Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - Spoiler Review!

Grab your sling ring as we open a portal to my spoiler-filled thoughts on the latest MCU film - what I liked, what I didn't, and what's next.
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0:00 - Intro & discourse notes
5:20 - America & MacGuffins
10:42 - Let's talk about Wanda
16:12 - Cool sequences & miscellaneous thougths
20:22 - Ad break
22:19 - The cameos
26:39 - The finale
32:01 - Wrap-up

[@Janootz]

Monica: "They'll never understand what you sacrificed for them" Wanda: "Oh, I'm not giving any of this up"

[@BubbyandBgirl]

Just thought of something there, Wanda killed her mom.

[@TepidShark]

For a movie called Multiverse of Madness, apart from the montage of universes, the universes they chose to actually spend time in weren't that insane. Everything Everywhere All at Once understood that if there really was an infinite multiverse that one could travel through, there would be some really weird stuff out there.

[@blackdeon93]

Whoever made that movie should’ve directed this. Cause Sam didn’t do a great job in my opinion

[@eladpeleg745]

Thank you! I'm so sad Everything is a small movie compared to this one cause it's leagues better and more original

[@benzaiten933]

I assumed the 'Madness' part referred to Wanda/Scarlet Witch's state of mind.

[@kateong8115]

YES. My final verdict was that this movie was a bad knock-off of everything everywhere all at once.

[@303TAG303]

@@blackdeon93 should be called Evil Dead: Sorcerers vs Witch

[@phoenixrising7777]

It would’ve been great if her kids are calling for help so she goes to all this trouble because she has to save her boys yet…..twist…..the person they were calling to their mom (838) was Wanda herself as Scarlett Witch (616).

[@joneau261]

I’m glad everyone seems to have liked the music fight. Say what you’re will about Darkhold Strange, he went out on a high note

[@OscarSanchez-nk3uw]

You did not get the recognition you deserved for the pun. Here you go.

[@mjr3902]

could not agree more

[@BlackLightning47]

I think a big issue with the Wanda going dark thing is that not many people know about the Darkhold. It’s barely mentioned in WV and Kevin Feige separated Agents of Shield from the MCU… so most people didn’t watch it. But the Darkhold was a big focal point in season 4 of AOS. It shows what it does to people who even read it for a second. But we don’t get that in the main “616” timeline

[@marcolechuga5292]

the problem I have with the Darkhold is that i takes agency away from Wanda gong batshit crazy.

[@Fork1]

Oh man I forgot about AoS-connections. It alongside Morgan le Fay appeared in The Runaways, so there is connections there too.

[@christopherscotts5797]

And in WandaVision they don't really establish anything about the book. Agatha apparently had it for a long time, and yet she didn't seem posessed, she wasn't completely insane (specially in hindsight, since all she wanted was to stop Wanda which would have save a lot of lives), wasn't evil enough to be a threat before nor did she show up any signs of the physical corruption

[@MichelleStreisand]

I personally loved that it was Zombie Strange giving that pep talk to America. I thought it was both funny and heartfelt and ultimately made the scene more memorable.

[@andregarcia2134]

Agreed. It’s also a pep talk he couldn’t have given her at the start of the movie. He had to piece together the pattern of their multiverse jumps in order to arrive at that conclusion, which made it feel a little more earned to me.

[@mojoproductions6799]

💯

[@diegosalvatore6871]

Well Then you loved the most idiotic part of the movie.

[@Bemused247]

Also, the pep talk may seem like a cliche rope if America was the main character and the movie was about her learning to trust in herself and her power, but that wasn’t really the main point. Strange telling her to trust her power is the culmination of his arc, it’s a repudiation of the choice defender strange made in the opening and a sign that he is growing from the criticism Christine levied about “holding the knife”. I think it’s fascinating to think about this character arc in connection with the first movie. There he had to learn that it wasn’t all about him (to paraphrase the ancient one) and chose to sacrifice himself to save everyone else by doing the bargain/time loop. But even then (and in infinity war/endgame) he was making the decision and “holding the knife”. Here he is growing past that.

[@diegosalvatore6871]

@@Bemused247 no

[@annikabar606]

You put my diffuse feelings about the movie in great words. I was expecting Wanda to BECOME the villain, but not just to be the villain right away.

[@footballvr7807]

So the post credit scene of wandavision made you think she is not a villian?

[@annikabar606]

@@footballvr7807 It made me think, she could be tempted, but all the emotional change from shame and acceptance after Westview to merciless and cruelty happened offscreen. That was disappointing for me.

[@footballvr7807]

@@annikabar606 well we Saw what the book did to agatha and her still going through the book knowing all those thing but still doing it already defind to me atleast that she Will be the or a villian

[@kingkiller5325]

@@annikabar606 Exactly this. I don't have a problem with Wanda bieng a villain. And a lot of people say that it was because of the Darkhold. But the movie never shows us the corruption happening. We just go from Wanda letting go of her family and vision because it's the right thing to do, to her just absolutely brutally murdering and torturing people.

[@forrestgump7430]

FOOTBALLVr well if you follow psychology (the science) Wanda’s enslaving of a town (which likely have the character guilt but question how powerful she likely is, similar to a murderer who makes their first kill through distress then goes on to become a mass murder) to also not having her kids anymore (which in her mind were real). Mixed together in lamest terms is essentially very strong PTSD. Heath Ledgers joker was described by one of TDK writers as a soldier with severe PTSD in Nolan’s films. From a character storyline the argument could be made that wandavision was a cocoon for Wanda to become scarlet witch. This is why the original ending for Wandavision was Dr Strange coming and confronting her. The reason that was changed was cause Disney and Marvels goal is to give ‘THE MESSAGE’ (shout out to drinker 😅) and you can’t have a straight white male saving a town full of people lol. But yeah Wanda is a psychopath and it should’ve ended by strange killing her or using her as a back door for a certain set of characters starting with the letter X. To confirm I loved Wanda being a villain just needed to give her more depth, similar to that of horror movie where the antagonist is the main character.

[@ethanjobson3879]

What's weird to me is they could've just had it be a Wanda from another universe and it all would've worked fine. Also another thing that makes it feel like Disney just wants diversity credit is the dead moms never really goes anywhere. You'd think there'd be connections with America and Wanda both having family a universe away, but no, they don't explore that connection much at all.

[@Akinwalesegun]

exactly

[@KPlaysSports123]

Wanda from a different universe wouldn't have had the same emotional collection

[@famousthaneus9810]

@@KPlaysSports123 It would if the writer knew how to competently tell a story. You can easily set it up as a mirror for Wanda to look at. A version of herself that was so hellbent on getting her magic kids back that she was willing to wipe everyone out, and having main Wanda be on the fence about what she wants and what she’d have to do to get it. It still would’ve allowed for the “I can’t be this monster” moment, would’ve allowed for some deeper reflections and further grief over Westview than what we got in the show, and still would’ve allowed for some Wanda kills.

[@SLiV9]

Agree completely. I really liked Scarlet Witch as a villain and I really liked the ending scene with the kids, but I emphasized way more with the alternative universe Wanda than with "our" Wanda. So they could have just flipped the roles.

[@randomcharacter6501]

Would've worked better imo. Imagine thinking our Wanda was corrupted only to find out our Wanda destroyed her Darkhold after she realized it was turning her evil... The evil Wanda turns out to be a Dream Walking Wanda from another universe. Maybe in the 2nd or 3rd act they are separated. Our Wanda realizes as long as she exists in any multiverse she has the capability to be currupted, so she sacrifices herself to destroy all the Wandas... She can't do that because that would orphan the twins in every universe they exist in so she instead destroys the Darkhold across all universes. Lol I almost wrote an entire outline but yea, I think evil Wanda being from another universe could've worked better is my point lol.

