Newcomers: Scorsese, with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus - WandaVision: Episodes 1-4 (w/ Emma Fyffe)

Episode Date: July 5, 2022

What is this podcast, if not Nicole and Lauren persevering? Producer/writer/host/professional nerd Emma Fyffe joins us as we go from widescreen to the tube and dive into our first MCU install...ment on (and celebrating!) the small screen. Is the Scarlet Witch our favorite Marvel superhero? Or just, apparently, the powerful-est? You'll have to tune in to find out. Next week's movie: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) (Yes, we know this is out of order don't come for us!) Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5 stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Nicole and Lauren to read on the pod! Follow the podcast on Letterboxd. Advertise on Newcomers via Gumball.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This is a HeadGum Original. So what's a single girl like you doing rattling around this big house? Well I assure you I'm married. To a man. A human one. Wonder. One. We are an unusual couple. Oh, I don't think that was ever in question. We just don't know what to expect. Howdy, neighbors.
Starting point is 00:00:46 Hey, bud. Wanda, what's up? Who are you? I don't know. I think something's wrong here. Wanda, can you hear me? Who's doing this to you? Are you here to help us?
Starting point is 00:01:12 This is our home. Then let's fight for it. Well, I think we handled that well. Thank you. Wow, wow, wow. I'm Nicole Byer. I'm Lauren Lapkus. It's newcomers! We're really doing, you know what? I want to say we're almost done.
Starting point is 00:02:20 We've basically done it. We are. And we know everything now about Marvel. We are Marvel experts! Can you now about Marvel. We are Marvel experts. Can you even? We really are at this point. This is the 18th episode of the fifth season. We have been working our way through the MCU with the help of fellow newcomers, super fans,
Starting point is 00:02:36 sometimes even people who've contributed. And now we're going to be discussing the first four episodes of WandaVision, which is available on Disney+. And obviously, we're going to spoil these episodes. So accept that and run with it. Okay, Nicole, what did you think of WandaVision? Okay.
Starting point is 00:02:56 Here's a hot take. Yeah. I'm kind of sad we're coming to the end. I think I'm enjoying my time now. Holy fucking shit. Because I think I really liked... I did not like the first one. I said, toot my time now. Holy fucking shit. Because I think I really liked, I did not like the first one. I said,
Starting point is 00:03:07 yeah. The second one I said, well, okay, I have to watch two, the three more or two more. And then the third one, I was like,
Starting point is 00:03:15 wait, this is fun. And then the fourth one, I was like, yeah, but that's pretty much how I felt because at first I thought, I actually thought it was all going to be like sitcom style. And I was like,
Starting point is 00:03:24 that's good. I like this. And then the first one I was like oh no I can't watch all of it like this this is so not interesting actually and then as it progressed and then when it became the 70s I was like really way more interested I was like is it going to be the 80s is it going to be the 90s I was very interested and then when it became like oh it's happening in this sort of alternate reality or whatever, I really was into it. I was really surprised. Yeah. And people did say in advance of us watching this that like four is not enough and you're not getting the full experience.
Starting point is 00:03:53 I mean, I think we I mean, it sounds like we both might keep going a little bit. Am I right? I actually might. I was like, I don't have very much to do after this. I might finish it. They're not the longest episode. They're not. And there also is that like 10 minutes at the end. That's just credits or something, which I don't know why they have
Starting point is 00:04:08 10 minutes of credits. We're very excited for our guest today, Emma Fyfe. Emma Fyfe is a producer, writer, and host at Fandom. She was recently a cast member on D&D Beyond's YouTube Dungeons and Dragons live play series, Battle for Beyond, and can be seen on Dropout's game show, Um, Actually. Welcome to the show, Emma. We're so excited to talk about One Division. Very excited to be here. Thank you for having me. You know, Lauren, I was thinking about your comment about the credits and how there's just like 10 minutes of extra credits on the very end of every Marvel thing. So the thing that is a little bit of a relief about that is every time, because I was just reviewing Obi-Wan over at Fandom. And so I had to like get up and watch it in the morning because we did our reviews at 11 a.m. on, you know, technically the day that
Starting point is 00:04:54 it dropped because it came out at midnight. So I would like see that an episode was 40 minutes and the Star Wars shows are the exact same way. So I'd be like, oh, OK, 40 minutes. That means it's actually only a half hour. Not so bad. Yeah, I know. That is, after we've watched like hours and hours and hours of these things, it's really a plus when you're like, oh, the last 10 is just credits. Just the credits. And I don't have to pay attention to it. No, no, no. Yeah, I like that they were only like, because you got the like recap,
Starting point is 00:05:18 the theme song. I was like, this is only really 20 minutes of content. It's true. And this is my cup of tea. It is. Not too much information. And I liked my cup of tea. It is. Not too much information. And I liked, I liked the characters
Starting point is 00:05:28 in that 50s style. I thought it was so, I thought it was such a unique way to take this whole franchise. Like, I, it was so much more my speed
Starting point is 00:05:36 and I was like, oh wait, we could have been doing shit like this or like you could take these characters and put them into like whatever you want them to do
Starting point is 00:05:42 and it's not to be like, I don't know. So I thought that was really cool. Yeah. And then I liked how it did line up with, okay, my favorite movies, I guess, are Endgame and Infinity War. Oh my God.
Starting point is 00:05:52 It like lined up with the blip and I was like, the blip! I did feel when the blip crust was flying around the hospital, I was like, oh, Nicole's happy. Because I truly was like, oh, we get more of this story. And I mean, it was good because I think that was like one of the best things that happened in the whole franchise that we watched.
Starting point is 00:06:10 Like that was one of the strongest storylines. And so it's nice that it's connecting. But I did think of you. Because it's interesting because if you think about like real life, if people just disappeared for fucking five years, we would never stop talking about it. No, no, no. We would talk about her forever. Yeah. Yeah, you went a fucking way.
Starting point is 00:06:27 Yeah. And like, what happened to you while you were gone? We had normal life here. Yeah, we had to replace you at your job. Sorry about it. And that's the thing, too, with the whole blip and people coming back
Starting point is 00:06:38 is, you know, in episode four of this, when Monica's having a conversation with her mom's doctor, there is like literally a, oh, no, I just fell asleep in this chair for 20 minutes. And now here I am again. of this when Monica's having a conversation with her mom's doctor there is like literally a oh no I just fell asleep in this chair for 20 minutes and now here I am again yeah I know that was so fucking crazy that was really sad when she comes back to the hospital well we'll get into all that in a very deep way soon um but Emma will you tell us about your experience with Marvel like how did
Starting point is 00:07:02 you get into Marvel and how familiar are you with the whole universe? Well, I have been in the sort of nerd broadcasting space for quite some time. So it's kind of been, I've almost felt like part of my job in a way to keep up with what's been going on in all of the Marvel stuff. I was really good with like the first couple phases of Marvel of totally keeping up. And then my job kind of pivoted more into video games and less into like film and television. So I didn't necessarily feel the need to watch every single Marvel movie if it didn't seem all that interesting to me. But WandaVision is one that actually I did watch all of from start to me. But WandaVision is one that actually I I I did watch all of from start to finish,
Starting point is 00:07:46 actually reviewed the whole thing on a podcast with a couple of my friends called Geek Buddies because they were all men and they felt like they couldn't do a podcast that is deeply about a woman's emotional breakdown without the perspective of an actual woman. Good on them. Yeah.. Wow. So yeah, and when WandaVision came out in early 2021, I, you know,
Starting point is 00:08:11 I was a little depressed, I think. You've heard of it? Yeah, yeah. So as I was figuring out how deeply depressed I was, I was going on this journey with Wanda
Starting point is 00:08:21 and it was, it was a very meaningful show to me. Well, it feels like it was for a lot of people at the time because everyone was talking about it. But of course, it was not something I was interested in. Yeah, it's funny. I heard so much about it. And I was like, not for me. I guess I don't get to watch that, seeing as I don't know what's going on at all. And people said you could watch it without knowing other stuff. But it feels like and at first I was actually I knew that people said like it connects a lot
Starting point is 00:08:45 to the whole franchise but I was like after the episode one I was like how is this connecting? I don't even see they're going to make references I don't really care
Starting point is 00:08:53 if they make references and then you know as we see but then that blinched and I was like okay okay I felt like I was like in on a secret
Starting point is 00:09:03 I was like I know about the blimp also when it happened in Spider-Man, I was so happy. I love the blip. Also, somebody on Twitter, I don't know if you saw it, Lauren, they put that whole Thanos thing to somebody.
