This is actually pretty interesting as a series. I didn't watch it for months, because the trailers made it look so "50s" and just looked - on the surface - to be trite.

It is not, and actually extremely good. It's akin to the Sixth Sense in that it tricks you into thinking it's one thing, but by the end, you find it's another. Very clever!

My initial pet peeve was simply this Wanda Maximoff was not, in the comic books telepathic nor telekinetic. Her name in the Marvel comics is The Scarlet Witch (a reference to her early appearances in Marvel, where her costume/outfit was scarlet in color). Wanda is a WITCH, and her powers would be called a "Chaos Hex," akin to Murphy's Law: whatever CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong. She was originally part of Magneto's Brotherhood with her brother, Pietro (Quicksilver), but over the years developed into an extremely powerful Witch. So, this whole thing of changing her powers completely? Not a fan of it at all. And I have had to put that knowledge aside to watch this and not roll my eyes, but I really wish they hadn't changed her powers when she first appeared in the Avenger's movies during The Age Of Ultron. Magic is a pretty cool ability, so why jinx it? But, as I said, starts out as one thing and then it's another.

The further I got into the series, the better it got. So, now, 8 episodes in, it's up to an 9. If it were one of the first 4 episodes, it would be a 5, maybe a 6. As of the last episode, it rose to a 8. I have to say, the writing in the beginning would not have led me to believe I'd give it a 8 by the end. But, presto, change-o!

Now, after watching the entire season, I think it's great. Wanda changes, but I'm not giving away any surprises here. But by the end, it's an 8 for me. It improves with each episode, but you DO have to get past episode 4 before (even thinking about) rating it or you won't "get it."

As far as Wanda's powers, I have to revise my viewpoint (I wrote this review initially at episode 4, but fortunately, they haven't posted my review yet, so I had to rewrite it! ) As far as who she was in the comic books, I wasn't pleased with who she was in the Avengers - or even here.. But after the 6th episode (Halloween), you begin to see...nah, you'll have to see it for yourself. Clever surprise, that Halloween episode! Gotta give 'em points for that!

The best part is that Wanda morphs into herself, which you'll discover if you watch it all the way through. . Some minor flaws in the screenwriting in the final episodes, with the standard (but overly long) "final showdown" scenes (isn't that the downfall of any action-type movie? Nobody fights (and wins) in 5 or 10 minutes; it always has to last 40 minutes. Or more). And the acting is not exactly stellar throughout (Olsen spends most of her time with a pained, deer-caught-in-the-headlights facial expression). She does not have much range in her acting. And the character of Agatha Harkness is more a caricature than an actual character (she "plays" at being evil and witty, but doesn't truly pull it off)! And her laugh is a bit too fake to convince.

By the way, The actual character of Agatha Harkness, who first appeared in the Fantastic Four comic books around 1971 was a witch, too, but not evil. Still the stereotype remains in this series: the witch as a somewhat "hag-like" with overly sharp, "pointy" nose and features has been perpetrated, as in "The Wicked Witch of the West" type. Not necessary to pull off true "evil." But written into the script, nonetheless. Not a lot of imagination to this character.

Otherwise, a series that is better in the second half that the first half, and cleverer than it would originally appear. Nicely done.