Read our prior reviews for WandaVision here.
Proceed with caution as there are SPOILERS ahead for the latest episode.
Fan theories can be fun to dive into. It was one of the cool things to partake in considering the weekly episodic rollout of WandaVision. Picking out little Easter eggs and hoping that a few of them are right. On the flip side, they can cause unnecessary disappointment when they don’t come true. We almost write the story for ourselves rather than enjoying the ride. This show’s finale was setting up for the “big battle” and the ultimate resolution with Westview. There was no way for this town to keep existing beyond this defined time period. Wanda would have to make a choice. To keep this dream world around where others would have to feel her pain while she tried to numb it. Or go into the actual world and confront her grief once and for all. Further complicating things is this power within Wanda that we thought had one origin, but has deeper implications for this new phase of stories.
So, no – we didn’t get Mephisto, Doctor Strange, or Nightmare (yet). Faux Pietro turned out to be a trick à la The Mandarin like in 2013’s Iron Man 3. However, the MCU has been devoted to long-form storytelling. Think about seeing Thanos for the first time in the post-credits scene in 2012’s The Avengers. It took a while for him to get built up into the threat that he was. WandaVision is a smaller piece within a bigger whole. An exploration of an MCU character who was the most touched by bereavement and loss while introducing other characters. You couldn’t do that while Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, etc were leading the pack. So, the Disney+ shows are going to be so crucial going forward.
We think of love, whether gained or lost, with perfect scenarios in our heads. Vacations, the perfect weddings, and the house with the white picket fence. WandaVision is a manifestation of that on a grand scale. A person and a consciousness of what could have been. The audience got to fall in love seeing an insight of Wanda and Vision’s union throughout these eras. On television, everything feels like it’s supposed to have a happy ending. The guy is supposed to get the girl, the restaurant pulls enough money in one day to stay open, and so on. One of the most heartbreaking things for us and Wanda is that we had to wake up sometime. We can always visit the days of Dick Van Dyke through recordings, but we can’t go back. As the hex iteration of Vision originates within Wanda, it’s saying the people you lose will always live within you.
The finale had the most amount of action out of any WandaVision episode. Agatha vs. Wanda and Hex Vision vs. White Vision. Agatha, while trying to absorb Wanda’s power, tries to use the hex against her. She could either break the hex apart and lose her family or let these people go. Mostly, everything on the surface is wrapped up conventionally. Both Visions fight, but have a discussion in which the Hex Vision states that he is not who White Vision is looking for. He then restores his memories and eventually, this arch will circle back around. Where it looks as though Wanda will lose to Agatha, she fully steps into becoming the Scarlet Witch to defeat her. Monica, Tommy, and Billy get to use their powers a bit. Acting Director Hayward loses. Everybody gets a happy ending, right?
Not so fast. With the angry scowls of the townspeople of Westview, Wanda will not only have to understand her powers, but reckon with what she’s done. Losing the hex was sad, but a lot of other people lost free will within her doing this. They had to feel her pain as she did. In order for this not to happen again, Wanda will have to take some time to heal the roots of it. A good thing about removing Vision from the equation (for now) is that Wanda will have to find this strength not tailored to someone else. Every action was a reaction to what’s happened to her. Now, in learning her origins, she can set her story on a path that she wants.
WandaVision end leaves a lot of questions out there. There will presumably be consequences for Wanda’s actions from the citizens of Westview. As the last post-credits clips showed, Monica is going off into space on her, presumably meeting Nick Fury, reuniting with Carol Danvers, and realizing her potential as Photon. On the Wanda front, she’s got the Darkhold and is in study mode. She hears the cries of her children in another dimension. Now, in relation to Multiverse of Madness, this may set up a dynamic where she changes timelines to save them (or what she perceives they are). Not going full villain in her motivations, but Doctor Strange is going to have something to say about that. Welcome to Phase Four.
Photo Credit: Disney