Doctor Strange and the Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Worlds

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Another Marvel, another day. In this episode of a thirty-year-old dude's version of grandma's stories, a wizard has to protect a girl from an evil witch. With dazzling effects on a big silver screen, heartbreak feels good in a multiverse like this, as the prophet Nicole Kidman said before Everything Everywhere All At Once (go fucking see it). Throughout this lackluster blockbuster, there is just enough talent on display for the more loyal fans among us to cheer at the cameos while everyone else gets to see Picard and Jim from The Office get fucked up. That's something to cheer over.

Here's some thoughts:

What is anyone's power level?

Between the wizard with a medical degree (that he never uses), the dozens of monks with sparkler magic kung fu, the crazy witch terminator from hell, and the reality star-punching teenager, the movie does not telegraph who is expected to win except by putting the man's name in the title on the poster.

How influenced by television is Wanda?

Sure, WandaVision was all about a grief spiral television binge telling us all it is okay to watch these movies all in a week as we spiral out of control without getting help until the government bursts in with the biggest invention banner of all time… Wanda lives and breathes fictional escapism to the point that while on her mad tear she acts like multiple screen villains. From a cackling evil Snow White queen (on the TV in her other's house) to Jack Torrence limping after a child in The Shining, our red bruja steals from the best and the craziest evil parent figures around.

Didn't Strange learn this last time?

The first episode of Strange, MD had the bad doctor learn humility and self-sacrifice to be a hero. Now here we are, back with Benny C-batch to learn "give up on the love that says you will never end up together. On any Earth. Says it while she's marrying another dude. Like sacrificing that hope in yourself to become a hero." Are we to believe the man who has thrown down with multiple purple dudes from space and some spider men cannot get over the woman who is already marrying another guy? If that's true, then goddamnit somebody get this man on Wizard Bumble. Wumble? Wizdate. Magic… I got nothing.

Did we miss Doctor Strange 2?

Feels like there was a fight with Mordo that was not shown. Just sayin.