‘VisionQuest’ Showrunner Breaks Down the Finale’s Massive ‘WandaVision’ Reunion Scene

This interview contains spoilers for the VisionQuest finale.

James Spader is one of the most beloved and versatile actors working today, with his resume spanning everything from ‘80s classics like Pretty in Pink and Wall Street to the critically acclaimed indie dramedy Secretary. He’s also a staple of TV, earning three Emmys for his work in Boston Legal, becoming a fan-favorite character on The Office, and starring in over 200 episodes of the crime thriller The Blacklist. His newest role is once again a small-screen one, though he reprises the last movie character he played all the way back in 2015: Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron and now VisionQuest. Deliciously complex and bitingly hilarious, he’s easily one of the best parts of the show whether he’s flirting with Jocasta (T’Nia Miller) or dealing with his son Vision’s (Paul Bettany) angst.

Though many were anxious when WandaVision and Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer had to leave VisionQuest, Terry Matalas has proven himself worthy of taking up the mantle. He brings a plethora of experience in the sci-fi space, serving as the showrunner of 12 Monkeys and two seasons of Star Trek: Picard. Matalas has shown he has a special talent for combining deep, philosophical themes with witty humor and compelling character work, so it’s no surprise that he absolutely sticks the landing as the writer and director of VisionQuest’s fantastic finale.

Collider got the chance to speak to Spader and Matalas about their work in the final episode. During the conversation, Matalas discussed pulling off that sitcom sequence and emotional reunion, while Spader revealed how he balanced playing those two wildly different yet intrinsically linked characters.

“It's a miracle that we pulled it off.”

COLLIDER: I thought the idea of Vision using a sitcom to get through to Ultron was such a brilliant full-circle moment. Terry, how and when in the process did that idea come to you?

TERRY MATALAS: That came in the writers’ room. I have a brilliant writers’ staff, and we knew we wanted to honor WandaVision. We knew we were heading towards that territory, and there were a couple of versions of what that might have looked like with UltraVision. There was a version that was him and Jocasta, but ultimately, in the writing, about halfway through, I was like, “No, this has to be about Vision and Ultron. That's what the show really, truly is.” It's a miracle that we pulled it off. We had a writer, Cindy Appel, who has some sitcom background, who helped me shape that, and we have an incredible cast that just got the tone. It is a big swing, and I hope people like it. I'm very nervous about it, but we'll see how it lands.

I loved it, so I imagine everyone else will feel the same way. James, it was so fun to watch Ultron in that sitcom. What was the fun, and then also the challenge of filming those scenes?

JAMES SPADER: The prism through which I saw this show was as the standalone show — the standalone story. I do not have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Marvel universe, so the last time that I'd sort of touched home base with it was when I did Avengers: Age of Ultron. I then went away and did other work for 10 years, and then, all of a sudden, I'm back at it. For me, that was just this incredibly creative and original, and yet completely sensible and irrational but rational idea for what should transpire, or what Vision should grab onto and then for Ultron to take over and hijack. It was lovely and funny, and also scary and sort of disturbing, and that's what I loved about it — it would tonally shift within a scene, really getting pretty dark at times, and then just laugh-out-loud funny.

‘VisionQuest’ Showrunner Officially Reveals Why Agatha Isn’t in the Series and Breaks Down That Beautiful Reunion

“We always knew that reunion was going to be.”

I was also so thrilled to see Billy back in the finale. Terry, was there any conversation about having Ghost Agatha tag along with him?

MATALAS: I don't know that we could have afforded that. [Laughs] So not really, no. We always knew that reunion was going to be, and how much of it, and how early — what would be right for Tommy, what would be right for Billy, what would be right for the family story. But I feel like we got the proper emotional reunion for them. And I think the way that his return impacts Vision — without being too spoilerific — is important.

James Spader Discusses Balancing Both Ultron and Virgil in the ‘VisionQuest’ Finale

“He's…so not what you expect from a Big Bad guy.”

And I also really love the complicated love triangle between Jo, Ultron, and Virgil. James, how did you build those two distinct but sort of interconnected relationships with T’Nia?

SPADER: I don't know. [Laughs] I really don't know. Terry said to me, about three-fourths of the way through filming the show, “We really need to sit down and talk about Virgil.” And we did. But I don't know — it's a blur to me now, but it made such sense.

MATALAS: Well, we knew it was a different energy.

SPADER: Yeah, completely different from Ultron. It’s madness.

MATALAS: It's a Wizard of Oz “man behind the curtain.” There's a great Paul delivery – after he's doing this whole monologue, Paul finally just goes, “Who are you?” It's fantastic because I'm sure the audience is wondering the same thing at that point. It was just a joy to be on set and watch that happen after doing four months of Ultron, which is a very specific thing, for James to be let loose with this insane mustache that he designed. It was hard to direct because I wouldn't want to cut — it was like being in front of the TV. I was just entranced by it all.

SPADER: It was a great idea of Terry's that you build up to the Big Bad guy through the whole picture, and then you meet him, and he's incredibly dangerous because he's so mad, yet at the end of the day, he's also so not what you expect from a Big Bad guy.

MATALAS: And yet he's also not the final obstacle. It is truly about Ultron, which is what it always needed to be.

SPADER: Well, that's why Ultron kicked his ass.

MATALAS: Oh boy, did he. Popped him.

All episodes of VisionQuest are now streaming on Disney+.