When VisionQuest isn't busy summarizing the events of WandaVision or other Marvel films, especially Avengers: Age of Ultron, it can occasionally tickle your funny bone with some decent jokes. I'm thinking of the exorcism-like severing of the connection between Vision and Butcherbird Killer in the third episode, as well as the literal depiction of a CAPTCHA problem in which Vision and Ultron have to identify how many fire hydrants appear in the pictures. You might not laugh out loud, but you do appreciate the occasional dose of humor.
My favorite bit? Watching Dum-E and U high-five each other whenever they successfully perform an action or even when they emerge from a death-like situation. In Episode 3, Vision has to reboot himself, which means that he and the sentient AI agents within him cease to exist during the shutdown. To "resuscitate" this superpowered synthezoid, Thomas conducts electricity through the water—which is something he can do—and voilà, Vision and the other AIs are successfully resurrected. While F.R.I.D.A.Y. and E.D.I.T.H. happily hug each other, Dum-E and U simply... high-five. Someone could make a meme out of this moment about how boys and girls supposedly react differently under particular circumstances: one side gets all "excited" and "emotional," while the other remains "cool" and "sober."
Then again, VisionQuest is essentially about Vision's transformation from a "cool" and "sober" synthezoid into a "warm" and "emotional"... human? He can try all he wants to distinguish himself from the "other Vision," the one who fell in love with Wanda Maximoff, but he, too, is gradually developing the same warmth, the same tenderness. He's also going through that phase in which a father has to deal with a teenage son—an explosive, emotionally volatile creature who must be handled with caution. One lie here, one angry remark there, and the next thing you know, your son has stormed out of the room, seething with anger, frustration, and resentment toward dear old Dad.
Vision might know that he needs to use the sulfuric acid from a battery to heal his wounds, but he doesn't seem to understand that he must be honest with Thomas and have an open conversation with him to win his trust and affection, allowing the two to grow closer to each other. Sounds like a lot of work. Wanda must find being buried under a mountain far easier—a vacation, by comparison. If she doesn't return to the MCU, I won't really blame her.
I will, however, blame creator Terry Matalas, the writers of Episodes 3 and 4, Cindy Appel and Michael Taylor, and director Gandja Monteiro for continuing the legacy of VisionQuest's first two episodes: being wildly unexceptional and incredibly unmemorable. Despite the father-son sentimentality, grim warnings, and decent, if literal-minded, jokes, the series continues to feel as weightless as a puff of vapor, thanks to its sheen of artificiality and synthetic sentiment. How can you worry about Vision's apparent death or feel any suspense over Thomas's uncertainty about himself when you're always aware that Vision's reboot will succeed because Thomas will rise to the occasion?
The series doesn't even try to build tension. Instead, it gives us shots of frightened AIs and a literal depiction of "life flashing before one's eyes" (Vision watches scenes from previous Marvel movies in his private theater) that generate little more than empty noise and leave you feeling as though you need a good stretch and a yawn. As far as surprises go, these two episodes offer little beyond the revelation of Butcherbird's identity toward the end of Episode 4 and a twist involving a change of captain aboard a ship (the ship is Vision in this context, and the new captain... well, find out for yourself).
I want to remain hopeful about the next pair of episodes, 5 and 6, and yet if I struggle to do so, it's because the first four haven't given me any solid reason to be curious or interested. Something tells me that all these twists and threats will peter out with a whimper, as they tend to do in such shows.
However, I think VisionQuest's greatest mistake might just be its utter waste of a comedian as remarkable as Diane Morgan. The 51-year-old actor gained recognition for playing Philomena Cunk, a hilariously deadpan interviewer whose absurd questions leave her interviewees bewildered. One line from Cunk on Britain that is frequently quoted online is "Did Sir Arthur came a lot?" Morgan, who can stun interviewees with such unpredictable and absurd questions, manages to stun you here for all the wrong reasons. Her role requires little more than delivering forgettable lines in an urgent tone while staring at the computer. It's a heartbreaking sight for those of us who have witnessed her true talent, her true potential.
If I were given the chance to interview Morgan, the one question I'd really ask her is this: "For doing such menial work, were you paid a lot?" I hope to hear from her in the upcoming Cunk on Cinema.
Final Score - [3.5/10]