Marvel's Troubled Phase 4

I thought we might do something a bit different today. Every now and then we need to take a break from the norm! So I thought we might talk about something I am really passionate about, Marvel movies!

Well, today won't exactly be a glowing review, unfortunately. I want to talk about Marvel's Phase 4 movies and TV shows, and how my outlook about future MCU titles has really soured.

Just a quick disclaimer before I get started here. This article will feature my personal opinions, and those as a fellow writer. Everyone has different opinions, and things that they enjoy. Writers all have different opinions on how stories should be built. This is my perspective, and you might think differently. I'd love to talk about your thoughts in the comments, or social media!

To really talk about my feelings with Phase 4, I think it will really help to start from the beginning.

Before the MCU

I've always been a big fan of Marvel. While I don't own a ton of comics myself, I've always kept up with what many of the characters are up to in the comics, or the various TV shows over the years. I absolutely loved many of the various superheroes movies over the years, even the ones that kinda sucked.

I worked at a movie theater when the first Iron Man movie came out, and immediately I could tell that something was different with this one. I ended up seeing it 5 times while it was in theaters, and even managed to get the movie poster from the theater when it finally left. Boy, was that a fight to get.

Iron Man, to me, was a statement. That after credits scene, which turned out to be 100% be a shot in the dark they thought would be really cool, really said something. To me, I could feel that this was only the beginning.

The Change

And then, Marvel committed to the unthinkable. It was swinging for the fences and putting together the Avengers. This was a magical moment

You may not remember, but back then the idea of going for broke on a series of Superhero movies was far from a sure thing. Sony, Fox, and Warner Brothers all had rather unreliable success with their titles from confused entries in already successful projects, like the third X-Men and Spider-Man movies, to complete nonstarters like The Spirit, and Elektra, and absurd monstrosities like Catwoman. Some were even successful enough inspite of themselves, like The Fantastic Four. Quality and faithfulness were all over the map, and unfortunately many ended up hokey and half-assed, or so divorced from the source material it might as well have been called something else.

What was so awe inspiring about Marvel's Plan was that it would give each hero their own outing to establish them, then bring them together in an ensemble that hadn't quite been seen before. It was bold, daring, and truly impressive in scope.

Phase 1, Find Your Footing

Phase 1, on the whole, was quite positive, though it did have a few near misses. Thor and The Incredible Hulk, in particular, suffered from what felt like hasty scripts, but were largely saved by absolute superb casting. Thor, for me, was a particular low point for Phase 1, unfortunately. It really nailed the casting, but something about the atmosphere of the story just didn't land right. I wanted to love it, but something always felt off.

Iron Man 2 and Captain America, while they had their own issues, really proved that this all could work. I know a lot of people didn't like the first Captain America, and in many ways that is because the second one is absolutely killer, but the first one feels really special to me. I am a real sucker for the Great Wars period peices, and this balls to the wall Wunderwaffe with lasers in Hydra was just so freaking cool to me. I thought it was fantastic.

Iron Man 2 had an issue with really missing the mark with Whiplash, and underutilizing Mickey Rourke, a problem that would creep up in Marvel titles from time to time. But the core of the original Iron Man movie, of building, growing, and becoming more was still there. I personally feel like Don Cheadle was a great pick to take the place of Rhodey. I already adored him as an actor, and seeing his calm, controlled energy against Downey Jr's fast-paced, quipy, quirky cool was a match made in heaven, I thought.

The main theme of Phase 1 was all about introducing each character, while making their goals, motivations, and failings clear. Each movie, both the successful, and not so much, did a fantastic job of meeting this theme. By the end of each entry we knew who these characters were, and where they wrote coming from.

Assemble

The time had finally come. 4 years of hard work had lead to a moment of cinema history that would send a ripple through the entire movie industry. The Avengers was a solid movie, and the box office proved that the MCU's wild plan had paid off big time.

The first Avengers movie was by no means perfect. The second act, the conflict on the helicarrier, to me, always felt very weak. It seemed a necessary evil to really ensure that each character had their moment, and we really got to feel the tension between these larger than life figures, but it did feel a bit messy.

It was all worth it for the Battle of New York. This was it. This was what no other superhero series could quite do. We had an enormous set piece battle that showed all the strengths and weaknesses of our heroes, and, crucially, their strengths and weaknesses together. More than any other moment in any other superhero movie, this showed the true power of the genre. Fight together, or die alone.

