Tag: Disney Plus

Eight weeks have passed since the WandaVision premiere and we’re now finally able to look back at the show as a whole. Being the first Marvel Studios production to use the more traditional television episodic format we knew from the start that its end product would differ from the usual theatrical releases, and we got exactly that. What audiences would probably not be expecting, especially coming from the MCU, was that the show would pack such a huge emotional punch. 

Marvel movies have always been characterized by the brilliance of the action pieces, the larger-than-life characters, and the growing spectacle that’s been developing in every single theatrical release for over a decade. We’ve certainly have had our share of emotional moments throughout, but the biggest ones have always been towards characters that have been developed in several movies, with an immense amount of screentime at their disposal. When this is the case, it’s easier to connect with audiences for the simple fact that those characters have been there for the amount of time that they have, and attachments are naturally created.

But WandaVision manages to accomplish the same thing with characters that were either just now added into the MCU or that have had limited screentime ever since their introduction, which is hardly easy. Many fans already had a soft spot for both Wanda or/and The Vision and that obviously helped, but the writing on the show was competent enough to take that to a whole new level, as they brought both Billy and Tommy along for the ride.

The show was always, at the core, about family. About the family we lose, the family we gain, the family we cherish, the family that makes us who we are, and perhaps most importantly, the family that makes us want to be better, something Wanda ended up doing by the end of the show. WandaVision was brilliant in the way it showed us just how much family truly means, how far we’re willing to go to bring happiness to the ones we love, even if sometimes in a somewhat (to put it mildly) selfish manner. Wanda and Vision’s love for each other and their children became as real as it gets, with them always wearing their hearts on their sleeves regarding the twins. They were always the first thing on their minds whenever danger was looming, and even Wanda’s immediate reflex when seeing that both would be gone if she released everybody from the Hex was to save them, not the entire town even if she knew that was what needed to be done. She showed us that she would put everything on the line just the keep them beside her. But as soon as she understood what needed to happen, she left them with words that only enhance their importance to her, and that quite possibly are even a small hint of events still to come:

You know… a family is forever. We could never truly leave each other, even if we tried.

If WandaVision was about Wanda discovering a new family that filled her need for one, we’re sure to be getting Wanda searching for her lost children as the following chapters of her MCU story unfold. It appears that she hasn’t quite given up on it, and bringing back the twins seems like quite the priority, as the post-credit scene seems to suggest. The seeds of this newfound meaning to her journey were planted in the season that just ended, in what is perhaps the greatest achievement of the entire show.

Here’s a crazy theory to throw out. At the end of WandaVision’s seventh episode, it ended with a massive twist. Agnes turned out, as predicted, to be Agatha Harkness. She even got a brand new intro that seemed inspired by The Munsters. As its title implies, she was responsible for some of the actions in the past episodes. It was her that manipulated the drunk Vision and the fake Pietro. Yet, was she really behind it all, as the title states? The latest episode revealed that it was Wanda’s grief that created the Hex. In reality, Agatha may be selfish, but she isn’t the villain that we think she is. There might be a softer side that will get explored in tomorrow’s finale.

The catchy musical entry reveals Agatha’s actions throughout the early shows. We see her manipulate Vision so that the townfolks would realize what is happening. She also frees Herb from Wanda’s control. If you look closely, she does it after he already cut through the wall. In a way, she was trying to reveal something to Vision that would make him realize what is happening. As we learned, the Pietro plotline was to get Vision to explore outside of the hex. So, while she was behind some of the shenanigans, she isn’t the root cause of it all. The latest episode confirms that Wanda created the sitcom world in her grief.

It’s also strange how the episode turns Agatha into a therapist for Wanda. Yes, her ulterior motive is to uncover how she used her abilities, but they tease some humanity. The moment we briefly see her shed a tear when they revisit her time in the Avengers compound solidifies the fact that she isn’t evil for the sake of it. As we are about to enter the final episode, I think Agatha will have a change of heart and support Wanda moving forward. They teased it when she wondered how she had no idea about runes but could put her magic on auto-pilot throughout Westview. She never was a villain in the comics. It was through her that Wanda learned to control chaos magic. The potential of teaching a new incarnation of the Scarlet Witch might be an exciting prospect for her.

Once the new Vision teased in the post-credit sequence enters Westview alongside SWORD, they have a common enemy. She might end up fighting alongside them, as she has no interest in losing a powerful witch like Wanda. Yes, she does absorb the life force of her fellow witches back in Salem. If you pay close attention, she seems to have no control over it. It almost seemed like the purple magic she was dabbling in was protecting her. At the end of the idea, it was self-defense. She didn’t attack them but retaliated when they tried to kill her. So, she is obsessed with mastering magic and has the perfect pupil. I would love to see her and Doctor Strange get into a dispute over who is the better teacher for her. As such, she would follow her comic roots and introduce Wanda and us to the world of witchcraft. It would be a shame to introduce this part of the MCU without exploring its history. After that brief tease at the beginning of the last episode, I want a history lesson on this crazy universe. Plus, I believe it would be a waste not to give Kathryn Hahn more time to shine in this ever-expanding franchise.

The last episode of WandaVision helped us see how we got to where we are. There are two major things that were presented clearly in the flashbacks. 1: Wanda has always had powers, 2: Her grief has shaped everything that has happened to her. The combo of those two things led to the BIG psychotic break that recreated the whole town of Westview to fit Wanda’s ideal life, including creating Vision out of nothing.

There are a few unresolved things that are going to have to get worked out in the finale. Vision is headed back to the house where the twins are being held captive by Agatha. Also, Woo, Monica, and Darcy have to wrap up their stories in some way. We also saw that they took Vision apart only to put him back together and create White Vision. Seeing this new version of her dead husband could really add another weight to Wanda’s shoulders.

Arlyn’s Assumptions

The episode is probably going to be pretty intense right away with so many things to work out. Monica is sure to escape “Fietro” and find some way to try to help and finally show off her new powers but is she powerful enough? I think the series is going to end off with Dr. Strange showing up and teaming up with Wanda and the real Vision to defeat White Vision and Agatha. This will end up being a big fight scene that might mess something up in this reality. My one concern is who will fix it? Well there is a new Dr. Strange movie coming out and maybe the whole plot will be trying to fix what Wanda messed up in this reality. Real Vision will not make it out of this mess as the show has proven that he will fall apart outside of the HEX, so if this reality were to fall then he would die. But what about the twins?! With all the loss Wanda has already experienced, losing them too would be too much.

The final episode of WandaVision streams tomorrow