WandaVision – A multitude of things to uncover

REVIEWS by Daniel Graves, Warren Harris and Sarah Johnson SPOILER ALERTS

(Graphics by Kelsey Grissam)

Wandavision is Marvel’s first TV series that features Avengers Wanda Maximoff and Vision. Wanda, using her magical abilities, creates a new reality in the town of Westview.

It starts off with Wanda and Vision in a 50s sitcom and they continue to adventure throughout the decades together.

Vision, who previously died in Avengers Endgame, is determined to figure out what is beyond Westview as he knows nothing about his past.

Wanda, on the other hand, continues to use her magic to manipulate their new reality as a way to deal with her grief.

With federal agents surrounding the borders and nosy neighbors lurking around, there are a multitude of things to uncover in Wandavision.   

 

Episode 1, “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience”

-BY WARREN HARRIS

This episode, set in the 1950s, does not reveal too much about anything; however, we get callbacks to popular sitcoms like “I Love Lucy” and “Bewitched.” We begin with an almost-too-catchy theme song that banters,“She’s a magical gal in a small town locale, He’s a hubby who’s part machine, How will this duo fit in and fulfill all? By sharing a love like you’ve never seen, WandaVision!” Then we are transported straight into the world of WandaVision. We see Wanda and Vision married, and we see them enter the town of Westview, New Jersey. Once they start their lives here, they realize they have no idea why today’s date is marked on their calendar with a heart. Fast forward a little while, Vision is at his (very questionable) job, and Wanda meets their nosy next-door neighbor, Agnes, who helps Wanda reach true conclusion that it might be Wanda & Visions anniversary. This takes Wanda by surprise because she doesn’t really know anything about their relationship, or maybe she can’t remember. While Vision is at work, his boss, Mr. Hart, reminds him that today is when he and his wife are set to have dinner with Wanda and Vision at their house, now we know why the heart was there. During the dinner, things become a little hectic. Wanda realizes she can’t cook, so she begins to use her magic to make things, all while trying to hide it from Mr and Mrs. Hart. Once they finally sit down to dinner, Wanda is quickly confronted with questions from Mr and Mrs. Hart about where Wanda is from, why they moved to Westview, how long they plan on staying, etc. When Wanda fails to answer, the script seems to just start repeating itself, with Mr. Hart asking over and over again, each time a little louder. Finally, Wanda unknowingly causes Mr. Hart to choke so he will stop asking questions that she can’t remember the answers to. Here, we know that everything is not as it seems, and the “perfect life” scenario that was given off at the beginning of the episode dissipates.


Episode 2, “Don’t Touch That Dial”

-BY DANIEL GRAVES

This episode was perfect in the mystery aspect. We kept seeing red amidst the black and white, which was compelling and made you think about why this was happening. That’s why I love this show so much; you keep having to infer what’s happening instead of just getting the answers handed to you. My favorite scene in this episode was when Wanda heard a voice on the radio, calling out to her beyond the sitcom. It was a moment that gave everyone watching goosebumps. The show ended with another moment similar to this one: a beekeeper rising from out of a sewer hole. This episode had a perfect blend of these mysterious things happening, while also still managing to be a fun 60s sitcom.


Episode 3, “Now in Color”

-BY SARAH JOHNSON

The 70s are here. Wanda is expecting a baby and things are looking brighter than ever. Wanda experiences a speedy pregnancy, and as she seemingly gets bigger by the second, her and Vision scramble trying to get ready for a new baby. A seemingly normal town resident, “ Geraldine” comes over to Wanda’s house after Wanda accidentally knocks out power to Westview as she struggles to control her magic as her pregnancy moves along. While Geraldine is visiting, Wanda goes into labor. Geraldine helps Wanda through labor and she gives birth to a baby boy. However, Wanda isn’t having just one baby, she’s having twins. The second baby arrives and Wanda and Vision name them Billy and Tommy. Meanwhile outside, Agnes, the notorious nosey neighbor warns Vision that Geraldine is not who she says she is. As Wanda is looking down at her babies, she tells Geraldine about her brother, Pietro. To which Geraldine replies, “he was killed by Ultron wasn’t he?” This takes Wanda aback and she used her magic to blast Geraldine right out of Westview. When Vision runs back inside to warn Wanda about Geraldine, he finds her and the babies perfectly fine and Geraldine is gone. This episode is amazing from the iconic 70s outfits, the twins, and the ending where Geraldine seemingly disappears. It captures happy moments and we also see Wanda’s determination to keep living her Sitcom lifestyle.


