Read our reviews for previous episodes of WandaVision here.
Proceed with caution as there are SPOILERS ahead for the latest episode.
Through several weeks of watching this show, one forgets that it’s ultimately about grief. Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) has had her fair share and the illusion of Westview has insulated her to realize how deep it is. Wanda tells the twins Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne) that she doesn’t have the answers and that she is thinking that everything is meaningless. The aftermath of the Halloween episode has taken a considerable toll on her, and things are falling apart. Throughout the seventh episode of WandaVision, the glitches are almost beyond Wanda’s control. All the dressings that we’ve seen previously appear at random, like some extreme home makeover.
The Modern Family fourth wall breaking montages work well to see how beaten up emotionally Wanda is. Olsen’s performance owns it in terms of another time period in TV history. As she’s talking to us, there’s another voice that replies to her. “Do you think maybe you deserve this?” Granted that Wanda can’t even recall how she got to Westview or how certain things happen, that’s could seem like a harsh observation. Removing yourself from the theme, it’s becoming more apparent that something or someone is taking advantage of her breakdown. Of all the out-of-ordinary things that have happened, that point might be the most insidious – what we couldn’t see behind the curtain.
This episode serves as both buildups to its big reveal and the remaining two. It’s a slowdown of pace that feels like the first episode. Where the audience is trying to feel out what exactly is happening. They split many of the major characters stressing different parts of the story. It’s in a manner where it feels that the show is building to something bigger once they get around each other again. Vision (Paul Bettany) finds Darcy (Kat Dennings) in a circus-like atmosphere, and she gives him a condensed version of the events of what happened. While Bettany’s performance speaking to the audience is funny, there’s a certain sadness to Vision’s character. He asks Darcy what happens now, and she reminds him that the love was real. Vision dying again in the last episode and becoming self-aware to where he has to learn the past is a tragedy. We see Wanda and Vision venture through these sitcom settings in a life that they can never have together.
Everything has been leading up to Monica realizing the extent of her new powers as Photon. As she’s going through the hex, there are nice nods to past dialogue from Captain Marvel and a soundbite from Nick Fury saying that Monica got the toughest kid. While this episode only scratches the surface of what she can do ability-wise, she serves as an emotional center. While Hayward is going on his tirade, she never gave up on Wanda. Even as to get her to bring her wall down in conversation. Both characters know what it’s like to lose people they love. In a setting where Wanda is surrounded by people who are not real or trying to control her, Monica serves as an anchor.
So, you know that funny feeling that you got whenever Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) came around? She coincidentally popped up places at the right time. Has the witch costume on in the Halloween episode. She holds an enthusiasm about taking care of the twins. Well, everybody’s suspicions materialized as it’s revealed that she is indeed Agatha Harkness. A powerful witch within the Marvel universe that has been pulling a lot of strings in Westview. This is complete with a very catchy and on-the-nose song, “It Was Agatha All Along.” (Yes, she killed Sparky, too.)
There’s a chilling part of the episode where Billy looks at Agnes and says that she’s “quiet on the inside.” WandaVison does so many things that make you second guess yourself. In an artificial town that changed decades and costumes week to week, Agnes actively played her role well. She was operating in plain sight all along, even down to the necklace. The show’s twists and turns still made us second guess that because nothing can ever be that simple. Are the twins even real, and who is this elusive Ralph that we keep hearing about? Whatever conclusion we reach, nothing in the MCU will be the same afterward.
After Show Observations:
Two things happen in this episode that gives integral clues as to where the Marvel universe is headed. The Nexus commercial features an antidepressant that will “anchor you back to reality or the reality of your choice.” The concept of a Nexus Being are rare beings that can affect the probability and the future in the Universal Time Stream. This could be Wanda herself within this timeline. The Nexus itself in Marvel is a cross-dimensional gateway that opens the door to all possible realities.
Now, the TVA (Time Variance Authority) monitors these Nexus Beings and the Loki show later this year will introduce them. It makes complete sense why someone like Agnes would want to control Wanda under these circumstances. With Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man 3 on the horizon, the MCU’s timeline is going to be in a place where everything is fair game.
The book that momentarily appears in Agnes’ basement is called The Darkhold or “the Book of Sins.” It has been referenced in both The Runaways and Agents of Shield shows. Basically, it contains a lot of dark magic spells written by a dark demonic god named Chthon. Whoever reads from it becomes corrupted by the evil, so most likely Agatha Harkness is not working alone.
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel
