Full spoilers follow for VisionQuest Episodes 5 & 6, which are streaming now on Disney+.
At this point, I'm fully on board with VisionQuest and the story of robotic reinvention it's telling. But as compelling as Paul Bettany's White Vision is, he's small potatoes compared to the series' real star, James Spader's Ultron. Episodes 5 and 6 go all-in with Ultron and his romantic obsession with the fair robo-lady Jocasta (T'Nia Miller), and the results are pretty darned impressive.
That's especially true of Episode 5, which is definitely the high point for VisionQuest so far. This one kinda, sorta takes the form of a bottle episode, as Vision and his fellow A.I. units find themselves locked in Ultron's attic prison and forced to observe his machinations from afar. This episode is cleverly constructed in how it presents bits and pieces of Ultron's conversations from different vantage points while still leaving the character's true motivations somewhat shrouded in mystery. As ever, the series gets a lot of mileage out of conveying complex digital processes through very hokey, analog representations. See also - the exorcism scene from Episode 4.
Visually, Episode 5 is a real treat. I really enjoyed the transitions between grainy video footage and more elaborately staged black-and-white environments. There's a very cozy feel to Ultron's conversations with Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica) and Jocasta that serves to highlight the dialogue and the tense back-and-forth. Having Vision and his full-color comrades patrolling in the background only makes the whole effect work that much better.
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