[@tysmothers]

As someone who hasn't seen a marvel movie since infinity war, I really enjoyed Dr. Strange. I didn't go in with any expectations and didn't care about the overall impact on the marvel universe since I'm so far behind. So as a stand alone movie, I really enjoyed it. I just wish they leaned into the different horror elements a bit more

[@davem1708]

You didn’t see Endgame after Infinity War?

[@takeswithjake]

Seeing infinity war then skipping out on endgame is insane

[@sandyap]

I just wish they show more about what Darkhold did to Wanda between the finale of WandaVision and the start of this movie (like what they did to Wenwu in ShangChi), bcs Wanda become so determined all of the sudden and she's willing to do whatever it takes to get back to her children, and how she finds out about America Chavez, how she know her location, and how can she send all those demons after her. I was so confused at the beginning Also, its borderline criminal that they severely underused Rachel McAdams in MCU🥲

[@ProuvaireJean]

Severely underusing talented actors in supporting roles is what makes the MCU the MCU!

[@sandyap]

@@ProuvaireJean THEE Rachel McAdams is just too good to be a love interest/motivation for the main character, at least cast her as an iconic villains or something lol

[@Windupchronic]

Strangely Agents of SHIELD helped there. They built an entire season around the Darkhold and what it does to a person.

[@marcuslobo5765]

If only they added another 15-20 minutes so that we could see these details

[@scottsummers4234]

THEE Regina George should have played a menacing villain in the MCU. Her role as Christine is very boring for Rachel's range.

[@Crusader2012]

Preach, Dan!

[@ejdelosreyes]

Dan always knows how to articulate my thoughts about a movie. -,

[@mmike]

I've never disagreed more with Dan

[@_jolie_]

I've never agreed more with Dan

[@teruphoto]

I've got tickets to watch tomorrow but I had to bookmark this vid because I'm dying to hear your thoughts. Definitely the first thing I do after the movie.

[@andrewcosta5001]

I would have to disagree about wanda. Her arc in Wandavision to Dr.Strange MoM was all the stages of grief. Wandavision was denial, making her life an illusion. Then she showed anger, pretty much through most of it. She tried to bargain for America, and was denied. Then she went through depression when seeing how her sons saw her as a monster. In the end she accepted that what she did was wrong and destroyed the darkhold.

[@justmeinting8665]

I think you would be right if Wanda didn’t already accept grief at the end of Wandavision so it feels like her storyline goes nowhere ig

[@XenFayed]

I see Wanda's turn as a tragedy, in the classical sense of the word - despite almost maybe coming to terms with the fact that she lost everyone she ever cared about (including the kids she made up) and starting on the road to redemption, the Darkhold took hold of her and she spiraled downward into becoming/remaining(?) a villain to the point where it destroyed her (? - not sure what will happen next with her.) It sucks because we were rooting for her but she couldn't pull herself out of it and she succumbed to evil influences. Life's like that sometimes.

[@robertvincent7385]

I agree completely the dark hold was like wandas crystal meth or heroin starts as a comfort and then it takes hold too much while dr strange is so strong of mind he can cope with temptation

[@bidhrohi12]

People break free from addiction. They're championed for rising above their demons by loved ones and friends. And then someday you hear they fell back in, hard. That's clearly what happened to Wanda, and it's not hard to see why that would happen. She lost her children. She lost her husband. For a moment she found the strength to rise above that, but then fell down hard.

[@sauce8277]

WOW. Imagine making a movie about THAT instead?? Her and Doctor strange could have went on a trip or something with her keep having to make decisions in a grey area, hinting at it and then she loses the battle to the choice for her kids while Doctor Strange decides Palmer is not for him. They duke it out and prepare for another movie. Would have rather has THAT. Would have been eerie the whole movie and fulfilling.

[@scottsummers4234]

Wanda's change from Wandavision was so abrupt. Yes, I understand the Darkhold thing, but I think it needed a few more scenes to establish her descent to villainy and madness.

[@footballvr7807]

Yeah but that would kinda defeat the reveal of her Being the villian in the movie

[@Traf063]

@@footballvr7807 They literally introduced free outdoors flashback device in this movie, I feel quite confident they could have do the descent scenes after the big reveal.

[@mrreddington777]

Thank you!!!! Same here. It was like wth why is this happening so fast???

[@scottsummers4234]

@@Traf063 exactly! They could have done a few flashback scenes after her big reveal.

[@drewmantia]

They’ve been setting this up for like 8 years Wanda was introduced as a villain in Ultron. Civil War saw her struggle trying to be a hero, as even her heroics lead to deaths. At the start of Infinity War when her and Vision find out Iron Man is missing, she wants to sit it out and all she cares about after meeting with Avengers is protecting Vision. Endgame she’s consumed with revenge and mourning. Wandavision she does a terrible thing which she does come to regret but then we leave with her possessed by the book and obsessed with finding her sons. What were they supposed to do in multiverse? Waste 30 minutes of screen time acting like she’s not a villain yet?

[@pcmacintyre]

19:43 You're saying finding the Darkhold cave was super easy, barely an inconvenience? Sorry, couldn't resist.

[@SiriuslyBlack7]

Oh,Ryan George references are TIGHT!!

[@langleymneely]

I’m sure I am not the only person to mention this but America wearing LGBTQ pins literally on her sleeve is straight out of the comics. America herself is a very loud and proud lesbian character. Not that I enjoy defending Disney but I often see Disney being called out for “patting themselves on the back” regarding queer representation when most of the time it’s media outlets/sites that pick up on it and make a bigger deal out of it. I’m not absolving Disney of when they HAVE tried to flex their progressive street cred and fell on their face (LaFou, SW Ep9, etc) but I do think it’s now a damned if you do damned if you don’t scenario. So now even when implementing small flourishes of representation from the source material everyone second guesses it as pandering on Disneys part.

[@cjspyker]

I didn't even know the pin and I saw the movie in IMAX.

[@uhnoah3974]

@@cjspyker I noticed it immeditaly lol, it was a nice touch and very true to her character

[@uhnoah3974]

I agree with you 100%. It’s really true to her character and not pandering at all for her to have a pride pin, that point almost made me want to click off the video. I think it was a very nice subtle way to input it and it was nice that they didn’t make any big deal about it, she just had a pride pin. yeah, totally agree with you :)

[@planetomars2571]

Thank you! You’re the only other comment that I’ve seen that disagrees with his criticism on the LGBTQ part of America’s character. It was very minor and honestly the most realistic representation of a queer person. It’s a pin and jacket that she likes to wear to represent herself. Just like anyone else who enjoys wearing accessories that are apart of what they like and who they are. His argument very much felt like “I don’t mind gay people… As long as they don’t kiss/hold hands in front of me.”

[@aquelegabriel]

@@planetomars2571 and this kind of thing was true of other characters, like Peter Parker using nerdy shirts, because this is the kind of thing the character would use, or the fact that military characters use clothes with the american flag, because this makes sense, but nobody makes a big deal out of that

[@cadenjones9666]

I really appreciate Dan as a critic. His argument break down about those 4 clumsy and stupid tactics people use to argue, irritate the hell outta me. Thanks for bringing that up! That being said, I disagree. I really liked this movie and the good moments ultimately, to me, outweighed the problems it had. Also unrelated The Nothman was good looking but Way too weird. The good ratings from everyone absolutely baffle me lol

[@fionnathehuman6610]

I completely agree with you. The good in this movie far outweigh any shortcomings it had. I even went to watch a second time last weekend which I’ve never done for any movie, MCU or otherwise. It definitely doesn’t deserve the hate it’s getting

[@FJCD]

@rockdale-gym I am not OP but I agree with him/her. I don't agree with Dan on this one. He talks about nitpicking but a lot of his gripes are nit picks in my opinion. To answer your questions I am a big comic book fan and Sam Raimi fan. I loved to see Raimi's style in this a lot, I loved to see an unhinged Scarlet Witch, I loved undead strange using the power of the damned to fight Wanda, I loved the exploration of Strange's unhappiness. I loved to see the the illuminati and America Chavez was a great Mcguffin.

