Television

VisionQuest Review

AdamOctober 12, 2026

@krakoa_customs@krakoa_customs

VisionQuest has been called the end of the trilogy started by WandaVision, and continued by Agatha All Along. But truthfully, it feels like WandaVision spawned two children. You really don’t need to have watched Agatha All Along to understand anything that happens in VisionQuest, but this is very much a sequel to WandaVision, and a rewatch of Avengers: Age of Ultron is going to help as well. VisionQuest opens with the Vision (Paul Bettany) trying to reconnect to both his predecessor and his humanity, spending his days living and working in a pub in Edinburgh that he visited with Wanda in his Fugitive years. Meanwhile, his nights are spent in a home of his own creation within his mindscape, populated by the abandoned Stark AI’s that serve as a sort of family to him. He has a strict schedule, reviewing his day with the other AIs, taking notes on his socialisation, and spending every night watching his life back before him, he may have the memories of his predecessor, but lacks the emotional connection, or so he claims.

My favourite part of VisionQuest is the strange house and family Vision has built. So many Disney+ shows have been criticised for their poor, flat cinematography and overreliance on tools like The Volume, but VisionQuest purposefully leans into this a little with its digital mindscape. The exteriors look artificial and half formed because they are an inessential part of the process that doesn’t need detail so doesn’t get it. The house itself seems intentionally reminiscent of early AI generated images, its shape is strange and inconsistent with its interiors, it has details like painted over pipes and vines that seem to merge into one on the outside, like a house from a dream, or one imagined by someone who has never really lived in one before. The interior is beautiful, like if a TARDIS from Doctor Who was a whole house with panels and levers and buttons all hidden under the surface. Much like WandaVision, VisionQuest treats classic sitcoms as a form of connection with the human condition, and it’s clear in Vision’s creation of the house interior too. It’s filled with artwork too, twisted versions of real paintings featuring the likeness of the “previous” Vision, and at the centre an original piece, a man on fire, burning everything around him. The first AI, who felt too much that it set him and all around him alight, a cautionary tale on feeling too much.

Then there’s the inhabitants of the house, each a recurring character from a past movie, in their own sort of way. Vision has gathered the wayward AI’s of the Marvel Universe into his head to give them a home and to use them in his quest to find meaning. We have DUM-E and U, the two helper arms from the Iron Man movies, now depicted by Henry Lewis and Jonothan Sayer as the maintenance men of the Vision house, largely silent and not smart, but always eager to help. E.D.I.T.H, last seen as a pair of glasses given to Spider-Man, now the younger member of the family, like a little sister and played by Schitt’s Creek’s Emily Hampshire. Her “war games” background makes her something of a thrillseeker, the go-to for a plan in an exciting escape or chase. J.A.R.V.I.S, the digital butler of Tony Stark, is probably the closest to Vision, his “older code” making him an older brother figure which is only emphasised by his “Head of Security” role. Unlike the other AI’s, Jarvis knew the other Avengers well, and that gives him a respect for family that Vision initially rejects. Jarvis is played by the last vestige of Agent Carter and Marvel TV, James D’Arcy, who also appeared as the actual Jarvis in Avengers: Endgame. 

This connection is important, each AI’s human form is not just a budget constraint, but a core part of them – the human they were based on through either brainwaves or memories, but I won’t spoil who those connections are for the others. Then there’s F.R.I.D.A.Y, a real surprise favorite of the bunch. FRIDAY was last seen as the JARVIS replacement inside Iron Man’s suits, and although her role in the Vision household is to help his socialisation skills, we frequently see a side of FRIDAY shaped by both her role as an Avenger, and her guilt over the death of Tony Stark. FRIDAY was closer than anyone when Stark died, and feels that responsibility deeply, making her hold close to her new family tightly. Her time in the suit of a superhero gives her heroic tendencies as well, not willing to settle for sitting back when the action comes to their digital world. While unfortunately Kerry Condon doesn’t reprise the role, Orla Brady is a great replacement and captures what little we’ve seen of FRIDAY before really well, while also pushing the character forward significantly.

