Now in Color

"Now in Color" is the third episode of the American television miniseries WandaVision, based on the Marvel Comics characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It follows the couple as they try to conceal their powers while living an idyllic 1970s suburban life in the town of Westview. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Megan McDonnell and directed by Matt Shakman.

"Now in Color"
WandaVision episode
Promotional poster for WandaVision, highlighting the 1970s setting seen in this episode
Episode no.Episode 3
Directed byMatt Shakman
Written byMegan McDonnell
Produced byJac Schaeffer
Featured music"Daydream Believer" by the Monkees
Cinematography byJess Hall
Editing byNona Khodai
Original release dateJanuary 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Running time32 minutes
Cast
  • Emma Caulfield Ford as Dottie
  • David Payton as Herb
  • David Lengel as Phil Jones
  • Randy Oglesby as Dr. Nielson
  • Rose Bianco as Mrs. Nielson
  • Ithamar Enriquez as commercial man
  • Wesley Kimmel as commercial boy
  • Sydney Thomas as commercial girl
  • Victoria Blade as commercial woman

Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their respective roles as Wanda Maximoff and Vision from the film series, starring alongside Teyonah Parris and Kathryn Hahn. Shakman joined the series in August 2019. The episode pays homage to sitcoms of the 1970s, such as The Brady Bunch and Good Times, and prominently features Wanda giving birth to twins and then referencing her own twin brother Pietro. Filming took place in the Atlanta metropolitan area, including at Pinewood Atlanta Studios, and in Los Angeles.

"Now in Color" was released on Disney+ on January 22, 2021. Critics praised the episode's references to Pietro and Ultron as well as the new information provided on the series' mysteries, but criticized the small role for Hahn's character Agnes.

Plot

During what appears to be the 1970s, Vision and Wanda, who has become visibly pregnant in a remarkably short time-frame, have her condition checked by a Dr. Nielson, who gives Wanda a clean bill of health. The doctor prepares to leave with his wife for a vacation to Bermuda. While Vision sees Nielson out, he sees his neighbor Herb cut through the concrete wall separating their driveways.

Wanda and Vision build a new room for the baby and debate what to name him, with Wanda favoring the name Tommy, while Vision prefers the name Billy. Wanda's pregnancy accelerates rapidly, and her powers go haywire, causing her to accidentally generate an energy surge which shuts down power across Westview. While Vision rushes to get Dr. Nielsen, Wanda is visited by Geraldine. Wanda unsuccessfully tries to hide her pregnancy, and then gives birth to twin boys with Geraldine's assistance.

Dr. Nielsen implies that his vacation was an attempt to escape from Westview. Vision catches Herb and their neighbor Agnes gossiping, and they ask Vision about Geraldine. Herb attempts to tell Vision something about their situation, but Agnes stops him and reveals that Geraldine does not have a home or family in Westview. Wanda interrogates Geraldine after she reveals that she knows Wanda's twin brother Pietro was killed by Ultron.[lower-alpha 1] Wanda notices that Geraldine is wearing a pendant with a sword emblem on it.

Vision returns to the house to find that Geraldine has disappeared, and Wanda explains that "she had to rush home". Outside Westview, Geraldine is cast out from a wall of television static that is surrounding the town, and she is surrounded by S.W.O.R.D. agents.

A commercial during the WandaVision program advertises Hydra Soak bath powder.

Production

Development

By October 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a limited series starring Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany's Vision from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films.[2][3] In August 2019, Matt Shakman was hired to direct the miniseries.[4][5] Shakman and head writer Jac Schaeffer executive produce alongside Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Victoria Alonso.[6][4][7]:50 Feige described the series as part "classic sitcom", part "Marvel epic",[8] paying tribute to many eras of American sitcoms.[9] The third episode, titled "Now in Color", was written by Megan McDonnell,[10] and pays homage to the 1970s, shifting to Technicolor after the first two episodes were in black and white.[11]

Writing

The episode pays homage to 1970s sitcoms such as The Brady Bunch, Good Times, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Partridge Family.[11][12][1] Co-star Teyonah Parris said referencing both The Brady Bunch and Good Times in the series was "a clash of lots of elements and characters",[11] and used the characters Thelma and Willona from Good Times as a point of reference.[13] Olsen believed Wanda going through child birth allowed her to connect with memories of her brother, Pietro, that she had previously buried.[14] Schaeffer added that being a twin and the loss of Pietro were parts of Wanda's experience and trauma, and referencing them in this episode "made sense... in that moment for her to have some emotional honesty" surrounded by the false sense of happiness the sitcom world was providing.[15]