[@casuallychallenged]

I still do not know how to feel entirely about this movie. I saw it today and I think I need to see it again before I can fully voice my opinions. I will say that I think this movie is missing two series/movies that give us a bit more on Wanda's turn to the dark side as well as Doctor Strange vs Mordo. Both stories were hand waved as "having happened" in the off screen time between the last Doctor Strange movie and WandaVision, and while I am fine with some events happening off screen (like Tony and Pepper having gotten married and had a kid, being in a real relationship), some events need a bit more than a "yadda yadda yadda" to explain what happened and when there IS a story to tell, tell the story. Mordo becoming a villain and Doctor Strange having to deal with that threat is not only a good story, but it is a story we were set up to get and not getting it... feels bad. Similarly, while the end of WandaVision sets up her going down the dark path, reading the Darkhold, that is just a set up for either a longer story to be told over multiple movies, or a second series where she starts exploring the book and "goes bad"... not just poof, she's bad now. It equally felt like something was missing and that missing piece (both of these story events) could have made a lot of what happened feel better overall. That being said, I still enjoyed the movie overall... I think.

[@ProuvaireJean]

I thought that WandaVision gave us enough of Wanda's turn to the dark side - I've always maintained she was always the real villain in that show - so that her characterisation in Multiverse of Madness felt like enough of a progression from that show that it didn't need more gaps to be filled. I'm not saying those gaps weren't there, just that they weren't big enough to absolutely require more screen time. (Though I can also envisage a version of the story being told where we do see those gaps filled in, either during another movie or by restructuring the final act of WandaVision.) Agree that Mordo was hand-waved away. They probably included the post-credits scene in the first Doctor Strange movie with the idea of picking up the thread in the sequel, but then changed tack (possibly as a result of Scott Derrickson's departure) and felt obligated to at least reference his own turn to villainy in MoM.

[@Doug_Hannon]

Reminded me a bit of the final episodes of Game of Thrones. With both Deanerys and Wanda, the issue is not that they went bad; it's that they went bad so suddenly and with so little justification after spending a lot of time on an upward trajectory. It really did feel like there needed to be a second season of Wanda Vision just to get Wanda fully back to her darkest places before Doctor Strange 2 happens.

[@benzaiten933]

I wonder if they saved up Mordo for the third stand-alone Doctor Strange movie, to finish the movie series how it started. perhaps Mordo will somehow steal Wong's magic powers, making Strange the Sorcerer Supreme once more, and thus magic ensues.

[@strangeravensupreme]

@@Doug_Hannon I HAD THE EXACT SAME COMMISSION COMPARISON! Truthfully, I was more letdown and WTF regarding Deanerys

[@joncheww]

This was the longest ad for Dave's Chicken, ever. Appreciate the breakdown! I think the characterization of Wanda was explained as a side effect of using the darkhold too long, but it's definitely contrived. Liked the movie but understand all the takes. It's definitely not Marvel's A-game but I still love it for Sam Raimi.

[@silvskill5358]

I purposefully avoided ads to give myself no expectations for the film. I wasn’t excited nor not excited to see it. And I gotta say, I loved it. Not the best marvel film and many plot holes in it but you know what I still liked it. I gotta admit, loved how it branched from the marvel norm and wasn’t scared to show some more graphic scenes.

[@thefinalfighter2578]

I wish I avoided trailers too. Almost everything was shown and that really messed with my experience.

[@f.miller801]

Bro if I am not excited to see a movie I don't even get out of my home. I don't think this was the problem.

[@lbabytutorials4852]

I saw the trailers during the Superbowl halftime so it spoiled the film

[@lbabytutorials4852]

@@thefinalfighter2578 it was impossible to avoid trailers they released Patrick Stewart during the Superbowl commercials. I went to see The Batman and they released heavy spoilers during the credits. I was lucky with spider man no way home I saw no trailers and the movie blew me away! I can’t believe Sam Rami didn’t see wanda vision

[@AnilSingh-qb7iu]

Oddly enough this comment doesn't tell us anything about the movie either.

[@rev_gavfelix]

I didn't think Wanda ever did become fully apologetic at the end of Wandavision. It seemed to me that they were telling a Scarlett Witch "origin story" of sorts where she was the clear villain in the story. Add to that the influence of the Dark Hold and I think the movie portrayal is consistent with who she was becoming. I thought it was great. Appreciate your perspective though

[@robertvincent7385]

There’s a truth to this she goes for a timeout but ends up looking into an evil book so as you stay she hasn’t stopped she reminds me of a drug addict. Causes destruction then gains control resolution but relapses with the dark hold

[@noahedwards3090]

I agree it makes sense she would become the villain but they don’t ever show this. All we get is Strange saying “The Darkhold corrupts whoever reads it.” We don’t see the Darkholds corruption in this movie only at the end scene in Wanda Vision. They should have actually shown what the Darkhold was doing to her by letting us go inside her head.

[@nm2358]

I think the issue is the fandom is super emphatic and forgiving to Wanda, given we've seen her through every tragedy in her life, but... yeah. She immediately opened an evil magic book, rather than turning herself into the police for enslaving and tormenting a town for months.

[@dsm060]

I think what Wanda hears is the kids screaming from dr strange 2. The kids were screaming at the scarlett witch invading their home. Thats my theory

[@kasiialexander6809]

Was about to comment the same thing, especially the pause she takes when they scream and hide for her when she invaded

[@famousthaneus9810]

That would imply she could time travel to some degree though wouldn't it? Which would also bring into question how she couldn't've mastered that if there was enough time between where we left off in WV & this for the Darkhold to corrupt her

[@dsm060]

@@famousthaneus9810 I thought about that variable as well and while this is all theory crafting I dont think she directly time traveled, at least not on purpose. I think she begins to study the dark hold and durong that time she is corrupted further. I think the is scouring the multiverse for her boys and hears an echo but that echo isnt necessarily from any direct point and time. In other words she just hears or sees it like a premonition. Witches are known for this in stories. Now what End games setsup is that time travel is possible however changes within a timeline can cause branching universes. Loki elaborated on this idea by explaining thay not only can time be travelled through but the they can also travel through the multiverse and stop different incursion events from occurring within time. Sylvie kills Kang, Ultron discovers the multiverse, The ten rings are acting as a beacon for the multiversal threat to locate earth 616 . although, nothing has been stated that every Marvel movie after end game takes place on 616 maybe we are seeing alternate earths characters that we will get behind and then realize they are not of the same earth we love, but I digress. Okay so back to whay I was saying. The 10 rings/beacon has sounded. With no Lang to real in all these events the multiverse is ever expanding. Now the Eternals occur and Cersei does not allow for the birth of a Celestial (incursion event). Spiderman has both time travel and multiverse travel as indicated by doc Oc, Green goblin Electro being alive but Garfield and Macguire are older now. Dr strange cast a spell that normally works without issue but because the MV is going wild the spell goes wrong and another incursion event occurs. Wanda this whole timebis travelling both Multiverse but also inknowningly activating points in time that would jot have been available to her if Kang had not died. So she isnt travelling through time Time is travling to her. She is being manipulated to create incursion events. To me this whole new phase is to build up to Secret wars which will ultimatley end in Wanda coming back and whispering " No more Multiverse"

[@benzaiten933]

or the Darkhold was simply lying to her in order to corrupt her. (or, "Help me, there's a bee! not the bees!")

[@JackDManheim]

Elizabeth Olson’s performance variants created by different production teams across multiple movies could have been something they used to advance the story here, as evidence of her fractured psyche. But they didn’t do that, and all we got was another uninteresting version of The Dark Phoenix.

