The review embargo for VisionQuest lifted earlier today, and despite the usual grumblings from the genre's detractors, the series has so far been met with an extremely positive response.
With 30 verdicts counted on Rotten Tomatoes, this conclusion to the WandaVision trilogy is now "Certified Fresh" at 87%. According to the review aggregator's Critics Consensus, "Picking up where WandaVision left off, this series investigates the humanity beneath the robot, where the artificial becomes reality with heart, deliberate emotion, and a clear-eyed VisionQuest."
WandaVision remains one of the MCU's best-reviewed TV shows with 92%, while the trilogy's middle chapter, Agatha All Along, has 84%. VisionQuest is currently one of Marvel's highest-scoring shows, sitting in the same ballpark as shows like Loki and Hawkeye.
Polygon calls the series "a triumphant sendoff to a grand streaming experiment that ultimately failed," with Collider describing it as "a fulfilling conclusion to the WandaVision saga and an exciting new beginning for the MCU."
Fangirlish enthused, "VisionQuest is not just a great show; it’s one of the best things to come out of the MCU ever." Nerdist added, "VisionQuest has not only been worth the wait, but also completed the best trilogy of the MCU."
IndieWire countered, "For all its bells and whistles, 'VisionQuest' isn’t complicated or unique," while Rolling Stone bemoaned, "Vision may provide half the title, yet actual vision is the one thing this series sorely needs."
However, one point everyone seems to agree with is that Paul Bettany and James Spader steal the show, with the latter, in particular, on top form as the villainous Ultron.
In our review, we concluded, "Paul Bettany and James Spader are masterful in VisionQuest, a staggering achievement by Marvel Studios and Terry Matalas that understands its characters, does right by them, and delivers one of the best MCU stories ever told."
In VisionQuest, Vision, rebooted and having escaped from those who sought to weaponise 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, reincarnated. 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 stars Paul Bettany, James Spader, Ruaridh Mollica, Todd Stashwick, T'Nia Miller, Lauren Morais, Orla Brady, Diane Morgan, Polly Frame, Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, with Emily Hampshire and James D'Arcy.
The series premieres on Disney+ on October 14.