The Avengers, crucially, set up much of the dramatic conflict and motivations of the heroes, especially Iron Man, for the next two phases.

Phase 2, The Gathering Storm

Phase 2 was all about building. They had a strong foundation with The Avengers, now they needed to expand and take more chances. The roster of characters would double in this phase, and it handled this expansion incredibly well. Secondly, movies in Phase 2 each had something to say about the conflict of Freedom vs Security. Is it worth giving up, or taking away some freedoms for the sake of security.

It was not without its issues. Iron Man 3 was a bit of a wild toss that had lots of great ideas, but that same villain issue we talked about before persisted here. Thor: The Dark World seemed to really go against the grain, especially for Chris Hemsworth. I feel like he is really at his best when he can let the character's hair down, and play them a little lose.

But the rest of Phase 2 was an absolute slam dunk. People still talk about Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It was a real achievement in a very different take on Captain America that would come to shape everything he did after. Guardians of the Galaxy was the exact funky fresh, fun movie the line up needed to keep from getting too heavy. Ant-Man, which came after the second ensemble movie, was worlds better than I ever expected it to be.

And then came Avengers: Age of Ultron. If the first Avengers movie was a proof of concept, this was a full production model. I absolutely adored Age of Ultron, especially James Spader's performance as Ultron. Ultron proved that they could still make the magic happen, even with more characters on the table. It also built on the themes and anxieties that rose in the first Avengers title, Starks obsession with protecting the world in the face of a force he knows he will lose against.

But most crucial was the creative decision to focus much of the energy of the story on Ultron himself. We really got to know Ultron, in so much as he knew himself. This was a really unexpected move that gave a lot of weight to him as a villain, and would truly see its best use in Phase 3.

Phase 3, The Golden Age of the MCU

Phase 3 was everything we couldn't even dare to dream of back when the MCU was announced. Phase 3 brought together the Infinity Stones, and the character's various conflicts with them, but also had them struggle with the nature of power, or powerlessness, and the benefits and dangers of either.

Civil War was a great entry that was almost perfectly set up by all the groundwork done before. It not only explored the thematic focus of Phase 2, Freedom vs Security, but it made a proud, definitive statement on the conflict which we would see the consequences of at the end of Phase 3.

Doctor Strange was a total win for me. Guardians 2 was a little wonky, but was still very solid. Spider-Man: Homecoming was a surprisingly good, fresh entry in a character that most assumed had played it's hand in the five previous outings. Thor: Ragnarok is easily the best of Thor, and near infinitely rewatchable. Black Panther was really great too, even if they cheaped out on the effects a bit.

Nothing that came before could possibly have prepared us for what came next.

Avengers: Infinity War was the culmination of a decade of work. All of the MCU's successes and failures came together in this one moment, and Marvel didn't flinch. The Snap became a cultural metaphor that even my grandmother, who hadn't watched any of these films, had heard of. Learning from Age of Ultron, Thanos was a wildly intriguing, even sympathetic villain. In many ways, he is the true protagonist. You almost want him to win. And then he does, and the consequences are something we still talk about. Everything Stark feared came true.

Recovery and Reconciliation

Ant-Man and the Wasp really hit it out of the park again with a quirky, fun entry to balance out the inevitable gravity of Infinity War. Captain Marvel was OK, and I really had a much better opinion of it when it came out, but I've definitely soured on it as I feel like it falls into the Superman trap. I don't like that she just never really seems to get pushed or truly challenged in her story, not really. It was necessary to set her up for Endgame, but I feel like there were better ways to do this. This was really the first miss for me since Thor: The Dark World.

Avengers: Endgame somehow tied everything together, and while not the titan that Infinity War was, it was quite exceptional for its scope, ambition, and delivery. Somehow is brought a wonderful, satisfying conclusion to all to the journeys, triumphs, and losses that came before. Importantly, it brought an end to what started it all. The Iron Man saga was over. I still choke up a little with Tony's death, and memorial service.

Spider-Man: Far From Home came shortly after with a powerful, hopeful message hailing the direction the next phase would follow, recovering after the effects of Infinity War and Endgame.

A Strong Start to Phase 4

But that direction is uneasy, and often strayed from. A secondary focus also came with exploring the multiverse, and the nature of reality. But this is only touched on in a few titles, so again, it fails to tie many things together in a cohesive direction.