[@CBrown]

Dan is spot on and it's the exact same problem I had with the movie. Wanda's character was done so poorly here and ruined. The shift of her character between Wandavision and Dr. strange was terrible. They do nothing to explain how she got from healing to killing anyone for her kids. Even if you accept it's a because of the Darkhold, which is fine, they did nothing to show that transition. They just explained that this is what the Darkhold does for you and as much as I want to be okay with that, having shown that transition would have been so much more satisfying and would maybe have you feeling something for the character in the end outside of in-build fanaticism.

[@nikunjdixit1175]

@@jimmylu1352 I disagree with that. They did quite a bit with Strange's story. The SW plot was actually pretty simple, but Strange's plot was more character based and had more development. He learned how to let go and learned to accept help and know that he can't d everything on his own.

[@CBrown]

@P P Like when she saved Cap from being blown up by Crossbones? How was that in her own self interest exactly? What about when she killed Vision in Infinity War? She really didn't want to but did it anyway. How was that in her own self interest? Should I continue? What about when she turned on Ultron when she learned what he was really doing? I guess that was self interest because she didn't want to die too if you want to stretch it that way but I don't. She even joined the Civil Disturbance when the only thing it served to do was demonize her character in the face of the public even more. How was that in her own self interest?

[@geekylove3603]

I think it was quite simple and it was explained. "Everytime I go to sleep I dream with them, but wake up to the same nightmare" For a insanely powerful witch who I guess will live forever you can see how she would get slightly peeved.

[@yoursonisold8743]

The entire first act established it quite well I think. Wanda justifies herself a lot, sees her restraint as a moral action and gives people choices. She seems to struggle with the influence of the Darkhold at that point in time, but once she received serious resistance by the wizards she gets more violent. Some people in the movie make very good arguments to her why she doesnt need to kill America Chavez and take her power, but just like the Darkhold always does, it makes someone crave more power, so she justifies it by saying she needs to be able to jump universes to protect her children. It is clearly irrational, but it makes sense to her internal web of justifications. And once she starts Dreamwalking the influence of the Darkhold is absolutely overpowering her good morality. Note how she only becomes completely coldblooded after that first time jumping universes. Before that she was willing to kill, but only as a last resort. The only thing that could snap her out of it was the realization that even her children saw her as a monster. It broke the influence and shattered her bubble of self-deception.

[@ltoz]

watch the movie again, they showed her multiple times reading the darkhold just in MoM. Add on that she was astral reading it since Wandavision so imagine how much Strange learned astral reading but add corruption on top of it. It is completely plausible she was fully evil by the time Chavez came to 616.

[@Tuscar]

100% everything Dan said is what I said in the multiple conversations I had this weekend prior to seeing this. Thank you, Dan.

[@platform14]

Completely agree with you about Wanda. Let's hope whoever deals with her next has at least seen Wandavision and not this version of her. Interesting that No Way Home was so invested in getting the multiverse characters a new path and NOT killing anyone but here the multiverse characters all get destroyed without consideration. I think one deals much better with multiversial elements than the other.

[@uydukuvita-man4696]

I think your comment is more a reflection on the characters of Spider Man and Scarlet Witch more than the quality of the films

[@yoursonisold8743]

"so invested in getting the multiverse characters a new path and NOT killing anyone" You are critisizing the movie for having the villain do the bad thing? Really? First of all the movie is exactly the opposite of what you make it out to be. It is actually the crystallization of Spider-man's philosophy. The way Strange changes in this movie is exactly to fit Spider-man's words. He DOESNT sacrifice the multiverse character America Chavez, despite everyone, even Wong, telling him to. His other selves even were willing to do it. Everyone saw her (and Strange himself) as threats that would be better off dead. The Illuminati, with the exception of Xavier, were already clearly willing to get rid of them. Xavier believes in second chances and that people can change, which is why he told Strange to show he is better than everyone thought. His refusal to kill Chavez is everything you wanted. The fact that Wanda and the Illuminati go against that theme is exactly why the movie portrays them as wrong. lol

[@dinerenblancc]

To all these people mentioning how Wanda's acting this way cause of the Darkhold, that's not the point. The issue is that this story doesn't make sense thematically after what happens at the end of WandaVision, where she's able to let the kids go and overcome her grief. You can make any excuse to tell any story you want, but that doesn't mean it makes sense to tell it, especially when it's a retread of the same themes

[@johnnypopstar]

> where she's able to let the kids go and overcome her grief But did she? We're complex objects, us humans. Sure she "overcame her grief" and had a brief moment of realising what she'd done to that town, but it's not like a switch went from -1 to 0. A short while later, before she's truly settled into the new state, she discovers the Dark Hold and the possibilities it grants. It's not *that* insane for this fresh possibility to have reawakened that part of her grief-powered self that took the town hostage in the first place, and had only a very short time ago been "overcome".

[@Moshuun]

Because she didn’t overcome anything. She was lying.

[@coollayo]

The last shot of that series was her pretending to be ok in the cabin while actually looking for ways to bring her kids back with the Darkhold, showing she wasn’t able to let go of her grief, which is how Dr. Strange finds her in the apple orchard.

[@Moreinius]

@@coollayo Like Dan explained, that also doesn't make sense. Until she heard her kids screaming in another universe. That could've and should've been the main trigger to bring her tempt the Darkhold and cross the multiverse. They even set it up themselves, but they never used it.

[@bojacknorseman9009]

@@Moreinius The Darkhold is a demonic entity. The whispered screams from the children were almost certainly a prompt from the book to encourage her to keep reading.

[@BelairPedicab]

I loved it, and can't wait to hear your gripes! Cheers!!

[@williamduan2322]

and just a random thought on the cameo: Kevin Feige was actually upset that they giveaway the Prof X cameo in the trailer... and thinking about this, I wonder if this is an example of the marketing detracting from the experience of the movies: Imagine for a second if the Prof X cameo was not revealed. There would have been gasps and excitement for the next 20 minutes, enough to last until the Illuminati meet their ends. I think the situation is that when the trailer shows us a 1, we anticipate a 10, but the cameo was a 3 at most. There is nothing with it being a 3 if we weren't even expecting it in the first place. But with all of us expecting a 10 or even a 15, a 3 feels like an underwhelming letdown.

[@jamiethegaymie]

this is why I don't watch trailers, i can't be disappointed 😌

[@sorasharkness7952]

I purposely chose not to watch the trailers for this one and I’m so glad I didn’t!

[@jaustill237]

You guys have it right. There is no reason to watch a trailer for a movie you are definitely going to see.

[@atlasrises4]

One story beat that confused me and I honestly expected a big reveal from, was everyone talking about his very specific choice on how he beat Thanos and if it was the ONLY way to do so. That paired with the constant talk about his personal happiness made it seem like maybe they were going to reveal there were maybe SEVERAL ways they could have won but he just didn't like the result

[@marianne5055]

I think it sets up the end with America and choosing not to take her power. He doesn’t have to be that arrogant guy anymore who always has to have the knife (or however Christine phrased it).

[@snowfloofcathug]

To me it seems more like setting up him questioning himself, tying closely to what the person above said about holding the scalpel. He thought it was the only way, but what if it wasn't? What if there had been a better way had he acted differently? It was never about whether there was or wasn't, just about his inner turmoil about it, and he grows from it and realises his way isn't the only way, and instead trusted America

[@atlasrises4]

@@marianne5055 I would agree if I didn't think that conflict felt nearned on his half. His whole conflict really only felt like people making assumptions about the guy and I think adding in at least SOME active selfishness would have helped.

[@ethanjobson3879]

@@atlasrises4 Yeah like he did what he did to save all of the universe, not some pure act of selfishness. I mean he lost out on being Sorcerer Supreme because of it.

[@ShellsGhost1]

Apparently that magic book should be in the 616 world but Dr Strange didn't use it. He was the sorcerer supreme and should have known about it.

