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So far, every single one of the MCU's live-action Disney+ TV shows have followed the same format in one specific way: teasing a mystery villain. In WandaVision, "it was Agatha all along" – although technically it wasn't; Agatha Harkness was simply an opportunist). Loki was a story in which two variants of the trickster god attempted to figure out who was really behind the Time Variance Authority. The Falcon & the Winter Soldier revealed Sharon Carter had gone rogue, becoming the Power Broker. And the current Vincent D'Onofrio's return as the Kingpin. The core problem is that, with the notable exception of He Who Remains in Loki, none of the surprise villains have all been especially surprising. And one could make the argument that plenty of viewers guessed Loki's ultimate villain was Kang the Conqueror; He Who Remains is just a different variant of him.

Viewers swiftly deduced that the character of Agnes in WandaVision was actually Agatha Harkness; the reveal was handled stylishly, with a brilliant musical number, but it was still anticipated. Falcon & Winter Soldier literally introduced Sharon Carter in an episode called "The Power Broker," and heavy signposting, not to mention the fact that she was the only fitting candidate, meant everybody saw the twist coming. Once Loki revealed the Time Keepers were not the main antagonist, audiences immediately concluded it had to be the time-traveling villain Kang or one of his variants, seeing as how the plot involved time travel.  Hawkeye has telegraphed Kingpin's presence to an excessive degree, meaning everybody tunes in each episode wondering if this is the one where D'Onofrio will make his official MCU debut.

It's easy to understand why Marvel has slipped into this formula. Because of the shared universe, every chapter in the MCU is supposed to feel somehow important in of the overarching narrative. The easiest way to accomplish this is to treat the TV shows as setup, with characters introduced ahead of their next appearance on the big screen. In the beginning, the speculation was fun, but Marvel has now dragged out the mystery boxing of its shows to an absurd degree and it's defeating the purpose of the formulaic approach. Audiences who aren't familiar with the source material won't pick up on the clues in the first place, and audiences who are figure out the "surprise" reveals long before they happen. Marvel will really need to switch things up going forward, not least because it's renewed two shows for second seasons. Hopefully, the second wave of MCU Phase 4 TV shows to stream on Disney+ will be a little more suspenseful.

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