Starting point is 00:09:16 And I screamed. It was honestly really good. I was so glad that person did that. That was amazing. Oh, God. Yeah, I mean, that's amazing. Oh, God. Yeah. I mean, that's interesting. You must, Emma, you must have like be in a kind of a boys club with a lot of the stuff
Starting point is 00:09:31 that you do. You know, I am. It's really interesting because and I think that that's kind of as I've gotten older, one of the things that has been very freeing is being like, I just I don't care what people think because as a woman, you know, in this space, you're held to a totally different standard than men are. Like, when men don't know what's going on, it's funny. If a woman doesn't know what's going on, she's a fake nerd.
Starting point is 00:09:55 And she is, they only put her here because she's a girl and she has boobs, you know? So it's like. Oh, totally. That's funny. I feel like for us, when we don't know what's going on, they're like, they're fucking idiots on their phones exactly
Starting point is 00:10:06 the last post-thorn people were someone said they didn't mention that Captain America picked up Thor's hammer and how amazing it was and then someone else was like you think they remembered that no one else could touch Thor's hammer and I was like a lot happens in these movies
Starting point is 00:10:22 I can't remember that. I can't remember that. I actually do remember. Okay, see, and also we don't mention everything we remember. That's just how talking works. Also, this is what, like an hour-ish long podcast? And Endgame is a three-hour movie? We have to get through the shit.
Starting point is 00:10:41 Just the highlights. Oh my God. Seriously. Also, there was a whole thing that people were going on and on about on Twitter that I was pretty confused about. And Leah, I feel like
Starting point is 00:10:51 I need you to weigh in. Wait, what happened? Okay, there was one person who was like explaining to us why Captain Marvel. Oh, the timeline? Yes, because we basically said, I don't even know
Starting point is 00:11:03 what we said on the show that led this person to tweet this. But basically, this person was explaining. She had to pause the podcast. Famously. Yeah, right. That the reason, like Captain America has existed on the normal timeline with Peggy, marries her, all this stuff. That's why his photo's on her desk.
Starting point is 00:11:24 I'm like, no, I thought she just remembered him, loves him. No. He's gone. I don't understand how that could be possible. That's sick. Because then that would be Captain America opting to not do Captain America stuff. Exactly. Wouldn't that also make Peggy Carter's niece his niece?
Starting point is 00:11:43 And they were sort of almost having a thing. See, that's really fucked up. Hey, wait, this is huge. Not to mention, he went and visited her when she was on her deathbed. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:11:52 They hadn't been married the whole time. Right. I was going to say, too, because in Agent Carter, aren't we meant to believe, Leah, that that other guy
Starting point is 00:12:02 is who Peggy has a thing with and marries and has children. Yes. This is what I've been holding back for months. Thank you. Wow. OK, so she has a whole nother timeline, but then he blips back into her life and makes her marry him.
Starting point is 00:12:17 That's another multiverse. But he like blips back to before any of the stuff in Agent Carter, I think. And then it's no it's oh, trust me. I was OK. I'm a big fan of the stuff in Agent Carter, I think. And then- It's no, it's, oh, trust me, I know. Or is it, okay, Leah, I trust you. I'm a big fan of the ABC series Agent Carter. Me too. So when this happened in Endgame and basically negates all of like the character growth
Starting point is 00:12:35 and relationships that Peggy has had on the show, I was very hurt as like a fan. So he comes, he blips, not blips, or he like time travels back a couple years after the end of that show so in theory she could have ended up with that guy and then steve rogers shows up on her door and she's like oh never mind just kidding i'm gonna go fuck captain america which is very sad and very upsetting yeah but yeah what kind of message is that sending to that? Like Captain America is the only man for you. Right.
Starting point is 00:13:06 Right. Yeah. But also when that man was like, it's the same timeline. I truly was like, he doesn't understand women. There is no way a married woman would do her hair to fuck on her deathbed. That is so funny.
Starting point is 00:13:21 So like I was stuck on that. She was impressing a man she had not seen in a minute. 104 and curled her hair. It's simply not possible. Yeah. Here's the thing with the Captain America stuff. There's no answer given in the movie, whether he went to an alternate universe
Starting point is 00:13:42 or has always been Peggy's wife this whole time and I guess just drove up to meet Bucky. Yeah. And Sam, the writers of the film have given one answer in interviews and the directors of the film have given a different answer in interviews. Shouldn't they be on the same page? So one would hope. And the Peggy was married to him all the time
Starting point is 00:14:07 negates the rules for time travel that they set up in the movie. So it's frustrating. Yeah. We were just corrected incorrectly on Twitter. Yeah. I mean, it's one interpretation. It's not an interpretation that I like.
Starting point is 00:14:24 But whoever you are, you're a big fan and we love you. Yes, thank's one interpretation. It's not an interpretation that I like. But whoever you are, you're a big fan and we love you. Yes, thank you for listening. And you gave us fodder to talk about this week. You did. That was fantastic. Okay. I have been waiting for someone to give a more definitive answer
Starting point is 00:14:38 to that specific question for a very long time. I thought the Loki show was going to do it because it deals a lot with time travel. And they didn't really. So I don't know. Yeah. And that's how they keep me hooked. And multiverses and variants on existing people within, I guess, our timeline being the main
Starting point is 00:14:57 timeline. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Very unclear. Well, I'm confused again. Stream Agent Carter. That's a good show. It is a a good show I don't know if I will
Starting point is 00:15:07 I don't see it happening but I do feel a little interested wait is that part of the like is that canon agent Carter I mean I guess not now but maybe okay interesting should we do the daily bugle
Starting point is 00:15:24 yeah the daily Bugle? Yeah. Zah, zah, zah! The Daily Bugle! It's our new segment. But we're going to give a recap of what's been going on in the MCU. Ooh, Howard Stern may have accidentally leaked his involvement in the MCU related to the character Doctor Doom, which has not been announced by Marvel Studios on a hot mic
Starting point is 00:15:43 during a commercial break on his show. I love Howard Stern. I think he's really fun. Is it live? I guess he... Well, he's on Sirius, so I guess he must have some live element. Right? I want to put in my own news
Starting point is 00:16:00 story here before we... I went to California Adventure and I went to Marvelifornia adventure and i went to marvel um marvel land and i met loki and let me just say that i it was the end of the night i was with my nephews who are children and i screamed out loki and then he was literally being whisked away by two women dressed in costumes that were appropriate for the situation. I don't know who they were. And then I was like, please take a picture with me. Please take a picture with me. I begged him
Starting point is 00:16:32 to stop and take a picture. He made a couple little jokes, and then I did the picture, and then as my nephews were watching me take it, I thought, oh, they should probably take one with him, too. That makes a lot more sense. And then i was like you guys have to do it and then one of them was like okay then i was like no and then he was
Starting point is 00:16:49 like one for two or whatever he said something low-key-ish and then um he did it and that was very nice and i loved it and we went to the marvel area has anyone else on this podcast been there yet? I have not been to Avengers Campus. It feels like they're, it's very not exciting to look at, I will say. Like it's like just building sort of. But my nephews were really into it. And there was a store called Web Suppliers that was like a Spider-Man store that my nephew was obsessed. And we didn't, we wanted to wait to buy him a present there till the end so we wouldn't have to carry it around all day. And then he kept being like, we have to go to Web Suppliers. We have to go to Web Suppliers. It was like so cute. He was obsessed. And we wanted to wait to buy him a present there until the end so we wouldn't have to carry it around all day. And then he kept being like, we have to go to Web Supply.
