As it really should be with any penultimate chapter, last night's seventh episode of VisionQuest raised the stakes considerably ahead of next week's finale, and "Immolation" concluded with the lives of two major supporting characters hanging in the balance.
As the Client - revealed to be Doctor Jo Carrington's ex, who bears the resemblance of Ultron's human avatar - is preparing to unveil himself to Vision in the real world, F.R.I.D.A.Y. realizes what's going on and is thrown from the Mindspace balcony by Ultron.
We are certainly supposed to believe that this act permanently deleted the AI in much the same way J.A.R.V.I.S. was erased after sacrificing himself to keep Vision alive earlier in the season, but F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s fate is not made clear before the episode ends.
We also appear to lose Paladin when one of the Client's mercs fires a rocket launcher at his van as he's leaving the grounds of the estate. This seems like a more definitive death, but the bounty hunter is nothing if not resilient, and as we should all know by now, unless you actually see a body, it's best not to count anyone out.
What do you think? Are F.R.I.D.A.Y. and/or Paladin finished? How do you see the finale playing out? Let us know in the comments.
"When VisionQuest begins, Vision, rebooted and having escaped from those who sought to weaponize him, has been in hiding. Searching for new meaning, he consults the AI personas embedded in his programming, including F.R.I.D.A.Y., E.D.I.T.H., J.A.R.V.I.S., and the infamous Ultron. His discreet existence ends when a bounty placed on his head thrusts him on the run with Thomas Shepard, a mysterious boy who may be Vision’s son, reincarnate.
As Vision evades capture, he must confront his nature, resist Ultron’s influence, and unravel the enigma that is his young companion if he’s to survive.”
VisionQuest also stars Ruaridh Mollica as Tommy Maximoff/Speed and Thomas Shepherd, Todd Stashwick as Paladin, T’Nia Miller as Jocasta, Lauren Morais as Lisa Molinari, Orla Brady as F.R.I.D.A.Y., Diane Morgan as an associate of Paladin, Polly Frame, Henry Lewis as D.U.M.-E, Jonathan Sayer as U, Emily Hampshire as E.D.I.T.H., and James D’Arcy as J.A.R.V.I.S. Faran Tahir also reprises his Iron Man role as Raza, with Cristian Lavin and Mary McDonnell appearing in undisclosed roles.
The series is directed by Christopher J. Byrne, Gandja Monteiro, Vincenzo Natali, Terry Matalas, and written by Terry Matalas, Cindy Appel, Christopher Monfette, Nicole Falsetti, and Matthew Okumura.