The second half of ‘VisionQuest’ concludes one of Marvel’s most creative series

By Cadence Powers

As a project, “VisionQuest” concludes a three part Marvel Television series, tying them all together before the characters are brought back into the larger Marvel universe as a whole. The first half stunned in visuals, themes and cinematography — and the second half carried those ideas all the way to the end. Every moment felt intentional, and while there were a few cringy lines of dialogue, most of the writing was incredibly strong. 

Episode five starts with Ultron (James Spader) taking control of Vision’s (Paul Bettany) body. Now, Vision and the other AI’s in his head—are trapped in Vision’s mindspace. To make matters worse,  Thomas Shepard’s (Ruaridh Mollica) life is placed in active peril when he is kidnapped by the Paladin (Todd Stashwick). Now with Ultron teaming up with another AI set on world domination, Jostica (T’Nia Miller), there are many looming threats which Vision and his crew must face. 

Keeping with the deep themes of grief and familial connection, “VisionQuest” manages to strike a good balance between a thematically interesting show and a good cinematic experience. The way the visual design of the show reinforces the story is satisfying. The show uses a lot of color, especially in the MindSpaces, and it made for a lot of interesting sequences throughout the show as a whole. 

There are also some changes in aspect ratios, and the type of cinematography used throughout. These different cinematography techniques allowed for a lot of compelling visuals. Aspect ratio changes were reminiscent of “WandaVision” and jump-clip editing created a robotic feel to scenes where Vision was exploring cyberspace. Because of these cinematic choices, “VisionQuest” emphasizes the larger story of the entire trilogy. 

The themes of identity, grief and family persist into the second half of the show. Vision continues to process his grief, and how he is a distinct person from the Vision fans know from the “Avengers” movies. Vision processes who he is, and who is in relation to who everyone thinks he is. Vision has no memory of his previous self as he was, and must process all of the different competing parts of himself and his grief at once. 

Grief and family echo in every character’s arc, allowing for the exploration of what it means to process grief that is ignored, and what it means to be a part of a family. The family connection theme is well done. Vision learns to accept himself as a part of this quirky family dynamic, discovering more of who he is. 

There is also a really interesting take on AI in this show — after all, the main character is at least in part AI. Vision is actively learning how to process grief and how to be a member of a family. But it also doesn’t shy away from the fact that AI is not humans, and are distinctly and fundamentally different. I appreciated the nuance the show brought to the ideas, and how a lot of conversations could be had about the ideas expressed. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this series. The set design, writing and cinematography were emulative of the other two series in the trilogy. And just like “WandaVision” and “Agatha All Along” I really enjoyed the series overall. I was not disappointed by my high expectations for the conclusion of the trilogy. While I would say that it is not my favorite of the three, I think it is still interesting and I would recommend watching it. It concludes the trilogy nicely, and is a high-quality, well-made show. 

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 sad that this trilogy has concluded, as it was one of her favorite Marvel projects.