Starting point is 00:17:28 We have to go to Web Supply. It was so cute. And then my husband, Mike, did go to Pym Industries Kitchen, whatever, Pym's Kitchen, whatever it's called. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And he went by himself with our baby while we went and did other activities. And it took him about an hour to get through. There was like a whole long line.
Starting point is 00:17:46 He said it was basically like waiting for a ride. But the food was good at the end of the day. Impossible meat or whatever the fuck was served. And he was happy. He said it was really good. He said it was like a good restaurant. Impossible meat was served is maybe my favorite sentence of today. I don't know in what form.
Starting point is 00:18:04 Impossible meat was served. He definitely ingested impossible today. I don't know in what form. Impossible meat was served. He definitely ingested impossible meat. Did he get one of those? Because isn't Pim's like test kitchen, whatever, where they do the beers that like fill up from the bottom? I'm sure he had a very interesting and fun experience.
Starting point is 00:18:18 He did not really tell me anything about it and he is napping now, so I can't get the full story. He was like, I'm going to keep this experience for me. Yeah. He didn't take any pictures and that's all I know.
Starting point is 00:18:29 And all the lines were really long for those rides so we didn't even ride any of them but maybe another day. And by the way, Disneyland has this new thing that I think is really annoying where you can pay to do lightning pass
Starting point is 00:18:40 which is the new version of Fast Pass but it's like 20 bucks a person at certain times. And then you're like, $100 to go on a ride faster. It's just crazy. I did do it but it is crazy. Yeah. All right.
Starting point is 00:18:55 Well, okay. Next order of business in the Daily Bugle is that Kevin Feige whose name I still haven't figured out how to pronounce Kevin Feige 18 hours into this podcast that Kevin Feige, whose name I still haven't figured out how to pronounce, Kevin Feige, 18 hours into this podcast, and Marvel Studios will be at
Starting point is 00:19:09 San Diego Comic-Con in Hall H this summer. It sounds like a given that Marvel would be at Comic-Con, but they opted out of Comic-Con in 2020 and 2021.
Starting point is 00:19:18 So this is seen as a big return. Well, it's because they just do all, they were, anyway, just doing all their stuff at D23, like Disney's big convention. Oh. And then Kevin
Starting point is 00:19:30 Feige had something sort of recently where he was talking about, I think it was like right when the Ms. Marvel TV show started and he said something about like, oh, maybe we'll do an Avengers con someday just for like people who are fans of the Avengers. Mm-hmm. It feels like they should. I feel like that would be successful. Yeah. Yeah. It'd be like Star who are fans of the Avengers, et cetera.
Starting point is 00:19:45 Like they should, I feel like that would be successful. Yeah. Yeah. It'd be like star Wars celebration, but for Avengers, I went to star Wars celebration. Is that just a con for star Wars?
Starting point is 00:19:53 It's a big old star Wars convention. Yep. And is it like, do they, do they honor the holiday special? They don't honor the holiday special. And honestly, that is the,
Starting point is 00:20:03 that is the biggest problem with star Wars Celebration is they have yet to acknowledge the canonical nature of, you know, Chewie abandoning his family. And like the grandpa jerking off to that weird porn. Yeah, network cooking shows with aliens with multiple arms. Yeah, exactly. I like it. I might watch it again. I thought it was, maybe it's my favorite
Starting point is 00:20:27 Star Wars movie. I love holiday themed things. What is the holiday in it called? Does anybody remember that? Oh, Life Day. Life Day, yes. Thank you, thank you. It's Life Day.
Starting point is 00:20:36 Yeah, Kevin Feige though, I was at a, I think it was at like a home release event or something for the movie Ant-Man. And Kevin Feige was at this event. And because you just see him in the media so often, but, you know, he's not in the movie. So I'm
Starting point is 00:20:54 looking at this guy and I'm thinking, I think I know that guy from somewhere. And I literally almost like walked up to him. I was like, hi, I'm Emma. I think we've met before. He's like, we haven't met. I'm simply the man behind all of the films. Yes. His name we say every time and we try to say it. I like Feige. Feige, Feige, Feige. Feige, Feige does not look the way I thought he was going to look.
Starting point is 00:21:16 I'm shocked as well. I just Googled him. We have never Googled him. He looks kind of like a superhero. He's a tall man. He looks like he might be an evil character. Yes. He frequently dresses too
Starting point is 00:21:29 in the go-to superhero disguise in all of these films, which is simply a black baseball cap. Yeah, it's like a baseball cap with a specific logo that each one is different. He has a new one every time. Yeah. Alright.
Starting point is 00:21:45 And he's got a really nice chin. He does have a strong chin. It's very defined. Do I love Kevin Feige's? Put us in the film, sir. Please, Kevin, we like your chin. Put us in a movie. I love it.
Starting point is 00:22:01 But truly, Kevin, if you're listening, imagine if he listened. Can you imagine if he listened to every episode of this? Wouldn't that be maddening for him? What if he was the one writing all of those comments about how you guys don't pay attention? Yeah. Oh, my God. That would be so amazing.
Starting point is 00:22:16 He's just creating a bunch of different Twitter accounts to correct you. He's so mad. I love it. He listens every episode to hear if you'll pronounce his name correctly. He's like, let's see if they got it this time. And then we did get it right. And then I said, hmm, I'll pronounce it. He listens every episode to hear if you'll pronounce his name correctly. He's like, let's see if they got it this time. And then we did get it right. And then I said, hmm, I'll pronounce it wrong. No, no.
Starting point is 00:22:30 Here's our last piece of Daily Bugle. You can now interact with Marvel characters on the Disney Wish cruise ship, which sets sail on her maiden voyage July 14th. I would never. Yeah. Oh would never. Yeah. Oh, no. One of my coworkers at Fandom, our managing editor, Eric Goldman,
Starting point is 00:22:52 was at this big press event. I didn't even know this was happening, and then I just started seeing pictures on his Twitter feed of this, and it is, wow, they sure spent a lot of money on that. I really dislike being on a cruise ship. I think I will never, ever do that again as long as I can control it.
Starting point is 00:23:12 I've never been on one. Me neither. I just don't see it for myself. Yeah, it was a very specific situation that found me on one, and I did not like it, and I was sick the entire time. Yeah. You know, I really, in my heart, I guess I
Starting point is 00:23:27 knew it wasn't true, but I thought that cruises were maybe something that were just going to die with COVID. It seemed like they should have because it was so bad at the beginning. Yeah. Being stranded. Yeah. I just, I don't, I guess it's like an easy way to travel and see
Starting point is 00:23:43 multiple places. But you only see them for like two seconds. I think like, I don't know. I don't, I guess it's like an easy way to travel and see multiple places. But you only see them for like two seconds. I think like, I don't know. I don't know about this. I don't know about this. And you're also just trapped with all the people. And like, it's like a community that I don't want to be a part of in general. I'm like, I want to be alone when I'm on vacation.
