Wonderman

Wonderman’s first half was truly next level for Marvel. For a company that relies so heavily on a formula and on nostalgia every time they do something different it's great, so why exactly don’t they do it more? Everyone agreed WandaVision was incredible and the response to Wonderman has been positive as well. Not sure why that wouldn’t be enough for them to continue to branch out.

This has been a great project to include Trevor in as well. He was really nothing but a plot device in his first two appearances and this show actually gives him a character with an actual arc. It’s great to see them use underutilized characters.

And here we have the first scene where Simon actually uses his powers intentionally. He and Trevor are in danger in an alley and Simon has to save them. I kind of like how intentionally vague they are with his powerset. We see what could be superstrength and some kind of seismic pulse to push them away.

“Uncle Vanya” is how Trevor has the agent in his phone and for those of you who aren’t theatre nerds Uncle Vanya is a Chekov play. I truly appreciate how many good, deep cut references there are for us theatre kids that civilians aren’t gonna understand. They made this show just for me.

All of this chaos happening while Simon is focused on getting to a callback is fucking hilarious. Shots are literally being fired and he’s got to get to an audition.

Simon is too tight right now. This man is so anxious and I get it but there is a persona that you put on for auditions that you can hide behind a bit. Because you need to present the best possible version of yourself. Fall apart later, in the privacy of your car.

Look, there is a level of pretension that exists in every film or tv show about filmmaking or actors in general and I feel attacked but also it's 100% accurate. We are all like this at least a little bit.

“Let’s throw away the scene”...oh Simon can’t just exist without structure. I think this is funny just because I know actors on both ends of the spectrum. I know people who need to study their script and I know people who memorize the gist and rely heavily on improv, I am solidly in the middle. I respect the script and I will understand the context and intent but you’ve got to give yourself wiggle room because directors will throw bullshit at you like “Can you do it like you are floating through the sky with a weight attached to you”. And you just have to figure out what the fuck that means.

You also get a lot from your scene partner, you’ve got to feed off each other and work together to bring out subtext. And if your scene partner makes a choice you have to follow through on it. Guys acting is really cool and it's super fun to try even if you don’t do it professionally.

“A mirror up to nature” -YES this is why shows and films like this are so important. Art is ALWAYS that deep you guys. There is no art without a belief system, without some kind of reflection whether that be political, social or personal. Art doesn’t exist without commentary and it's our job as the audience to see it, to feel it and to do something about that feeling. Art is always that serious.

This show might be my second favorite thing the MCU has ever done on Disney+ (nothing will ever top WandaVision). Because you actively root for the characters, both Simon and Trevor. When Simon gets Wonderman you genuinely feel so happy for him because he needed to go through a lot of personal growth in order to get the role. He fought for it and he fought himself for it. It was great. And if you’ve ever been in that position, finding out you were cast in something you really wanted is a feeling unable to be replicated.