On a Very Special Episode...

"On a Very Special Episode..." is the fifth episode of the American television miniseries "WandaVision", based on the Marvel Comics characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It follows the couple as they try to conceal their powers while living an idyllic suburban life in the town of Westview. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Peter Cameron and Mackenzie Dohr, and directed by Matt Shakman.
Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their respective roles as Wanda Maximoff and Vision from the film series, starring alongside Teyonah Parris, Evan Peters, Randall Park, Kat Dennings, and Kathryn Hahn. Shakman joined the series in August 2019. The episode pays homage to sitcoms of the 1980s and 1990s, such as "Family Ties", "Growing Pains", "Roseanne", and "Full House", and introduces Peters as Wanda's brother "Pietro". The character was previously portrayed in the MCU by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, while Peters played a different version of the character in the "X-Men" film series. Filming took place in the Atlanta metropolitan area, including at Pinewood Atlanta Studios, and in Los Angeles.
"On a Very Special Episode..." was released on Disney+ on February 5, 2021. Critics praised the episode for its opening titles and theme song and for progressing both of the series' storylines, while the appearance of Peters as "Pietro Maximoff" was widely discussed.
Plot.
In the fictional "WandaVision" program, now set during the 1980s/early 1990s, Wanda Maximoff and Vision struggle to stop their sons Billy and Tommy from crying. Agnes arrives to help look after the boys, but appears to break character and asks Wanda if they should redo the scene. Vision questions Wanda about Agnes's behavior, but they are interrupted when Billy and Tommy suddenly age-up to 5 years old, to which Agnes does not react.
Watching the series and investigating the anomaly from outside the town of Westview, S.W.O.R.D. director Tyler Hayward calls Wanda a terrorist while Monica Rambeau does not believe Wanda has malicious intentions. Hayward claims that Wanda recently stole Vision's body from S.W.O.R.D. headquarters and resurrected him, disregarding Vision's living will. Monica discovers that her clothing was transformed to match the design of "WandaVision" and wonders if they can bypass this by using something era-appropriate.
A dog appears at Wanda and Vision's house, and the boys ask to keep it. Agnes suggests the name Sparky, and Wanda almost reveals her abilities to Agnes, concerning Vision. When Wanda and Vision decide the boys are too young to care for the dog, they age-up again to 10 years old. At work, Vision reads an email from S.W.O.R.D. that reveals the situation in Westview. He breaks the trance over his co-worker Norm, a real Westview resident named Abilash Tandon, who begs Vision to stop "her". Vision then reverts Abilash back to Norm.
S.W.O.R.D. sends a drone from the 1980s into Westview and attempts to kill Wanda on Hayward's orders. However, she emerges from the static field surrounding the town with the drone and warns Hayward to leave her alone. After Sparky unexpectedly dies, the twins ask their mother to bring him back to life, but she says they cannot do that and urges them to deal with their grief.
Vision confronts Wanda about controlling the town, revealing that he cannot remember his life or identity before coming to Westview. Still, Wanda says that not everything is under her control, and she does not know how it started. They are interrupted again when her dead brother "Pietro" arrives at the front door. Watching the broadcast, Darcy Lewis notes that Pietro has been "recast".
A commercial during the "WandaVision" program advertises Lagos paper towels.
Production.
Development.
By October 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a limited series starring Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany's Vision from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films. In August 2019, Matt Shakman was hired to direct the miniseries. Shakman and head writer Jac Schaeffer executive produce alongside Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Victoria Alonso. Feige described the series as part "classic sitcom", part "Marvel epic", paying tribute to many eras of American sitcoms. The fifth episode, titled "On a Very Special Episode...", was written by Peter Cameron and Mackenzie Dohr, with the scenes set in the sitcom reality paying homage to the 1980s and early 1990s.
Writing.
Schaeffer felt the entire decade of 1980s sitcoms were an inspiration for the episode, highlighting "Family Ties", "Full House", "Growing Pains", "Who's the Boss?", "Roseanne", and "Just the Ten of Us" in particular. Schaeffer was interested in starting to show differences of opinion seep into Wanda and Vision's marriage, leading to a more "authentic" domestic picture of them. Bettany added that the series would take advantage of the fact that couples seen in sitcoms beginning in the 1980s " necessarily that fond of each other" compared to those in 1950s–1970s sitcoms. Bettany also described the 1980s sitcoms as having "teachable moments", which were sometimes marketed as "a very special episode" when they covered difficult issues. One of the topics "On a Very Special Episode..." discusses is not being able to skip the difficult parts of life.
