‘VisionQuest’ Episodes 5 and 6 Review - All Metal, No Heart

So VisionQuest, at its core, is really about machines wanting to feel "alive" and "human." In Episode 6, for instance, Ultron almost collapses when he experiences the sensation of tasting a drink the way humans do in the real world. Episode 5, meanwhile, is nothing but a romantic date, a courtship between Ultron and Jocasta. Taken together, the two episodes show the machines getting to know each other before sharing a kiss in their blissful (and nefarious, mind-controlling) union. What's more, their dating ritual consists of mind games and "foreplay" as well. Even AIs and synthezoids need to go through trust-building rituals. They talk about their backstories, dreams, and plans and woo one another by "going" on trips to romantic destinations. And then there's Vision himself, whose "quest" might as well be to infuse his body of tin with a beating heart capable of genuine emotion. This android secretly dreams of forming a meaningful connection with his son. Best of luck!

But I think VisionQuest needs luck more urgently than Vision does because, given how safely this superhero franchise plays its cards, you can be sure that this former Avenger will eventually form a bond with his son. A sentimental hug is on the cards. What worries me is that a show that desperately tries to imbue robots with human emotions itself comes across as synthetic, metallic, and mechanical. Every line of dialogue, every sentiment expressed in VisionQuest is laden with exposition. Whenever characters open their mouths, all they do is move the story towards its predetermined destination. Your ears begin to shut down automatically as you listen to one narrative description and explanation after another. When the show isn't barfing up exposition, it falls back on WandaVision. After one callback too many to that 2021 sitcom, I am almost convinced that VisionQuest exists primarily to advertise its predecessor because it knows it has only rusty metal and broken wires to offer.

When the series isn't busy massaging WandaVision's ego, it dispenses a few minor chuckles in the form of jokes that call attention to their own "cleverness." There's Ultron talking to his various avatars to validate his opinions. To show that he has taken control of Vision's body and is looming over Vision and the other AIs, we get a shot in which his shadow—are you ready for this?—looms large over Vision and his companions. When Edith takes control of a drone, we watch her operating it with a stick, as if playing a video game. VisionQuest doesn't merely want to tickle your funny bones; it simultaneously smiles, winks, and screams in your ears that it's very, very "smart." The result is less amusing than an invitation to pat the show on the back and say, "Okay, congratulations." This Marvel adventure is just too eager to please, so much so that it sedates the viewer with bland storytelling, complete with cameos and name-drops from other movies and shows that occasionally shake the viewer out of their stupor—or distract them from the show's own dullness. How can you challenge or engage a viewer intellectually if all you feed them are routine tropes? It's entirely possible that all the AIs and machines in the Marvel universe will become "human," but the humans controlling the franchise in the real world will continue to behave like rigid robots. As long as that remains true, no amount of superheroes, cameos, or multiversal traversals can evoke a sense of awe from this insensate universe. All it will offer is a simulation of emotions. The real joke, then, is the name of the company that owns these comic book figures: Marvel.

Final Score - [3.5/10]