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I’ve been struggling not to complain about the writing from right around the moment in the first episode when Vision first looked at Paladin and then flew away without questioning him. But I’m watching with my husband, and told him I was gonna try to bite my tongue.
And then JARVIS teased Vision about tying a better Windsor knot, and my husband blew up.
‘What?? WHAT!?! That’s a four-in-hand! These aren’t obscure knots!? Vision and JARVIS and every costume director would absolutely know the difference between a Windsor and a four-in-hand! There is just no way not to notice this! And Vision wouldn’t wear a Windsor! There’s a reason why …’
He went on for about 10 minutes, and he’s right. Maybe it’s minor. But… is it? It’s utterly sloppy. I suspect that Beatney and D’Arcy both know the difference, and are just trying not to let it distract them while acting. It’s like calling brown shoes black if you’re a British man who wears a tie. What’s the point of putting something like that in as a writer if you have no idea who your characters are and what that quip is supposed to mean?
I’m with my husband. It’s frustrating.
It just occurred to me that all the Vision goon killing action scenes were completely gratuitous. Vision could phase and did so many times. Goons with guns and grenades were meaningless. Maybe the pub was rage over the death of his friend but the hospital attack was completely unnecessary.
I know it’s a TV show and you can’t just kill the bad guy, but Vision killed everyone in the bar last episode and straight up disintegrated a guy this episode. Paladin had Adamantium bullets, give him a little more, magic shield or something just so Vision has a reason not to blast him.
I’m also not sure the Jarvis sacrifice worked. I don’t think I know the rules yet. I assume we can just get another one. During Age of Ultron he died but we found a copy on the Internet. I assume there is a Stark copy somewhere.
And of course who hired Paladin? The obvious answer is Ultron, but that’s perhaps too obvious. In keeping with tradition… Mephisto?
I’m really struggling with Marvel shows these days.
Ironically, I think the problem is that they’re more like comics these days than they used to be. They run on vibes, and there’s no real expectation that the storytelling make sense. Why has Paladin confronted Vision twice with no plan to contain him? And his plan this time was to have him murder a slew of henchies before going into the trap box, and then not have any backup when Vision breaks out of the box, now vulnerable? Just skip the first part and save all the mercs for when it’s useful.
The whole show is like this. All of them are, tbh. I feel like Marvel just expects us not to notice that Vision and Paladin both attend a meeting with neither arriving with any particular objective other than to monologue and leave. How am I supposed to not notice how weird that feels? I don’t think I’m one of those picky viewers who complain about everything. That just genuinely feels completely off!
I’ll probably keep watching a little longer, but these shows feel like mid-tier fan fic at this point. I don’t like being put through this.
I don’t know that I agree it’s all Marvel shows, but I do think this one is having those issues. I could argue the issue is the eight episode format and needing to move the story along, but they’ve made so many shows in this format so they should be able to figure out the pacing and filling in the story beats.
I won’t spoil beyond episode two (in this thread), but I do think the overall story is worth continuing. Plus I hesitate to fully judge a show while it’s still releasing.
For example I enjoyed Agatha All Along as it was airing, but by the end all the previous episodes really paid off and made the whole series even better. I don’t think some of the issues we’ve both mentioned can be fixed in retrospect, but some of them might once we see how the whole story comes together.
Vision spared Paladin 3 times without reason. Yes a shield would have been a great and simple method to keep the antagonist alive.
Instead we got the trope of the hero killing goons indiscriminately and then sparing the leader. It’s bad writing.
Agreed. I give that trope a lot of leniency, but once Paladin brought out the big gun (literally) you gotta laser him. I guess you could argue Vision was too hurt for lasers, but at least have him laser wildly or shoot out a weak laser and try to kill Paladin.
In the pub, Vision didn’t kill Paladin because Paladin paying them was the only reason his goons had to not kill Tommy.
In the sanitarium, Vision didn’t kill Paladin because a combination of the lingering effects of the EMP cage and getting shot with adamantium bullets caused his punch to be weaker than intended. It was intended to kill.
In the pub the first time, Vision sees Paladin as the man commanding the operation and flies away. He saw the person responsible, like finding Osama Bin Laden, and flew away.
In the pub the second time, Paladin is the threat to Tommy. With Paladin dead, the goons have no orders. But more realistic would be for Vision to take Paladin, track Philomena, and exchange Paladin for Tommy.
Yeah the third I’ll give a pass because he was damaged. But the entire situation was ridiculous. He could have phased in. The bullets and grenades weren’t threatening.
The reason this was poor writing was because in the second pub scene, Vision showed off just how super genius he was by knowing exactly what Paladin would say. Yet Vision attacked like he was in a Vin Diesel movie.
It made no sense for Vision to assert that he’d already reviewed all possible outcomes and confirmed that he’d checkmated Paladin and then to do exactly what Paladin wanted and then experience the obvious consequence of it.
Like… Huh?
The show is just nonsense, scene by scene.
As others have noted, these are fixable issues, so the choice not to is maddening.
Who hired Paladin? I’m guessing someone from Hydra or AIM. They have factions still around I’m sure.
Or it’s someone in/associated with Zodiac, which would also potentially lead to Hydra and/or AIM.
My first thought on the client was actually Billy. Something about the need to get Vision alive and the stated preference at least for no civilian casualties.
So many possibilities at this point, though.
If Billy is the client, would we really need Paladin? Billy could just walk up to Vision and start explaining what’s going on. Unless Billy is having similar confusing flashbacks about Vision like Tommy is having. Although Agatha could help clarify that, so probably not.
If we need Vision alive then perhaps it’s not just Vision they are after, but also the AIs inside. Ultron could be a useful ally, maybe outside Ultron looking for inside Ultron? Or an Ultron cult of some kind looking for Ultron? Also possibly someone looking for Edith? She got a special introduction and she’s in charge of weapons plus maybe still some Stark tech?
Yeah, that’s all fair. I reckon at some point, whether it’s the entire plot, or a moment of opportunity, we’ll see Ultron attempt to take over the physical body, but I’m hoping they’ll do something more interesting with the client than simply “rich/powerful entity wants weapons.”
In any event, I think the show is off to a good start.
Right now our only clue for who the client is, is that they hacked Paladin’s comms using SWORD encryption protocols.
EDIT: oh, and the fact that they want Vision unharmed.
