Gadgets
WandaVision Episode 9 Recap: The Scarlet Witch Rises
WandaVision Episode 8 Recap: Ghosts of Wanda Maximoff’s Past
WandaVision episode 9 — appropriately titled “The Series Finale”, directed by Matt Shakman, and written by creator Jac Schaeffer — wasn’t too big on the plot, as all it had to do was tie all the loose ends. It did that for most of them, though one seemed like a gag, as if Marvel was having a laugh at our expense. I’m talking about Pietro Maximoff’s true identity, which we’ll get to in a minute. But that was a sideshow really. There were two big confrontations that the WandaVision finale had to depict: Wanda vs Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), and the aforementioned Vision vs Vision. WandaVision episode 9 side-lined everyone else, including Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), Agent Woo (Randall Park), Dr. Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), and the newest villain SWORD Director Hayward (Josh Stamberg).
It began right where we left off in WandaVision episode 8 (no, not the post-credits scene), with Agatha threatening Wanda as she held magical nooses around the necks of her boys Tommy (Jett Klyne) and Billy (Julian Hilliard). Wanda warns Agatha that she’s free to use her powers outside her lair — where Agatha’s runes prevented her from doing so — but Agatha doesn’t mind. In fact, that’s exactly what she wants. Agatha lets the kids go, and they are told to run into the house by their mother, before the two witches start duking it out. The villain reveals that she can absorb Wanda’s powers, making her more powerful while Wanda gets weaker. Her hand turns black as if all the life has been sucked out of it, just as Agatha did to her mother and coven of witches in 1697 Salem.
Wanda throws a car at Agatha and smashes her into a nearby house, but when she checks, Agatha’s body is missing. She turns around to find the White Vision on the porch, and she weirdly falls for the ruse. She believes the real Vision has returned, right up to the moment where he caresses her head before he starts to crush it. Thankfully for Wanda, the Westview Vision shows up and throws him into a RV that explodes, kick starting the second major conflict on WandaVision episode 9. The White Vision is naturally quite powerful — it’s the Vision you know from earlier movies, after all — and he walks away from the burning wreckage unharmed. As the Westview Vision goes after him, Agatha apparates out of the blue and heads for the town centre, forcing Wanda to follow her.
In the middle of Westview, Agatha reminds Wanda of the evil she has unleashed, notes that she’s more powerful than the “Sorcerer Supreme” — the first reference to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) we’ve had all season on WandaVision — and claims that it’s her destiny (it says so in a witch book called the Darkhold) as the Scarlet Witch to destroy the world. Wanda says that it’s not who she is, only for Agatha to remind her of how she’s trapped hundreds of ordinary folks inside the Hex — all of whom have lives and people they care for. Agatha begins to snap the people out of Wanda’s control, who naturally confront her with the truths, pleading with her to let them go or even just kill them. Wanda can’t stomach what she’s done, and in a moment of panic, she unleashes even more torture on them.
WandaVision Episode 7 Recap: A Magical Duo
Wanda can’t believe what she’s done and pulls her magic back, but Agatha has proved her point. The witch villain prods Wanda to let them go, since a hero would never torture someone. Wanting to make amends, Wanda gives in, splitting open Westview from its edges. She instructs everyone in the town to leave (thereby also making sure that the climactic battle to follow in WandaVision episode 9 wouldn’t result in any civilian casualties — this is usually the point where heroes would lose all moral ground). But Wanda’s decision to open Westview has side effects she could’ve anticipated: her family members, including Vision, Tommy, and Billy start to disintegrate. Like in Avengers: Infinity War, except they’re being broken into pieces rather than fading into dust.
Elsewhere in WandaVision episode 9, Monica is a captive of Pietro Maximoff (Evan Peters) at his home, where she learns that he’s actually an actor named Ralph Bohner. He’s been getting his powers through Agatha’s magic. Wait, that means Peters is not reprising his Quicksilver / Peter Maximoff role from the X-Men films? So, Marvel basically cast him to troll fans who’ve seen those X-Men movies... Anyway, Monica pins him to the ground and snaps the necklace off “Pietro”, which takes away his powers.
