Magic and Mystery: Another Look at Marvel’s WandaVision

Used from Disney under Fair Use

WandaVision is now streaming on Disney+. The poster above displays key characters from the show. Darcy Lewis(Top left), Monica Rambeau(bottom left), Vision(Top center), Wanda Maximoff(bottom center), Agatha Harkness(Top right), and Jimmy Choo(far right). The last episode came out March 5th.

Saahithya Gutta, Lifestyle & Features Editor, Social Media Lead
March 20, 2021

The following article contains spoilers.

Friday, March 5th was the grand finale to season one of WandaVision, the show that’s been taking the world by storm. WandaVision is a captivating piece of film with a unique plot. Each episode brings new plot twists and leaves the viewers wanting more. Marvel’s first foray into the world of television shows kickstarts phase four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and follows Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) as they live their life in Westview, New Jersey. Each episode takes after the style of sitcoms from different decades and the first starts in the 1950s. The series goes on through the decades, with the finale set in the 2010s.

 


 In the show, Wanda accidentally takes the entire town of Westview hostage using chaos magic. Her grief over losing Vision leads to her creating an entire world in which she and Vision are able to live in peace and raise a family. Meanwhile, outside her anomaly which Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) affectionately labels “the hex”, Sentient World Observation and Response Department(SWORD) is streaming the happenings of Wanda’s world. Director Tyler Hayward (Josh Stamberg) paints Wanda as the antagonist and claims she stole from SWORD so he resurrects Vision’s physical body to eliminate her. Agent Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) disapproves of Hayward’s actions and goes behind his back to save Wanda from her grief. To further complicate matters, it’s revealed that Agnes(Kathryn Hahn), the nosy neighbor, is actually Agatha Harkness, a witch who practices dark magic. In the grand finale, Agatha attempts to steal Wanda’s magic; however, Wanda is able to thwart her plan and imprison Agatha in her mind. WandaVision perfectly sets up the next Doctor Strange movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Along with the parallel in post-credits scenes between the finale of WandaVision and Doctor Strange, the revelation that Wanda is the Scarlet Witch guarantees her an appearance in the sequel. 

WandaVision is revolutionary, not only because of how it is out of Marvel’s comfort zone, but also because it transformed Wanda from an upstanding superhero into a complex character. To elaborate, viewers sympathize with her because of her grief and the great tragedies she experienced in her life. However, none of those tragedies justify the emotional trauma she inflicted on the people of Westview. Her grief and sacrifices, although great, do not excuse the grave violations of the bodies and minds of a lot of people for her own purposes she committed. Wanda Maximoff is presented as flawed, desperate, and broken. Compared to the squeaky-clean ethical codes of characters like Captain America and the divinity of Thor, Wanda is real and raw and nothing like anything Marvel has come up with before. Even Black Widow and Iron Man, fundamentally flawed characters, don’t possess the rough edges that Wanda has. Wanda is such an interesting character in the MCU because of how imperfect she is. Although she was traumatized, what she did to the people of Westview was monstrous. It forces fans of Wanda and the MCU to realize that she is nuanced and made humongous mistakes. Maybe one day, the people of Westview will forgive her, or maybe they won’t. 

Nuances and analysis aside, WandaVision is a wonderful show with complex characters and themes. It was enticing and entertaining, although a little slow in the beginning. Ultimately, the witty and funny dialogues combined with the epic special effects and the insane amount of subplots gave it the classic MCU feel allowing it to be the best opening for Phase four Marvel could’ve come up with.