Episode 4, “We Interrupt This Program”

-BY WARREN HARRIS

Episode 4, the start of it all in my opinion. In this episode, Darcy Lewis (last seen in Thor: The Dark World), shows up onto the scene where SWORD has set up to investigate “The Hex.” She discovers that “The Hex” is putting out a broadcast frequency, and she thinks she might know how to tap into it. Once she finds a “not-flat” TV, she taps into the broadcast to see none other than Wanda Maximoff in her 1950s, black and white attire. Next in this episode, we see a SWORD agent trying to enter “The Hex,” and he is not-so-coincidentally in a hazmat suit, leading us to find out that he was the “beekeeper” that we saw emerge from the sewage drain in episode 2. Near the end of this episode, we discover that “Geraldine” in WandaVision, is actually Captain Monica Rambeaux, and everyone at SWORD is shocked, then we are shown the infamous “Please stand by” screen that was every viewer’s worst nightmare.


Episode 5, “On a Very Special Episode…”

-BY DANIEL GRAVES

Episode 5 had a lot to unpack, which just added to how good it was. This episode had many conflicts in it. For one, we learned that Director Hayward from outside “The Hex” is not to be trusted. We also learned that Wanda’s powers are growing, as she made an entire group of S.W.O.R.D. Agents turn their guns off her and onto Director Hayward. In fact, the entire scene of Wanda vs S.W.O.R.D. was a thrilling experience. After that encounter, we witnessed Wanda have an argument with Vision about what’s happening to the citizens of Westview. Just as we thought things were cooling down, a doorbell rang. I know that I expected it to just be Agnes, who’s famous in the show for showing up to the house whenever she pleases; but it turned out to be Pietro Maximoff, Wanda’s dead brother… just with the wrong face. This episode was full of twists and turns, and had me, and many other viewers, on the edge of my seat the entire time.


 

Episode 6, “All-New Halloween Spooktacular!” 

-BY SARAH JOHNSON

It’s Halloween! In this episode we see Wanda, Vision, “Pietro”, and the twins celebrate Halloween. Wanda and Pietro take  Billy and Tommy trick or treating around the town. Vision goes on town patrol around Westview. Wanda is still suspicious after the return of her dead brother. She questions him as he rowels up the twins using his super speed powers to steal candy and run around town. While running around town, Tommy learns that he is just like his uncle and has super speed too. Vision finds himself on the outskirts of Westview where things are seemingly frozen. People are stuck in endless loops of repeating the same action or their frozen in time. As he gets closer to Ellis Avenue, the street the marks the end of Westview, he sees Agnes in her car stuck at the stop sign. When he checks on her, she appears to be frozen as well. When Vision zaps her forehead she snaps back into reality in a moment of panic. She asks “Am I dead?” This response alarms Vision and he wonders why she would think that. To which she replies, “Because you are.” This confuses Vision as he has no memory of the past or his death. After helping Agnes get back into town he edges further to the barrier of Westview. Once he reaches “The Hex” he attempts to walk through it. Once he reaches the other side he sees SWORD base, his body starts to break off. Billy all of the sudden is able to sense his dad in trouble. He runs to Wanda as he tries to sense where his dad is at. As Vision deteriorates further, Wanda uses her powers to freeze Westview and extend the barrier of the Hex, engulfing Vision and the SWORD base which takes on the form of a circus. This episode was exciting as we got to see the twins gain their powers, insight on “Pietro”, and a great ending where Wanda uses her powers to save Vision and turn SWORD into the clowns that they truly are.


