Weekend Watch: WandaVision And Servant

The MCU goes in a new direction and M. Night Shyamalan's TV chiller is back for more weird baby time.

Image Credit: Disney+

Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, the MCU gets weirder and creepy baby drama returns to Apple TV+

When you’ve been as successful on the big screen as Kevin Feige and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that buys you a lot of leeway even as your parent company encourages you to pump out content for its Disney+ streaming service. Thankfully, for the first official MCU TV series (the Marvel TV series such as Daredevil and Jessica Jones were connected but largely ignored by the wider MCU), Feige and co. have decided not to play it safe and formulaic – at least in the early going.

WandaVision, created by writer Jac Schaeffer and director Matt Shakman, is very much its own thing while, as is constantly hinted, within the MCU. Framed within a series of spot-on sitcom homages, it’s the story of Wanda Maximoff (AKA Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), the ordinary story of a witch and her robot husband moving to the quaint small suburban town of Westview. Yeah, that old story. Wanda and Vision are trying to fit in, meeting the neighbours and learning the ropes of sitcom life. Of course, something very different is going on, not least because when we saw them last on the big screen, Vision was dead at the hands of Thanos and Wanda was in mourning. What exactly the new situation is remains to be seen – the episodes I’ve seen hint at it, but I won’t reveal anything here, though if you’ve seen any of the trailers, more is given away.

Proudly leaning into the sitcom aesthetic (different episodes are set within shows that look like classic series such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched and The Brady Bunch), WandaVision cannily uses those tropes to provide both comedy and mystery. Just what do their new neighbours know? And why is Wanda discovering colourful items in her monochrome world early on? What does that sword logo that keeps cropping up mean?

This is certainly very different to anything that we’ve seen on the big screen from the Marvel gang, even when it went to stranger – and Stephen Strange-r – corners. The jokes come thick and fast, but the mystery also works, unfolding slowly as Wanda in particular tries to figure out what’s happening. On the comedy front, Olsen and in particular Bettany shine, both relishing the chance to be funny in a way that they’re rarely able on the big screen. And since they’ve largely been side characters sharing scenes with the Avengers, the chance for them to develop is welcome, especially given Vision’s untimely death. 

The danger here, as with some of the bigger Avengers movies, is scaring away newbies, though that’s less of a concern for a show as it is for a giant budgeted film that needs to draw in large audiences. Will you get more out of WandaVision if you know more about their shared background both in the movies and the comic books? Sure, but that’s mostly in nods and winks to other stories. Schaeffer and her writing team are careful to tell their own story, one that shouldn’t require you to have a Marvel encyclopedia open to enjoy.

With only the first three episodes available to review, I can’t say if the series will stick the landing, but based on what I’ve seen, I’m hopeful. More MCU shows are on the way, and it already feels like Team Marvel has a grasp on what makes these stories work the way their blockbusters have in the past.  

WandaVision’s first two episodes launch on Disney+ tomorrow, and it will then be weekly after that. I’ve seen the first three episodes. 

Image Credit: Apple TV+

Apple doesn’t have the benefit of big brands to create shows and films for its streaming service, but it does have a lot of money at hand. Which is why it can afford to grab movies that were once targeting a cinema release (Greyhound) and secure the services of filmmakers such as M. Night Shyamalan to produce projects. Servant, created by Tony Basgallop, saw Shyamalan as an executive producer and director for several episodes. 

The show launched last year with a distinctive style and tone, and followed a Philadelphia couple (Toby Kebbell’s chef Sean and Lauren Ambrose’s Tv reporter Dorothy) dealing with the fallout of tragedy after the apparent death of their baby son, Jericho. In an attempt to help Dorothy in particular process the loss, they bought a creepy-looking doll replacement and hired nanny Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free) to help care for it. What followed threw creeping unease, supernatural overtones, paranoia and suspicion into a food processor and hit blend. 

Servant goes all in on the slow burn aesthetic, teasing out the story in achingly long, stylish shots as the cameras slowly glides towards or from the characters, with wonky angles to throw you off kilter and sudden jumps when the moment calls for it. Less and out-and-out horror tale and more a psychological thriller, the first season moved like a giant, heavy train grinding into gear, picking up speed as the layers around Leanne were slowly peeled away and Sean and Dorothy (plus Dorothy’s brother Julian, played by Rupert Grint) dissolving into fear and uncertainty, panic and anger as their world just got stranger around them. Don’t mistake that for criticism – Servant’s team made it work, and the performances certainly kept you watching.

Season One wrapped up with Leanne having snatched Jericho (who, spoiler alert, appeared to be real, or at least a real baby she stole and put in place of the plastic version), and Season Two kicks off as Sean and Dorothy try to find them, unravelling even further as they do so. Yet while I found the first run of episodes a satisfyingly creepy experience, the second is having no such power over me. What were intriguing character quirks before now seem more annoying and frustrating, and the meandering plot doesn’t help. I’ll stick with it, though – as there were moments during the first that I began to lose faith, and my patience was rewarded. With luck, Season Two is headed in a similarly entertainingly loopy direction. And if you like you shows with a distinct look, Servant certainly offers that. 

Servant returns to Apple TV+ tomorrow, and episodes will arrive weekly. I’ve seen the first four of the new season.