Read our review for the first three episodes of WandaVision here.
Proceed with caution as there are SPOILERS ahead for the latest episode.
With many television series, it’s almost commonplace to have an episode that looks into how things came to be. WandaVision’s first three episodes were a pleasant stroll down the memory lane of older TV shows while slowly setting up the foundations of phase four. It was just good to see Wanda and Vision back together again, going through sitcom tropes as they built a family in a small town. However, things unravel and flares pop up that shows the audience that there’s more to the happiness of this “reality.” At the heart, we have a character that is experiencing a considerable amount of grief and manifesting power that could warp the very essence of the world around her. The same one that almost brought Thanos himself to his knees. Westview is almost like a stage play that you can’t opt-out of.
The latest episode begins in the MCU’s past during the undoing of “the blip” phenomenon. Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) re-materializes in a hospital room that her mother Maria (Lashana Lynch) was recovering from cancer. In a panic, finds out that her mother passed away and that she’s been gone for almost five years. Now, with the events of Endgame, audiences got to see the good things about “the blip.” The reunions. The hugs between family and friends. Heroes coming back to fight at the side of Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man. On the flip side, there were actual repercussions to what Thanos did. (and what The Avengers had undone). What about those who may have lost loved ones because of old age or disease? Monica has to deal with this in her own way as she makes her return to the organization that her late mother founded. This realization may have further implications down the road with Captain Marvel 2 with Carol.
Episode four concerns itself with investigating the outside of the town of Westview, New Jersey. SWORD has set up an extensive perimeter and reintroduces the characters of FBI agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) and Dr. Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings). They both bring some quick comedy bits of their own as they investigate this big anomaly. As Darcy does the investigation, she takes on our viewpoint with old television sets to boast. Through Monica and Jimmy’s conversation, it is said that Westview doesn’t exist, and it has pulled the people in a surrounding town into it. Meanwhile, they have no recollection of their memories.
The show gives a friendly nod to the burning questions that fans have had about the show. As the episode provides us with more answers, more questions arise. We see where the drone, the “beekeeper,” and Jimmy’s radio call to Wanda originates from. The drone shows in red and the person in the hazmat suit manifests into something different. Wanda’s confrontation with Monica reveals the SWORD necklace. Is there a way that this pocket universe can discern what belongs and what doesn’t? From the outside of the town, the slight breaks in Wanda’s consciousness are immediately edited out.
We see the full scene of her and Monica’s confrontation plays out in full. One must wonder if Monica’s Ultron recall was just a slip of the tongue of her being in character or a slight glitch of her recalling memories from the outside. Wanda’s demeanor becomes scary; almost demonic. At the conclusion of Age of Ultron, she becomes one of the Avengers, but she still possesses a malevolence about her. Therein lies a split of feeling sorry for her and also having an uneasy apprehension as the episode concludes with how powerful she is. Losing the person she loves the most has made her a ticking time bomb.
Can we deduct that the faux town of Westview just Wanda’s manifestation of her powers to combat her sadness? Partly. She definitely has no qualms about staying in this ever-changing place that switches eras on a whim. With a quick and ghastly image of Vision’s fate, that is the crux of her pain. However, this show’s aura is not to take things at face value. It could be rather for us to second guess what we’re seeing to things operating in the background. One thing that this show does well is misdirection. As the SWORD team was pulling IDs on the town’s inhabitants, Agnes did not have one. Whether there is someone pulling the strings in the background remains to be seen. The last minutes of episode four will have you so entrenched that you’ll forget that these have a half-an-hour runtime.
Photo Credit: Disney
