As we phase into the third episode of VisionQuest, I’m noticing that even for a Marvel show, the plot is already getting fairly dense. Not only to we now have the growing father and son thread that’s emerging between Vision and his “son”, Tommy, but it seems that his questionable father figure, Ultron, has slipped his digital shackles and can move freely within the synthezoid’s psyche. On top of that, the surviving AIs that also live within Vision’s headspace are in mourning after one of their number, J.A.R.VI.S., sacrificed himself to keep them all on-line, while bounty hunter, Paladin, is still on everyone’s trail. However, as if all this palaver isn’t enough, VisionQuest has now added in an additional serial killer plot to further expand on its already sizable plate.
Can the show manage to balance everything confidently while still delivering all the kooky quirks we’re used to from the likes of WandaVision and Agatha All Along? Not to worry, Vision seems to have the required processing power to handle it and then some.
Paladin’s attack has left Vision with a sizable coolant leak and a whole number of problems with his internal systems, so he and Tommy make their getaway in a stolen car. While F.R.I.D.A.Y., E.D.I.T.H. and the rest of the AIs struggle to keep Vision’s operating systems running, Ultron is on hand to deliver many withering comments with barely disguises distain; but the Synth eventually manages to seal his wounds with battery acid in order to extend his rapidly fluctuating lifespan. Temporarily out of the woods (at least for a little while), Vision and Tommy take refuge at a hotel and make clumsy attempts to bond, but we discover that Vision’s pseudo son is still visibly traumatised at the sight of water after the near-fatal drowning that allowed Tommy Maximoff’s soul to enter his body.
Meanwhile, Paladin attempts to reaquire his target, only to find that Vision isn’t the only synthezoid in town. A serial murderer nicknamed the Butcherbird Killer has been killing seemingly random people and scratching wings into the ground by the victims, but the bounty hunter painfully learns that this mysterious android isn’t one to be trifled with. However, after getting repeatedly thwarted by various robots, Paladin’s shadowy client rapidly loses faith and patience in the purple-clad hunter and threatens to revoke the contract.
Soon, Vision’s processors soon start failing again and his AIs race to get him back online before his internals overheat and blows a sizable hole in England. However, while the solution seems fairly simple (just turn him on and off again), the power needed to reboot Vision is immense; but it seems that Tommy and his latent speed powers could be the just what is needed for the task. The only way it can work is for Tommy to embrace his greatest fear and enter the water of the hotel swimming pool to power up his malfunctioning father.
With it’s third episode, we find VisionQuest refusing to hold off on the cascading amount of plot threads that constantly trickle down the screen like the icons in The Matrix. There are at least three major plots in play that are all interconnected, and within each one, we find numerous revelations, callbacks and countless easter eggs in play that makes the show such the detailed explosion of data it is. In story one we essentially follow Vision and Tommy on their messed up father/son trip as they flee Paladin. As this version of Vision still isn’t great with all that people stuff, his attempts to communicate with the young man who technically/kind of/sorta is his son go about as well as you’d expect. But it also once again stands as an intriguing metaphor for families who just can’t cross that generational divide and communicate – even when the future of the relationship depends upon it. But interestingly, the fact that Vision is a computer who can run multiple simulations of every scenario doesn’t automatically mean it’s much help to him when he’s trying to find the right thing to say.
Elsewhere, in plot thread number two, the AIs sharing Vision’s mind race to keep him operational. But between time sensitive disasters, we get to spend some enlightening moments with F.R.I.D.A.Y. and E.D.I.T.H., especially when the former voices her emotions about Tony Stark dying while she was his operating system. We also discover that the two have their personalities both based on actual people, with F.R.I.D.A.Y. being programmed on an Alison Hogan (Happy Hogan’s mother maybe?) and E.D.I.T.H. being based on someone called Edith Marks. It fits, seeing as J.A.R.V.I.S. was plainly based on the Stark family butler, and it makes his subsequent funeral all the more touching when the AIs gather to pay their respects.
However, it’s with the third plot thread that we find most of the stuff you’d expect to get from a slice of MCU television. Not only does the Paladin storyline pump us full of Marvel easter eggs (keep your ears peeled and you’ll hear that the bounty hunter has had run-ins with both Daredevil and Werewolf By Night – remember him?), but it looks like he’s re-purposed a trio of Mysterio drones from Spider: Man: Far From Home to help him track his prey. However, while this is all cool, it’s the revelations that add the extra dimensions to Todd Stashwick’s Paladin. For a start, his bust-up with the Butcherbird Killer reveals that he isn’t actually a true Paladin at all and is, in fact, someone who was raised by one and adopted their rules, but was never officially inducted into the order, which proves to be a sizable chink in his armour. Of course, the real mystery here is the Blackbird Killer itself, and while we haven’t actually had official confirmation yet, it’s fairly obvious to comic readers that this murderous machine is Jocasta – sort of a female Ultron that extends Vision’s curious family tree even further.
Of course, all will be revealed soon enough, because at the end of the episode it’s revealed that Vision’s reboot has resulted in a link between created between this new, malevolent AI. But while she’s gained access to the Avenger’s mindscape, and linked all of those story threads together in one fell swoop, the sugar on top of this highly energetic show still proves to be James Spader’s Ultron. Deploying zingers like causing dissent is powering his CPU, the wily AI smartly alternates between delivering fatherly advice and devastating put-downs in order to keep his compatriots off-balance – I certainly didn’t have Ultron calling Vision a wanker on my 2026, MCU bingo card. He’s still continuing to be great fun as he punctuates the heavier moments with weaponized, sardonic, snark – but with the introduction of Jocasta, expect a more overt villain turn from him any time soon.
Three episodes in and VisionQuest still proves to be as zippy, funny and touching as when it started; but now that we’re more familiar with the characters and their various issues, the show is really starting to strum those digital heartstrings. However, with yet more Marvel-dwelling AIs potentially waiting in the wings, there’s still plenty more things still to be added to VisionQuest’s already busy code.