Agatha says the most obvious of lines, noting that Wanda will have to choose between saving her family or the people of Westview. Seeing them “die” in front of her, Wanda can’t take it anymore and recloses the Westview Hex. Meanwhile, Hayward and his SWORD buddies have used the opportunity to sneak into Westview to “neutralise” Wanda. They arrive to confront her just as she’s hugging her family, which isn’t a good look — stop pointing guns at kids. Yes, they have superpowers, but come on. The White Vision swoops in to take on the other Vision, who fly off in another direction. Wanda has Agatha to deal with, so she tells her boys to deal with the military. Wow, that must hurt. The grown-up superheroes are busy, so they let their children deal with people with guns.
Billy freezes every SWORD officer in position, while Tommy runs around and takes them out. Seeing his juniors fail, Hayward steps out from his armoured vehicle, points his gun at Tommy and Billy — and fires. I mean, I get that we are supposed to hate Hayward, but making a character fire at some kids, albeit superpowered ones, is a quickfire (pun not intended) way to make sure that your audience gets the message. “Hayward is very bad, you guys.” Monica shows up and throws herself in front of the kids, revealing another of her superhero capabilities. Nothing happens if she gets shot. The bullets pass through her body and just drop to the ground. She’s not able to catch one bullet though, but that allows Billy to show off that he’s essentially Neo from The Matrix Reloaded.
WandaVision Cinematographer Reveals the Secrets Behind Marvel Series’ Ever-Changing Looks
The Vision vs Vision fight ends up in a library, where the Westview one asks why the White One is intent on killing him. It’s his programming directive, he reveals. The Westview Vision posits that killing him won’t fulfil that objective, as he’s not technically Vision. He only exists inside the Hex. The White Vision sees his point and asks him to elaborate, turning their fisticuffs into a debate. I’m really glad WandaVision episode 9 chose a route that didn’t end up in blowing each other to pieces. The Westview Vision convinces his white-coloured counterpart that he’s not even Vision, per se. In fact, it’s White Vision who has all the memories—except they are being hidden from him. As the Westview Vision touches his forehead, we get a flashback of his life. White Vision realises he was made as a killing machine, just as his eyes lose the blue lustre. He then flies away.
One conflict down, one to go. Wanda uses Agatha’s disappearing act on her, before emerging out of the shadows and transporting them into a vision (pun intended) that draws off Agatha’s Salem memories. Agatha finds herself once again chained to a stake, while Wanda brings back her dead enemies, including Agatha’s mother, back to life. Agatha pleads with Wanda to stop but it turns out to be a ruse, as the undead witches turn on Wanda and trap her, echoing Agatha’s words from earlier in WandaVision episode 9 about how there will always be “torches and pitchforks” for people like them, no matter what era it is. Wanda uses her powers to break free and return to Westview, and then takes the battle into the skies. Everything is epic when people are flying (hovering, technically), after all.
Wanda starts pummelling Agatha with her magic, but she loses a part of her every time she does that. Wanda gets weaker, Agatha gets more powerful. Agatha says the only way for this to end is Wanda to give away all her power. In return, she will let Wanda live in peace in Westview. Wanda agrees and begins throwing everything she has at her. Agatha gleefully accepts everything she gets, but she doesn’t notice that some of Wanda’s magic is going past her and hitting the Hex boundary. Turns out, Wanda has been learning Agatha’s tricks. With Wanda all out of power and seemingly floating dead, the all-powerful Agatha casts a spell — but nothing actually springs out of her hands.
WandaVision Episode 6 Recap: Trick or Treat
Wanda reveals that she cast runes around them, which means only she can perform magic inside Westview now, giving Agatha a dose of her own medicine. She then draws all of Agatha’s power, including hers, back into her body—giving herself a fancy new Scarlet Witch costume in the process. I’ve to admit that looks really nice. Wanda brings them both back to the ground, with a despondent Agatha wondering what she’s going to do with her. In a cruel twist of fate, exactly what she was pretending to be. Agatha will remain trapped as the “nosy neighbour Agnes” permanently in Westview — at least until they need her for a MCU sequel or something.
