She has been very happy with the sets of all three series in this trilogy.
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