Phase 4 started quite strong, and in a wildly interesting new frontier. The Disney+ shows seemed like one of the best opportunities to fill the gaps between movies, to always have something to engage with.

Wandavision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were quite solid and very compelling entries into this new phase. They were not without their issues, and The Falcon series got exceptionally weighted down with preachiness after the second half, really bogging down the pace. Also, the "Villain" in this series is just so not a threat. I kept waiting to see if there was something more behind the plot. But no, there wasn't. It's like looking behind the curtain and there isn't even someone at the Wizard of Oz's controls. They attempt to turn the camera on you, or just politicians in general, but it rings so hollow and forced. You can almost feel that the writers thought they were being especially clever, turning things around unexpectedly. But it just cheapened what came before.

Wandavision was quite adventurous, and I think the most risky project they had attempted yet, with fascinating cinematography. But ultimately I felt like this turn in Wanda was a bit to Plot heavy rather than Character-based. I get that she is grieving, but it seemed much too easily sinister for the Wanda we knew before. I get that they wanted to show a turn in her, but I couldn't help thinking they had played it a bit too hard. Just like Falcon, I kept expecting something more to be at work, someone influencing Wanda to be this cruel. But even the late reveal of Agatha Harkness, a real welcome twist, didn't resolve that. No, Wanda is just that twisted.

Loki was a total win for me, really committing to its premise, and getting more wild with every turn. Fantastic, really can't say anything reasonably bad about it. I hope we get Season 2 soon, because it was rad.

What really worked with these was that they all tackled the theme of Recovery from the Blip, and the events of Infinity War and Endgame in different ways. It really helped to form a cohesive direction for the series that Far From Home set. Loki and Wandavision definitely had something to say about reality and the Multiverse

The First Warning Sign

Unfortunately, this momentum did not last. Black Widow was the first real flop for me in the MCU's history, even among the not so great movies. Don't get me wrong, I love Black Widow, and was pretty excited about her getting her own movie, but the timing was awkward at best. The story was... I mean I guess you could call it a storyline. It almost felt like a revision of Captain Marvel with less personality. The Natasha we see here is so much more bland, and somehow less invested in what should be a very personal story. I never got the sense that Scarlett Johansson really cared about this movie, and I think the writing really drove the final nail in the coffin.

What was absurd to me, and something you will see me bring up again real soon, is she gets upstaged in her own movie. Her sister, and Red Guardian really stole the show here. I absolutely love David Harbour, and I think he had so much fun with this role, even though it seems like the script hates him, and all men, really. I now have a real appreciation for Florence Pugh, who played Yelena, and just like Harbour, really seemed to just go for it and make it her own. Next to these two, Black Widow, in this movie, just comes off as lifeless. It just made no sense.

Also, this movie has a serious vendetta against men. I get that that is kind of the point, but it comes off as so grating, and frustrating. I don't think there is a single actually good, or not dumb animal male character in this. Yes, David Harbour really seemed to make Red Guardian shine, but I think that is in spite of a script that is supposed to make us not like him, or at least think he's an idiot. And the main baddie, can't even remember his name, was just so maniacally, unreasonably evil, and a woman hater, and user that I couldn't believe this was a real person. His plan is just "brainwash and use pretty women" like that's it? Also, the fact that I can't even remotely remember his name is a cardinal sin of a comics/superhero movie. The Villain should be just as memorable as the Hero(es).

I ended up seeing The Eternals before Shang-Chi, and my god was I worried when I saw The Eternals. I have watched it twice, and I can't for the life of me figure out why this was made. It honestly feels like it shouldn't even be in the MCU. The connective tissue is so thin, it might as well just be out on it's own. The only truly redeeming quality to the movie is the visuals and art direction. That's pretty solid. But there is so much that does not work with The Eternals.

The characters are beyond paper-thin, given absolutely no time to develop whatsoever. The scope of the story is so poorly written, handled, and executed that I almost would have rather just heard about in in expositional dialogue. It really is that bad. I never get a sense that any of these characters really care about each other, the plot, or anything else. And this is with them being played by very, very qualified actors. I don't feel like any of the actors cared about this movie in the slightest, except for Kit Harrington, who brought as much as he could to the 2 seconds of screen time he had. Everyone gets at least 2 seconds. And if you get more, you got a steal. It is almost like the main cast was told "Dude, you are a depressed, angry robot, act like it." and that's exactly what they did.

