‘Where’s Wanda?’ Recap: ‘The Vinsons’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Heike Makatsch as Carlotta Klatt in Episode 104 of ‘Where’s Wanda?’ – ‘The Vinsons’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘Where’s Wanda?’ To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Often times in stories that explore the nature of loss and how hard it is to accept it in this life, go to some supremely dark places. Wherein we see the person suffering through loss, sink to their absolute lowest. To the point where they hurt others in the story emotionally, and of course, harm themselves emotionally before realizing they need to rise above and be better. Because the storyteller wants us to truly understand the power of loss and how it can transform us for the worst if we don’t do something, anything, to let go of our pain. Which is indeed an impactful way to get the point across, but as is often the case in storytelling… it isn’t always the end all, be all reality of how people cope with loss.

For truly, people do it in vastly unique ways, and for proof look no further than the next episode of Where’s Wanda? on Apple TV+. Because ‘The Vinsons’ pondered deeply upon how sometimes… we explore ways to escape the pain through healthy and unhealthy means. Which was why Dedo spent a lot of time with his son in this story. Because he’s been desperate to find normalcy, a sense of fatherhood again and being able to spend time with Ole, and learn from him and learn about where’s at, gave him that temporary boost. Gave him something to hang onto during a deeply trying time and that made for a very bittersweet journey with them. Wherein Dedo was himself once again, and where we knew it wouldn’t last. But it was nice to see Dedo do something healthy to ease that ache and cope.
 
Sadly though, that meant that Carlotta was the one who did things in a negative manner, and for her… that involved watching the Vinsons closely. Because they were a family that resembled her own. One son, one daughter, a happy husband and wife, so she projected her want for a whole family unit onto that. To the point where she stepped in to play mother when the daughter in the family was going through a tough time, she couldn’t talk to her real mother about. Because Carlotta was suffering and she wanted badly to have her daughter back, and while this wasn’t healthy at all, it did showcase, as did Dedo’s journey… how people do process loss so differently and how there are other ways to showcase we are suffering through it, or other ways to try and cope with it, that don’t involve shouting and dramatic moments, which was refreshing to say the least.

But of course, we’d be foolish to not point out, that this episode featured some real progress in the search for Wanda. In part because that darling surrogate daughter saw Wanda in the woods on the day she disappeared but couldn’t say anything because of her illicit and illegal relationship with a teacher. But Wanda saw the end of a very busy and ugly day for that influencer. Who came to town to look for an animal smuggler who called himself, ‘The King’. And she was able to rattle the local barkeep and confront one of the man’s minions before being killed in the woods. Which Wanda saw and that could have led to her disappearance and well, there are hints that the King might be Carlotta’s brother, and that he may still be active. Since a foul-up with the cameras in one house led to disaster for Ole and Dedo, to the point where their efforts to liberate their gear, forced them to flee in a stolen truck, with an empty cage, similar to the one we saw last week.

All of which implies that family may indeed be involved in Wanda’s disappearance. Not to mention, Carlotta did also get intelligence on a creepy house in the woods, and that too has significance. But before we ponder deeper on what all of these clues mean, we can celebrate one amazing tale. One that truly explored some unique new ideas when it comes to loss, at least, on screen. Because you just don’t see shows in this vein be so frank and so honest about loss. But it was lovely to find it here and it does make us hope that Carlotta and Dedo can find their little girl. Because they are good people that deserve better and well, it does seem as though we are barreling toward the answers and that does leave us eager for next week’s tale. To see what other clues are revealed and to see what other unique lessons about loss await us. Until next time.

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