Episode 7, “Breaking the Fourth Wall”

-BY WARREN HARRIS

This episode, taking hints from today’s sitcom era, sees Wanda losing control of “The Hex.” She can barely bring herself to get out of bed in the morning. When she finally does, she sits on the couch in her pajamas and eats some cereal while her twin sons play their game. As they played their game, the controllers seemingly changed shape and brand on their own. Throughout the episode, these things keep happening. The house starts changing colors, the stairwell changes structure, the stork that appeared earlier in the series shows up and disappears again. Of course, Agnes shows up in the nick of time to “babysit” the twins while Wanda takes a break. While the twins are at Agnes’ house, Monica breaks through the barrier and enters “The Hex.” She runs to Wanda’s house and tells her that Hayward is attempting to bring Vision back online to use him as a weapon, and that he plans to harm Wanda. Wanda picks Monica up with her magic and pushes her out of her house, right before Wanda and Monica begin to fight, Agnes shows up in the nick of time again and takes Wanda back to her house to calm down. While Wanda is sitting on the couch and Agnes is making her tea, Wanda notices the twins aren’t there like they’re supposed to be. She asks Agnes where they are and Agnes says,“They’re probably just playing in the basement.” Wanda goes down into the basement to look for the twins and she discovers that they aren’t there. Wanda ends up in Agnes’ lair, when Agnes traps Wanda and reveals herself to be Agatha Harkness, the other “magical girl” in town. We then cut to a title sequence, the iconic “Agatha All Along,” where we see that Agatha has been in charge of all of the events that have been going on in “The Hex.”


Episode 8, “Previously On”

-BY SARAH JOHNSON

Episode 8 took us back into Wanda’s past life. Thanks to the witch, Agatha Harkness, who forces Wanda to relive the traumatic events of her past. First, we see young Wanda watching sitcoms with her family when all of the sudden a bomb is dropped on her home, killing her parents. Next we see Wanda in Hydra’s facility (a terrorist organization) where she interacts with the mind stone for the first time. During this encounter, Wanda sees a future version of herself before passing out. Next, we see Wanda at the Avengers Compound, where Vision comforts her after the death of her twin brother Pietro. Lastly, we see Wanda at the SWORD facility, where she asks for Vision’s body back to bury him. When SWORD refuses to hand over the body, Wanda drives off to Westview where she stands on the property of what was supposed to be her and Vision’s future home. In a moment of pure grief, Wanda cries out releasing a large amount of power the creates “The Hex” and Vision himself.  Seeing all of these events occur allowed Agatha to realize who Wanda really is: The Scarlet Witch. This episode was packed with so many raw emotions and allowed us to get a view into Wanda’s past and how all of the events in her life have led her to the moment of discovering who she really is.


Episode 9, “The Series Finale”

-BY DANIEL GRAVES

The finale of WandaVision was amazing, as expected. It started off high-action, and remained that way the entire time. The Wanda Vs. Agatha showdown was absolutely amazing; as well as the Vision Vs. White Vision one. Seeing Wanda finally become Scarlet Witch was breathtaking and incredible, and goes to show how she has finally earned the title of strongest avenger. The episode included many answers to the questions we’ve been asking for the entirety of the show. We finally got to see Monica use more of her powers, as well as Billy and Tommy teaming up with her. Jimmy Woo got to play a part in the finale by calling the FBI to take away the bad S.W.O.R.D. agents. Even Darcy Lewis got to play a role by crashing a car into Hayward- something we were all happy about. We saw Agatha be defeated and become Agnes once again, and it still leaves questions open about her possible return. White Vision could also possibly return, as he now has Vision’s memories.  The show ended with Vision and the kids technically disappearing, but hinting at the possibility of them coming back, so it wasn’t as devastating as it could’ve been. This series, as we know, is going to heavily lead to the future of the MCU, and it was a thrill to watch the series, and make theories about what was happening. The finale got to wrap those theories up with a perfect bow, while also leaving some to be answered later. This leaves fans such as myself excited for more. It will be exhilarating to see how the events of WandaVision will impact the future, and that viewers got to be along for the ride every Friday.