Spoilers for the WandaVision finale -- “The Series Finale” -- lie ahead, so don’t say we didn’t warn you.
The end has finally arrived for WandaVision, as the show aired the final episode of its season this past Friday. Week by week, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans watched the show’s sitcom-infused mystery unfold, and things definitely didn’t pan out the way many assumed they would. One such theory involved one of the residents of Westview, New Jersey, but the actress has now confirmed that her character was indeed meant to serve as a “red herring” for fans.
When “Dottie” was first introduced in the second episode of WandaVision, many believed there could be more to her than meets the eye. Like Agnes, her true identity wasn’t revealed early on, leading many to believe she could actually be a major Marvel Comics character in disguise. Some even pegged her as being Doctor Strange character Clea. However, the finale revealed that she was actually a Westview resident named Sarah Proctor.
Emma Caufield, who played the role, explained to Vanity Fair that she and showrunner Jac Schaeffer wanted the character to get fans speculating. And the two knew this would be the case given Caufield’s history with fellow pop culture juggernaut Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
It was very intended to have me show up in that fashion. Calculate is not the right word but it's purposeful. You're not going to have me show up and, and immediately think there's nothing to my being there. It's obviously going to pull in a similar fan base [to Buffy]. That was intended.
On Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Emma Caufield played former demon Anya Jenkins, so it was likely easy for her and Jac Schaeffer to draw fans attention away from other aspects of the Disney+ show. While the actress is pleased with the way things panned out, she does hope fans aren’t too upset with her:
It was impossible for people to not be disappointed! I'm trying not to feel disingenuous, but knowing full well [their theories were] just so far removed from the truth. That's tough, being the red herring. Again, I hope no one eggs my house.
Hopefully, Emma Caufield won’t have to worry about any intruders or angry fans anytime soon. While it may be disappointing that her character didn’t get a bigger reveal, there may still be hope. In the same interview with Vanity Fair, Caufield revealed that she is working on something else she can’t talk about. Though she didn’t specify if it’s a Marvel-related venture, her iron-clad secrecy is enough to get one speculating again.
WandaVision may not have fulfilled everyone’s expectations when it came to theories, but the show did manage to provide closure for the specific story it was trying to tell. And ultimately, that’s the most important thing.