[@colincunningham3241]

I agree with you on most of these points, but another one of the “three” options could be establishing Wanda as a character who the avengers work with out of necessity, also could be a open the door to Agatha becoming a legitimate mentor to Wanda in her new show

[@benzaiten933]

I mean popular characters getting redeemed isn't something that new. sure, what she did was absolutely horrible but I doubt in the grand scheme of plot making that'd stop her from being included. just show a montage of her being realllllly sorry, perhaps helping people in secret and then let her join again. it is, after all, still a comic book universe so everything goes.

[@Bemused247]

Setting up the temple to the scarlet witch/Cthon is probably the way out. I wonder if we will get a more explicit version of the corruption of the darkhold on Wanda and the influence of Cthon in whatever comes next as we show Wanda trying to wrestle with how much was her and how much was the dark influence. Perhaps all wishful thinking.

[@filmtorres]

Your preamble to your review was spot on. Great work!

[@CptWarriorX]

This is my favorite review so far because of your honesty. 👍Keep up the great work

[@P0UTY1]

I was the one out of my group of friends that didn’t like it, so thanks Dan because I thought I was in the wrong. So, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one

[@adampeel6161]

Not even close

[@thedarkemissary]

"We're not concerned. We can handle your little Scarlet Witch." - paste

[@georgemckay7795]

I 100% agree with Dan's take on Wanda's portrayal. It is really unfortunate that more thought wasn't given to the character's overall arc

[@benrorick2284]

I think they felt they established that the Darkhold corrupted her as she explored it after the ending of Wandavision until the start of DS2. But I personally don't think it was quite enough.

[@writingref]

I think her arc suffered from having to rewrite this movie post covid - remember theres a 2 hour and 40 minutes version of this movie where we probably got to see the darkholds corruption happen That whole scene in the apple orchard preys on peoples expectations that she worked through her issues But I think they rewrote that whole moment

[@atlien1988]

@@writingref that’s what I’m thinking. However, if they left 10-20 mins covering that, it would’ve solved many issues most have with Wanda/Scarlett Witch in the movie. It really cheapens the character because we know they’re going to redeem her at a later point.

[@writingref]

@@atlien1988 she got Dr. Octopussed lol - it wasn’t me, it was the evil book/ tentacles = redemption for super heroes. It’ll work out ok cuz its mythology

[@robertvincent7385]

I think her falling shows how powerful the dark hold is her scene in the orchard shows how cunning she’s become when she lies to dr strange

[@jasoncrane]

Great review, Dan.

[@yookoala]

I felt a little bit sad when I see Wanda used this way. Even if she is used in similar manner, there are better way to establish how she was corrupted and the internal conflict of her inside.

[@MrBarborosa]

They completely wrecked her. Seeing her as heroic now is impossible

[@mr_coffee9917]

@@MrBarborosa 😭😭😭 y they did this to Wanda 😭😭😭😭 made her a mad woman 😭😭😭😭

[@TheCamcamTV]

Probably a scene they could’ve used for that rug pull instead just showing a few dead trees

[@travistaylor2980]

She behaved like this several times in WandaVision. Re-watch the scene where she flings Monica out of Westview.

[@yookoala]

@@travistaylor2980 That doesn't really matter. The story of Wanda Vision ended where Wanda accepts grief and let go of Vision along with the kids. Dr Strange 2 is a poor continuation of that. The only excuse for Wanda to behave like this is the Darkhold corrupted her. There could have been more emotional substance in the script to highlight how Wanda get here from the ending of WandaVision. There isn't a clear enough distinction between the corrupted mind and her own. Nor did the movie shown how powerful the Darkhold did to corrupt people's mind.

[@veylun]

Great review Dan! Some really great points and stuff I hadn't thought of at all ☺️ I agree with maybe 70 or 80 percent of your points and totally get where you're coming from with the points I didn't personally identify with. This was such a great breakdown of the technical elements of the story that lay people like me would miss, thanks! ❤️❤️❤️

[@astr0nox]

It should be mentioned that Dr. Strange did get something out of the Book of Vishanti: he saw the page with a star on it, referring to America Chavez as the solution to the Scarlet Witch.

[@Evol_lov3]

Rebuttals: The pivot from Wanda reconciling with her actions at the end of WandaVision to her being full-blown evil in this makes sense. While Wanda does feel bad about what she did in Westview, she STILL insists on looking for her children. The two Wandas shown in the post-credit scene in WV demonstrate this duality. Also, the book is called the Darkhold because it literally has a dark hold over the user. This is explained out loud in this movie. I have no counterargument for the kids yelling for help in the WV post-credit scene, it should have been the driving force of M.o.M. The cameos in this movie don’t feel cynical at all. The MCU has mastered creating shorthand references by adding little teasers in all their films. If we ever see any of these actors return to their cameo roles it won’t be a shock to the audience and makes accepting their backstories much easier. Professor X crossing over from the cartoons makes sense. The classic X-Men animated series is now considered canon and the X-Men 97 reboot will reinforce this. Also, Dark Dr. Strange came from the recent What If animated series, and no one seems to be upset about it. And finally, this film acknowledges that animated realities exist since Dr. S and America cross through one in their multiversal trip. There are multiple avenues to be explored concerning Wanda's death. Screen Writing 101 dictates that if a character's death doesn't happen onscreen then it didn't happen at all. The tower falling on Wanda was framed similarly to Wong falling off the tower in his death scene. Since they never showed his body everyone knew he'd be back in the final act, and I think the same will happen with Wanda. What they will do with her, who knows. But most likely, this Wanda is dead and they'll pluck another Wanda out of another reality. Considering that multiversal incursions are mentioned in the movie it makes sense that this will lead to the creation of Battleworld. In doing so different versions of characters will have to fight for supremacy and alternate continuities (Fox and Marvel movies) will be pruned from the timeline. If it worked in the comics they can make it work in the MCU.

[@LukasGarrett000]

That wasn't Supreme Strange from What If that was a new Strange called Sinister Strange. I was also confused when I saw the credits and sinister popped up.

[@krisg3984]

The rabbit hole goes deep .

[@twincast2005]

@@LukasGarrett000 Well, they and their universes looked similar, but they have completely different plot arcs. Supreme Strange went mad trying to save Christine, destroying his universe completely safe for a tiny pocket, and is eternally watching over Ultron. Sinister Strange went mad trying to find a universe in which he and Christine end up happily ever after, went on a "mercy kill" spree of his variants, destroying most of his own universe, and dies staked on a fence.

[@twincast2005]

Also, this wasn't cartoon Professor X. Earth-838 Xavier is just using the same kind of hover chair.

[@Moreinius]

Personally, I think this feels like a part 1 of a multiple part series of movies. The movie itself is pretty enjoyable, similarly to the first Doctor Strange, but the story from the first movie was definitely resolved. In this one, the story is open ended both ways. There's a lot of unexplained stuffs like where the Darkhold came from, how Wanda got the Darkhold, how she knew there's a person like America Chavez who could cross universes, how or why there's only one Chavez and why didn't Chavez try to find her mothers at the end, how Wanda destroyed the Darkhold from every universe (what if another Strange or Wanda was holding their copy of it in another universe, couldn't they reverse her spells to keep her from destroying them), etc. I didn't mind the cameos being written off, because, in their defense, it's kind of a way to tell the audience that they exist and that they acknowledged these characters into the universe, sort of like a teaser if you will. One of my concern is that there's wasn't really any fighting between Doctor Strange and Wanda. Like there was more fighting between Thanos and Doctor Strange in Infinity War in that 30 second showdown than there is in his own movie. I get that he would probably get his ass handed to her but there wasn't even any attempt. He fought more with himself with in that other universe than he did with Wanda. Hell, I'd think Wong fought Wanda more than Doctor Strange did. There also weren't as much fighting between the Illuminati and Wanda, cause she just vaporized them in 2 seconds. What I did love is all the horror/creepy element added to the movie, thanks to Sam Raimi for most of these scenes. I find it original and interesting compared to what we use to get from the typical Disney movies. It was also surprisingly more violent and gory than I expected, can't complain about it though, those scenes were also great. Overall, it was enjoyable to a certain degree, until you realize all the missing components that aren't there or things that don't serve any purpose like you said. It was definitely overhyped by the momentum brought by No Way Home. The movie feels rushed in a way that I can't explain. Like I said, it feels like a part 1 of a multiple part series of movies, it feels incomplete. I agree with almost everything you said, except a few bits that we might have a different view on.

