We Interrupt This Program: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:46, 9 March 2024

Revision as of 03:43, 9 March 2024

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Captain [[Monica Rambeau (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Monica Rambeau]], an agent of [[S.W.O.R.D. (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|S.W.O.R.D.]], returns to life following [[the Blip]]{{efn|As depicted in ''[[Avengers: Endgame]]'' (2019).<ref name="VultureReview" />}} only to find that her mother, [[Maria Rambeau|Maria]], died of cancer three years prior. Three weeks later, Rambeau returns to work and is told by acting S.W.O.R.D. Director [[Tyler Hayward]] that she will be assigned to terrestrial missions only, as her mother had directed before her death for anyone that returned from the Blip. She is subsequently sent to help FBI agent [[Jimmy Woo (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Jimmy Woo]] with a missing persons case in Westview, New Jersey. They speak to two police officers who insist that Westview does not exist, despite the town's presence directly behind them. Woo explains to Rambeau that he can not physically enter the town due to an unknown psychic force. They discover a hexagonal static [[Cosmic microwave background|CMBR]] field surrounding the town, which Rambeau is pulled into. Within 24 hours, S.W.O.R.D. establishes a base around the town and sends drones to investigate.

Astrophysics expert Dr. [[Darcy Lewis (character)|Darcy Lewis]] is brought in to study the phenomenon. She discovers television broadcast signals coming from the field and, using vintage televisions, finds the transmissions are for the sitcom ''WandaVision''. S.W.O.R.D. personnel use the show to observe events inside the town, learning that the real residents have been "cast" as characters, Rambeau is "Geraldine", and [[Vision (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Vision]] is alive despite his death five years prior.{{efn|As depicted in ''[[Avengers: Infinity War]]'' (2018).}} Lewis and Woo attempt to make radio contact with [[Wanda Maximoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Wanda Maximoff]]. S.W.O.R.D. agent Franklin crawls through the sewer system in an attempt to enter Westview, but his suit is transformed into beekeeper attire and his tether detaches and turns into a jump rope at the edge of the static field. When Geraldine mentions [[Ultron (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Ultron]], Maximoff violently casts her out of the town which Lewis and Woo realize is censored from the broadcast. The sitcom illusion disappears, and Maximoff sees her husband Vision appear as he did when he died. Horrified, she restores the illusion. Rambeau wakes up at the S.W.O.R.D. base and is surrounded by agents. She tells them that Maximoff is controlling the illusion.

== Production ==

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Because of the large amount of information that needs to be conveyed in the episode, Esfarjani had only a small amount of time to introduce Rambeau as an empathetic character. The writers discussed starting the episode with a more traditional character introduction sequence such as having Rambeau working out, training, or spending time with a dog, but they felt this lacked emotion. When the idea of her returning to life following [[the Blip]], due to the events of ''[[Avengers: Endgame]]'' (2019), was suggested, Esfarjani felt it placed her in the most empathetic moment from the MCU and sped up the process of the audience becoming attached to Rambeau as a protagonist while also quickly clarifying where the series is set on the MCU timeline.<ref name="WritersZoom" />{{rp|15:30–17:46}} Schaeffer added that the sequence sets the tone for the rest of the episode while also digging into Rambeau's character by setting her up on a "rough road". As part of the latter point, the writers decided to reveal that Rambeau's mother [[Maria Rambeau|Maria]] has died during the time that Rambeau had disappeared. Schaeffer said this was a tough decision since she has strong feelings about Maria and her relationship with her daughter from their earlier appearances in the film ''[[Captain Marvel (film)|Captain Marvel]]'' (2019).<ref name="SchaefferMariaCB" /> [[Lashana Lynch]], who portrayed Maria in ''Captain Marvel'', was informed of this decision before the show premiered.<ref name="LynchMariaDeath" /> After many conversations about how to portray people returning from the Blip, the writers and producers decided to set the sequence in a hospital as an interesting place to depict the scariness and confusion of the event from Rambeau's perspective.<ref name="SchaefferMariaCB" /> This is different from the portrayal of the Blip in ''[[Spider-Man: Far From Home]]'' (2019), which has a more comedic tone, and Schaeffer explained that Marvel Studios was happy for the series' tone to be different as long as the visuals matched with those seen in ''Far From Home''.<ref name="Schaeffer/Film" />

For S.W.O.R.D. and their base outside Westview, Schaeffer was influenced by the film ''[[Arrival (film)|Arrival]]'' (2016). She was also inspired by series with structural shifts for moving this episode away from sitcom homages to provide answers and a different perspective;<ref name="Schaeffer/Film" /> examples of these influential series and episodes include ''[[Russian Doll (TV series)|Russian Doll]]'' and its fourth episode "Alan's Routine", the sixth episode of ''[[Escape at Dannemora]]'', the ''[[Girls (TV series)|Girls]]'' episode "The Panic at Central Park", and ''[[Lost (2004 TV series)|Lost]]''.<ref name="Schaeffer/Film" /><ref name="SchaefferColliderFeb2021" /> Rambeau, [[Jimmy Woo (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Jimmy Woo]], and [[Darcy Lewis (character)|Darcy Lewis]] represent the series' viewers since they are watching the fictional ''WandaVision'' sitcom and have similar questions to those asked by viewers of the series' first three episodes.<ref name="Park/Film" /> Schaeffer described Woo and Lewis as "helper characters" with supporting roles in the MCU films and expressed excitement at getting to spend more time with them in this episode than was done in the films.<ref name="SchaefferColliderFeb2021" /> Schaeffer's initial ideas for the series included the idea that Maximoff's abilities create [[cosmic microwave background]] radiation (CMBR), since in the real world that is radiation from the creation of the universe that is visible in television static. McDonnell did further research on CMBR for the episode.<ref name="WritersZoom" />{{rp|12:46–14:00}}

=== Casting ===