Commentary by Devin McCue, Sumner Newscow — Happy Friday. If you’ve already seen the series finale of WandaVision, you should go back to sleep because it streamed at 2 a.m. central time… Now that you’re rested, we should talk about one aspect WandaVision (and superhero movies in general) don’t understand without giving the ending away. Just for the record, this will be a spoiler-free critique.

There are already numerous reviews, recaps, and reactions to the morning-old episode, but that’s far too early to judge the series as a whole. Instead, I’ll critique a problem with the series that takes center stage in the finale: meaningful stakes (or the lack thereof).

When writing for fantasy, science fiction, or any other supernatural show, the creators must decide on what kind of “magic system: they want to use. A magic system is the way characters use their mystical abilities to solve problems, whether that system is grounded in actual magic or just an implausible scientific phenomenon. Campfire, a writing hub, describes a soft vs. hard magic system as follows:

• “Hard magic systems have defined rules and regulations. A hard magic system will have a clear set of boundaries to it. An earthbender can manipulate rocks but not fire. Generally, these rules can’t be broken, and the reader knows the rules.”
• “A soft magic system doesn’t have hard and fast rules. It is wild and undefined. The reader can see it play out but is often unaware of the mechanics. Gandalf came back to life because he is a wizard. Rules can’t be broken if you never establish them.”

Marvel usually employs a semi-hard magic system in that we understand Iron Man can make nearly any device (including a multiverse hopping time machine), but his inventions are limited to a certain degree. WandaVision throws that scale away because she’s a witch.

We’ve seen this before in characters like Dr. Strange and Thor to a certain degree, but WandaVision forgot the groundwork those series set. Both Kathryn Hahn’s character and our heroine are strong witches, but how strong are they?

Scarlet Witch put up the strongest fight against Thanos so we have a vague understanding of her strength, but Kathryn Hahn is just a powerful witch because the show says so. We don’t understand the magic system enough to get excited about a big boss fight because Marvel hasn’t defined any rules or limits to what magic-users can do.

Without a scale to measure our characters against, the final episode of WandaVision feels like an early conflict in a book we’ll never finish: a brilliant spectacle, but devoid of meaning without much-needed context. And if there isn’t a way to judge how powerful anyone is, the stakes of the entire series fall through the floor.

WandaVision is still the best progression in the MCU since Infinity War and the first time they’ve ever tried something other than a standard superhero story format. Dr. Strange should’ve done the heavy lifting setting up the stakes of this miniseries, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time.

Speaking of things worth your time, the 78^th Golden Globes didn’t make the cut once again this year. In a good year, the Golden Globes are just a semi-reliable preview to the Oscars with a few sightings of drunk celebrities. On a bad year, we get something like this.

Hosts, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, did their best to blast the Hollywood Foreign Press for not having a single Black member (a fact we always knew from their nominees), but fell remarkably short. While I love both women’s work, watching two white ladies talk about the diversity problem at the awards show they’re hosting feels similar to watching oil executives decry the effects of climate change.

Viewership for the awards show dipped to a third of what it saw last year, largely due to a LA Times Investigation that found evidence of corruption in the decision process among other ethical concerns. But, once again, we’ve seen these shows before; we know they have very little to do with actual talent, but the awards they give out can still make or break a young career, so we keep tuning in.

With all this controversy, you’d think they just try their best to put on a good show, but they couldn’t even accomplish that. The first award of the evening (a well-deserved prize for Best-Actor to Daniel Kaluuya) was interrupted by a faulty Zoom call. Laura Dern, the presenter, clearly didn’t know what to do after it dropped off and it set the tone for the rest of the evening.

But while the event struggled, the winners did not. The winning movies, television shows, and actors were fairly unsurprising and even found some deserving hands for a change. Chadwick Boseman, Minari, and Chloé Zhao, all received trophies and Schitt’s Creek was prevented from sweeping the night away. These awards shows are never going to be even close to credible or representative, but if we bully the Hollywood Foreign Press enough, maybe we’ll see more of Daniel Kaluuya and less Aaron Sorkin.

I’ll close this week with a special preview from the newest hit band, Silk Sonic. Silk Sonic is comprised of Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars who collaborated on an album during quarantine that’s about to dominate the rest of the year.

The duo announced on Twitter 2 weeks ago, that the album, An Evening with Silk Sonic with Special Guest Host Bootsy Collins, is coming soon and their first single dropped Friday morning. The single is called Leave the Door Open and it’s just what you’d expect from the super-group in the making.

Bruno Mars found exactly what he needed in Andy to take his songs from great to even better: a break from Bruno Mars. Mars is an excellent singer who specializes in vocal runs and making women sweat so combined with .Paak’s raspy (and better written) verses creates a balance we don’t usually find in their solo careers.

Check out the video below and prepare yourself for the urge to get physical.

Meme of the week

Click to enlarge.

I, unfortunately, can’t look at every meme that dominates the internet every week, so if you see a meme and think it should be the meme of the week please send it to: SumnerCultureCow@gmail.com

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If, on the other hand, you’d like to read more from me head over to my blog, MouthfulofTeeth.com where you’ll find my favorite CultureCow articles and my other writing on politics, fiction, and anything else you’d like to read.

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