The series features fake commercials that Feige said would show "part of the truths of the show beginning to leak out", with "On a Very Special Episode..." including a commercial that advertises Lagos paper towels, with the slogan "for when you make a mess you didn't mean to". This references Wanda's actions in Lagos during the film "" (2016). Charlie Ridgely at "Comicbook.com" said this was the most devastating commercial of the series so far, since it put the previous commercials into perspective while highlighting the pain and guilt that Wanda feels about her actions in Lagos.
Casting.
The episode stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, Paul Bettany as Vision, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, Evan Peters as "Pietro Maximoff", Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, and Kathryn Hahn as Agnes. Pietro was previously portrayed in the MCU by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, while Peters played a different version of the character named Peter Maximoff in the "X-Men" film series. Darcy notes onscreen that Wanda has "recast" Pietro, but this was not meant to be interpreted as a real-life recasting of Taylor-Johnson. Schaeffer and co-executive producer Mary Livanos had the idea very early on to have Pietro return in the series, and decided to have the character be "recast" within the fictional "WandaVision" program. Feige wanted to ensure there was a sensible reason for the character appearing like this, and Schaeffer noted that it plays to the sitcom tropes of recasting characters without "much fuss" and also of having a relative arrive in town who "stirs things up with the family". She also called it "the biggest thrill" to have Peters join the MCU, who was equally up for the appearance, and something that would be "so much fun for the audience and the fanbase". Having Peters appear over Taylor-Johnson worked on a meta level for "WandaVision" as well as thematically for discussing Wanda's grief, having it "cloud her judgement" to accept this is her brother even though he does not look as she remembered.
Wanda and Vision's sons have roles in the episode, with Julian Hilliard and Baylen Bielitz as Billy at ages 10 and 5, respectively, and Jett Klyne and Gavin Borders as Tommy at ages 10 and 5, respectively. Also appearing in the episode are Josh Stamberg as S.W.O.R.D. Director Tyler Hayward, Amos Glick as the mailman Dennis, Asif Ali as Norm, Alan Heckner as S.W.O.R.D. Agent Monti, and Selena Anduze as S.W.O.R.D. Agent Rodriguez. Victoria Blade, Ithamar Enriquez, Sydney Thomas, and Wesley Kimmel appear during the fake commercial.
Filming and visual effects.
Soundstage filming occurred at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with Shakman directing, and Jess Hall serving as cinematographer. Filming also took place in the Atlanta metropolitan area, with backlot and outdoor filming occurring in Los Angeles when the series resumed production after being on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hall used custom period-appropriate lenses on the episode. The opening titles for the "WandaVision" sitcom included elements seen in the openings titles of "Family Ties", "Growing Pains", and "Full House". Shakman discussed making the opening, saying in order to be faithful to the "Family Ties" ones, photographs of the actors were taken, which were given to illustrators to make a line drawing of to make the final painting. Actual photos of Olsen were used, and to create "baby" photos of Vision, baby pictures from one of the series' visual effects coordinators, Scott McPhate, were used because he had "kind of a Paul-Bettany-ish look". Additionally, the crane shots at the end were done as a homage to "Full House" since Olsen's sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, starred in that series. Visual effects for the episode were created by Lola VFX, The Yard VFX, Rodeo FX, SSVFX, Cantina Creative, Zoic Studios, RISE, and capital T.
Music.
Theme song composers Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez said the theme for the episode, titled "Making it Up as We Go Along", was their favorite song that they wrote for the series since they grew up in the 1980s. Lopez felt the "craft of theme songwriting peaked in the '80s", with the themes being "longer... touchy-feely ballads". This was the style they chose to emulate with "Making it Up as We Go Along", and since the theme songs of the era were longer, it allowed the couple to "land the emotion of it". Lopez added it was easy for them to find those emotions because he and Anderson-Lopez have children the same age as Wanda and Vision's in the episode and they were also "trying to make things work even as the world kind of crumbles around us". It features musical nods to the theme songs of "Growing Pains" ("As Long as We Got Each Other" by B. J. Thomas and Jennifer Warnes) and "Family Ties" ("Without Us" by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams). Lopez and Anderson-Lopez said they were channeling 1980s rock and pop singers for the song, such as Michael McDonald, Kris Kristofferson, Huey Lewis, and Taylor Dayne. The song originally did not include "WandaVision" as a lyric, but it was added as the ending of the song after encouragement from Marvel to include it. A soundtrack for the episode was released digitally by Marvel Music and Hollywood Records on February 12, 2021, featuring composer Christophe Beck's score. The first track is the episode's theme song written and performed by Anderson-Lopez and Lopez.
Marketing.
