VisionQuest episode 3 review: good, but too many jokes

Our verdict on VisionQuest episode 3, "Reboot," on Disney Plus: it was a good episode, but it could have cut down on the comedy. Once the episode found its footing, the hotel room scene gave Paul Bettany as Vision a moment he pulled off very well.

Going in, the sense was that the series is doing a lot of setup with Vision, Ultron and Tommy, and that Ultron's plan is to overwhelm an unstable Vision emotionally so he can break himself out. We loved WandaVision and liked Agatha. Some friends who saw the premiere said the performances were good but they couldn't care about the storyline, because they didn't love WandaVision.

VisionQuest Reboot throws in a little too much comedy in the car scene

The main criticism centered on the opening stretch, especially the car scene where Vision tries to talk to Tommy while a bounty hunter's drone closes in. During that scene the reaction was: "They are throwing a little too much comedy into this when it should be a little bit more serious at this moment."

Comedic moments during a serious situation are very Marvel, and they do break the tension. The point made in the discussion was that this episode needed to crank up the tension, the sense of danger and the new villains, and to make you sympathize more with Tommy. Letting the intense moments linger and taking out a few of the jokes would have helped. Some comedy could stay, but the beginning overdid it.

Who is the new synth, and who is the Paladin's client?

The episode introduced a new villain, a female synth, in an interesting way. The theory raised was that she is hunting specific people for a reason, perhaps because they know something, but that it's all to get to Vision. The second he powered back up, she seemed to connect with him, a bit like Bluetooth pairing with a phone. There was also a guess that she chose the two AIs she got into, including Dummy, because their codes were simpler, while Friday and Ultron run on more complex code.

At first it looked like everything was connected, but the client and the synth now look like two different characters. There was a thought that the client might be James Spader faking it. That still could be the case, or maybe these are all brand new characters, which would be cool.

That raised a worry about having too many characters: the Paladin, the Paladin's client and the female synth. A search of the supposed run times suggested the episodes are at least 50 minutes, which was welcome. There was also a hope that Billy shows up in the series sooner or later, in his full costume.

Paul Bettany pulls off Vision's hotel room breakdown

Once the episode found its pacing, the hotel room scene stood out. Vision is essentially crashing out, going through love, grief, loss, hurt, pain and anger. It could have looked cheesy or weird, but the take on the acting was: "I think he pulled that off very well." It is Paul Bettany, after all.

When Vision finally tells Tommy he is real, the reaction was immediate: "He needed to hear that so bad." Overall, despite the excess jokes, it was a good episode.