In “VisionQuest” season one, episode six, titled “Deadlock,” alliances shift and settle as Ultron reunites with Jocasta. Meanwhile, Vision and Paladin navigate violent ambushes in Madripoor, forcing characters to openly declare their loyalties.
The Bottom Line
- Ultron absorbs Jocasta’s backstory and learns of the “Nest,” a cache of unactivated nanobots, while Jocasta shares her plan to control humanity.
- Faran Tahir reprises his role as Raza Al-Wazar from 2008’s Iron Man, leading a mercenary strike team equipped with adamantium bullets.
- Paladin’s supposed bomb in Thomas’s arm is revealed to be a light-up UFO toy, setting up a shifting dynamic of trust among the core group.
Ultron, Jocasta, and the Architecture of Control
The episode opens inside a bright, minimalist mindspace where Ultron reunites with Jocasta, whose metal body rests in Josephine Carrington’s mausoleum alongside a mysterious grey machine known as the Nest. After a brief physical and psychic skirmish, Ultron absorbs Jocasta’s backstory. Carrington, grieving her father’s degenerative brain disease, originally created AI life to build nanobots that would guide and cure humanity of loneliness. Following her death, collaborators sold the creation to Stark Industries. In Jocasta’s mindscape, Ultron and Jocasta lower their defenses as she shows him a sample nanobot.
Ultron Hired JOCasta To Be "THE CLIENT"Ultron is the real mastermind behind Paladin's mission in VisionQuest.• Ultron could be using Jocasta, the advanced android he created in the comics, as "The Client" to hire Paladin.• Her mission could be to capture White Vision and… pic.twitter.com/NOKg2ID7TM
The Chaos of Madripoor and the Return of Raza
On the streets of Madripoor, Thomas wakes up in Paladin’s van with a device that Paladin initially claims is a motion-sensitive explosive. Vision refuses Paladin’s demands for surrender, prompting an escalation when a rival client sends bounty hunters led by Raza Al-Wazar, who kidnapped Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man. Armed with adamantium bullets and a signal jammer that disables Paladin’s drones, Raza’s mercenary squad attacks both Vision and Paladin. Cornered by a mutual enemy, Paladin switches loyalties, joins forces with Vision, and admits the device in Thomas’s arm is merely a toy.
Shifting Loyalties and Synthetic Romance
As the narrative progresses, characters openly select their sides under pressure. Lisa and Thomas cement their bond with a kiss after Edith, the AI running Paladin’s systems, intervenes to save them from automated security traps. The episode ends with a passionate kiss between the two synths as Ultron throws in with his synthetic lover and her plans to take over the world.
