WandaVision: The Sitcom Influences From Episode 8 (2023)

This article contains spoilers forWanda Visionepisode 8

Seepisode 4 before,Wandavision Chapter 8it eschews the show's sitcom tribute format entirely to delve into the context of the world outside the Hexagon and Wanda's own story. That's not to say that "Formerly On..." hasn't yet found time to shout out some TV classics.

In fact, this penultimate portion may presentWanda Visionthe biggest sitcom reference yet, taking things backthe first episode with the help of the Dick Van Dyke Show. Let's explain...

The show or Dick Van Dyke

While Agatha takes Wanda to aCarolIn the style of a trip to the past, the first stop is, of course, Sokovia, where they witness the death anniversary of Wanda and Pietro's parents. But before street violence escalates and a Stark bomb destroys their home, we see Wanda discover her love of American sitcoms.

His father is a DVD salesman, and on the days he can't sell his wares, he prepares for Maximoff's family TV night. On this special day, it's Wanda's turn to decide what to watch and she picks what seems to be a recurring favorite for her:The show or Dick Van Dyke. Wanda also has a very specific episode in mind: Season 2, Episode 21. "Oh, what a crazy episode!" exclaims her dad happily.

Anytime a Marvel property mentions another media element, especially by name, it's probably worth mentioning. In this case, Wanda's choice of episode seems to be particularly important. because it's not just"It may look like a nut"one of the bestDick-Van-Dyke-ShowEpisodes and a TV classic, it also has some awesome thematic tie-insWanda Vision auto.

It May Look Nutty can be found in full almost anywhere on the web, even on YouTube or through a Hulu subscription. The episode begins with Rob Petrie (Van Dyke) and his wife Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore) in bed (or rather, separate beds, as was common on TV at the time). Rob watches a sci-fi movie that is apparently so disturbing and terrifying that Laura can't stand watching TV. Fortunately, Rob describes the film's plot in detail to his wife.

The untitled film is about an alien civilization from the planet Twilo that sends its second-in-command, Kolak (who looks like actor Danny Thomas) to Earth to stop human evolution. Kolak does this by introducing contaminated nuts into our food supply. When opened, these nuts contain a grape-sized seed composed of the Twilo-ian chemical "Absorbitron". Whoever eats the nuts gradually takes on the appearance of glue, which means eyes sprouting from the back of the head. Whoever eats the nuts also loses his thumb and imagination. Rob points out that these are the two factors that allow humanity to invade space and therefore threaten the Twiloites.

The next morning, Rob enters the room only to slip on a pile of walnuts. He praises Laura for her very funny prank, but she insists that the Twiloites must have put her there. He then reveals that his egg carton is full of nuts and puts a nut in his shirt pocket to work. At work, all of Rob's colleagues seem to be involved in this prank. Rob's desk and shelf are full of nuts. Then none other than Danny Thomas appears, speaking in a British accent like Kolak. Rob loses his thumbs (which consists of the actor simply sticking them in his palms) and runs home in terror. There, he opens a cupboard door, only to find a mountain of walnuts falling on him, with Laura on top. InWanda VisionEpisode 8, Wanda watches this scene on the TV still running in the crater of her old home.

Rob finally wakes up and realizes that it was all just a dream. Though Laura feared the movie would give her nightmares, it's what really haunted her (although she says she also had a nightmare about Danny Thomas). Not knowing what else to do, the Petries do what anyone would do: turn the TV back on. You watch a meaningless exercise show late one night and the episode ends.

So why did showrunner Jac Schaeffer, writer Laura Donney, and the rest of Marvel's decision makers decide to reference this particular episode at a defining moment in Wanda's life? Well, for starters: it's great. In 2009, TV Guide ranked "It Might Look Nutty" as the 13th best episode in television history. If Wanda Maximoff was going to develop a lifelong TV obsession, we had to make sure she was watching good stuff.

But beyond its overall quality, It May Look Nutty shares some real thematic similarities withWanda Vision. Marvel has made it pretty clear that Phase 4 is set to spend more time under the stars of space. Captain Marvel is still around playing the intergalactic cop. Her little friend Monica Rambeau is older now and looks like she's just been given powers (and an appropriate space suit) designed to make space travel possible. The Eternals are also out there, partially unknown. And no wonder, but sci-fi concepts like the Multiverse are sure to play a big role in the future of the MCU.Wanda herself is about to join Doctor Strange and his multiverse of madness..

To say the least, there aren't many episodes ofThe show or Dick Van Dykeor any other classic sitcom based on the plot of a fictional science fiction movie. If you choose this specific rate,Wanda Visionhe clearly wants to emphasize that sci-fi aspect. In a way, this episode ofThe show or Dick Van Dykeit's like a continuationWanda Vision, in itself. Both marry the mundane with sophisticated (and downright silly) sci-fi.

However, the plot of an untitled sci-fi movie isn't all about It Might Look Nutty. In fact, most of the episode takes place after Rob has seen the movie and Laura has described its plot. Most of the play's running time takes place in what Rob believes is the real world, but is actually a dream. As a result, Rob feels for most of the episode that something is really wrong... and that his reality may be fabricated. Who's in now?Wanda Visionthat reminds you Correct: almost all. But especially Wanda, of course.

In hindsight,The first episode of WandaVision inspired and modeled on The Dick Van Dyke Show, seems particularly resonant now. Countless times Wanda watched Rob Petrie go nuts over nuts during his childhood days. And then, in Episode 1, she finds herself in this very living room (or an exact replica of it), her mind completely lost... even if she doesn't realize it yet. At least he still has his thumbs...for now.

Other sitcoms

Outside of,WandavisioWhile it didn't fully embrace the sitcom format this week, there aren't many other shows to mention. But almost every sitcom that ran before it kept runningWanda Visioncome back somehow

In addition toThe show or Dick Van DykeWanda's dad's TV box options include:Who is the boss?,the addams family,i love lucy,hunted,Malcolm in the middle, jI dream of Jean. Wanda also watches episodes of two series in addition to this one.The show or Dick Van Dyke.

During her time as a HYDRA lab experiment, Wanda observes some of theseThe Brady Group. The specific episode appears to be Season 1 Episode 7 "Kitty Karry-All Is Missing". Kitty Karry-All follows the disappearance of Cindy Brady's beloved doll. Of course he suspects that his brother Bobby stole it and hid it. In fact, the Brady family dog, Tiger, took the doll and hid it in his kennel.

Finally, when Wanda is a newly recruited Avenger, she spends her time watchingMalcolm in the middlewith vision in the headquarters of the Avengers.

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Television editor at Den of Geek and member of the Television Critics Association. Based in Cleveland, Ohio. Very upset about various sporting events.