[@Faitios]

There is a forth option for Wanda’s future. I thought it was clear, but it seems I may be wrong. Wanda was controlled by the Scarlet Witch, kinda like the dark Phoenix. I believe that’s why Professor X was there to show how Wanda was trapped in her own mind, just like Jean Gray was.

[@egmorox13]

I thought the Wanda he was trying to save was the consciousness of the Wanda from that universe. Like, scarlet witch Wanda buried that universes Wanda to keep her away while sw Wanda used her body.

[@Faitios]

@@egmorox13 maybe, but at a minimum, the darkhold does change people (happened to multiple Dr Strangers). It seems she could be freed from that evil.

[@XSiReX100]

That was the Wanda of the universe they were in. Not our Wanda’s conscience or anything like that.

[@edpistemic]

Was the Darkhold Temple on Earth-616 or another version? Why did it have a statue of Wanda on the wall? It felt unbelievable to me but this may have been explained in Wandavision which I haven't seen.

[@avalentova]

Again very well summed up, I myself wasn't sure what to think about this movie, but hearing your thoughts helped me to shape mine. ♥

[@andrewselectricsheep2030]

I agree with you almost completely, and what frustrates me is that we see the potential of what this film could’ve been if it had focused on telling a coherent and intimate story. The stuff with “I love you in every universe” and Wanda’s arc could’ve been a cosmic gut punch with a better plot!

[@Scochy]

Dan, I think you're forgetting that bringing people across multiverses has rippling effects, that's what happened to the dark Steven Strange. Hence, I don't think they can just go and grab people from other multiverses to solve problems. What it does is that we can have several threats from other universes as Wanda said Vision warned her about.

[@daywren7511]

We’re being far too analytical about something that the creators don’t care enough about to even develop lol

[@airmett8939]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but can’t they bring the characters across if the original character in the original universe is dead? That’s the reason why America Chavez can stay in our universe at the end of the film, because there is no Captain America otherwise.

[@Scochy]

@@airmett8939 America Chavez isn't Captain America. They are different characters, plus America Chavez does have a duplicate in any universe. It was stated in the movie. She doesn't even dream. She's the only one of her kind in the entire Multiverse

[@Scochy]

@@daywren7511 oh they put in a lot of thought. It's called world building and its key to making the Multiverse make sense in the future of the MCU. Future movies will depend on the Multiverse making sense

[@daywren7511]

@@Scochy lol marvel doesn’t care about writing things that are god and make sense because they know their fans will blindly see and love everything they make regardless of quality lol

[@cooperjake]

“Hey look, the scarlet witch.” 😂😂

[@KPlaysSports123]

Really good review. You make such a great range of points, most underrated reviewer around

[@sivad1025]

This was EXACTLY how I felt. I liked the Raimi touches, but Wanda's character really was a slap in the face to the show

[@sivad1025]

@@summertyme5748 Is that so? I would not at all be surprised. It feels like that

[@ethanjobson3879]

@@summertyme5748 Yeah Raimi too. That's damning. I'm starting to agree with Dan the MCU is becoming a mess. Ironically, the very reason I got out of reading the comics seems to be coming to the movies. It's just too much content and too convoluted. If by Ant Man they haven't gotten a cohesive direction I might be out.

[@MusicayMas.]

Not necessarily. That is how you felt it, but if you don't understand the ending of Wanda, then I don't know what to tell you.

[@sivad1025]

@@MusicayMas. I've seen WandaVision at least 5 times. It's the only MCU show I liked. This movie was very inconsistent with the character trajectory in the show. Wanda went from righting wrongs and looking to master her power for good... to massacreing innocent people. It makes no sense from a narrative perspective.

[@proverandom]

@@MusicayMas. Tell him how YOU understood the ending of Wandavision?

[@mickeyveach3612]

I think a small defense for Wanda's arc is that she's no longer motivated by grief like in the show. The underlining message of the movie is finding peace after losing something dear to you. Both Strange and Wanda are going through a similar journey. Wanda wants to replace grief with joy by finding her kids but is now being corrupted by the darkhold ala One Ring style.

[@Internatube]

She was also being corrupted by the dark hold.

[@mikaelmahe8627]

not to mention she is dreaming about her kids every fu;king night it take less to become insane

[@Monkeyboy1138]

It’s a similar journey to a lot of the heroes in Phase 4. The toll that the super powered life takes. Spidey having to give up his whole life, everything with Wanda, Sam going through the ringer about taking up the Cap mantle, Thor seemingly wanting to walk away from the heroing life, Doctor Strange thinking about happiness, Marc/Steven and what their shared life has done, Xu Wenwu and his long life of power, even the retroactive looks at Nat Romanoff, the Eternals realisations about who and what they are and what they were built for and how that philosophically breaks their family unit.

[@nicholassiple7838]

Uh

[@sizanix]

Has echoes of Tony Leung's arc in Shang Chi

[@michelecilano1710]

Love all your reviews! When I agree or not. This time agree. Thanks

[@ADurning87]

Thank you, I'm not a fan of multiverse arcs in TV and Film but people always said my arguments were invalid. I really enjoyed your input which makes me feel less alone

[@terezaDD]

First five minutes = my entire life (because I study film and I am critic and I am Marvel fan). Thank you, Dan. This is what I needed it to hear.

[@sunnysied713]

I have seen and experienced every one of those lazy copout arguments. And more! Lol. He's 100% right about the tricks that Marvel fans will use to dismiss and discredit people's criticism.

[@andycalmes4201]

As for the book of Vishanti being a wasted quest, I kinda like it when an easy answer doesn’t pan out…it gives the “now what are we going to do” feeling. I certainly didn’t get the vibe that the bee was meant to be played for laughs. Bees are absolutely terrifying to some people, especially children, so it was a logical catalyst to create her first doorway. I was bummed for Wanda but I don’t think it was a betrayal of character development. I saw it as an intentional twist that was hinted at in Wandavision to really make us want her to overcome the curse.

[@Yugioh_Turk]

I'm still scared of bees and I'm 34. It was the most relatable moment for me.

[@PuertoGeekan]

Are the time variants and alternate timelines we saw in Loki multiverses? Or do those exist within one universe? Does each single universe in the multiverse have variant timelines?

[@egmorox13]

I agree 100%. I posted a similar review on tiktok and got comments telling me that I was nitpicking and that this was way better than the “mid” spiderman movie. For a while I was worried I saw a different movie than everyone else did. Thanks for sharing your nuanced thoughts on this movie!

[@BebotExpress00]

I totally agree with the feelings about the Wanda arc and disregard and basically disrespect shown to the whole character development in Wandavision. It would have been nice to see Agatha show up or have some development for Billy/Tommy and their powers, it just felt like a big step back for Wanda rather than building on the character of course with now leaving her either dead or beyond redemption....i guess we won't be seeing Speed/Wiccan anytime soon either....

[@BamBamTheInfluence]

Wanda was corrupted by the dark-hold... So that explains why she's irrational & in a murderous rage in spite of her ark in Wandaivision.. this is why she shouldn't have been using the dark-hold... It make sense... They showed her using the dark-hold in Wandaivision so we saw the chance of her going bad

[@XSiReX100]

@@BamBamTheInfluence did you even watch the review? You watched 9 WandaVision episodes but one 10 second scene undoes everything done for the character previously? Jez.

