All those WandaVision references, all that dull exposition, all those overly literal jokes finally lead to one self-evident, trite conclusion: you need to feel grief in order to move on and become powerful. By suppressing his emotions and separating himself from the version of Vision he was in WandaVision, the new Vision failed to be a good father and was unable to unlock his full potential. Now, in Episode 7 of VisionQuest, when he finally gives in to his messy feelings and accepts that he is the Vision, he is rewarded with access to his source code, which unlocks his full capabilities. This helps him overpower the nanobot that infected Lisa in the previous episode, which, I suppose, means that Jocasta's mind-control plans have now been completely thwarted. This whole "pain doesn't make you weak" and "embrace your grief" business is further accentuated through a storyline about one Dr. Phineas Horton, who chose to create an artificial being, J.I.M., to cope with the loss of his son when what he should have done was spend more time with his daughter and wife. Moral of the lesson: don't be a "machine," or don't distract yourself from your pain by spending time with machines.
This could have been a quote printed on a greeting card, though. Why bore us with an eight-episode-long series (the finale streams next week)? As Vision broke down and accepted his identity, all I could think was, "Gee, Paul Bettany does know how to cry." You can't pad your show with half-baked, facile sentimentality and then expect us to warm up to what's supposed to be the central message, the very core of your story. Instead of developing its characters, VisionQuest has continued to use them as mere functions of its script, which basically screams that "father-son relationships can be complicated" and "it's okay to weep." This is the one-line psychology powering this mechanical machine. Perhaps that's why creator Terry Matalas had to conceal The Client's identity for so long: without that mystery, there would be very little else to look forward to in this series. But now that The Client's identity has finally been revealed, all I can say is that the result is more puzzling than shocking. The reveal is more puzzling than shocking primarily because the motivations behind it remain unexplained. For answers, Matalas wants you to check in again next week. What else is there to look forward to? Fans can start crying like Vision after finishing this eye-glazing series. The source of their grief might as well be a billion-dollar franchise that can only simulate feelings instead of producing shows and movies that can actually make one feel something. VisionQuest, in that sense, might as well be a confession from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, suggesting that the studio is run by bots trying their best to experience human intimacy. Well, here's a greeting-card-worthy quote for you: try, try until you succeed.
Final Score - [3.5/10]