External video
Hydra Soak | Marvel Studios' WandaVision | Disney+ presents the full Hydra Soak commercial from the episode, YouTube video from Marvel Entertainment's channel

The series features fake commercials that Feige said would indicate "part of the truths of the show beginning to leak out",[16] with "Now in Color" including a commercial that is advertising Hydra Soak bath powder with the slogan "Find the Goddess Within!". With the further mention of Hydra after its use in the commercial from the second episode, Savannah Salazar of Vulture believed that could point towards Hydra being the organization behind what was happening, although some of the dialogue in the commercial seemed to indicate that Wanda was creating her own world to escape her problems.[17] Molly Edwards at Total Film felt the commercial's phrasing could imply that Wanda's powers were "within" already and unlocked by Hydra, rather than her gaining them because of their experimentation.[18] A similar Hydra mind control soap is mentioned in the Marvel Television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., in the fourth season episode "Identity and Change".[17][15]

Casting

The episode stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, Paul Bettany as Vision, Teyonah Parris as Geraldine, and Kathryn Hahn as Agnes.[19][20]:27:03–27:20 Also appearing in the episode are Emma Caulfield Ford as Dottie Jones, David Payton as Herb, David Lengel as Phil Jones,[19] Randy Oglesby as Dr. Stan Nielson,[10] and Rose Bianco as Mrs. Nielson. Ithamar Enriquez, Wesley Kimmel, Sydney Thomas, and Victoria Blade appear during the fake commercial.[19]

Filming and visual effects

Soundstage filming occurred at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia,[21] with Shakman directing,[4] and Jess Hall serving as cinematographer.[9] Filming also took place in the Atlanta metropolitan area,[22][23] with backlot and outdoor filming occurring in Los Angeles when the series resumed production after being on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]:50[24] Hall lit the episode using tungsten lights that were common for the 1970s era.[25]:6 The episode features a laugh track,[26] and is presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio for the majority of the episode, until the end when Geraldine is cast out of the WandaVision reality and the episodes reverts to a modern widescreen ratio.[27] Visual effects for the episode were created by Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies, Framestore, Rodeo FX, Perception, RISE, The Yard VFX, SSVFX, and capital T.[28][20]:29:21–29:36

Music

Song writers Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez were proud of the lyrics for the episode's theme song, "We Got Something Cooking", with Lopez feeling the lyrics "One plus one is more than two" and "One plus one is family" were "the dumbest and funniest and most TV-like lyric we've ever written". Anderson-Lopez pointed out that the second time was originally "One plus one is more than three" but was rewritten to "One plus one is family" because it was felt the original could have been a spoiler.[29] Anderson-Lopez was the main writer of this theme, choosing words that related to a pregnancy and setting up the complication of "what's happening here and then making it up as we go along. Also like it's us versus the world."[30]

"Daydream Believer" by the Monkees is featured in the episode,[26] and Wanda sings a lullaby in the episode that was written by Schaeffer. Titled "Sokovian Lullaby", the song was translated into the fictional Sokovian language by the series' language coach Courtney Young. Schaeffer said the song was just about a mother singing for her child rather than any of the series' larger mysteries, and described it as a "sincere version of a TV sitcom theme song".[31] A soundtrack for the episode was released digitally by Marvel Music and Hollywood Records on January 29, 2021, featuring composer Christophe Beck's score. The first track is the episode's theme song by Anderson-Lopez and Lopez.[32]

No.TitleLength
1."We Got Something Cooking" (featuring Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Elyse Willis, Laura Dickinson, Robert Lopez, Eric Bradley & Gerald White)1:07
2."Uncharted Waters"1:06
3."The Strangest Thing"1:17
4."Hydra-Soak"0:39
5."A Stork in the House"0:49
6."Fish Pants"0:52
7."A Child Is Born"1:27
8."Twins"1:44
9."No Home"3:30
Total length:12:31

Marketing

In early December 2020, six posters for the series were released daily, each depicting a decade from the 1950s through the 2000s.[33] Charles Pulliam-Moore from io9 called this poster "the biggest aesthetic change" from the previous decade ones, indicating the series would be "in vivid technicolor". He was unsure if the bare walls and the bowl of fruit on the television set had any significance, but felt the fruit felt "like a nod to the surprising twist of fate the Visions discover a little down the line".[34] Keegan Prosser at Comic Book Resources felt the poster had "decade appropriate wood paneling", with Wanda and Vision in era-appropriate clothes and hairstyles.[35] After the episode's release, Marvel announced merchandise inspired by the episode as part of its weekly "Marvel Must Haves" promotion for each episode of the series, including t-shirts, house wear, accessories, Funko Pops, and a sterling silver replica of Geraldine's necklace with the sword pendant on it from the episode.[36]