Starting point is 00:23:58 I don't want to be. Yeah, then you're like in a little cabin. You know, I thought we evolved past it. You know, it's like we fly in the sky. Yeah. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Why do we need need boats I just don't like boats really at all I'm not a boat gal I mean no that's a lie I love a yacht let me jump off a yacht I've never been on a yacht I don't think I've only been on like a let's get on this yacht and go see dolphins yeah I have I don't have rich friends. Yeah. No.
Starting point is 00:24:26 I would like one though. That'd be great if someone wants, yeah, if Kevin Feige wants to take us on a boat. Kevin Feige! I'm going to go on the yacht for sure. I'm available for that and I will get sick and I don't care. Ah, that sounds so fun. Okay, well, let's take a quick break and then we'll jump
Starting point is 00:24:42 into WandaVision. If you're wondering what a NordVPN is, I'll tell you. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, a service that protects your internet connection and online privacy. A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel for your data, protect your online identity by hiding your IP address, and allow you to use public Wi-Fi hotspots safely. I'm using a Nord VPN myself. And honestly, it's very easy to use.
Starting point is 00:25:18 You connect with one click to enable auto-connect for zero-click protection. It has amazing speed. Nord VPN is one of the fastest VPNs out there, and it supports every major platform, Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, even Android TV. You can switch your virtual location to access apps and websites in other countries. Get an exclusive NordVPN deal here at nordvpn.com slash newcomers, N-O-R-D-V-P-N dot com slash newcomers. It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee.
Starting point is 00:25:50 Link is in the episode description. And we're back. Okay, WandaVision, written by Jack Schaefer, directed by Matt Shackman, released on January 15th, 2021. So recent. Did they film it during the pandemic or was it before the pandemic? I think they started before the pandemic and then resumed filming during the pandemic once they determined that it was safe to do so.
Starting point is 00:26:19 Yeah. I want to say that in 2019, maybe at some point, they were doing some stuff on the Universal lot under a code name. I think I saw it on the production. I used to be a tour guide at Universal. You did? Oh, my God. Do you know Steve Slaga? I sure do know Steve Slaga.
Starting point is 00:26:40 I helped Steve Slaga get that job. I love Steve. You did? Oh, great. Truly, this is a tangent, but I remember, I think we'd done a show at UCB or something, and we were at Bird's afterwards and hanging out, and I was saying, and Steve Slaga was like, he had just finished being the school manager or whatever at Groundlings, and we were talking, and he was like, yeah, I got to get a new job.
Starting point is 00:27:00 I was like, well, Steve, we're about to be hiring for tour guides. I'd worked there less than a year, I think, at that point. And Steve turns to me, he goes, I just really want to work at a sit-down pizza hut. It's like, well, Steve, if you'd like to move to Nebraska. Your options are limited, I think, with where those exist. God, he's so funny. I'd like to work at a sit-down pizza. I feel like he must have been a great tour guide.
Starting point is 00:27:28 Did you like doing that job? I did. Yeah, it was a great gig. I was very part-time as I was getting more and more into doing broadcast hosting, all that kind of stuff my last few years there. But yeah, I mean, it truly is like,
Starting point is 00:27:41 it's such a great gig. Because at the end of the day, it's like I liked the people that I worked with and I worked for directly, like my direct supervisors I liked. And it was cool to, you know, I could just go on the Universal lot whenever I felt like it. Yeah, that's very fun. Nobody would give me trouble. I knew how to sneak into the lot and it wasn't even really sneaking. It was legal sneaking.
Starting point is 00:28:01 And that tour is really cool with all of the, like, fun special effects and things. Yeah. Yeah. I worked for VIP for a long time. So, like, I would do the tours where we'd actually, like, get out and walk around and go in the prop department and all that kind of stuff. Oh, that's fun. Yeah. Yeah, it was neat.
Starting point is 00:28:16 How'd you get a VIP? Yeah. Was it all VIPs or just people who paid more? Actually, so, well, it was mostly just people who paid more. Okay, yeah. Lauren's like, will my money get me VIP? Your money will get you VIP. But sometimes you would get, like, especially during, like, Halloween Horror Nights,
Starting point is 00:28:36 you a lot of the times would get stuff that was arranged through publicity and have the, like, VIPs, which seemed to mostly be 100% based on how many Instagram followers they had. So often I would end up with people that I'm like, who is this? Yeah. But the teens love them. The teens love them.
Starting point is 00:28:55 Oh my God. All right. Well, WandaVision. Okay. Now, episode one. This was called Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience. And in an homage to sitcoms like The Dick Van Dyke Show and I Love Lucy, Wanda and Vision moved to a town in New Jersey called Westview.
Starting point is 00:29:15 They notice a heart on a calendar indicating that there's some significance to the date. Hijinks ensue when Wanda thinks the date is marking an anniversary and calls on her neighbor Agnes, Catherine Hahn, to help her spice things up, while Vision realizes thinks the date is marking an anniversary and calls on her neighbor Agnes, Catherine Han, to help her spice things up, while Vision realizes that the date means his boss and his boss's wife are coming over for dinner. At the end of the episode, we zoom out to see someone watching WandaVision and taking notes.
Starting point is 00:29:36 Okay. I mean, it's our shortest summary to do. Yes. And it truly covers everything. Nailed it. Not to say nailed it to you.. Got it. Nailed it. Yeah, I did it. Not to say nailed it to you. That's annoying. Hey, listen.
Starting point is 00:29:48 It's okay. It's a part of the zeitgeist. I'm used to it. Yeah, I really didn't... I didn't really like this episode. I guess I didn't get it. I was like, okay, great. Yeah, I thought as an actor,
Starting point is 00:30:01 probably it was really fun to make. I think that it's a fun like, spoof sort of thing. And the vision being a character in the 50s in a sitcom is, like, so weird that I found that kind of interesting. But in terms of keeping my attention, it was a tough one. It was a tough one. I think if I was like a Marvel fan who was just seeing this for the first time
Starting point is 00:30:26 I might have been so intrigued like what are they doing and where is this going? And that might have been really exciting. But because I already kind of knew this was a thing I just was kind of like
Starting point is 00:30:34 what is going on and how are we going to get into making this interesting? Yeah. I think because I did watch it when it came out and even without that just you know
Starting point is 00:30:44 liking the Marvel stuff in general I did really it when it came out. And even without that, just, you know, liking the Marvel stuff in general, I did really enjoy this episode. And I really enjoyed the fact that the show was so bold as to just present this sitcom episode with no explanation at all. Yeah, yeah. I did like that, too. And that made me kind of excited because, like I said earlier, with, like, thinking, oh, Marvel. Yeah. You could take the Marvel people and do anything. And it's like, that's kind of interesting yeah and i also just like some of the very specific like sitcom tropes
Starting point is 00:31:11 of the time that it called out like when vision asks at work what exactly is it that we do here and they talk about the input and the output and the and the data but they don't it's like do we make something no like yeah because i feel like that was pretty standard in sitcoms at the time that you know in the 50s and whatnot that the husband would go to work all day but you weren't really sure no what the job was yeah yeah and i liked uh the sort of bewitchy elements of it and like there were a lot of TV references that I got. The mom from that 70s show was in there.
Starting point is 00:31:49 She was an incredible multi-cam actress. She came in with some pro-level shit with that. I felt like everyone was great, but I felt like there was a sort of performing of multi-cam, performing of the 50s.
Starting point is 00:32:05 And she just like did it. Yeah. Yeah. There was a scene where she was like exasperated and she like chose to like look up and had this like day's look on her face and then like came into the, I was like, Oh, I love that.
Starting point is 00:32:17 She was really fun to watch. I didn't hate it, but I guess I was like, where are we going? Why? I don't know. For sure. Why? Yeah. I think, see, I, I was like where are we going why I don't know for sure why yeah I think see I I liked living in the why I think this is the I think everybody did because I remember people
Starting point is 00:32:33 were like what's going on what's gonna happen why is it a sitcom and I was like I can't be right and I truly cannot also if I recall correctly the first two episodes actually came out together. I was just about to say that. They released the first two or three, and then it was weekly. So that gave you a good little mini binge. And then honestly, watching the show in real time was a wild experience. It was so much fun. Because nobody knew what was happening.