Kumail Nanjiani and Harish Patel as Kingo and Karun were the absolute highlight of this movie. They were honestly what was keeping me in this and not just turning the movie off. Ma Dong-seok, and Brian Tyree Henry also turned in a solid performance, with what little slack the script gave them. But this movie actively made me dislike Gemma Chan's character. They actually made me hate something Gemma Chan did. How is that possible?

I do have to say, I appreciate the ambition of this movie, taking on a story like the Eternals is a wild proposition, especially in just one movie. But the more I think about this movie, the more I realize it should never have been a movie, ever. This should have been a TV show, in fact I think this would have been such a fit for TV, I don't know why they didn't go for it. It would have given them so much more time to build the story and help us understand why we should care about these people. I would pay to see that. I think it would actually be fantastic.

But, what was so puzzling to me is what these two had to do at all with The Blip, and the Infinity War recovery. Black Widow just shoves it in the end as clumsily as everything else in the movie, and was delayed to hell and back, so I think it is understandable that the conflict doesn't really connect in any way. But the Eternals is a giant bleeding sore in this. They have the flimsiest excuse possible as to why they were not involved in the Infinity War, even though it runs directly against their goals, especially their hidden goal.

Lights of Hope

Shang-Chi really brought things back up for air. While it doesn't do too much in the space with The Blip, or Recovery, it is a very solid, very enjoyable movie. Simu Liu was a real treat in this, and it might be the best showing of Awkwafina, and her range we have yet. She seems to handle drama and action with the same swagger and ease that she does comedy, and I really adored her performance here. You can always get me with a vaguely Mythology inspired story, and I thought this was a very solid one that stuck to its Martial Arts roots quite well. The bus fight in particular has some great action and choreography. I've put just that fight on a couple times because it's so fun.

And then we come to the true light in the darkness, Spider-Man: No Way Home. This was perhaps my favorite MCU movie since Infinity War. This was everything it needed to be and more, providing a wildly creative story, and journey for this Peter Parker, but also loving, heartfelt closure for all the Spider-Man movies of the past. I wish they could have gotten James Franco in this, as I think having some closure with The Osbornes would have been absolutely fantastic, but I could also see that just taking up way too much time in an already stacked movie.

Most importantly, this once again tapped into the themes of loss, and hope for recovery after the Blip that Far From Home set, while viewing it from multiple lenses and delivering quite a unique message. This was a real treat, and I think a once in a lifetime kind of project that probably will never quite happen again in the same way. This is the magic Marvel is good at, and what only they seem to be able to do, even if it was with Sony Pictures. Big win.

As a side note, including Daredevil, even for just a moment. Tying in the Marvel Netflix series is such a great idea, and definitely looking forward to more.

Hawkeye, for me, was almost perfect. I thought it was a very fun show that had such a good balance of comedy, action, and drama. It was very well done. However, there is one thing I had a rather big problem with, which will sound familiar: Hawkeye very, very nearly gets upstaged in his own show. He is almost a side character here, and that is not ok. I get that they are Introducing, and in many ways, passing the torch to Kate Bishop, but it seems like they often make a point to show she is better than him, and it feels really unjustified and unfair. Also, slight complaint, but the Ronin Sword was not retractable in Endgame, and makes very little sense to be so here...

This show is really at it's best, though, when it deals with the guilt and loss Clint feels as a result of Endgame. I think they really effectively negotiated this subject, and it was really great to see. We also see Yelena come in from Black Widow, and for coming from a train wreck of a movie, she sure was fantastic in this. She fit right in with the Hawkeyes. Also, bringing Kingpin back from the Netflixverse was a killer move.

A Stumble at the Worst Moment

The last thing I've seen so far in the MCU is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I haven't seen Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, or Thor: Love and Thunder yet, but I'll share my hopes and doubts on future titles and these here in a moment.

I absolutely loved the first Doctor Strange, but this movie really had me worried about the future with Marvel. If we hadn't had the bombs in The Eternals, or Black Widow, I'd take it as just a miss, but Multiverse of Madness in that particular context is quite distressing. We will refer to this movie from here on as MoM, because it is hilarious. There are many things I like in MoM, but unfortunately, there's a lot of problems that are indicative of some persisting issues with Phase 4.

