Marvel Studios’ WandaVision is becoming one of those television programs that expands on its mystery with each new episode, but then leaves its audience with even more tantalizing questions to keep them chewing over content while they wait for another week’s episode to drop. Episode 4 of Season One of WandaVision, titled “We Interrupt This Program,” filled in a lot of gaps. But it also raised a number of serious inquires we have about Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), the Scarlet Witch. So, we want to dig deeper into a few of the key details that were doled out in this episode, and see where we think we are near the halfway point of the season.
Needless to say, there are going to be so many spoilers for the first four episodes of WandaVision in here, so bail out now if you haven’t yet watched the show.
Is This All A Reaction To Wanda's Grief?
Who is doing this to Wanda? It was a question asked by a mysterious voice over a radio in episode two of the series. We now know that the voice belonged to FBI agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), and that the “who” who is doing this to Wanda is Wanda, herself. When Geraldine gets kicked out of the simulation and returns to being Monica Rambeau, she says, “It’s all Wanda.” So Wanda is the one responsible for the energy field around the fictional town of Westview, New Jersey, and she’s the one keeping S.W.O.R.D. out of the sitcom environment.
Why? It seems that Wanda is struggling with grief following the death of Vision (Paul Bettany), and the appearance of Corpse Vision, with the caved in forehead, suggests that Scarlet Witch remains haunted by the sacrifice that her true love had to make at the end of Avengers: Infinity War to stop Thanos (Josh Brolin). A move that, tragically, didn’t stop Thanos. When you think about the fact that this episode showed people returning from the “dead” thanks to the reversal of the Snap, maybe Wanda finally realizing that Vision will NOT be one of the people returning sent her over the edge, and to a happy place where she and Vision can live happily ever after.
Why Aren't The Other Avengers Wondering Where Wanda Is?
Knowing that WandaVision takes place three weeks after the blip, which occurred at the end of Avengers: Endgame, I’m kind of wondering how Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) managed to slip off of the radar of the rest of the Avengers. She was depressed at Tony Stark’s funeral, and lamented with Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) about the people they lost along the way -- namely, Vision and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).
Wouldn’t they keep an eye on their teammate? If Wanda had disappeared into a sitcom simulation, where she’s trying to live an alternate life with her dead lover, wouldn’t the Avengers be aware? The FBI knows of it. S.W.O.R.D. knows of it. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes don’t know that one of their most powerful teammates, who is dealing with tragedy, might be up to something no good?
Why Does Wanda Keep Changing The Sitcom Genre?
Part of me just thinks that, like FBI agent Jimmy Woo believes, it’s just because of the production design. It’s funny for the Marvel Studios creative team to explore ways to recreate classic sitcom models, and Olsen and Bettany are so gifted (as is their supporting cast), that they literally can unleash these actors in any decade and let them find the funny. You saw the promo images of Kathryn Hahn in full 80s aerobics gear, right?
There’s also a quote that Elizabeth Olsen gave before WandaVision got underway that explained that while back in Sokovia, Wanda grew up on American television. So she absorbed all of these decades of TV, and now is using them as the visual palette for her happy place, her escape. This probably is the main reason for the decade transitions on the “show” that Wanda is creating. Also, it’s entertaining for Dr. Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings).
If Wanda Created The Town, Why Didn't She Immediately Recognize Geraldine As An Outsider?
Also, on the note of Geraldine, why was she able to access Wanda’s “bubble,” but others have not been able to? Before permeating Wanda’s energy field, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) wonders if she has a quality about her that allows her to feel what is going on with the force field, and I think that’s probably still true. No one else has been able to step into Wanda’s sitcom… but drones can fly into it, so that’s strange.
Once Monica is in the TV world as a new character, Geraldine (introduced in episode two), she’s confused as to why she is there -- and Wanda doesn’t bat an eye. This indicates that while Wanda seemingly created the simulation that everyone’s dancing through, and is doing what she can to maintain it, she doesn’t have complete control over it, and isn’t monitoring every move that happens in it. This also might explain why Vision can have “side” stories in the simulation, like when he went to work, or chased down the doctor before he left for vacation. There’s still a lot to unravel with WandaVision, and the extent of Wanda’s control is a big question mark.
Is Wanda A 'Villain' Here Or Is There A Larger Threat?
And with this, we return to the first question: Who is doing this to Wanda? If it’s Wanda, that’s a big MCU issue. Wanda Maximoff is VERY powerful, and if she is having a psychic break following the death of Vision, it can lead to serious problems for our world, and the heroes and people in it. There has been talk that WandaVision could lead to the creation of the Multiverse, meaning Wanda literally could tear holes in the fabric of reality, exposing alternate realities where different versions of the characters that we know exist.
Then, there’s Kathryn Hahn’s character, Agnes, who I still believe has a role in all of this. When S.W.O.R.D. was identifying the “characters” in Wanda’s sitcom, she was one of the only ones (if not the ONLY one) who didn’t have a New Jersey counterpart. And there have been times throughout the first three episodes when her appearance -- at the front door during the dinner party, behind Wanda when she found the colorful helicopter -- serves as a method of distraction to keep Wanda from seeing through the illusion of Westview. At the pool party, Dottie actually says, “The devil’s in the details, Bev.” To which Agnes replies, “That’s not the only place he is.”
Mephisto?
These are fun to do, because all of these theories could be shot to pieces by next week. But after episode four of WandaVision, here’s where we are at, and this is what we are wondering, specifically with regards to Scarlet Witch. Make sure that you are reading the rest of our WandaVision coverage on CinemaBlend, and bookmark this page to keep track of Upcoming Marvel Movies in 2021 and beyond.