Starting point is 00:32:59 There was so much theorizing. And again, it's really interesting to to revisit especially when they have those commercial breaks and things and people were like trying to analyze what all the commercials meant so the one with this one and the toaster and the blinking red light is like supposed to be representative of Wanda and Pietro
Starting point is 00:33:18 in Sokovia like watching the Stark missile or bomb or whatever it was that landed and waiting for it to go off okay see I didn't really like get any of that
Starting point is 00:33:28 me either the commercials were like interesting because the woman in the commercials was so
Starting point is 00:33:34 slow and like toned down and I was like this is not like anything else I don't understand why it's happening yeah it was such
Starting point is 00:33:42 a different tone yeah the commercials were kind of fun though and Itamar Enriquez who is a Chicago improviser So I don't understand why it's happening. Yeah. It was such a different tone. Yeah. The commercials were kind of fun though. And if the Mar and Rika's, who is a Chicago improviser in all the commercials, very fun to see him. But yeah, I was wondering like,
Starting point is 00:33:54 what is, what is the meaning? But I wasn't thinking it had a meaning. Of course it does. Oh, but of course we didn't think anything. We're like, we're just watching this.
Starting point is 00:34:03 Don't tell us later. Exactly. So episode two, we're just watching this. Don't tell us later. Exactly. So episode two, don't touch that dial. When you said homage earlier, Lauren, I was reading along and I was like, homage.
Starting point is 00:34:14 You said homage and I was like, yep. That's how you pronounce that. You can also say in an, well, you can say it differently, but now I feel like I can't say it. If I say it,
Starting point is 00:34:23 I think it's just homage. Homage. Oh, homage. I don't think that's, but now I feel like I can't say it. I think it's just homage. Homage. Oh, homage. Homage. I don't think that's... I think homage... That has been said. But homage is...
Starting point is 00:34:33 But why does it have an H in the front? Well, it's a fancy word. I don't know. Is it French? I actually have no idea. Let's find out. I assume it's French. I don't know. Well, in an homage to sitcoms like bewitched wanda and vision navigate town events like a lady's lunch a
Starting point is 00:34:54 neighborhood watch meeting a talent show without revealing that they are a witch and an android a few strange things pop up like a red helicopter helicopter toy a voice over the radio and a beekeeper who emerges from a manhole. At the end of the episode, Wanda seemingly rewinds the action and changes everything into Technicolor. Yeah, which I was glad for. Also, I think homage, I'm saying it all weird now, but that is a way to say it.
Starting point is 00:35:18 It doesn't sound right, but it is a fact. But, okay, I was happy when things got in color. I was like, what's the helicopter that didn't spark anything for me? Yeah, I was like, okay, someone was playing in her bushes. Yeah. The ladies, was this on this episode where all the ladies were having their meeting? Yeah, their PTA meeting. I liked that, and I liked the different vibes of the women.
Starting point is 00:35:43 The style was very fun. I thought it was just fun to look at. I was just thinking as an actor that it would be very fun to do. Yes. But I wasn't thinking at this point. Well, I was confused because I remember hearing that WandaVision went into all different genres. But then I was like, we're doing two as this? Like, how long is this going to go?
Starting point is 00:36:01 You know, that was a little bit. I was being a little antsy. Like, how long was this going to go? You know, that was a little bit. Yeah. I was being a little antsy. I think just by nature of the fact that she is magical and she was kind of hiding that in the first episode, even though like this episode is the one that's very specifically an homage to Bewitched. The first one was supposed to be a little bit more like Dick Van Dyke show, I think. more like Dick Van Dyke show, I think.
Starting point is 00:36:25 But because, again, she is magical, no matter what you do, there's always going to be a slight element of Bewitched to it because that was the whole plot of Bewitched was she was a witch and she was trying to be housewife. Yeah, she even did a move that was like really Bewitchy. Very Samantha. Yeah, she was like,
Starting point is 00:36:37 it was almost a nose twitch, but then she kind of did like a hand thing when she was like trying to get the curtains to open. And I was like, that was funny. There was, I mean, I think Elizabeth Olsen is very talented I enjoy watching her and I was surprised by her in this
Starting point is 00:36:49 in this sort of format like how she was doing and I also was excited for her because remember when she said that she was like kind of mad that she got trapped in Marvel because she missed out on 2015's The Lobster she was like and I probably other films that would have been more you know everyone's favorite shester. She was like, and I probably other films that would have been more
Starting point is 00:37:05 art. You know, everyone's favorite. She said it specifically in an interview and it tickled me so much. Well, because it went to the Cannes Film Festival. And so she was like, I could have been doing such art as The Lobster. But she's like, I thought, well,
Starting point is 00:37:22 this is exciting because I bet she didn't think it would go here. She's had to do all this weird shit in the movies but then she kind of gets to do something that's a little more, you know, different type of challenging as an actor, which is cool. And gotta say, the wigs are pretty good. They weren't great, but they were much better than the movies. I actually felt the same way. I was going to comment on that and say I thought the wig, whoever did the wigs on this was very talented. She didn't do a great hairline, but she ventilated the parts enough that I knew that it was a part.
Starting point is 00:37:50 Yeah, we had that issue with some other characters. I mean, Emma, they really hated Scarlett Johansson in these movies. Oh, yeah. And I cannot stress enough that she really wronged somebody in the hair department. And in the makeup department in some of those movies. Well, I've heard there are some actors
Starting point is 00:38:06 who will insist on wearing wigs for every role because they want to just have that hair, you know, where it's just done separately. They don't have to damage their hair, all that kind of stuff. And I'm like, and I know that they're very expensive, but I'm thinking,
Starting point is 00:38:19 you're planning these movies, which make a billion dollars. There's almost no excuse for there to not be the most expensive beautiful perfect wig why can't you just get a nice wig it's they're available you have the money and we're looking at it the whole time it's as important as any proper costume i think about the one she wore in um in endgame a lot the one where they were pretending that her hair grew out. Oh, was growing out. Yeah. Oh, yeah. She had like ombre hair.
Starting point is 00:38:48 Yeah. It was weird. Boy, that was funny for me. Oh, man. I had totally forgotten about that. That was funny, though, because I didn't think of it as growing out. I thought of it as like she dyed it like ombre. No, I really think they were trying to make us think that her hair
Starting point is 00:39:03 had grown out in the five years made a very strong choice she like she like started dyeing her hair back to red or whatever it was and just left the ends blonde
Starting point is 00:39:14 she's like I'll just leave the ends blonde you know that's cute let's just see real edgy I love it um okay
Starting point is 00:39:22 so episode three is called Now in Color and in an homage to sitcoms like the brady bunch this one i got excited for and wanda's hair was so good in this i really like this i like 70s sitcoms wanda is now several months pregnant and preparing her home for the baby with vision but strange power outages keep happening in the neighborhood and vision grows increasingly suspicious of their idyllic sitcom life.
Starting point is 00:39:45 A woman named Geraldine comes to call on Wanda. Vision goes to get the doctor and has a troubling conversation with Agnes and Herb. With Geraldine's help, Wanda gives birth to twins. She names them Billy and Tommy. She tells Geraldine. And is that something? Yeah, that is something. Billy and Tommy.
