Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another review/reaction of a VisionQuest episode, “Immolation.” If you want to see my thoughts on VisionQuest’s previous episode, “Deadlock,” check out this link. “Immolation” fully commits to VisionQuest’s use of a inner space. I’m torn by this development. While I like the idea of an inner space, I’ve already mentioned how VisionQuest spending a lot of time inside the title synthezoid’s (and one of the main antagonist’s) headspace slows down the narrative progression. My guess is that VisionQuest’s series finale will mostly occur outside these mindscapes. The acting in “Immolation” is fantastic. While every actor gave their all, Paul Bettany’s Vision’s self-discovery makes this episode soar.
Quick Note: A spoiler warning is in effect.; consider yourself warned.
VisionQuest “Immolation” did spend most of its runtime inside Vision and Jocasta’s mind space. After my first viewing, I was going to take the show to task for slowing down its pace, but the acting was so stellar, I didn’t mind the snail’s pace. To be fair, “Immolation” takes its time. That remains a minor gripe with this show. After the uniqueness of this narrative device wore off, VisionQuest’s slow pace grinded my gears and grinded down the pacing. Seriously, not much happens during a single episode. But this give VisionQuest plenty of time to explore its characters. I appreciate that. My main concern is that the main Marvel Cinematic Universe viewer may have less patience. “Immolation” takes this to the extreme, but if you have the patience, this episode has plenty of payoff.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier featured a scene near the end where Bucky visits a World War II museum. If you rewatch this scene, you’ll find an entry for “The Synthetic Man.” Yeah. Captain America: The Winter Soldier released all the way back in 2014. You don’t need to know (or remember) this scene to understand VisionQuest “Immolation,” but there’s a scene with “The Synthetic Man” that pays off this over a decade reference. I figured the World War II museum was mentioning The Human Torch, the original The Human Torch. I’m so glad VisionQuest removed all doubt.
The original The Human Torch was an android. It makes sense for him to factor into Vision’s past. I do believe the comics also ties Vision to the original Human Torch. Fun Fact: the original Human Torch was the first superhero to grace the cover a Marvel Comic. I can’t believe I didn’t piece this together sooner, but I’m so glad the J.I.M. mentioned earlier in VisionQuest makes a physical appearance in the show and he is Jim Hammond, which was the original Human Torch’s alter ego. I may balk at VisionQuest’s pacing at times, but the show knows how to deliver on a slow burn. Pun intended.
Vision’s main story this episode revolved around finding himself. He reconciles his past. He admits he is the real Vision. I like how VisionQuest presented Vision’s denial of this fact because he’d have to unpack the pain of losing Wanda and his two sons. The moment when Vision discovers he is the real Vision and that he’s been hiding from his pain of lose was stellar. Paul Bettany did a great job portraying Vision, J.I.M., and Phineas Horton (the father of General Artificial Intelligence). He provided great depth to each performance and managed to keep each performance unique. And two of those characters are robots. Most of Vision’s story may be literal soul searching, but the acting kept me engaged.
Jocasta didn’t receive as much air time this week. After realizing she needed another key to unlock her nanobot cage, she has a brief journey of her past. Turns out, she fell in love with the real Ultron, or at least the human who serves as Ultron’s source code. Well, that shatters Ultron’s claim earlier this series, where he claims to be an original. The human source code for Ultron also happens to be the Paladin’s mystery employer. This makes sense. Like Lanterns earlier this year, VisionQuest found a way to nearly tie up seemingly disparate storylines. VisionQuest had better execution. Like I said, this series knows how to pull off a slow burn.
“Immolation’s” closing moments leave the characters in an interesting predicament. I like how both Vision and Jocasta wound up in the possession of Ultron’s source code. VisionQuest made it a point not to reveal Ultron’s source code human’s name. I have some theories, but we’ll learn his identity soon enough. I like how Jocasta’s relationship with Ultron mirrors the same one she had as Josephine and Ultron’s source code human. VisionQuest has leaned hard into the idea of father and son relationships. This reveal also rings true.
But I do question why VisionQuest had to mark time for Ultron’s source code human to spring his net. If he could hijack Vision and Jocasta’s mind spaces, why wait? Yes. One could argue that Jocasta and Vision needed to go on a personal journey before meeting Ultron’s source code human, but both characters did the most work on themselves after Ultron’s source code human hijacked their mind spaces. I may have missed something. Both synthezoids may have needed to have reached a certain level of personal growth before meeting the true antagonist. Or maybe they both needed to be positioned physically for Ultron’s source code human (is there a better way to express this?) to access their mind spaces.
I don’t know. I’m hoping VisionQuest will provide some clarity in its final episode next week. This is a small hang up for me. It may be short lived, gone after next week. VisionQuest tends to be thorough with its explanations. The show dropped hints for J.I.M. being the original Human Torch. I was only able to watch “Immolation” twice, so this is more like a reaction than a full review. I could’ve missed something. Regardless, I like VisionQuest’s character-driven stories, and there are more than one. Vision, Tommy, Jocasta, and Ultron have had some great moments.
Those are my thoughts on VisionQuest “Immolation.” What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