Back home, Wanda and Vision tuck the twins into bed. Wanda has decided to shut off the Hex — we can see the boundaries closing in — which means this is the last time she will see them. As they shut the door and get down to the living room, Vision turns the lights back on, wanting to look at Wanda properly for one last time. He also has one final question: what truly is he? Wanda reveals that there’s a piece of the Mind Stone in her (is that powering her as well?). He’s also her dreams, her hopes, her sadness — but mostly, he’s her love. Vision is literally made out of her love. The two bid goodbye to each other, noting how they have done this before. Vision adds that he’s been a voice without a body, alive but not human, and now a memory made alive. “Who knows what I might be next?” he concludes, leaving Marvel enough wriggle room in case they want to bring him back in the future.
As the Hex recedes and takes Vision away, Wanda finds herself standing in an empty plot — the same one we saw her visit in WandaVision episode 8. Wanda then turns around and heads off, before arriving in the town centre. That involves a walk of shame, as she walks past all the people whom she had her influence. Naturally, there’s a lot of angry glares involved. WandaVision never quite spent enough time reflecting on Wanda’s mind-control actions, and how that will have turned many against Avengers forever. I mean, they are going to talk about their experiences online.
WandaVision Episode 5 Recap: Family Is Forever
In the town centre, Wanda encounters Monica and she reflects on said actions. Monica says, that if she had the same powers as her, she would have done the same thing — and brought her mother back. Wanda adds that she doesn’t understand the powers she has, but she fully intends to, hinting at her future own in the MCU. We know she’s next a part of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Could she train under him? WandaVision episode 9 leaves it ambiguous, as she simply flies away as the police pull into Westview.
The post-credits scene gives us more, showing Wanda in a remote cabin up in the mountains somewhere, training by herself as she pores through the Darkhold. She’s jilted out of that by Tommy and Billy’s screams, who are pleading for help. How are they still around? You’ll have to wait a full year — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is out in March 2022 — to find that out.
WandaVision episode 9 is now streaming on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar. New episodes release every Friday around 1:30pm IST / 12am PT.
Gadgets
Microsoft Partners With Inworld to Bring AI Game Development Tools to Xbox
“At Xbox, we believe that with better tools, creators can make even more extraordinary games,” Haiyan Zhang, GM, Xbox Gaming AI, said in a blog post. “This partnership will bring together: Inworld’s expertise in working with generative AI models for character development, Microsoft’s cutting-edge cloud-based AI solutions including Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Research’s technical insights into the future of play, and Team Xbox’s strengths in revolutionizing accessible and responsible creator tools for all developers.”
The aforementioned AI design copilot is a toolset that will help game designers turn prompts into scripts and dialogue trees. In contrast, the character runtime will enable dynamically generated plot beats and quests. We’ve already seen heavy AI integration in games by way of procedural generation — a more recent example being the 1000+ planets in Starfield. Not to mention, enemy AI has been around for way longer.
Inworld made headlines in August when it launched a modded story mode for Grand Theft Auto V, Sentient Streets, in which players had to investigate the rise of a bizarre AI-worshipping cult — a segment loaded with characters that spoke in AI-generated dialogue, on the fly. The mod was later taken down by publisher Take-Two, leaving a permanent strike on the creator Bloc’s YouTube channel. As per The Verge, Inworld’s AI technology can also be used for narration in top-down RPGs to warn players about any events awaiting off-screen and respond to questions like we’ve seen in the past year with AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Bing Chat. Microsoft has also been heavily banking on artificial intelligence, having made a $10 billion (about Rs. 83,254 crore) investment in OpenAI. The company has also integrated AI tools into its popular suite of services and also added an AI copilot to Windows.
