VisionQuest's penultimate episode drops tomorrow, and Marvel's strangest Disney+ show has earned its finale
Episode 7 of the WandaVision trilogy-closer lands Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET. Six weeks in, it's one of the most-watched Marvel shows in years and the conversation around it is still very much alive.
In brief
VisionQuest's penultimate episode drops tomorrow, and Marvel's strangest Disney+ show has earned its finale
The WandaVision trilogy is almost over. According to Nerdist, Episode 7 of VisionQuest, titled "Immolation," lands Tuesday, November 3 at 9 p.m. ET exclusively on Disney+. The finale follows the week after, on November 10. That's it. Eight episodes, and then Paul Bettany's Vision gets to close the book on a story that started in January 2021.
The stakes feel real this time. After six episodes that pushed Vision, Ultron, and a handful of supporting characters through increasingly strange emotional terrain, the show is arriving at its penultimate chapter with genuine momentum and a noisy fan conversation to match.
What we know about Episode 7
Comic Basics reports that "Immolation" clocks in at 62 minutes, making it one of the longest individual episodes in the entire MCU television catalog. Fiction Horizon notes that the finale itself runs 68 minutes, so Marvel is clearly giving creator Terry Matalas the runway to actually land this thing rather than rush it.
Comic Basics' recap of Episodes 5 and 6 sets up the chaos heading into Tuesday: Ultron, voiced again by James Spader, has physically walked free after Vision chose to release him, warning he'll come after both Ultron and Jocasta. The episode closes with a mysterious "Client" hijacking every television in Madripoor to hint that Vision might get back the heart he lost when he was rebuilt as White Vision. With Ultron on the loose, VisionQuest is building to an explosive climax, and the broader MCU implications are hard to ignore given the show's place in Phase Six ahead of Avengers: Doomsday.
How the show got here
VisionQuest premiered on Disney+ on October 13, 2026, with its first two episodes. A spin-off from and sequel to WandaVision (2021), it is the 18th television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from Marvel Studios, produced under its Marvel Television label. Fans have been speculating about what will happen throughout the run, knowing the show is designed to end the trilogy that includes WandaVision and Agatha All Along.
The viewership numbers have been hard to argue with. The 8-episode series debuted at No. 1 on Disney+ in the U.S. and topped charts in countries including Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and Canada, while trending in more than 70 nations. According to Luminate data shared by Marvel Updates, VisionQuest racked up more than 639 million minutes of watch time in its first week of streaming.
The show has been described by some critics as "an inventive, character-driven chapter that shifts focus to Vision, featuring standout performances from Paul Bettany and James Spader's return as Ultron." Rotten Tomatoes' editorial team gathered early reviews that called it "among the more humane and hopeful things Marvel has produced."
Not everyone is fully on board. Looper gave it a 4 out of 10, arguing it is "a cynical attempt to replicate what worked before, without anything organically moving or creative that would make it feel like a worthy successor." The Guardian, sitting at a 70 on Metacritic, called it "sometimes entertaining and always clever, yet if it does have anything to say about human nature, it is drowned out by dizzying plot particulars." The show's Metacritic score sits at 64 overall, which is, to put it plainly, a split verdict.
Reviews for Episodes 5 and 6 were mixed. The A.V. Club gave "Firewall" a B minus and "Deadlock" a C, calling the first compelling but mostly characters discussing their goals and the second more eventful but shakier. Den of Geek argued the show had become deadlocked by franchise nods, though it praised a rare glimpse of White Vision turning evil.
The Spader factor
The one thing almost nobody disputes: James Spader as Ultron is the show's secret weapon. Spader has said that Ultron is "probably the most human" of all the AIs in VisionQuest, and that the series allowed for further exploration of the character compared to his role in Age of Ultron, calling him one of the show's "driving forces" alongside Vision and Tommy Maximoff.
By the start of VisionQuest, Vision has been posing as a human for years, working at a pub under the name "Sherwood Ellis." Ultron, meanwhile, lives in a loft-like prison where he has internet access and spends his time painting, a detail Spader says has given the character "a better perspective on humanity than Vision does."
What comes after
After Episode 7 on November 3, Marvel Studios debuts the series finale, Episode 8, titled "Forever," on November 10, 2026. Dark Horizons reported that Episode 7 runs 62 minutes and the finale runs 68 minutes, making them the longest MCU TV episodes to date. That 68-minute finale is going to land the week before Grammy nominations drop on November 16, which means the pop-culture news cycle is about to get extremely crowded. Matalas had better stick the landing.
The MCU has occasionally struggled to make its Disney+ shows feel essential, rather than simply filling in gaps between films, but Vision's story has the ingredients for something more personal and distinctive. Whether "Immolation" and the finale deliver on that is the question a few million subscribers are going to have answered in the next eight days.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