Starting point is 00:40:02 Okay. Wait, what's Billy and Tommy is something? Yeah, those are their children. Canonically. Yeah. yeah that is something okay tommy okay wait what's billy and tommy is something yeah those are their children uh canonically yeah she's looking for it yeah exactly during doctor strange madness yeah yeah that's kind of fun yeah and they um also eventually become um superheroes in the marvel comics wait so they they are real they are yeah they yeah they exist in the Marvel comics. Wait, so they are real? Yeah, they exist in the comics. I mean, like, it's a similar thing where they're real but not real,
Starting point is 00:40:30 but they do get to, like, go on to be young Avengers, and one has super speed, one has witch kind of powers. Okay. I actually think what happens is, like, their souls get, this is in one version, their souls get blown into other kids. Into other kids. Their souls get blown into other kids was not a sentence I expected to hear today.
Starting point is 00:40:53 Because isn't, don't they like, isn't there like one storyline where, yes, they like, like as you say, like the souls are Wanda and Vision's children, but they have like different parents. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You know what I like about comic books is any, any wish and thought you have in your brain, you just put it on the paper.
Starting point is 00:41:13 Everyone goes, that's what it is. They got blown into other children, knocking the souls out of these children who gives a shit about them. Yeah. But that's wild. Yeah. They are. They are. Imagine being a kid and waking up and being like, I'm now Tommy? I was
Starting point is 00:41:30 Kim yesterday. Yeah. That's wild. That's really crazy. Yeah. Are they aware? I don't know. Eventually, I think, when they become superheroes, Wiccan and Speed are their names. Oh, Wiccan and Speed? Yeah. Alright. Huh. Yep. Well. Wiccan and Speed. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:41:45 All right. Huh. Yep. Well, Wanda tells Geraldine that she's a twin brother, had a twin brother named Pietro. Geraldine mentions that he was killed by Ultron when that kind of, she kind of like mumbled it and then she goes kind of crazy. When Vision comes back inside, Geraldine is gone.
Starting point is 00:42:02 Outside of Westview, Geraldine is expelled from some kind of force field, and headlights surround her, revealing a base camp outside of town. This is when I said, ooh, baby, now we are cooking with gas. That is how I felt. I was interested. You know what I'm thinking, Nicole? This sort of feels like if you did an improv show after watching all the Marvel movies
Starting point is 00:42:20 and just made it whatever you just, like, could go anywhere with it, say anything, just call back all these little things. It's totally irrelevant to what we've established and how they're presented. But this is like, yeah, that was really great when she got thrown out and she's in the basement. I was excited, but I didn't think initially that she was part of that. I thought, oh, no, they're going to like study her, poke her. I watched it with a friend and they were like, well, why is she wearing the sword emblem?
Starting point is 00:42:49 And I was like, what sword? And then I found out later, but I still don't really understand what sword is. Well, I felt like I knew that from the way she's talking to Wanda that she knows something she doesn't know. But when the whole thing, they're all running toward her with like their guns or whatever. I was like, this isn't normal that she's popped out here so it seemed wrong um yeah because
Starting point is 00:43:10 nobody's been able to get out yet like that's yeah and which they explain in the next episode yeah this whole idea of this town doesn't want people to come into it somehow Monica does manage to come into it and then get and becomes geraldine she forgets that she's monica but then she goes back to being monica and when they were like she has no home i was like why is a black lady homeless in this town why did they do that to my friend and then it literally didn't occur to me until the end of episode four. I was like, oh, she doesn't have a home because she got sucked in. Yeah, she got blipped in. Yeah, it was interesting to watching this when it aired because as far as Marvel News went,
Starting point is 00:43:56 we already knew that Teyana Paris was playing Monica Rambeau and then she showed up as Geraldine. So there was this big like, what's going on here? Oh, that's fun. That's interesting. Marvel had a little sneaky little fun with this. They did. And is this the episode where Katherine Hahn is like saying, she's kind of doing that wink and she does all.
Starting point is 00:44:15 Yes, she did a great wink in this episode. The epic wink that I've seen on like a million GIFs. But it's like she knows something's up. I think everyone in their souls, they're like something's not right. They're all fighting her enchantment. Okay. It felt like Truman Show where they were like trying to keep it under wraps. That something's like we're clearly standing in front of a fake tree right now.
Starting point is 00:44:39 It's like the opposite it feels because everyone in the Truman Show knew it was fake. But everyone here is like fighting to understand why they're all acting like yeah yeah it's really interesting it's fun yeah yeah um okay so episode four we interrupt this program a few weeks prior to the events of the series monica rambo tiana paris who i really love she's so pretty and she's like so talented in the like first time we see her I was like she's like the prettiest
Starting point is 00:45:11 actress ever so good in this series it's like almost not fair that she's as pretty as she like she's so talented as well I agree I was frustrated by that why do you get it all you don't need to be this talented. Like,
Starting point is 00:45:26 you got the look going on. Yeah. Yeah, it's not fair. The grown up daughter of Maria Rambeau, who we met in Captain Marvel, wakes up from the blip in a hospital. In the chaos of half the world's population returning,
Starting point is 00:45:39 she learns that she's been missing for five years and her mother has died. She returns to work at SWORD, a S.H.I.E.L.D.-like organization where she is assigned to examine, oh no, what is that word? been missing for five years and her mother has died she returns to work at sword a shield-like organization where she is assigned to examine oh no what is that word an anomaly yeah she got it in new jersey jimmy woo randall park uh i love randall park reprising his role from ant-man and the wasp which we didn't see so i didn't know randall park was in the universe me neither it was a treat to see him because I love Randall.
Starting point is 00:46:06 She gets too close to the force field surrounding Westview and gets sucked into Wanda's sitcom becoming Geraldine. Dr. Darcy Lewis, who has not been seen in the MCU since Thor Dark World. Is that...
Starting point is 00:46:19 The second Thor. Wait. Who am I... What is her name? Oh, uh... Who plays her? Kat Denning. denning yeah kat denning i couldn't remember oh my god she's great i love her is brought in with other specialists to examine the anomaly darcy identifies the broadcast signal coming out of the town and jerry rigs away to watch
Starting point is 00:46:39 wandavision the team identifies most of the cast of the show as missing persons from the missing town they watch geraldine question wanda about about Pietro, which is so funny that her accent comes back for Pietro. I know, I know. Is that a joke? I was mad. I think what it is is that it's an intentional shift where Wanda's been putting on these affectations of the different sitcoms that she's in and then when when um monica brings in the concept of the real world that's when she kind of like starts to like glitch out of her own reality into real reality and so the accent starts to come back um we then see what really happened wanda became angry and expelled her monica returns to base camp and we're now caught up with the events of the previous episode.
Starting point is 00:47:26 It's all Wanda, she says. Back in Westfield, or no, Westview, Wanda seems to briefly remember that Vision is dead. Vision tells them
Starting point is 00:47:35 that they don't need to stay in Westview and Wanda assures him that they do and she has everything under control. Yeah, so she sees his head
Starting point is 00:47:44 all gray. Yeah. Like, when he died, which was a very tragic scene. Yeah, sad. But then I'm like, what does it mean that he's actually dead? Like, I don't understand. So this is a different timeline, sort of like what we've been dealing with? No.
Starting point is 00:47:57 No, she's made him. She, like, made him up. She has, like, fabricated him. Yeah, she's, like, fabricated him into this reality. him up she's like fabricating yeah she's yeah she's like fabricated him into this reality and so it was the moment of again her being confronted with actual reality because of monica knowing about the existence of ultron that she then sees like vision as he actually is which is dead with a hole in his head um and then she rewrites the scene to be all happy and 70s sitcom. Wow.
Starting point is 00:48:28 And I think Monica's boss at one point says that she has stolen the Vision's body. Yeah. Which is not true. That is, spoiler alert, that is a lie. Spoiler alert, Monica's boss is a dick. Yeah, exactly. Wow.
