[Editor’s note: The following containsspoilersfor the entirety ofWandaVision.]
In the end, the truth about what was happening onWandaVisionwas actually the simplest explanation.
But it’s no exaggeration to say that, for the duration of the series' nine-episode arc, theories and speculation ran amok. From social media debates to YouTube videos to cast interviews to numerous articles positing which character would have a surprise cameo in the not-so-quiet little town of Westview, New Jersey, fans were participating in a conversation that only the weekly release of a TV show can provide — and taking advantage of the brief respite before new episodes to speculate about every possibility imaginable.
It’s a discussion that only could have occurred in the form that it did becauseWandaVisiongave us its story in weekly installments, rather than adopting the binge-viewing technique popularized by other streaming services and dropping everything on Disney+ at once. However, this strategy also left viewers with plenty of time to theorize, do deep dives, and in some instances, twist themselves into knots of expectation over whattheyhoped the show would satisfy, rather than focusing on what it actually gave us — a complex grief narrative for one of the MCU’s most underserved Avengers (as well as a few fun secondary arcs that will obviously link up to future parts of the franchise).
Rewatching Wanda Maximoff’s journey leading up to the season finale, it’s impressive how little the series really strayed from the story that showrunnerJac Schaefferand the writers' room set out to tell (which was, according to series starKathryn Hahn, practically laid outfrom the beginning). Even with the accumulated knowledge of what we’re provided in subsequent episodes, the core of the narrative is still simple and straightforward in the most poignant way.
Over the course of her time in the MCU, Wanda is a character whose life has been marked, and in some cases even defined, by loss, something that is cast into clear detail over the course ofWandaVision’s penultimate episode, “Previously On.” Her parents, her twin brother, her robot lover (twice) — this is a woman who has not only been shouldering trauma since her childhood but apparently never been given the time and/or space to fully cope with the deaths of the ones she loves most. Instead, Wanda retreats into familiar comforts, finding escapism in her favorite television shows, and at one point, when it becomes painfully obvious that she will be denied the opportunity to give Vision a true hero’s funeral in the immediate aftermath ofAvengers: Endgame, she makes the decision to seclude herself in the one place that would have been their home at the end of the war: a little town called Westview, New Jersey.
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The first few episodes of the show are more than just a fun love letter to sitcoms of yore, though; upon revisiting, they’re a narrative dedication to a woman moving through the stages of grief. In the beginning, Wanda is in such deep denial to the point of obliviousness. She has fully immersed herself in the role of housewife, and while she may not realize what she is magically capable of (she seems genuinely taken aback in Episode 1 when Mr. Hart begins choking on his dinner after trying to interrogate her and Vision about their past, even though it’s likely her own defense mechanism), she is content in the domestic setting she’s created — along with the version of Vision that she’s crafted from the Mind Stone augmentation of her power.
While this seemingly happy couple and the fantasy world they’re in begins to shift throughout the decades, hairstyles and clothes changing to fit the era they’re in, Wanda is also going through her mourning process and the different emotions that are conjured up for her, which is also reflected in her broadcast storylines. Her first confrontation with Monica Rambeau, which kicks off in Episode 3 and culminates in Episode 4, is the first time we see her lash out in anger. Her fight with Vision in Episode 5, in which she literally tries to roll the credits on him to avoid a necessary conversation, is laden with denial over what her powers are doing to the people of Westview. By Episode 7, Wanda’s first instinct is to stay in bed and lounge around the house in her pajamas, the intensity of her depression finally beginning to creep in at the corners as she directly talks to the camera about what she’s done.
Even once it’s revealed that nosy neighbor Agnes is Agatha Harkness, long-time witch and spectator with a front-row seat to Wanda’s seemingly effortless displays of power, the potential ramifications of the narrative don’t really change that much. Agatha hasn’t come to Westview with some universe-altering evil plan in mind, and she isn’t secretly in league with a bigger enemy either (sorry, Mephisto believers). All she wants is to discover how Wanda was able to not only create her all-encompassing Hex surrounding the town, but maintain most of the goings-on within it even when she’s not fully paying attention — magic on autopilot. It’s a refreshingly singular aim for an MCU villain, and one that perfectly falls in line with the smaller scope ofWandaVisionand its more contained story about a woman fighting through her losses to grow into her power.
Apart from flashbacks and occasional S.W.O.R.D. interludes, most of the events occur in Westview, and it’s especially fitting that that’s where the season largely ends too, even if the late-stage action set pieces in Episode 9 feel tonally out-of-place in comparison to the show leading up to that point. By and large, the most impactful moments ofWandaVisionare its quieter, intimate moments, its in-between moments — scenes that gave us more of an understanding of not just Wanda but her love story with Vision, a romance that was afforded more weight and, more importantly,timebeyond secondary consideration in the movies. (Afan supercut of Wanda and Vision’s scenesthrough the entirety of the MCU prior to the show clocked in at around 10 minutes, less than half of one ofWandaVision’s shorter episodes.)
Ultimately, there’s nothing wrong with fan theories as a form of media engagement, andWandaVision’s release format was, at least in part, a means for the series to be at the forefront of the pop culture conversation, ensuring that more and more people would hop on the viewing train every week. But watching anything with an expectation for what it should deliver on, or alist of big-name cameosit needs to check off to be a subjectively rewarding experience overlooks all of the places where the story has already succeeded.WandaVisionwas always telling us what type of show it was. There was no greater mystery to figure out, no big puzzle that really even needed to be solved. All we had to do was sit back and tune in.
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