Recap: Vision and His Family Scramble to Escape Ultron in "VisionQuest" Episode 5
Everything has gone haywire in Marvel's VisionQuest. The reveal of another murderous synth has resulted in Ultron taking control of Vision's body and locking him and all of the AIs out. Now, they'll have to figure out a way to get free before Ultron hurts Thomas or does something much, much worse.
The episode opens with Vision, FRIDAY, EDITH, DUM-E and U being locked in the attic as Ultron once was. They go to work on Ultron's many old televisions to try and get a look at what is going on in the real world. They are momentarily distracted when the room begins to shake, and they see that their altitude is rising, meaning Ultron is taking Vision's body very high up.
EDITH comes up with a way for them to use Ultron's TVs to see security cameras to monitor what Ultron has been doing, though they will be seeing what he was doing hours later. When they finally get things up and running, they see that he brought Thomas to a pub. They watch a conversation the two have through a simulation. Thomas expresses his disdain for Ultron, but the villain presses on, trying to convince Thomas to speak with him. He tells him he is free to go, but that he knows he will stay because he wants to know more about Vision, and no one knows him better than Ultron.
He pushes Thomas to ask questions about Vision but eventually points out that Vision is incapable of loving him or being his father. Thomas fires back by telling Ultron he is afraid that he can never figure out connection and therefore will always be alone. Thomas leaves, and Ultron says he already called him a ride. Ultron walks back to the bar, and the feed glitches and cuts to him walking away.
Downstairs in the house, Ultron sits and talks with... well... Ultron. Multiple Ultrons discuss [sigh]... Ultron. One of them points out that his role is to represent self-doubt but that he is now redundant, so they destroy him. Upstairs, EDITH finds a stack of TV Guides that have no actual listings and are instead just code. Vision figures out that they are encrypted messages representing a conversation. They decrypt them to find an email conversation between Ultron and Paladin. The two continued to talk after Ultron gave him Vision's location. There are a few big takeaways from this conversation. First, Ultron uses emojis. Second, there are bounty hunter message boards. And finally, Ultron gives Paladin another location to help him catch Vision before other bounty hunters do.
Vision immediately turns to FRIDAY to find Thomas. She manages to pull up a feed of Thomas leaving the pub when Paladin's truck pulls up to him. It appears this was the ride Ultron called for him. Panicked, Vision calls for them to drop the firewalls, which would both allow them to escape and release Ultron back into the digital world. FRIDAY argues that this is too dangerous and cannot be done.
Their debate leads Vision to realize Ultron wouldn't try to escape without a plan, and he goes back to the feed of him at the pub. He finds a glitch and alters the feed until he sees that Ultron was talking with the Butcherbird, whom the credits now refer to as Jocasta, so that's the name we'll go with from this point on. They pull up another simulation of their conversation, which is strangely flirty, a nod to their "romantic" relationship in the comics. She says Ultron took something from her, and Vision calls for them to pull up the footage from the gala. They see that Ultron scanned Katerina's face, the final biometric key Jocasta needs.
They continue to flirt, and Ultron brings her into a simulation of the Louvre. Jocasta recalls being in love when she was human but can't remember any details. Ultron admits he finds inspiration in the pain of artists, which seemingly disgusts Jocasta. She brings him into a simulation of a record shop and calls human art primitive. She says she had her life's work stolen from her and the promise of a future put in a cage. Ultron likens that symbolism to a bird, and Jocasta recalls watching clouds of starlings moving gracefully through the sky. She says they gave her inspiration for what became her life's work before it was taken from her. Ultron negotiates with her regarding the biometric key. Jocasta offers to tell him what the keys unlock, but he wants more. The conversation leads to the talk of a team-up that could "murder the world."
The team agrees they can't let that happen, but Ultron interrupts by coming up the elevator. Vision meets him, and Ultron changes the simulation to a prison, continuing their conversation with glass between them. He tells Vision Paladin has Thomas in Madripoor and urges Vision to drop the firewall so he can go after him. Madripoor has been involved in a number of stories in Marvel Comics, and you might remember it from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as well. Vision refuses, and Ultron tells him he will keep Vision trapped long enough to see what happens to Thomas.
After Ultron leaves, a distraught Vision lowers the firewalls, to the dismay of FRIDAY. The locks come off the doors, and Vision drops down the elevator shaft in pursuit of Ultron. He catches him before he reaches the door, and the two talk. Vision tells Ultron he will be coming for him. Ultron tells him he would be disappointed otherwise. These two will forever be linked. FRIDAY arrives a moment after Ultron escapes, and she rushes after him, disappearing into the digital world, becoming nothing more than code.
Devastated by the loss of another friend, EDITH begins to glitch. She hugs Vision and begins to stabilize. Vision says it's time to wake up, and he finds himself in control of his physical body again, on a plane filled with exotic animals. He investigates to find that the plane is bound for Madripoor. Ultron sent him en route to rescue Thomas. He also finds Lisa stowing away on the plane. She tells him all she cares about is Thomas, and he says the same. Looks like they will be teaming up to save Thomas. The episode comes to a close with the plane approaching Madripoor.
This was a bit of a bottle episode, and while it didn't answer many of our big questions, it did give us a better understanding of several characters. We know that Jocasta had something taken from her when she was still human, and she is out for revenge. We know that Ultron is smitten with this new synth, but also that there might just be some level of decency in him. And perhaps most importantly, we know that Vision is willing to do anything to save Thomas, even if he is not willing to call him his son. Now it appears we will soon get some more answers on Paladin when Vision confronts him in Madripoor.
Marvel's VisionQuest is now streaming on Disney+.