Release

"Now in Color" was released on Disney+ on January 22, 2021.[37]

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 87% approval rating with an average score of 7.67/10 based on 15 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "'Now in Color' takes on a darker tone as it continues to unravel the show's central mystery, raising nearly as many new questions as it answers along the way."[38]

The A.V. Club's Sam Barsanti felt the "proverbial dam breaks" when Pietro is named, adding "that chilling moment... could quietly be one of the best 'Oh damn, they're doing the thing' MCU moments in a long time."[39] His colleague Stephen Robinson gave the episode a "B+" and felt with this episode, "the plot kicks into thrilling overdrive", likening the episode more to The Twilight Zone than The Brady Bunch. Robinson was less enthused about the 1970s era than the 1960s from the previous episode, called the laugh track in the episode "even more intrusive" than in the previous episode, and wished Agnes was featured more in this episode. Robinson did call the final act of the episode "unsettling" with its dark overtones.[26] Don Kaye, reviewing the episode for Den of Geek, felt it "fully embraces the 1970s TV comedy esthetic, complete with crazy hairdos and outfits, brightly lit sets and even a new theme song and credits sequence that all look like they arrived fresh from a Brady Bunch audition". He gave "Now in Color" four out of five stars.[10]

Darren Franich at Entertainment Weekly highlighted Parris, pointing out that one of her monologues "left me in stitches". However, he criticized a supposed scary sequence in the episode as "generic".[40] Franich's colleague Chancellor Agard enjoyed the stork coming to life, as it was "a hilarious visual" that "added an extra level of weirdness to the entire episode". He felt the series' emotional stakes of Wanda escaping her grief of losing Vision and her brother Pietro had "locked into place" by the end of the episode. Agard gave the episode a "B+", with fellow Entertainment Weekly writer Christian Holub "flipp[ing] out" at Ultron's mention.[1] Writing for IGN and giving "Now in Color" an 8 out of 10, Matt Purslow said, "this 1970s-set entry finally cracks the sitcom illusion just enough to make WandaVision's two elements of TV comedy homage and MCU puzzle box feel cohesive rather than disparate. We may be only inches closer to learning more about the show's mystery, but it's a mile ahead in terms of making WandaVision feel like a genuine MCU installment." With Westview revealed to be a physical place, Purslow questioned if it was perhaps in an alternate reality and linked to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).[41]

Ben Travers of IndieWire was more critical of the episode, giving it a "C+". He felt the balance between a sitcom homage series and a mystery was "still way off, but at least the series seems to be inching closer to acknowledging its duality" and that Agnes was underutilized in the episode. He did not enjoy the facade of the sitcom world stating "it's really hard to kick back and enjoy the show... when you know it's just there to fill time between information drops".[42] Giving "Now in Color" 2 out of 5 stars, Abraham Riesman at Vulture felt the episode "sets out to dial up the weirdness and confusion, and it more or less achieves that goal" but added the only challenge WandaVision was giving viewers was to gather clues about the mystery being established, which was "just about the emptiest, most patronizing way to keep people coming back to something". He continued that "what we've seen so far is concerning" and was prepared to be pleasantly surprised if the remaining episodes became more interesting, but was not "getting [his] hopes up".[43]

Notes
  1. As depicted in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).[1]

