VisionQuest did an excellent job of tying together what we saw in WandaVision and Agatha All Along. Vision began the path to accepting who he is and what it means to have family, and we even got layers to Ultron as well. Speaking of those two, we got yet another weird in-universe sitcom in the form of UltraVision in the finale for VisionQuest. And, just like the conceit of WandaVision, this show is brilliant and helps its main characters find a space to process their emotions.
In the finale, Ultron is sending nano bots towards London as he’s overcome with grief over “losing” Jocasta. This is not good considering they will infect every human being and kill all of them, 9.3 million people to be exact, in about eight minutes. And, the only one who can turn them off is Ultron. Vision’s last-ditch effort to save Ultron and change his mind is to use the latter’s love for television.
Similarly to how Wanda crafted WandaVision to cope with her grief and create her own world, Vision created UltraVision to create this space to reason with Ultron. While in Vis’ mindspace, Ultron spent a lot of time watching TV and studying human behavior. It slows Ultron down significantly, even though it is burning energy through Vision’s core quickly.
There’s a whole set with a “live” studio audience at Vision’s mindspace home as Vision starts to play his comedic role. There’s even an opening credits with a theme song. Hilariously, the credits note that the characters were created by Anthony Stark and Bruce Banner with writing by the Vision. Vision is annoyed by being held in this space and even says “You think if you bore me long enough, I’ll spare the human race?” Vis says they have lots of time to dig deep and talk about Ultron’s feelings because time is accelerated in that space.
However, Ultron gains control and quickly rolls the credits, turning himself in UltraVision‘s editor and sneaking around Vis’ code. Things begin to speed up, with episodes flying by and things getting increasingly darker. Ultron even traps others into the show, like Paladin, Tommy, and Lisa, thanks to the nanos. It’s a clear callback to those in Westview who were trapped in Wanda’s hex. Oh, and may the sitcom audience rest in peace.
The show starts to fall apart, even with Ultron showing F.R.I.D.A.Y. a bit of mercy. Vision’s core is failing and he asks to be alone with Ultron for a “special episode.”
The two AIs end up alone and have a very poignant conversation about grief, fear, love, and connection. Ultron believes that grief isn’t love but rather fear, to which Vision agrees. He talks about the fear of being without someone is scary and makes you feel untethered and alone. Ultron believes that if this emotion is what humans must face, then they are better off dead. But, he also notes what Vision told him years ago about a thing not being beautiful because it lasts.
“Love always leads to loss. Someone will change. Someone will leave. And someone will die.” -Vision
Ultron realizes that this space is burning up both of their cores. Vision admits that they are not father and son, but that Ultron is his something. It’s enough to break through to Ultron so he will stop the nano swarm. Love does persevere through grief after all.
Nerdist’s Take: We Loved UltraVision‘s Function in the Finale
It’s perhaps one of my favorite scenes in the Marvel universe, with two AI having an incredibly human conversation. It also keeps with the themes that fueled the entire WandaVision trilogy. It began with Wanda’s grief from losing the love of her life and the future they imagined. And it ended with Ultron’s grief over losing love nearly causing him to destroy the world before he makes a choice to do otherwise.
UltraVision plays on WandaVision with some dark humor in a surrealist environment. But the twists and changes, including the brilliant aspect ratio shift, remind us of the darkness that also fuels the MCU. When you have time, reader, please slow the episode down and look at the episode titles. They are hilarious, including one where Ultron gets into it with the HOA. This (very brief) show was fun yet poignant, and honestly makes us wish that we had a little bit more time to hang out in that space. It helped to bring everything full circle for one amazing trilogy story.