In early December 2020, six posters for the series were released daily, each depicting a decade from the 1950s through the 2000s. Charles Pulliam-Moore from "io9" said unlike the previous decade posters, the one for the 1980s did not feature many items to garner clues from, though he did point out "an unnatural reflection in the background that may or may not point to the 'falseness' of the reality being depicted". After the episode's release, Marvel announced merchandise inspired by the episode as part of its weekly "Marvel Must Haves" promotion for each episode of the series, including various t-shirts as well as a S.W.O.R.D.-branded stainless steel bottle and can-shaped glass. In March 2021, Marvel partnered with chef Justin Warner to release a recipe for Billy and Tommy's Throwback After-School Snack, cookies and frosting that are a "retro snack" for the "retro feel" of the episode.
Release.
"On a Very Special Episode..." was released on Disney+ on February 5, 2021.
Critical response.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average score of 8.62/10 based on 20 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "On a Very Special Episode...' of "WandaVision", there are no new answers, but some well played twists open the door for a host of new questions—and one very unexpected guest."
Stephen Robinson at "The A.V. Club" said Wanda confronting the S.W.O.R.D. agents outside the anomaly was the "oh shit" moment of the episode, noting how Wanda's Sokovian accent returned for this scene. Robinson gave the episode a "B". Writing for "Entertainment Weekly", Chancellor Agard said the episode lived up to its title and enjoyed seeing Elizabeth Olsen continue to "flesh Wanda out", creating a performance that makes the character "painfully human", pointing to the standoff with S.W.O.R.D. as an example. Christian Holub, Agard's colleague, likened the scene where Wanda begins playing the sitcom's credits to avoid talking with Vision to the short film "Too Many Cooks" (2014). Rosie Knight, reviewing the episode for "Den of Geek", stated "It seems nearly impossible to follow an episode like 'We Interrupt This Program', but as we hit the midpoint of the season the team behind "WandaVision" has managed it". She thought the episode's two storylines worked well together and said the aging of Tommy and Billy was "a creepy and narratively convenient conceit that works to the episode's advantage". Knight also highlighted the strong performances from Olsen and Bettany. Writing for "Rolling Stone", Alan Sepinwall said "On a Very Special Episode" was the "liveliest, most engrossing, and purely entertaining episode" of the series so far and may have made the "laborious" early episodes worth it.
Matt Purslow of "IGN" gave "On a Very Special Episode..." an 8 out of 10, saying it tore up the series' established rule book and almost achieved the ideal balance between family sitcom and MCU drama. Though Purslow enjoyed seeing the sitcom elements alongside the activities of S.W.O.R.D. outside the sitcom reality, the combining of the two storylines came at the expense of the sitcom homages overall, with an "ever-perfect" theme song and wardrobe choices but less jokes. He hoped future episodes could retain the balance of jokes and darker material. Additionally, he felt Vision beginning to understand what was occurring made for some of the series' strongest sequences, but felt Tommy and Billy were "blank stereotype children" and were not worth the audience investing in. After thinking the first four episodes were "bland" and "treaded water", "Vulture"s Abraham Riesman said he was genuinely excited to see what would come next in the series after this episode, but was still not fully on board and gave it 3 stars out of 5. The episode's theme song and opening titles were praised, with Robinson calling the theme song "treacly" and comparing the title sequence to the "paint-by-numbers cast 'portrait'" sequence of "Family Ties", and Riesman saying it was the most artistically interesting part of the episode with Anderson-Lopez and Lopez's singing being "genuinely wonderful".
Many of the reviewers discussed Evan Peters' appearance as the "recast" Pietro. Generally described as surprising and exciting, it was noted how Peters played the character similarly to the one from the "X-Men" films, with "/Film"s Ethan Saathoff feeling Peters put "a Fonzie-like spin on the character" which fit within the 1980s sitcom setting. Other aspects of his appearance fit within the sitcom timeframe, such as Peters wearing a 1980s version of his costume from the "X-Men" films, and referencing past role recastings in sitcoms such as the two Darrin Stephens actors on "Bewitched", the two Becky Conner actresses on "Roseanne", and the two Vivian Banks actresses on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". The appearance was believed to help set up the idea of the multiverse that would be explored in further Phase Four properties, and a way to begin to introduce mutants to the MCU. "Polygon"s Matt Patches called the appearance "a haunting vibe" and "both a nod to the knotted rights issues" that previously applied to the character before Disney acquired 21st Century Fox and also a "mind-bender on its own". Jack Shepard at "Total Film" said the general response to "WandaVision" lacked the "fervor" received by the Disney+ "Star Wars" series "The Mandalorian", but he felt Peters' appearance would "rocket" the series into the "social consciousness", which he compared to the introduction of Baby Yoda in "The Mandalorian". Agard and Riesman on the other hand felt the appearance was "very fan-servicey" and would be lost on casual viewers.