Since WandaVision opened the door for other television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel's producers made sure to offer the audience a high-quality show that would entice fans to continue watching. Their hard work in this TV series paid off and, to no one's surprise, the show got nominated for several Primetme Emmys.
5 Ways WandaVision Deserves The Special Effects Emmy (& 5 FATWS Does)
Unfortunately, WandaVision did not earn any of them. It is understandable that some of the categories were far from WandaVision's reach, but losing the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Emmy to Netflix's The Queens Gambit was especially painful. While many fans expressed disagreement with these results, others accepted that, even though WandaVision fought very hard, it did not earn the award.
10 Didn't Deserve It: There Are Simply Better Limited Series Out There
It is not that WandaVision is a bad show. Actually, most critics and fans agree it was great and that it left everyone wanting more. However, it was not the Best Limited Series of the Year, which is exactly what the Emmys are all about.
While WandaVision does deserve its nomination, the reality is that Netflix's The Queens Gambit was highly praised from the beginning and it offered its audience a masterful narrative with excellent acting. Although, to be fair, comparing both shows is like comparing apples and oranges.
9 Deserved It: It Has A Great Use Of The Sitcom As A Genre
WandaVision accomplished something that had yet to be seen in a TV show of its type: it took a very well-known genre, the sitcom, and used it as a tool to deliver an even bigger narrative that had absolutely nothing to do with the situational comedy itself.
This narrative device is justified inside the series when we learn Wanda used to watch American TV with her family and so she yearns for this quotidian life. But also, it is accounted for in the structural level: sit-coms are, after all, an instrument for cultural commentary, even when they are underestimated. WandaVision does justice to this genre by considering its strengths.
8 Didn't Deserve It: Its Special Effects Are Not The Best
Granted, the Limited Series Emmy is not the Special Effects Emmy. However, for a show to be considered the best, it must not show any weak points, at least not in a very obvious manner.
WandaVision producers did an amazing job with the special effects of the first few episodes. The series used the same practical effects tricks applied in past decades. Regardless, the computerized special effects of the show are not the best. Especially considering that WandaVision is part of a way bigger cinematic universe that is well known for its amazing CGI.
7 Deserved It: The Music Of The Show Is Amazing
It was Agatha all along! The music in WandaVision is one of its strongest points. With every episode, WandaVision manages to convey the style of a different time and space, and the songs used for the opening of the show are always on point with their specific aesthetic. Most times, they immediately make the audience think of a very obvious cultural reference.
It is not surprising that one can find two geniuses behind the songs created for this TV show: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, also known for Frozen, Avenue Q, and The Book Of Mormon.
6 Didn't Deserve It: It Had Very Predictable Plot-Twists
Unfortunately, even if the show started with a very intriguing set of questions, these were soon answered. For example, it did not take a very big Marvel fan to quickly connect Agnes, the neighbor, with Agatha Harkness, a long-time enemy of the Scarlet Witch. Once Agnes revealed her true self to Wanda, it was already widely suspected by the public.
On top of this disappointing arc, Evan Peters' character did not live up to the expectations. While his appearance on the show brought in thousands of theories, the nature of his character ended up being nothing but a joke.
5 Deserved It: The Acting Skills Of The Cast Were On Point
Something that sets WandaVision apart from other superhero TV shows is the quality of its cast. Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Kathryn Hahn, and Teyonah Parris show amazing acting skills in the series. Due to the nature of the show, their characters travel from decade to decade and all of the actors manage to emulate culturally noticeable traits of said times: accent, body language, even the particular sense of humor for every specific sitcom being copied.
Not only this, but WandaVision also has very emotional scenes between Wanda and Vision, and neither Elizabeth Olsen nor Paul Bettany disappointed the audience. Their heartbreaking romance on the screen surely left the fans wanting more. After all, what is grief if not love persevering?
4 Didn't Deserve It: They Did Not Manage To Convey The Style Of Modern Sitcoms
While WandaVision's first episodes offer the complete aesthetic fantasy of older TV shows, such as I Love Lucy, The Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, and even Full House, as the show gets closer to the present, its imitations start to pale. In the sixth and seventh episodes, the audience can sense the style of Malcolm In The Middle and Modern Family, but the show failed to balance the parody and the plot.
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This probably has more to do with the fact that more modern sitcoms do not have such a specific aesthetic as older shows do. However, it is undeniable that the show's parodying skills lost a bit of strength by the end of the story.
3 Deserved It: It Is A Good Adaptation Of The Comic Books
Even though WandaVision's plot is not an identical adaptation of any Marvel comic book, it manages to maintain the nature of its characters and their relationships with each other. A very good example of this is Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda, whose mental breakdown, caused by her grieving, reminded fans of 2005's House of M.
In addition to this, the show manages to work as a tentpole story for the next phase of the MCU while giving the audience certain closure when it comes to characters like Vision. In a way, WandaVision serves as a hinge between two moments in the Marvel Universe.
2 Didn't Deserve It: Some Emmy Voters Believe That Superhero Stories Are Not Emmy Worthy
Since superheroes movies started to gain popularity, many celebrities and critics have raised their voices against them, stating that these types of franchises produce nothing but CGI-ridden bad content. In fact, Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar for Joker (2019) was widely criticized.
There is no reason why a hierarchical system that puts superhero movies down cannot be extrapolated to TV shows and their respective awards. This would sadly remove WandaVision and other future superhero TV shows from any Emmy race regardless of their quality.
1 Deserved It: It Is Time For Superhero Stories To Take A Noteworthy Place In The Television Industry
While many Hollywood celebrities have spoken against superhero media, it is currently one of the biggest sellers in movies and TV series and, like it or not, it will be here for a while. Granted, not all of the comic-based content has the qualifications for an Oscar or an Emmy, but producers are working to ensure this content's quality and to raise its standards.
That said, as long as a TV show complies with the expected merit for quality, its superhero-related content shouldn't be a reason to deny it a well-deserved award or, in WandaVision's case, twenty-three well-deserved awards.