WandaVision's First Two Episode Titles Are Quite Revealing
After a too-lengthy delay, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is officially back in action with the debut of the Disney+ streaming series WandaVision, starring MCU blockbuster vets Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany. And after last week's two-episode premiere, it's safe to say most of MCU fandom still doesn't have much of a clue as to what's really going on in WandaVision.
For now, that's a-okay, as WandaVision and its unique blend of classic television tropes and Marvel-style narrative ambition is making for an absolute blast of a show that's unlike anything the MCU has attempted before. It also happens to feature what may be career-best work from both Olsen and Bettany, who have so far utterly delighted in their hammy '50s and '60s screen personas. In fact, one might dare to say WandaVision has wholly re-invigorated two characters who (save for that heartbreaking Avengers: Infinity War moment) have been largely overlooked on the big screen.
On top of that, the question as to what exactly is happening on the show is shaping up to be a genuinely fascinating (at times even eerie) mystery; one filled with all the Easter-eggy winks and nods one might expect from a Marvel project. As MCU fans and comic book scholars alike continue to decipher even the tiniest references to the superhero realm and to beloved small-screen series of the past ahead of WandaVision's third episode, it seems Team Marvel has cleared up at least one tiny mystery surrounding the first two installments by finally confirming their titles.
Not surprisingly, even those titles — episode 1 is "Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience," and episode two is called "Don't Touch That Dial" — are revealing in their own right, as each calls back to a classic phrase from the golden age of television.
WandaVision will likely continue to use telling TV catchphrases as episode titles
For the record, episode 1 of WandaVision was itself filmed in front of a live studio audience, so that title makes a lot of sense. Ditto for "Don't Touch That Dial," which was regularly uttered in classic series to encourage viewers to stick around for the incoming commercial break. Outside of those clear nods to television's past, said titles might be even more revealing than you think.
"Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" is particularly telling, as it's become clear that whatever is happening to Wanda, people within the show's framework are apparently watching the wildness unfold live as well. Some of them are even trying to communicate with her to help crack WandaVision's central mystery. Regarding the "Don't Touch That Dial" reference, the charming commercial breaks in each WandaVision episode may actually prove vital to the show's overarching narrative, having already teased reminders of major Marvel entities like Stark Industries and a certain HYDRA baddie by the name of Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker.
There's every reason to believe WandaVision will continue giving episode titles double meanings moving forward. And given that episode 2's final moments saw a dramatic switch from black and white to glorious color, we wouldn't be at all surprised if the third episode of the series were titled "Now in Color," a phrase that accompanied many television productions as they made that monumental transition.
As for how that title might translate within the show's narrative, we don't yet know. But the Technicolor age isn't the only big arrival to Wanda's and Vision's orbit, as the couple's infamous buns are officially in the oven and a very Brady Bunch vibe has been teased. Needless to say, we cannot wait to see where WandaVision goes from here, or what they do with that distinctly '70s Brady Bunch aesthetic.