Wanda is not a convincing villain. It has nothing to do with Olsen's performance at all. It has nothing to do with Scarlet Witch's power or physicality. It just does not resolve at all as something that makes sense for her character in the slightest. I get the note of "love makes you do crazy things" but it is like we are missing a movie, or TV series. And that show is not Wandavision. The Wanda we see at the end of Wandavision had largely made peace with letting go of her alternate reality's kids and The Vision. She seemed to have processed that trauma, and moved on to picking herself back up, and trying to redeem her mistakes. I wanted to see that journey, and my hope was that MoM would be a chance to see that resolution.

It is not. In fact, this is the worst version of Wanda we have ever seen. She is a caricature of her own character, forced to be more evil than she really is because... Of what she had already made peace with, essentially. Why regress her? Why boil Wanda down to this? It is so lazy, contrived, and not at all interesting.

The last hero-turned-villain movie we had was Civil War, where Stark's motivations to work against Cap and friends is made completely understandable by the course of his journey through The Avengers and Age of Ultron. His experience in his own bravado and recklessness nearly bringing defeat has made him scared of making another mistake. Also, critically, there was an outside force in Zemo that pushed this disagreement to a head, that forced this conflict.

Wanda literally goes from accepting that her obsession was hurting people, and she had to let it go to saying "Screw it, I don't care." Just... Why? Wouldn't it be more interesting if another force was using the memory of her children in Wandavision to twist her? It is somewhat implied that the Darkhold corrupted her, but that is so, so weak to not be able to see that twisting before us. If the Darkhold has that power, why do we not see that power demonstrated, not just passingly implied? Why do we not see that conflict?

Back again to the Civil War comparison, we had several movies of set up for this moment, this change, this twisting against Cap. We even see it play out in Civil War. And we see Zemo's actions to stoke that flame directly.

We get, honestly, none of that in Wanda's turn. And so, I can't take her seriously as a villain because I keep expecting the real bad guy to step into frame. But there isn't. She is just, apparently, really evil, even though she isn't. I know she isn't, because I have seen her be kind, and sacrifice something so dear to her because she realized it was a mistake.

My next issue is with this being called a Doctor Strange movie. The focus of this story is not on him at all. If anything, Strange is a setting, a backdrop for Scarlet Witch to do the bad girl thing while Strange and, sometimes, Wong do sorcerer things. They are just there to show how much stronger Wanda has become. So... Why isn't this movie called Scarlet Witch? Honestly, even America Chavez, who is kind of forced awkwardly into this story because we needed to Multiverse jump, has more to do here than Doctor Strange. He's almost just there to react to things, and then come in to somewhat help in the end. There is no real Doctor Strange energy in this movie. Honestly, Strange had more weight and agency in No Way Home than he did in MoM. That's with Strange trapped in a hole, and out of frame, through two thirds of that movie. How is that possible? The guy is almost completely upstaged in his own movie.

At that, we get so little about America Chavez in this. We get a tiny dose of backstory, and a wee touch of personality, but otherwise she is a MacGuffin, and that sucks. Marvel has always done such a great job of introducing new characters, even in an established character's tent pole movie. The most I can tell you about her is she wants to control her powers, she is the only one of her in the entire multiverse, and she spends half the movie needing to be saved, or making a conflict worse. That is so limp, it isn't even funny. The most interesting thing about her is her powers. That has never been the point of any character. It is not the power that makes a character, it is who they are, and how that influences what they do with it.

I don't want it to sound like I hated this movie, I enjoyed it, but it is definitely a mid-tier, very confused movie that follows such a tailor-made, very precise entry with the previous Doctor Strange. The art direction in this movie really made its mark, and kept me in the movie. I actually really thought the movie was at its best when it leaned I to the stronger horror angle with Scarlet Witch. That was very well done. But there's so much more that really hurts this title, and it is much of what we have seen increasingly in the MCU.

Also, how does this tie into recovery after the Blip? We get like one scene about this in the beginning, but nothing really about Doctor Strange resolving what happened. He just gets shit on, and shrugs, essentially. Just why, man?

Uncertain Horizon

For the first time in MCU history, I find myself not really looking forward to much of what is on the horizon for the MCU. So much of what is coming just seems like noise, or filling a time slot rather than being a meaningful addition to the greater story moving forward.

I am interested in Thor: Love and Thunder, but after MoM, I find myself worrying that the same thing will just happen here. If it does, I really don't know what Marvel could do to get things back together.

