I’m struggling, here, trying to figure out how I want to start this. Because I like the parallelism of beginning my first VisionQuest recap with Vision’s opening monologue from episode one and then starting my final VisionQuest recap with Vision’s closing monologue from episode eight. But that’s a writer’s detail, the kind of self-indulgent stylistic flourish that makes me happy but doesn’t necessarily serve you, the reader.

The more truthful, and relevant, opening to this piece would be to acknowledge that, for all my carrying on about how VisionQuest is an anomaly among Marvel Studios projects for having a more complex theme than “let’s use our incredible power to protect those among us who cannot protect themselves” (which is still an admirable goal, by the by) and showing that through big, bombastic fight scenes, there is another recent Marvel project that has done some unique thematic work while still feeling like the kind of movie we’ve come to expect from the studio.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day posited that not only should Peter Parker (Tom Holland) not go it alone, but that he could not—at least, not if he didn’t want to end up like Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal). And it was a lesson that Frank learned, too, eventually, a rare example of a carefully chosen side character serving the plot rather than just tagging along as a sidekick.

VisionQuest episode eight, “Forever” (which also serves as its finale, barring a surprise second season renewal), finally manages to effectively bring together its two storytelling modes, which had at times been frustratingly disparate throughout the series’ earlier entries: the long, deep conversations about the nature of humanity, family, optimism, and what we owe each other as friends, neighbors, and loved ones; and the action-driven plot that Marvel films and TV series are known for.

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