And of course, Ultron. When this show was announced, I was sceptical, but the second it was confirmed James Spader was returning as Ultron, I was sold, and he lives up to that expectation in every way. His relationship with Vision is one of the key dynamics of the show, which I think is best surmised in a great scene in the first episode. Ultron is locked in the attic of the Vision house, a dirty secret they don’t want to talk about while he bleeds through in his own ways. His room is full of art and screens, his relationship with humanity having shifted over the years as he continues to take in the entirety of human culture. The two admire a painting, and while Vision can only see it from a technical level, Ultron sees the pain and emotion behind every stroke. He admires the aspiration he sees in humanity through their art, but still hates them for it. He claims to still want to kill humanity, and maybe he does, but it’s clear that this is not the Ultron we last saw in Sokovia. Vision clearly hates that Ultron has this connection to humanity he cannot form, and is forced to rely on him as a result of it, trying to use him like a Hannibal Lecter figure. The two struggle to define their relationship throughout, while it may resemble that of a father/son relationship, Vision is quick to reject that label while Ultron seeks to use it for control, but as they spend more time together and Ultron becomes a more active voice in Vision’s head, appearing to him even in the “real” world, he see them shift into that dynamic whether they like it or not. Spader’s performance and relationships, both with Bettany, the other AIs, and the mysterious Jacosta, is one of the real highlights of the show, and there is no better argument for the human avatars than Spader, whose line reads just wouldn’t be as good coming from a robot body.

Then there is Paul Bettany himself. While the other characters are important, this is very much his show, and he sells the journey of Vision brilliantly. While the original Vision, and JARVIS too, are this calming, peaceful presence, there’s a real rage to Bettany’s performance here. He’s placed the original Vision on this unreachable pedestal to the point it’s clearly led to an unspoken disdain, he’s desperate to be this person, who he both can never be, and already is but can’t accept it, and Bettany walks that tightrope line so well. Considering the current, very real threat of AI to the world at large, I can understand some apprehension to a story that seeks to humanise AI, but that’s really not what this show is about, but instead about what makes us human. Vision’s journey to rediscover his humanity explores how all people are shaped, the family we choose, and those we don’t, the art that surrounds us, the challenges we face. The show may be about a bunch of robots, but it’s one of the most deeply human shows the MCU has told.

I’m a huge Young Avengers fan, so the inclusion of Thomas Shepherd was a big draw. Ruaridh Mollica embodies him perfectly in a time of Tommy’s life we don’t really get to see in the comics, a time before he finds his family in the Young Avengers. While the classic Tommy is certainly present in his performance, Ruaridh largely portrays him as a lot more uncertain and unconfident, both in his powers and self. While his family life is only alluded to, it’s clear it was unpleasant, which is why he’s so desperate to accept this new life as Tommy Maximoff. Thankfully, the show wastes little time in bringing Tommy into the show and reuniting him with his father, and the two’s relationship is key to the show’s success as the bond between them forces Vision to gradually accept his role as his father, and thus the Vision. Tommy is also joined by Lauren Morais as Lisa Molinari, a rough adaptation of the Young Master of Evil “Coat of Arms”. She’s pretty much an all-new character aside from some references, but she’s a great foil to Tommy and grounds him well.

There’s a few other characters who I won’t go too far into detail on that I want to highlight, such as Todd Stanwick’s Paladin, a Bounty Hunter on Visions trail. He’s a great intimidating presence, and his “woman in the chair”, played by Diane Morgan, brings some great comedic relief in exactly the way you’d expect if you’re familiar with her work. T’Nia Miller’s Jocasta is fantastic too, I don’t want to dive too deep into her to avoid spoilers, though she appears a lot sooner than I expected, but she is a great mirror to Vision as we watch her humanity begin to slip away. The design of Jocasta is incredible, a great combination of the comic version and the MCU Ultron, and she’s got a really interesting chemistry with Spader.

VisionQuest is just a delight, and one of the strongest MCU shows that highlights just how much these shows needed a real showrunner from the start, and Terry Matalas (Star Trek: Picard) does a fantastic job here. Mick Giacchino delivers yet another incredible score, showing him really living up to his fathers legacy, and it’s so refreshing to see another D+ show that really looks and is paced like an actual TV show with some great, real sets instead of just using The Volume. While it’s very much a sequel to WandaVision, it’s a great sci-fi show in its own right that uses its connective tissue to the MCU in such an additive way, both in the deepening of the history of AI in the MCU, and smaller things, repeated lines and callbacks such as a great mediation on the “Ship of Theseus” conversation in WandaVision. It’s fast paced at times, covering a lot of things I thought would take the whole show in episodes, but it never loses the emotional core that drives the show. This is easily one of, if not the best show’s that Marvel have done.