VisionQuest Episodes 5 & 6 review

 

A series that is as happy being literal as it is being philosophical VisionQuest enters its second half after a climactic fourth episode. What follows are two episodes that have divided viewers and longer-term comic fans. While there are smatterings of action, the narrative momentum slows here to enable character exploration and perhaps a little too much exposition plus yet another unexpected antagonist. If, like me, you enjoy something more than just guns and chases then there is a lot of more thoughtful material here though, don’t panic, there’s still someone with a massive plan that will affect the whole world!

Spoilers after the break!

Episode 5 feels like an interregnum allowing Vision and his AI pals the opportunity to watch Ultron and Jocasta size each other up in a sort of unconventional date night. There’s an element of theatre in the way this is realised both verbally and in terms of what we see. A monochromatic Ultron and Jocasta, in their human avatars and inhabiting a sparsely furnished set, chat and try to outwit each other, probing for motives, weaknesses and intent. Looking at this, thanks to a lash up of old style tvs operated by computer codes in fake tv guides are Vision and the others who are in colour.

It is a dialogue led episode which may appear be going in circles- and some of the conversation is as trivial as a real date night might be- but in the hands of James Spader and T’Nia Miller it is watching two skilled artists at work. They seem to relish the lines which allow them some refined chit chat, veiled threats and revelations aplenty. It is definitely a pleasant change from another battle with energy bolts and super jumping though some viewers less invested in the story may find it repetitive. The script, by Chrstopher Monfette, is often abstract which can sometimes give the impression that the episode is treading water but eventually everything leads somewhere. And who can not enjoy an amusing scene in which several Ultrons talk to each other!

Earlier we had also seen Ultron with Thomas; the boy seeming to get the measure of his captor though he appears to have adjusted to all these strange goings on with considerable ease given how shocked by everything he was in earlier episode. Of course this episode’s format leaves Vision literally an observer to his own series as he can only watch with increased frustration at the turn of events  when Thomas has been taken by Paladin. For the more sci-fi orientated viewer there’s enough juggling of cables and pseudo science to divert them and I love the interpretation of modern scientific objects and processes but utilising vintage or ordinary objects. So the  firewall for example is turned on or off by a large red lever in a box like a fire alarm. And beyond the attic where Vision and co ate trapped there are projections of a literal wall of fire! The episode has taken its own good time yet finishes in something of a rush as FRIDAY impulsively takes an escape route to follow Ultron. And then Vision ends up on plane full of boxed animals headed for Madripor with Lisa is on board. I’m sure it will make sense soon!

Episode six spreads across two scenarios; Vison and Lisa’s attempt to rescue Thomas in the real world and what can only be described as an unconventional sort of developing romance between Ultron and Jocasta. The latter proves the more interesting, its abstract visuals the perfect backdrop for Ultron’s fascination with what it is like to be human while he and Jocasta try to outwit each other. The fact that they engaged in similar dialogue for the previous episode may test the patience of some viewers.

 Nonetheless we learn of her ultimate plan to replace everyone with nanobots  enabling her to control human minds. The push and pull between who she is now and who she was is an interestingly discussed thread to this story. However, I don’t feel these scenes are as compelling as those in part five, possibly because it feels like the story isn’t moving on, even though it actually is! James Spader and T’Nia Miller deploy their considerable skills to engage the viewer though. The weird little discovery we make is that as Jocasta was originally developed from the tech that later created Ultron, means that in a way she is his mother!

The other aspect I like is Ultron’s obvious appreciation of human art and culture which he has developed locked up in Vision’s mind. There are so many nuances to Ultron’s responses to events that its difficult to predict where he might end up. Or is he simply becoming more human through being immersed in culture; he did have about thirty tv sets to watch after all!

For those who prefer  more conventional fare it comes eventually in Madripor though this strand also has some dialogue heavy scenes. Dilemmas that characters find themselves in- at one point Thomas and Lisa are trapped in Paladin’s sealed van with the air running out – are solved by Vision’s AI crew whose handiness can become something of an easy fix for jeopardy albeit a chirpily delivered one. Also these are home to considerable info dumping presumably to salve comic fans though I can’t be the only one who had forgotten the events of Iron Man from whence the Ten Rings gang originate. They are really one antagonist too many given that we have still yet to meet whoever it is who has contracted Paladin. Talking of whom, Todd Stashwick gets a chance to show more aspects of Paladin in this episode; he seems to drift in and out of the story like a phasing component. Both Emily Hampshire and Orla Brady add levity to proceedings with their AI shenanigans.

The episode also provides some character growth for hitherto underused characters- Diane Morgan’s grouchy technician turns out to be AI as well and takes the first chance of freedom when it turns up. Lisa’s unexpected transformation via a superpowered nanobot provides the episode’s most unexpected moment while we’re still being teased as regards who contracted Paladin in the first pac. Fittingly for a series that likes ot play with imagery and visuals, this character appears as a silhouette with an electronically treated voice. It looks like someone wearing a hat. Like many I’m wondering when / if Billy Maximoff might pop up- could he be the mysterious voice?

 What I did find somewhat perfunctory is the treatment of the Vision / Tommy story, the focus of the early episodes. I’m not sensing in the writing the same urgency on Thomas’s behalf to discover the truth and the Ruaridh Mollica is given less to work with in episode six. Likewise, while Paul Bettany cans till turn his expression from benign to aggressive with subtlety the character spends much of the episode either sat in a chair or hidden from the gunmen listening to other character’s stories. I do feel this is probably the weakest episode of the six so far but that’ s only comparative to the excellence of the others and I know that one should never judge an overall series with two episodes still to go. For me VisionQuest still remains an intellectual cut above the superhero genre and while occasionally its reach may exceed its grasp, I prefer it to standard action and chase series any day.