Starting point is 00:48:44 Okay, well, I am interested to watch more personally. I think I might actually finish it. I want to know where it goes. Me too. There is an iconic memeable scene from this show that happens later in the series that I was going to play, but if you don't want to be spoiled...
Starting point is 00:49:03 I kind of don't. Okay. Yeah, I don't think I really want to be spoiled I kind of don't yeah I don't think I really want to be spoiled either isn't that insane it's crazy it's a pretty fun show like coming to this episode I was like what is happening to me do I love Marvel now I know and I think the answer is yes it brings everyone together yeah and I mean I will say
Starting point is 00:49:19 visiting um Avengers Campus um I did feel like I understood what was going on and I felt like I fit in. I'll just say that. Just a text message of a picture of you and Loki. I screamed before I read it. I was like, she meant Loki!
Starting point is 00:49:35 And you were like, I screamed Loki! And I was like, this is pretty funny. I think one of my friends, when she was visiting Avengers Campus, it was late in the day. You walk around a theme park a long time. It was a busy day. No benches for anything to sit on. So she just sat on the ground and I guess
Starting point is 00:49:50 that like Loki came over and gave her shit about just sitting on the ground. That's funny. That's got a sense of humor. I also saw Doctor Strange while I was there but I didn't get a photo. Oh, how fun. Yeah. Yeah. What's happening to me? I was like, oh! I was like, guys, guys it's my nephews who
Starting point is 00:50:06 i didn't really care i was like it's dr strange you want to go talk to him and they're like no i was like okay where's spider-man yeah they would have been really happy my nephew was thrilled if we saw spider-man but i don't know if he walks around maybe he does i think there's spider-man come on yeah i know wait i have a question so on wandavision his boss he comes back for episode two with a new wife or no it's the when she gives birth doesn't his wait oh that's no that's a different guy that's okay i just got so confused nicole did you recognize um like the mean the mean lady oh yeah yeah donnie the evil the evil mom the blonde leader yeah that's uh emma caulfield from buffy oh from buffy yes also from drop dead diva josh stamberg
Starting point is 00:50:56 a television series that i loved was it good i't say that. But it is about a thin woman who drives into an orange truck and then her soul gets sent back into a fat lady's body. And you know it's funny when a thin person has to be fat. How will she ever get through the day? She's always like, I'm so hungry.
Starting point is 00:51:20 It sounds like a Tommy and Billy situation. A soul got whispered into a fat. It sounds like a Tommy and Billy situation. Yes. A soul got whispered into a fat. Or so it's blown into another body. Okay, well, let's take a quick break and we'll be back with a little bit more. For the awards of One Division, One Division was nominated for eight Emmys, 15 Creative Arts Emmys.
Starting point is 00:51:57 They won three of them and two Golden Globe Awards, one for Paul Bettany and one for Elizabeth Olsen. That's nice. Really successful. Yes, and the reception. The series was the most watched series premiere on Disney+, and the most viewed title of January 2021 across all major streaming platforms in the U.S. That's nice. Wow.
Starting point is 00:52:14 It was well-received by critics, holding a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Richard Roper called it a painstakingly crafted, impressively spot-on tribute to the evolution of the American sitcom. Wow. mistakenly crafted impressively spot-on tribute to the evolution of the American sitcom. And many reviewers noted that the way WandaVision explored themes of grief and loss was well-timed for audiences who were living through the, have you ever heard of it, COVID-19 pandemic? Wow. Good Lord. Well, I can't wait to get to all of the grief and pain.
Starting point is 00:52:43 So here's a little trivia for y'all um the first episode was actually filmed from a live studio audience how fun was that is fun i bet kovat fucked that for them yeah yeah i like it felt so real so it's like nice to know that like they didn't really have to like you know act like there was an audience there that there was somebody yeah there was a there's like a on disney plus a little documentary about the making of WandaVision and they talk about the fact that they did film it in front of a studio audience.
Starting point is 00:53:10 It was really cool to see. That's cool. Yeah. I, it like, I just had a fleeting moment where I was like, I'll watch that too. And then it left so quickly. I was like, I simply couldn't do that. There's not enough time in the world.
Starting point is 00:53:25 Oh my God. Each commercial references a traumatic event in Wanda's past. Dang. The Stark Industries toaster represents her parents' death and both. Wait, what? Okay. I did feel like they were zooming in on that in a way that I was supposed to understand something. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:53:41 The blinking light on the bomb that blew up and killed her parents. Oh, okay. Yeah, and then she and Pietro were waiting for the... I think there were like... Leah, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there were like two bombs and the one went off
Starting point is 00:53:54 and her parents got killed and she and Pietro managed to live and then they're just like watching and waiting for the other one to explode, but it never did. Yeah, there's like another one that stays still under the rubble because they don't know
Starting point is 00:54:04 when it's going to explode. She has that memory. Yeah, there's like another one that stays still under the rubble because they don't know when it's going to explode. She has that memory. Oh, God. Well, the Strucker watch and Hydra bath soak represent how her and her brother were tortured. Great. Cheerful. I think my favorite commercial is the fourth episode.
Starting point is 00:54:21 There's one where they reference the Lagos paper towels. I like the juice one or the snack packs one, the like claymation one with the kid on the island. I think that's in like episode six or something. Yeah. Ooh, fun. Wanda's voice saying previously on WandaVision at the beginning of each episode gets progressively
Starting point is 00:54:39 less cheerful each time. Yes, it does. Wow. That's fun. That's fun. They get to play a lot of fun things. That is fun. Yeah, as she's like losing her control over her finely less cheerful. Yes, it does. Wow. It's fun. That's fun. They get to play a lot of fun things. Yeah, as she's like losing her control over her finely crafted reality. Mm-hmm.
Starting point is 00:54:52 This, yeah, I mean, it seems like they really took their time and did a lot of shit with this. A lot of nuances.
Starting point is 00:54:59 Yeah. Jimmy Woo does close-up magic in his first scene, a reference to his character's fascination with Scott Lang's car trick skills in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Starting point is 00:55:09 Okay. Well, again, we didn't see that one, so that's one excuse for why we didn't get that one. Cinematographer Jess Hall used 47 different camera lenses for the seven time periods covered in WandaVision and used lights from each filmmaking time period. See, I did think this was true. Wow.
Starting point is 00:55:24 From each filming time period to align did think this was true from each filming time here to align with the era being portrayed that's fucking cool yeah it does it felt that way yeah it looks really visually accurate and also something i noticed in in re-watching these episodes before recording this podcast was like the way that the barrier around west view is it looks when they like try to breach it, it looks sort of like a TV screen. I also like the aspect ratio changing and you see it.
Starting point is 00:55:52 That was super fun. I'm going to read here. They use multiple aspect ratios. The 1950s to 70s episodes are framed in 4x3 to replicate the boxy feel of early televisions. Oh, and then this will be fun to watch. The 80s to 2010s episodes are in full frame, 16 by 9 for the modern TV format. And the scenes that were outside of the show were shot in that classic letterboxd look
Starting point is 00:56:12 that's so prevalent in cinematic blockbusters. So that's fun that we're going to get up to the 2010s. I wasn't expecting that. I'm excited. Me too. Okay, so the budget for each episode, Jesus christ was 25 million dollars oh my god that seems really unnecessary that seems yeah fully unnecessary but honestly i guess it was they did a good job they used every fucking penny but even the first episode it's like it's just
Starting point is 00:56:37 shot on the soundstage um it makes it the most expensive television series in history upon release it was reported that the fourth season of Stranger Things had a budget of $30 million per episode. But do you think each kid's getting $2 million? Maybe. I hope not. That's wild. I hope not. It's a bet.
