VisionQuest Uses A Cheesy '80s Sitcom To Make An Emotional Scene Even More Powerful

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Episode 3 of "VisionQuest." Proceed accordingly.

The third episode of "VisionQuest" finds Vision (Paul Bettany) struggling to reconnect with his mysteriously reincarnated son, Thomas Shepherd (Ruaridh Mollica), formerly Tommy Maximoff. Their reunion gets an unexpected emotional backdrop from "Small Wonder," a 1980s sitcom playing during one of the episode's most poignant scenes.

"VisionQuest" follows Vision as he tries to rediscover the synthezoid he once was, while also learning that the children Wanda Maximoff conjured into being on "WandaVision" are, inexplicably, still alive. Following a showdown with the deadly bounty hunter Paladin (Todd Stashwick), who had taken Thomas hostage, Vision finds himself wounded and on the run with his once-illusory son. In Episode 3, "Reboot," the two find shelter in a hotel. While Vision runs simulations to try to work out how best to comfort the young man who claims to be his son, Thomas finds comfort in a show his mother might have appreciated.

In the scene, Thomas watches an episode of "Small Wonder," a sitcom about a family raising a robot daughter built by her "father." When Thomas reveals that he finds old TV shows filmed in front of a live studio audience comforting, Vision points out that Wanda also loved such shows. Fans of "WandaVision" will remember that these older sitcoms served as the basis for the imagined reality Wanda brought to life within the Hex, where she first brought Tommy, Billy and a version of Vision into being.

On "VisionQuest," Thomas watches "Small Wonder" while Vision runs simulations of a conversation in which he tries to convince Thomas that he cannot possibly be Tommy Maximoff. Each simulation ends with Thomas storming out of the room, enraged by Vision's words. On the TV, Ted Lawson (Dick Christie) and Vicki (Tiffany Brissette), the father and robotic daughter of "Small Wonder," are playing chess. Ted is surprised that Vicki has won in only five moves, while Vicki points out that she could do it in four if her father had programmed her properly.

The sitcom's father-daughter relationship involving a robot presents a parallel to the characters of "VisionQuest," as the restored Vision's difficulty connecting emotionally creates a barrier between him and Thomas. On "Small Wonder," though, it is the child, not the parent, who's a robot. This reversal also reflects Vision's doubts about his son's identity. Thomas is convinced that he is the reincarnated Tommy Maximoff, but Vision believes Tommy's consciousness could not have survived Wanda's Hex and questions whether Tommy was ever truly real. In this sense, Vision finds himself in a similar position to Ted, as a father to a child he considers artificial.

The comfort Thomas finds in old sitcoms on "VisionQuest" is a wonderful nod to his mother, Wanda, while "Small Wonder" adds another layer of meaning to his efforts to reconnect with his robotic father.