[@drewmantia]

@@XSiReX100 they’ve been setting up Wanda as a villain since Cap America Winter Soldier. I do not get this argument people are making

[@XSiReX100]

@@drewmantia again, did you watch WandaVision? she was set as everything but a villain. It was her redemption arc.

[@CassienotClover]

I completely agree, I think that was my biggest disappointment. It felt like a huge regress for Wanda's character, and I can't think of a single satisfying way they could use her again in the future. My favorite avenger got straight up character assassinated

[@benzaiten933]

what I missed most in this movie was the absolutely spectacular and 'mystic' score from the first movie. it was so special and outstanding, I don't' get why they didn't re-use it again, what a missed opportunity.

[@airmett8939]

I didn’t think of that at all but glad that you mention it. You are so right

[@yoursonisold8743]

Because if you get Danny Elfman, you use Danny Elfman. The score of this movie was phenomenal, even if not consistent with the first one. But the movie was also not supposed to be like the first one.

[@That1Guy_1991]

I have a serious question. Do you think that if something quote in quote important is introduced in first couple of minutes that it may or may not be important compared the story as a whole?

[@alexoger]

This is so well done. Completely agree.

[@ItsJustJess269]

Yes, I don't agree with some of the story decisions but my favorite thing about this movie was Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch / Wanda. Even though she kind of went the evil Way. I still thought she was perfect, gorgeous and overall kind of sexy trying to go for whatever she wanted without no remorse. 💙🙏👊 Still loved how dark, Twisted aesthetic the second to half was especially with some of the Cinematic photography from the film. 🔥

[@ChanoWilliams]

Thanks for calling out dismissive attitudes. Discourse is great. Echo chambers are not. But also ignorance is bliss, so I guess maybe what I'm saying is to let sleeping dogs lie? lol

[@elsergecruz]

Your reviews are always so great and while I don't agree with you in this one i can still totally respect and enjoy your take. Thanks for sharing

[@auto117666]

I never noticed the jacket or pin. It did not feel try hard to me since it was just in the background and they did not even draw attention to it.

[@johndzchambers]

I hadn't seen any previews, anything on Disney+ or heard any rumours about this movie going in. I just experienced it with no preconceived notions & loved it. I feel Wandavision, previews & rumours did Dan & others a great disservice heading into this movie.

[@carnek]

The Wanda change is clearly, even maybe too quickly, explained with the darkhold corrupting her, she may start reading it to find the knowledge she needs to understand her powers but, has been said by literally everyone starting from Agatha Harkness, the Scarlett Witch is said to be this really dark and scary persona.

[@2nd3rd1st]

The corruptive power of the DH was also explained in Agents of Shield

[@RainaEmms]

I'm guessing from your comments about the bee being America's inciting incident that you aren't afraid of bees landing on you? As someone who is, believe me I would be opening portals too.

[@marcodavinci3150]

The movie felt so edgy and adult but the portrayal of America Chavez felt so Disney Channel!

[@wiggedmite6275]

Didn't have high expectations going in, but I really enjoyed this. One character moment left out in this review is where Dr Strange sees the statue of 838's Strange who "sacrificed" himself to save that universe. After the wedding scene earlier it suddenly calls into question his whole 1 in 14bn outcomes - did he discount the ones where he died too easily? As for Wanda, I can see the reasons to be concerned for her development but at the same time I think alot of this is down to the Darkhold corruption and if someone is on the verge of obtaining power over the entire multiverse, they naturally would have a different idea of what death means. After all that person still exists somewhere else. I think the redemption of her seeing herself as a monster through her children's eyes was a powerful moment. I don't think she's dead, but I thought Zombie Stephen was a great way to have someone with her at the end without needing an escape hatch for the hero. And finally, I didn't find the "power is already inside you" too corny, as I had already been thinking that 838 seemed to have too much of what they needed, and his explanation that her instincts were actually guiding her exactly where she needed to go suddenly made the different jumps make sense. Even her portal to the collapsed reality was opened before Scarlet Witch was controlling her.

[@FJCD]

Like your ideas but the first one about Strange not being honest with the time stoneboutcomes is incorrect. He saw different possibilities in their universe no t in different universes. It is mention that 838 Strange used the bad book to defeat Thanos. Our strange did not have that power so that was not a possibility presented by the time stone.

[@Yugioh_Turk]

I imagine Dr Strange only checked 14000605 universes that were the same with theirs, up until their fight with Thanos. Checking universe 838 would be pointless since the Avengers do not have the powers of the Illuminati and their fight cannot be replicated by them.

[@wiggedmite6275]

He didn't know about the Darkhold until later. From a character development moment he gets faced with the "possibility" that giving the time stone to Thanos was not the only way, and an alternative might have existed which would have resulted in his death - he was asked a version of this question earlier, and mirrors the other times other main characters decide on the "only way" to achieve something. He decides to trust others (similar to ultimate Endgame solution actually) and therefore it's this which helps him succeed where other Stranges failed.

[@DanielleBannisterbooks]

Thank you for articulating the things that were bugging me about this movie that I REALLY wanted to love but just didn't.

[@holdensmith7856]

What was the better summer multiverse movie? Doctor Strange or Everything Everywhere all at Once?

[@langleymneely]

Additional BS film retorts that get on my nerves: “you just don’t understand it” or “turn off your brain”, “stop watching if you don’t love it then”!

[@Nico509914]

I did not take Wanda vision as a healing journey at all idk if that was just me. I took it as Wanda being at her lowest by the end.

[@mekinot]

She's at her lowest throughout the whole show, but at the end she accepts her grief is hurting others and that she can't just create her perfect world, and decides to take control of her life again. That's the start of a healing journey.

[@Nico509914]

I can see that. I can see like if you saw that as an end of her grief why this would be like oh wtf. The story probably shoulda been more clear on that

[@JadenSmithEyes]

I'm viewing this as an extended live action episode of "What If." It's shallow comic book indulgence, just seeing what CAN happen in this weird world without to many lasting impacts.

[@snokuy]

Totally agree. And if that's the goal, the movie succeeded.

[@RJ-Ramen]

And sometimes those are the comics you enjoy the most. It really embodied the “What If” energy. I think this movie was a literal live comic book in a lot of ways.

[@dbrowdy]

I see your point but they JUST did a "What If..." and we got some of the very same characters in that show. AND they even addressed him looking for a universe where's he's happy with Christine! It felt to me like they were doing the same thing but worse than their own other show, which was a bit weak IMHO.

[@joecheng162]

Just curious. How do KZbinrs get their hands on these high quality non-trailer clips from movies? I wouldn't think the studios would provide them with these clips. So is it just yoinked from pirated versions of movies?

[@JAWSof239]

LMAO that petty shot at Dave's Hot Chicken was quite possibly my favorite part of any review you've ever done. Well played, sir. In all seriousness, though, always enjoy your content!

[@thedarkemissary]

I think you might be missing a throughline on the themes. Wasn't it a kind of "are you happy?" throughout the movie. Strange isn't happy. He tells himself he is, but really he's still broken inside like the watch he carries. Wanda isn't happy. She's still broken, despite resolving what happened in Westview. And Strange is sorta confronted by the consequences of that turmoil/desire by Dark Strange, before he realizes he needs to stop wanting things to go back to a way they COULD have been with Christine. And so Wanda also sorta has to face what she's become trying so desperately to get back what COULD have been with her kids. And in the end, she gives up and kills herself and he finally fixes the watch and moves on.

[@marcuslobo5765]

Easy to miss out on that since they kinda sandwiched those scenes in a time crunch. I wish they had a little more time for that theme to come through. I mean when dark strange mentoned looking for a world where he could be with christine they could have lingered on 616 strange and have him go through the emotions of shit is this where I'm headed. Was my response to my christine as hollow as dark strange's. Maybe a line or two of him trying to confront dark strange about it. It'd add just a couple of minutes but bring it the theme so well

[@Super_Middleman]

My main issue was the casualness of death and killing in this movie. I always look at the MCU as one big TV show, and in the previous episode: Spider-Man No Way Home we are shown how important life is, even the lives of Supervillains. That movie made Norman Osborn sympathetic somehow. In contrast, in this movie death and killing seem to bear no weight for anyone. The MCU has never shied away from death, but the previous movies always gave those deaths the somber feeling of loss that they deserve, this movie treats death (even of famous characters) like nameless henchmen or teenage slasher victims. At the end of the movie, you would have thought nothing bad had happened at all.