Despite being a Microsoft-affiliated AI toolset, it would be interesting to see whether titles using them will be allowed to thrive on other platforms. In July, Valve claimed that it would be cracking down on games that included AI-generated assets if the developer didn’t own the copyright to the piece of art. For the uninitiated, when you insert a prompt to create something in AI, the software simply repurposes existing assets found online and mushes them together — basically stealing from other artists and writers without appropriate commercial licenses. Infringing them would lead to the game not being distributed on Steam, forcing the developers to seek proper licenses for the asset by reaching out to the AI companies involved. It’s unclear how Microsoft’s partnership will play out — as long as AI content is being used as a catalyst to innovate and create something new, it should be fine.
Gadgets
BSNL Offers Free 4G SIM Upgrade: Here’s How to Get It
In a post on X shared by BSNL’s Andhra Pradesh (@bsnl_ap_circle) unit, the company confirmed that BSNL users can upgrade their older 2G or 3G SIMs to a 4G SIM for free. Not only will the upgrade be free, but a promotional image shared with the post suggests that users who opt for the upgrade will also receive 4GB of free data that will be valid for three months. It is speculated that BSNL is aiming to boost its upcoming 4G services with this offer. The announcement was first spotted by Telecom Talk.
To access the free data offer and the free upgrade, BSNL users are requested to get in touch with executives at BSNL’s Customer Service Centre, franchisee or retailer stores, or contact one of their Direct Selling Agents (DSA). The promo image also adds in a finer print that the offer is available with certain terms and conditions, but hasn’t detailed any, so far.
Reliance’s Jio recently launched the 4G-supported Bharat B1 feature phone in India. The handset is priced at Rs. 1,299 in India. Alongside 4G connectivity, the phone comes with JioCinema and JioSaavn applications pre-installed.
The Jio Bharat B1 is equipped with the JioPay application, which is said to allow users to make UPI payments. Aiming to increase accessibility, the phone supports 23 languages overall, including multiple regional languages.
Gadgets
Realme GT 5 Pro Teased to Feature 3,000 Nits Display; More Details Revealed
Realme, via Weibo, announced the arrival of the Realme GT 5 Pro in China. The display of the handset is confirmed to offer 3000 nits peak brightness. It has also been teased to offer heat dissipation with a surface area of around 10,000mm2. It is confirmed to ship with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. The post doesn’t specify the exact launch date of the smartphone, however, given the release of the teasers, the launch could be just around the corner.
The Realme GT 5 Pro has been in the news a lot lately. It is expected to feature a 6.78-inch (1,264×2,780 pixels) AMOLED display and is tipped to come in 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB RAM options along with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB inbuilt storage options.
For optics, the Realme GT 5 Pro is said to have a triple rear camera unit comprising two 50-megapixel sensors and an 8-megapixel shooter at the rear. The camera setup might include a Sony LYTIA LYT808 sensor, an OmniVision OV08D10 secondary sensor, and a Sony IMX890 telephoto sensor. For selfies, there could be a 32-megapixel sensor at the front. It is said to carry a 5,400mAh battery with support for 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.
The Realme GT 5 Pro is expected to come with upgrades over Realme GT 5. The latter was launched in China in August with a price tag of CNY 2,999 for the base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
-
Solar Energy3 years ago
DLR testing the use of molten salt in a solar power plant in Portugal
-
world news1 year ago
Gulf, France aid Gaza, Russia evacuates citizens
-
Camera1 year ago
DJI Air 3 vs. Mini 4 Pro: which compact drone is best?
-
Camera4 years ago
Charles ‘Chuck’ Geschke, co-founder of Adobe and inventor of the PDF, dies at 81
-
world news1 year ago
Strong majority of Americans support Israel-Hamas hostage deal
-
Camera1 year ago
Sony a9 III: what you need to know
-
Solar Energy1 year ago
Glencore eyes options on battery recycling project
-
TOP SCEINCE8 months ago
Can animals count?