Starting point is 00:56:54 It's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot of money. The show establishes Scarlet Witch as the strongest and most powerful member of the Avengers, a theory supported by Kevin Feige. However, Brie Larson has argued in interviews that Captain Marvel is actually the strongest character in the MCU. Um, I would say, based on the ending of this and also Doctor Strange,
Starting point is 00:57:15 I'm on board with the Wanda being the strongest. Yeah, that's interesting. I mean, I feel like if Kevin Feige were to say someone who's the strongest I probably wouldn't go no my character was but I don't know you already have the job I'm gonna say whatever I want no Kevin it's me
Starting point is 00:57:35 every just progressively every single person who's played I think it's Thor actually it's Ant-Man oh wait maybe maybe Brie Larson is like
Starting point is 00:57:48 Captain Marvel doesn't have as much baggage to hold oh yeah I mean there's there is a lot
Starting point is 00:57:56 of emotional baggage yeah so she's like super clear headed all the time so that makes her a little stronger yeah but you know
Starting point is 00:58:02 once Wanda gets into good you know finds herself a good gets into good, you know, finds herself a good therapist, starts a good meds regimen, yeah, she'll be fine. Yeah, yeah. Well, it's time for our segment,
Starting point is 00:58:14 Is Chris in This? This is a segment where we simply answer if a Chris was in this show. And was any of our main, were any of our main Chris's in this? No. No. And should any Chris be in this film? Maybe not one of the main Chris's in this? No.
Starting point is 00:58:25 No. And should any Chris be in this film? Maybe not one of the four Chris's. It could be, again, Christine Baranski, I think, would fit right in. I think she would fit in. Absolutely. She comes up all the time. Also, Chris Kattan.
Starting point is 00:58:38 This could have been his comeback. Put him in. Put him in, coach. I would have been thrilled to see that. This segment is, is kissing this? Was there a kiss in here? Did they kiss, Vision and Wanda? I feel like maybe like a peck.
Starting point is 00:58:58 Yeah, it was very chased sitcom kissing. I mean, it was implied that they did a little more than kissing when she magicked their beds together. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. To signify. It was like, get over here, baby.
Starting point is 00:59:13 Well, yeah, it was to like signify the change of in the 50s, they always slept in separate twin beds. And then, you know, in the later 60s into the 70s, finally married couples were allowed to sleep in the same bed in sitcoms. And, you know,
Starting point is 00:59:26 they pulled the covers up over their head and there was a little fade to black. Yeah. We can assume. Day be fucking. Okay, well, that's great for them. I'm so happy.
Starting point is 00:59:39 Now it's time for our segment, Five Stark Industries. This is the segment where we read positive reviews about our own show. This one comes from Chris Wright. I really love when you phrase it like that it's so funny to me it comes with chris right 65 five stars wig review podcast i look forward to hearing the wigs in each movie would rate six out of five if i could thank you so much thank you so much
Starting point is 01:00:00 the wigs in this were i thought really great yeah. Yeah. I really like the seventies wigs. Particularly. Me too. Those are, I will say the hairline on Wanda is not great. The part is very good. I just want that wet. You see it.
Starting point is 01:00:14 You're like, Oh no, but it was, she blow dries it rather quickly with powers. And I was like, I'm bored again. And then all of, what is her name?
Starting point is 01:00:23 Monica Rambo. Yes. The character, all of uh what is her name monica rambo yes the character all of her hair looked really good i am they did her very nice she was very kind in the hair trailer and they said we will do we like you right yeah um okay so in addition to apple reviews. We're also going to read reviews from Letterboxd. And if you don't know what that is, sorry. And then we're going to give like a star review. Okay, so this Letterboxd review
Starting point is 01:00:53 is by Emma. Emma said, how is the MCU able to sustain itself for so long without the presence of Katherine Hahn? Okay.
Starting point is 01:01:01 Uh-huh. They gave it four and a half. And then this one is from Andrea. Mom, the multi-billion dollar corporation is making me cry again. That's funny. Wow. Okay. I can't wait till it makes me cry.
Starting point is 01:01:14 Emma. Yeah. I did not write that review about Captain Han, but. Seems like you did, Emma. Agree. Agree with it strongly, though it was not actually me. It was an extension of myself with the same name as me what is your uh one sentence review and star rating for wandavision emma and then we'll go around the room goodness um my one sentence review is uh
Starting point is 01:01:52 Is sad woman use power to make life happy, learns big lessons about grief. Five stars. Love it. I think I would say surprises at every turn. You think it's going one way, but then it goes the other. Four and a half stars. I'm almost at five. I just don't know.
Starting point is 01:02:08 I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think I'm at four stars. And my review is good wigs, great wigs, spectacular wigs. Storyline, good for me, too. We'll watch more. Can you even? Wow. I mean, I can't even, honestly.
Starting point is 01:02:24 I'm shocked at the way this has gone. I'm blown away. I'm absolutely flabbergasted. I don't feel like... We have one more film to watch, and I'm like, it's not going to top how we feel about this, I don't believe. Yeah, I don't think so.
Starting point is 01:02:37 What film do you have left? The Eternals. The Eternals. Yeah, it's not going to top this. Wigs, not as good. Oh, no. So set the bar low for that. i was gonna ask nicole how many stars does something get for you if it like do you give an automatic star for good wigs
Starting point is 01:02:52 well i haven't really been giving stars based on wigs just like gut feelings um but most of the avengers movies i didn't like except for endgame and Infinity War. And Scarlett Johansson's wig in that really, really made me upset. And I might watch, what's her, who is she? Black Widow. No, Black Widow. I might watch that movie just to see what they do with the wigs. Because I'm curious. I was going to watch it on a plane and then I was like,
Starting point is 01:03:22 I couldn't possibly watch it right now. No. I have to watch HGTV. I was going to say, HGTV is really the answer for flights, I've found. Yes. All right. Well, everyone out there, please, please write us a review on Apple Podcasts and give us five stars because that's what you want to do. And we'll pick another one to read on the next episode. please rate us on spotify please please please oh my god and also
Starting point is 01:03:51 if you have any criticisms please tweet them at me okay great i do enjoy reading them leave lauren out of it but tell me what you're mad about this week. Love it. What did I miss? Oh, my God. Emma, we are so happy to have you today. Thank you for doing this. Is there anything you would like to plug? Yeah, sure.
Starting point is 01:04:19 So I'm in the upcoming, I'm not sure when this episode's airing. The season's probably airing at this point of actually, I don't know what season it is. It's many seasons in, but the new one starts July 5th. I'm on sometime this season. So, you know, follow me on Twitter at Emma Fyfe to know about that. And then, yeah, we're streaming video games on the fandom Twitch channel now. So that's twitch.tv slash fandom. And we're there every Thursday playing games, 3 o'clock p.m. Pacific time. So come see us.
Starting point is 01:04:47 Thank you so much. Yes, thank you. Well, we'll be back next week with Spider-Man Far From Home. So I guess what I said was not true. Well, listen, we are watching them in a funky order, but releasing them in release order? I don't know. What are we doing?
Starting point is 01:05:04 We are releasing these out release order? I don't know. What are we doing? We are releasing these out of order, but technically, this does take place before Far From Home because this is taking place right after Endgame and you'll see. Oh, yeah. It's a summer vacation. You know what's going on
Starting point is 01:05:20 and we don't need to know what's going on. There we go. Someone's got this covered. But yeah, Far From Home did come out in 2019 and then there was no Marvel Studios content for a full year because of the pandemic. And then one edition was 2021. Got it. Wow. Really
Starting point is 01:05:36 slowed them down. A bit. Got it. Well, amazing. Thank you so much, Emma. Thank you. And we will see you all next week. Bye-bye. Okay, bye-bye. you so much emma and we will see you all next week bye bye Thank you. That was a Hidgum Original.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.