[@zacharyno9598]

Interesting- I found the deaths in this movie to be the most shocking in all of the MCU. Very brutal, often inventive stuff.

[@jordanfranklin377]

Because he was going for a horror movie theme

[@travistaylor2980]

It's a different universe. Comics have always shown multiverse versions of our favorite heroes getting slaughtered.

[@Mr.rbfitz]

I don’t know if the 2 movies conflict as much as you think. They very pointedly had Defender Strange repeat a similar (or almost the exact same) line to America when he decided to kill her that our Dr. Strange used on the spider villains in deciding to send them home to die. Which shows they’re pretty much aligned in their thought process about sacrificing the few to save the many. And he doesn’t waiver when questioned about what he did in regards to Thanos. It’s like “ F*ck your cats,” lol But through the multiverse he sees that even though other Dr. Stranges use the exact same “easy” calculation (the few vs the many) as their baseline, they still end up being some of the most destructive forces in the multiverse. And by the end of the film, when he’s put in the same position as Defender Strange (except with America also accepting the idea that he has to kill her) he doesn’t just accept the idea that sacrificing America is the “only” way anymore.

[@Super_Middleman]

@@Mr.rbfitz I get your point, I actually think Dr. Strange made personal and moral growth in this movie. However, I have an issue with the story decisions. There was just far too much chaos and death for a stroll down the street while whistling a happy tune ending, in my opinion. If I was writing the movie I would have written a scene where we see America Chavez and Dr. Strange returning to the Illuminat Universe to bring closure/answer questions or try to put as much right as they can. Anything to show how tragic and devastating it is what Wanda did.

[@vladgogulancea345]

In the end of Wandavision, (I think) that the scream for help from the boys was the scream from this movie. And Scarlet Witch understands that she was the threat for them.

[@mannholloway]

The one thing that Agents of shield showed is that when you start reading the Darkhold it corrupts you regardless of who you are.

[@snowstorm209]

You nailed every issue I had with the movie. The characterizations of some characters felt very flat and too simple. The bee scene especially made me roll my eyes

[@brannondunlap3408]

I'm seeing this film for a second time tomorrow. I loved your notes on Wanda and the Illuminati. I honestly think they killed off the Illuminati not just to show Wanda's power but just for the shock factor. You wouldnt think they would show up just to die... But yeah. I enjoyed this film and the Raimi isms. P.S. loved your shout out for Dave's Hot Chicken haha.

[@samanthanorton4538]

I absolutely loved how Sam Raimi the whole thing was! I may regret bringing my 9 year-old, but it was awesome

[@Jozhster]

well spoken quality review, instant sub

[@romfix]

Great review as always. I like this movie but your observations are spot-on.

[@4deleDaz33m]

I think visually and directing wise, this movie is better than the first, storywise and pacing it was shockingly worse than the first one. It's cool to look at but the story felt a bit messy and they didn't try to developed America Chavez all that much, I just don't really find her that interesting which is ridiculous because she was the center of all this chaos and yet they sidelined her a lot to give more for Scarlet Witch, it's sad that she wasn't a stand out of this movie as a supporting character. I would love to see more Raimi style to the MCU but wish that Raimi had a better script to work with. This movie should've been called Scarlet Witch in the Multiverse of Madness, it's more of WandaVision season 2 than it is a Doctor Strange movie

[@Quisee]

I agree... it feels more like a Scarlett Witch movie than anything

[@MrBarborosa]

America was awful

[@4deleDaz33m]

@@MrBarborosa I wouldn't say she's awful since the acting was decent but she's just bland and extremely basic, like I said they didn't developed her all that much and yet the film asked us to care about her safety but we just don't

[@carnlin390]

mmm the visuals and certain details in sequences is great, but the story as a whole feels like it could use more depth and more meaningful storybeats. The Music fight scene is one of my favourites for sure.

[@justthej]

I didn’t notice the rainbow pin. That’s a very small thing, Dan. I also wear a rainbow pin. What’s wrong with wearing pins to show your pride? Very common.

[@casualfilmguy3593]

Very thorough review and I agree with everything you said

[@mattmcclain7419]

Totally agree on everything you said about Wanda. For me, I love her powers and how unique they are, so I was excited to see them at full force for the first time so it didn’t take me out of the movie, but I agree that it is a departure and somewhat of a betrayal of the work done in WandaVision, which is my favorite show/movie ever. Also agree on where the MCU is right now and that there are too many balls in the air. They are starting to contradict themselves and set up inconsistencies which I don’t like. For me, the reason I like the MCU is because of how interwoven it is but it needs to make sense for me to buy in. Right now, hard for me to see the plan, but of course I have to give Feige the benefit of the doubt. I really thought this movie would tie up every loose end out there. Unfortunately, it created more of them.

[@mrandrewappel]

Dan, I'm worried that you might have faded out during the last part movie. At the end of WandaVision, we heard Billy & Tommy calling out for help from their mother. At the end of this movie, we SEE Billy & Tommy calling out for help from their mother because Wanda from Earth 616 is scaring the living hell out of them! Our Wanda ended up being the monster they were afraid of, which was a beautiful payoff from WandaVision!

[@lisamortini8567]

He talks about this but it's not established in the movie and non WV viewers will surely be confused.

[@mrandrewappel]

​@@lisamortini8567 It's the MCU and WandaVision is in the continuity of this film. Why is it unfair to assume that people would have watched it before seeing this movie? Marvel may have said you don't have to watch the Disney+ series to understand the films, but Marvel is known to lie to us just like they did about Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. I just can't see how it's a valid criticism when the entire payoff of the movie is ::SPOILER ALERT SO STOP READING NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T SEE THE FILM:: Wanda realizing she was the cause of her children screams at the end of WandaVision.

[@stefanhuynh233]

@@mrandrewappel that’s not really established in a clear manner and it’s rather some weak speculation on your side. The way it’s told is Wanda realizing the darkhold got to her and she is the monster. That’s it. There are no clear signs that those screams are for Wanda so it really can’t be a pay off. Even more, I don’t think those screams are the same. We all know the mcu is interconnected, but any movie should be clear on its own unless it’s a movie divided in parts. That said I loved the movie, especially for it’s story.

[@marcozuleta133]

I loved the moment when Wanda broke the 4th wall once she got possessed by Scarlet Witch in the kitchen..very creepy!

[@dylanporte5797]

Your review is the best 👌

[@anatandyaniv]

Agree with every one of your points, specifically all you had to say about Wanda and how this feels so out of place, especially after the WandaVision finale. This reminds me a lot of Daenerys turn at the end of GOT, it wasn't earned and it came out of left field.

[@akai1up]

Totally agree. Great idea turning her into a villain, but very poor execution. No buildup or visible turn to the dark side.

[@maxlost2276]

I thought I was the only one who wanted to burst out laughing when the bee bit happened. Such an odd decision for the trigger of that sequence

[@benzaiten933]

perhaps she's allergic to bees and even one sting would kill her? but yeah, I felt she was more startled than deadly afraid, yet it triggered her powers. BUT did you notice how small America was? she's been universe hopping for a long time, poor her.

[@ezepoliyu]

I am amazed at how you were able to articulate all the problems you see in the movie, most of them I saw too, just couldn't explain the feeling

[@TheKmc5385]

Great Review! I left the theater super enthusiastic after this movie because of all of the awesome visuals, but after sitting on it for a day and hearing your review I agree with a lot of your criticisms.