Written by Sophie Deal. Photograph by Miha Palancha.
A ship is placed in a museum, the bow of the ship cracks and is replaced — then the sail, next, the deck. After many years, each part is repaired and replaced with stronger material. But is it still the same ship? This is the Ship of Theseus, or Theseus’s Paradox. Marvel’s “VisionQuest”, a TV miniseries airing on Disney+ asks audiences this philosophical question can also be asked of something living and feeling?
This year, the SCAD Savannah Film Fest included a TV sidebar conversation after the “VisionQuest” screening with the lead actor, Paul Bettamy.
This film is the third installment in the trilogy that brought us “WandaVision” and “Agatha All Along.” Though the superhero, Vision (played by Paul Bettany) died in “Avengers: Infinity War,” he last appeared in “WandaVision” as a living hex created by Wanda Maximoff (played Elizabeth Olsen). Though this grief-fueled manifestation of Vision possessed his memories and consciousness, his mechanical corpse, White Vision, was repaired into an unfeeling weapon.
As Wanda’s hex unfurled, Hex Vision and White Vision came face to face. Rather than battle, they discussed the Theseus Paradox. Hex Vision possessed the consciousness without the original body, while White Vision possessed the body with an empty mind, though neither were complete.
Hex Vision granted White Vision his memories, and White Vision flew away. This was the last we saw of Vision in the MCU. Until now.
In the first episode of “VisionQuest,” we find Vision a shell of his former self, working at a bar in the day and retreating to his mindspace at night. Vision shares this mindspace, which borrows a technicolor flair from “WandaVision,” with other Stark AIs. While these artificial companions bring him comfort and guidance, Vision remains a “stranger to himself.” Amongst these avatars, Ultron (played by James Spader) reprises his role from “Avengers: Age of Ultron” providing a wonderful witty edge to the show.
Through the unique lens of machinery, VisionQuest explores identity, meaning, feeling, and denial. Though Vision proclaims he cannot feel the grief and love connected to the memories of Vision the Hero, he works in the bar he frequented with Wanda, and refuses to remember the family created by Wanda’s hex. At moments he does remember, the ache is palpable through the screen — a constant underlying betrayal to the show’s cheerful aesthetic. Even his AI companions seem to understand that something isn’t right.
As much as Vision seeks to escape this grief, when his past comes knocking, he no longer has the option to run. Will he find himself again, or remain something incorrect, incomplete? When is the Ship of Theseus no longer the same vessel?
It seems the only way to know is to keep watching.
