I'm not trying to make a whole thing out of this. Fandoms are lame. Picking sides is even lamer.

But on a "what can we learn about how to tell stories" level, what we've seen in WandaVision is so much darker than anything in other superhero films. And without an R rating.

Thinking that just increasing empty destruction increases the stakes or ups the ante just doesn't work. It's hollow and meaningless. It's like saying "you know what would make this briefcase with a million dollars in it feel more important to the audience? A billion dollars!"

Just adding "more" for the sake of increasing scale does absolutely nothing to create an emotional engagement with your audience.

What does do that is making it about the journeys (arcs) of your characters.

And this is not to say that graphic violence, or cursing, or go to "edgy elements" are inherently "bad." There's films that have all those elements that I love.

But they're never going to be the magic flavoring that makes bland soup come alive.