WandaVision is officially halfway through. After what many described as a slow start *cough* y’all were wrong *cough*, interest in the series skyrocketed after episodes 4 and 5. WandaVision was not supposed to be the start of the MCU’s Phase 4, but the super-powered sitcom, mystery-thriller (yes, all those things) is the compelling return to Earth-199999 that we all needed. Let’s take a look back on everything that has happened so far and take some big swings as to what is around the corner.
If this needs to be said, major spoilers ahead.
What We Know
WandaVision is a show within the show. In the small town of Westview, New Jersey, Wanda Maximoff and Vision appear to be the lead couple of an ever-evolving sitcom. The entire town is surrounded by a previously invisible force field. Anything that enters the field must be transformed to meet the narrative of the sitcom at the time. Anything that leaves the filed seems to keep the physical properties and attributes that it had within. Wanda seems highly capable of manipulating everything within “The Hex” except her children. The support cast are all actual townspeople being forced to participate. In this elaborate farce.
Outside the Hex, Dr. Darcy Lewis, FBI Agent Jimmy Woo, and S.W.O.R.D. agent Monica Rambeau are part of a team of individuals responsible for monitoring “The Maximoff Anomaly”. They are trying to understand and potentially come to the aid of Wanda and Vision. Conversely, S.W.O.R.D. director Tyler Hayward, seems set on neutralizing the potential threat/Wanda. Wanda wants to stay in Westview with Vision, at any cost.
This whole thing is taking place post Avengers Endgame and well before Spider-Man: Far From Home.
What We Can Assume
Someone or something yet to be revealed is pulling some strings. While we are led to believe that Wanda is the bad guy, she does not seem totally malicious. In the earlier episodes, when she can’t recall the special date marked on the calendar, I believe her. When Mr. Hart chokes, or Dottie cuts her hand, it is not an act of aggression. Wanda seems equally as surprise that these things are happening and still, like a hero, wants to help.
Someone or something wanted Wanda to have kids. Episode 1, Ms. Hart asks why she doesn’t have kids yet. Episode 2, the townspeople start that creepy “for the children” chant. Suddenly Wanda is pregnant and it’s a surprise to her as much as the audience. If she just wanted kids outright, she could have just snapped her fingers and made it happen without all the subterfuge and kidnapping.
What to Look Out For
Tyler Hayward is sus. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but there is something about the head of a shadowy intelligence agency that just screams “ulterior motives”. He armed the drone to try and shoot Wanda without discussing it with the team first. He sat on the footage of Wanda breaking into S.W.O.R.D. to steal Vision’s body. Further, they disassembled Vision and were doing what exactly? By Hayward’s own words, Vision did not wish to be resurrected or tampered with, yet Hayward’s people were tampering. Maybe they were building some new tech from his remains and Wanda’s grief experiment is really endangering his plans.
Agnes is also sus. She is the one character within WandaVision that seems to have direct awareness of exactly what is going on but plays along anyway. Every chance she got, she pushed the idea of children on Wanda. She doesn’t seem to mind that Wanda’s kids grow rapidly right in front of her. Agnes doesn’t make a fuss when Wanda does magic right in front of her. If internet sleuths are to be believed, “Agnes” could be the MCU version of Agatha Harkness, a witch in the comics that Wanda comes to her help.
Rampant Speculation
a. Wanda has had a psychotic break. WandaVision is her therapy. “Our” Wanda is enjoying the idyllic life, blissfully unaware that she is causing people pain. “New” Wanda, angry at the world her past traumas, is determined to stay in Westview where she is in total control.
b. Tyler Hayward is the real big bad. As director of S.W.O.R.D. he was attempting to weaponized Vision’s corpse. When he could not make the progress he wanted, he leaked to Wanda the location for Vision’s body. I believe his intentions were similar to that of Hydra – use Wanda and her abilities to his advantage. He did not foresee her kidnapping a town in the process. Now that this has FBI attention, he wants Wanda shut down as quickly and quietly as possible.
c. Agnes is influencing Wanda. Wanda discovered the witch Agatha Harkness living in Westview and came to her to help develop some emerging powers. Under Agnes, Wanda has become able to straight up warp reality. WandaVision is a power test gone far out of control. Agnes has some ability to control Westview, but Wanda is the head witch in charge. Agnes took special attention when the boys reveal aloud that Wanda can bring people back from the dead. She is biding her time for something, perhaps to do with her unseen husband Ralph.
You Didn’t See That Coming?
Finally, we have to discuss the Quicksilver in the room. The closing moments of episode 5 bring us (who we assume to be) Pietro Maximoff, as played by Evan Peters from the Fox X-Men franchise. What does this even mean?! Has Pietro from the X-Men franchise somehow floated through the multiverse to Wanda’s front door? Are mutants now a thing in the MCU? Is Aaron Taylor-Johnson at home just missing out on a check through no fault of his own?
Considering Wandavision chronologically takes place before Spider-Man: Far From Home, it now requires reevaluating the surprise cameo at the end of that film. Maybe WandaVision has created rifts in reality outside of New Jersey. The Fox X-Men franchise and all previous Sony Spider-Man continuities may be folded into the MCU as alternate realities.
Side note, actress Elizabeth Olsen reveal that there would be a cameo similar to [redacted] in the season finale The Mandalorian. Evan Peters is great and all, but I don’t think he was the final big cameo. Someone else may be waiting in the shadows ready to make our heads explode!
Closing Notes
This show is dense. I did not even touch on the potential Blue Marvel/Reed Richards mention, the Monica/ Captain Marvel beef, or the spinoff potential of the Jimmy/Darcy combo. The only thing safe to say is that phase 4 of the MCU is off to a resounding start, and we cannot wait to see how WandaVision plays out.