References
  1. Agard, Chancellor (January 22, 2021). "WandaVision recap: Daydream believer". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  2. Kroll, Justin (September 18, 2018). "Loki, Scarlet Witch, Other Marvel Heroes to Get Own TV Series on Disney Streaming Service (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  3. Sciretta, Peter (October 30, 2018). "Falcon/Winter Soldier TV Series Planned for Disney Streaming Service, Scarlet Witch Show May Co-Star Vision". /Film. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  4. Fischer, Jacob (August 21, 2019). "Matt Shakman In Talks To Direct 6-Episode Marvel Studios Series For Disney+ (Exclusive)". Discussing Film. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  5. Reinstein, Mara (December 16, 2020). "Not Your Mother's Suburbs". emmy. Archived from the original on December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  6. Dinh, Christine (November 13, 2019). "What's Next For The Marvel Cinematic Universe After 'Avengers: Endgame'". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  7. Reinstein, Mara (2020). "Not Your Mother's Suburbs". emmy. Vol. XLII no. 12. pp. 42–50. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020.
  8. Couch, Aaron (August 23, 2019). "Marvel Unveils 3 New Disney+ Shows Including 'She-Hulk' and 'Moon Knight'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  9. Radish, Christina (November 25, 2020). "Paul Bettany & Alan Ball on 'Uncle Frank,' 'WandaVision,' & Having Similar Directing Styles". Collider. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  10. Kaye, Don (January 22, 2021). "WandaVision Episode 3 Review: Now in Color". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  11. Baysinger, Tim (January 10, 2021). "How 'WandaVision' Reassembles the MCU With a Crash Course Through TV Sitcom History". TheWrap. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  12. Framke, Caroline (January 14, 2021). "'WandaVision' Is Better as a Weird Marvel Swing Than Sitcom Twist: TV Review". Variety. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  13. Mitovitch, Matt Webb (January 20, 2021). "WandaVision: How a Nonsensical Audition Led Teyonah Parris to 'Geraldine'... and Captain Marvel 2". TVLine. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  14. Hatchett, Keisha (January 22, 2021). "WandaVision's Elizabeth Olsen Explains Wanda's Sudden [Spoiler] — And What It Means Moving Forward". TVLine. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  15. Boone, John (January 26, 2021). "'WandaVision' Creator on Post-Credits Scenes and Why It Was Important to Talk About Pietro (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  16. Radish, Christina (January 11, 2021). "How 'WandaVision' Was Made: Cast and Crew on Iconic TV Influences, Big Swings, and More". Collider. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  17. Salazar, Savannah (January 22, 2021). "What Are the Commercials in WandaVision Telling Us?". Vulture. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  18. Edwards, Molly (January 22, 2021). "The secret message behind WandaVision's commercials explained". Total Film. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  19. Hood, Cooper. "WandaVision Episode 3 Cast Guide: Every Marvel Character". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  20. McDonnell, Megan (January 22, 2021). "Now in Color". WandaVision. Season 1. Episode 3. Disney+. End credits begin at 25:45.
  21. Barnhardt, Adam (September 9, 2019). "WandaVision Reportedly Beginning Production in November". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  22. Walljasper, Matt (December 30, 2019). "What's filming in Atlanta now? WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Queen of Soul, The Tomorrow War, and more". Atlanta. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  23. Walljasper, Matt (February 29, 2020). "What's filming in Atlanta now? Loki, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Samaritan, DMZ, and more". Atlanta. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  24. Davids, Brian (January 15, 2021). "How 'WandaVision' Director Matt Shakman Went from Westeros to Westview". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  25. "WandaVision Production Brief" (PDF). Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  26. Robinson, Stephen (January 22, 2021). "WandaVision's big threat has been hiding in plain sight all along". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  27. White, Brett (January 22, 2021). "'WandaVision' Episode 3 Explained: "Is There a Doctor in the House?"". Decider. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  28. Frei, Vincent (January 5, 2021). "WandaVision". Art of VFX. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  29. Coggan, Devan (January 22, 2021). "WandaVision theme songwriters break down their decade-hopping tributes to classic TV". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  30. Paige, Rachel (February 8, 2021). "'WandaVision': Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez Break Down the TV Theme Songs". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  31. Paige, Rachel (January 28, 2021). "'WandaVision': The Meaning Behind Wanda's Sokovian Lullaby". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  32. "Details for 'WandaVision' Episode 3 Soundtrack Revealed". Film Music Reporter. January 28, 2021. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  33. Pulliam-Moore, Charles (December 9, 2020). "WandaVision's Teaser Posters Have Been Telling a Warped Story". io9. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  34. Pulliam-Moore, Charles (December 9, 2020). "WandaVision's Teaser Posters Have Been Telling a Warped Story - '70s Swingers". io9. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  35. Prosser, Keegan (December 6, 2020). "Wandavision Debuts '70s Warping Reality in Poster". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  36. Paige, Rachel (January 25, 2021). "Marvel Must Haves: 'WandaVision' Episode 3". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  37. Mitovitch, Matt Webb (January 23, 2021). "WandaVision 'Is Going to Be Quite a Ride' From Here On Out, Says Star". TVLine. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  38. WandaVision - Season 1 Episode 3 at Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  39. Barsanti, Sam (January 14, 2021). "Disney+'s WandaVision unleashes the weird, untapped power of the Marvel Cinematic Universe". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  40. Franich, Darren (January 14, 2021). "WandaVision is a boldly surreal new direction for the MCU. Or is it?: Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  41. Purslow, Matt (January 22, 2021). "WandaVision: Season 1, Episode 3 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  42. Travers, Ben (January 22, 2021). "'WandaVision' Review: Episode 3 Pushes Vision's Patience, and Ours — Spoilers". IndieWire. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  43. Riesman, Abraham (January 22, 2021). "WandaVision Recap: Come On, Get Happy". Vulture. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.