Moon Knight looks cool, and I'm looking forward to getting into it since he's a really interesting character, played by an actor I really enjoy. So jury is out here.

Ms. Marvel is... Well it exists. I have no idea why they completely changed her powers, and just made her... I don't know, so cookie cutter for Captain Marvel? Why retread that lane? This is something that came to mind with Hawkeye, why do we need another Hawkeye who isn't substantially different? I know the comics are full of "Passing The Torch" moments, but often they are to people who aren't exactly the same in abilities as who they take the place of. That's why The Falcon makes a great character to take up the mantle of Captain America. He has many traits in common, but he is wholly different in background and abilities. He isn't the same, but he upholds many of the same values. Anyway, I'll watch the show, but I'd be lying if I said I expected something meaningful here.

Wakanda Forever could be good. I just don't know what they could do to really make this stand up with Black Panther in the wake of Chadwick Boseman's death. I really don't want them to tarnish a pretty sterling legacy with a movie that either sucks, or tries to outshine whatever T'Challa did. What I hope we see is the catastrophic toll the Infinity War and the Blip took on Wakanda. Those are major events that came knocking right on Wakanda's doorstep. We need to see those scars. We need to see how it impacted their outlook. I will be cautiously optimistic here.

No idea what to expect with Secret Invasion, especially since we have already seen the Skrull in Captain Marvel? It seems like a desperate retread that will need to do a lot of work to justify itself I think.

I am not looking forward to The Marvels. I think this sounds like Batman and Robin, with George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger, all over again. Possibly three or more characters with the same abilities, more or less? I like seeing Talos and Fury again, but I can't figure out what the drive is here. I guess we will see. But on paper, the idea just seems flimsy at best.

Ant-Man 3 definitely has my attention. I really loved the first two, so I really don't have any doubts here without knowing more.

She-Hulk is a firm no from me. I get that they are trying to kind of tackle other genres to widden their net, but this just looks cheap and half-assed. Marvel has proven over several projects that you can make something that isn't the typical superhero flick and it can work. Hell, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is almost more a Bourne Identity style spy movie than it is a Superhero movie. Maybe this can win me over, but as it is right now I just don't get the draw.

The Agatha Harkness series could be interesting, but I find myself wondering why we are going there? I love the actress who plays her, and I thought she did a great job in Wandavision, but I need to see more to really be excited for this.

And so on and so forth the various announcements go, with ever frayed relevance and questions as to where any of this is leading. Marvel's MCU is at it's best when it builds towards something with each title. Before Black Widow, this is precisely what every title did, though some did so somewhat loosely. Where is the build towards something greater? Where is the thematic growth from title to title? Where is the promise that each new title will be part of an ever-building whole? Where is this all going?

The answer is eerily silent.

Conclusion

Has Marvel decided to rest on it's laurels, and let the various movies and characters fray ever further away, while introducing more further disconnected characters and stories that never seem to meet up? Are they just filling the air with content, content, content, with no direction in mind? If so, the MCU has truly, tragically lost everything that made it powerful, unique, and the envy of the many failed cinematic universes.

The MCU set itself apart by giving its various projects a pinpoint vector to work towards. Now it seems unwilling, or just scared to strive for the ambitions and risks of it's past, even though it is a proven formula for their success. Losing this touch is a mistake.

Even if the point with these various series and movies is to accentuate the loss of direction the loss of Captain America and Iron Man presents, that is not a compelling vision to paint over several multimillion dollars projects. Aimlessness is not exciting, not inspiring, not motivating, and definitely not a direction. It is the opposite. We are talking about some of the most inspiring characters in modern history, several of them born leaders, and they are just letting things go?

I get the various platforms and formats are wildly exciting. TV allows Marvel to do some pretty exciting things, to weave even more complex stories. But so far, in connecting to the silver screen, this capacity has been squandered to the point of calling into question why they would bother?

The hand off from Wandavision to MoM was almost perfectly set up for a truly intriguing meet up with Wanda and Strange. Instead, we got a major character regression and simplification in Wanda. But why? Why do this? Why not lean into their strengths like they always have? The answer is unclear.

I want to be wrong about all this. Hopefully this is just a small rough patch, and I'm just overreacting. I'd love to this to be true, and something comes soon that shows I was whining for no reason.

Only time will tell.