Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another review/reaction of a VisionQuest episode, “Malware.” If you want to see my thoughts on VisionQuest’s first episode, “Reboot,” check out this link. VisionQuest has opted for a quick plot. Sure, the last episode, “Reboot,” spent time building up the show’s characters, but for the most part, this series has kept a brisk pace. We learned who the murderous synthezoid is (Jocasta) and who Jocasta’s programming is based. Actually, she isn’t a program at all, but the person whose brain waves are trapped inside the synthezoid. Interesting. This differs from the comics and used to great effect.

And before we go any further into this review or reaction of VisionQuest “Malware,” a spoiler warning is effect. Consider yourself warned.

VisionQuest wasted little time to reveal Jocasta. This is in keeping with Vision and Tommy’s relationship, Tommy’s past (before Vision entered his life), and the Vision’s internal world morphing over the course of a handful of episodes. This show has done an excellent job of slowing the pace (for a reflective scene or scenes) and hitting the gas (for an action scene or scenes). If anything, VisionQuest’s pacing might be a little brisk. This is a show that wants to hold your attention.

With each of these reactions, I struggle with where to begin. A lot occurs within a single episode of VisionQuest. Let’s begin with the Vision’s internal world. First, notice how I’m referring to Vision as Vision instead of The Vision. VisionQuest has deftly shifted the current Vision’s view of self as more in line with the previous Vision, so I’ll be calling him Vision from this point forward, I think. We’ll see if his circumstances change. Spoiler: they do at the end of this episode. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Vision’s internal world gets turned upside down by Jocasta’s invasion.

The gang of AIs, including Ultron, look into the Butcherbird Murders. Jocasta (the Butcherbird Killer) has been killing leaders of AI technology, the same tech geniuses behind Ultron and Vision. I liked how D.U.M.-E. and U dressed up as Sherlock Holmes, because of course they did. Ultron and E.D.I.T.H. form an uncomfortable alliance, working together to uncover the killer’s identity or at least their next target.

Before we get there, Ultron and Vision share a funny scene where they infiltrate police files. The Captcha Test was hilarious. How many squares contain a fire hydrant? Three. Five. It’s a comical moment but a good character one as well. Ultron chooses five because his robotic eyes can observe more within a picture. Vision picks three, which is what the police security deems as a “human” answer. This subtly shows Vision gaining humanity. This and Vision’s relationship with his son. And yes, Vision stops just shy of adopting Tommy. Tommy and Vision’s relationship remains a hallmark of this series. It can singlehandedly carry VisionQuest, but the show adds in Ultron (grandfather) and the host of AIs as Vision’s extended family.

This choice feels more in line with the MCU pre-Avengers: End Game. Most early Marvel projects focused on family and the relationship between fathers and sons. This could be why the Vision/Wanda Maximoff shows hit differently than most other recent MCU properties. They have that link to the past while looking toward the future, grounding viewers in something tangible. Few people are synthezoids or can phase through solid objects, but most of us have some version of a family, even if it’s a screwed up one like Thomas Shepherd’s. This week’s second episode saw plenty of callbacks.

My favorite must be the nod to Tommy’s love interest Lisa Molinari’s comic book counterpart: Coat of Arms. In the comics, Molinari has four arms. In “Malware,” she wears a coat with an extra pair of arms, and Tommy giggles because leave it to Lisa to have a “Coat of Arms.” Nice.

VisionQuest glossed over the introduction of Josephine “Jo” Carrington, one of Markridge Biotech’s founders and one of the creators of J.I.M. (the first attempt at a synthetic man). Carrington was turned into Jocasta. I’m certain we’ll find out how in future episodes, but for now, Jocasta believes she isn’t a copy of Carrington’s brain. She is Carrington. Honestly, I like that for VisionQuest’s story. After J.I.M.’s failure, I could see Markridge Biotech resorting to installing a person’s brain into a synthetic human. This also serves as a great motivation for Jocasta to murder Markridge Biotech’s executives. Good old fashioned revenge. It also makes Jocasta sympathetic.

I mentioned in the previous VisionQuest episode write-up that in the comics, Jocasta was designed to be the bride of Ultron. While that can’t be the case here (if Carrington is stuck inside a synthetic body), Jocasta does recite a phrase dear to Ultron’s heart: Peace in Our Time. Ultron insisted he was a one-off in the previous episode. That can still be true, but Jocasta repeating this line could indicate that Carrington and Ultron have a shared lineage. A directive deep within themselves that could stop them from murdering half the planet.

And that’s where we get to this episode’s cliffhanger: Ultron has seized control of Vision’s body. We all knew Ultron was planning something or at least, he bided his time to make a winning move. I didn’t expect VisionQuest to pull the trigger on Ultron after four episodes. Like I said, VisionQuest has moved at a brisk pace. This must be Vision at his lowest. He’s trapped inside his own body, Ultron has kidnapped his son Tommy, Jocasta is still on the loose, and we most likely haven’t heard the last of Paladin. Like Lanterns earlier this year, VisionQuest has found fertile storytelling ground. We’ll have to see if VisionQuest can stick the landing.

I do trust Marvel with its Vision/Wanda Maximoff shows. They may struggle with other properties, but it’s obvious Marvel has wanted to tell these stories from the comics. Reading Avengers comics from the 70s-90s (my family held on to back issues), I always wondered how one would adapt Vision and Scarlet Witch’s story to the big or small screen. This pair has a bizarre storyline. The MCU has done a good job adapting their story. It isn’t the same as the comics, but that’s a good thing.

Those are my thoughts on VisionQuest “Malware.” What did you think? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.