Am I covering Westworld again? Or Perry Mason? Because the latest episode of WandaVision just dropped the most epic information dump in the MCU’s history. What we learned about WandaVision in a mere 34 minutes is on par with the exposition-trolling Perry Mason and Westworld, which, if we’re being honest, might just be the MCU’s most impressive accomplishment during its decade-plus run.
It’s no joke: The new episode, which dropped on Disney+ this Friday, reintroduced two deep-cut MCU side characters, gave us a quasi-origin story for Monica Rambeau, showed scientifically (kind of) what’s going on in WandaVision‘s sitcom world, confirmed a popular fan theory, AND implied that the version of Vision we meet in the show is being held hostage by Wanda somehow. Holy shit. Really, the only way to go about this one is a romping, Westworld-style breakdown of what the hell happened, bit by bit. Let’s do it.
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Monica Rambeau Got Dusted, Blipped, Then Sitcomed
The episode picks up with Rambeau during The Blip—i.e. when Tony Stark snaps his fingers and un-dusts all the poor people Thanos dusted. Turns out Rambeau was dusted during a hospital visit with her mother, Maria (Captain Marvel’s partner-in-crime during her solo outing). When The Blip happens, the hospital is total chaos, a tiny change of tone from the slapstick portrayal of The Blip in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Turns out Maria Rambeau died after the snap, never truly having the chance to say goodbye to Monica.
Anyway. We learn that Monica is an agent of S.W.O.R.D., an organization dedicated to dealing with extraterrestrial threats. (Also, looks like her nickname is officially Photon, meaning that she probably has her energy-manipulating powers from the comic books in WandaVision.) Her first mission post-blip is to investigate a missing persons case in Westview—and when she gets too close to the scene of the crime, she’s absorbed into the sitcom world.
Welcome to Marvel’s Island of Misfit Side Characters
Take Ant-Man‘s lol-having FBI Agent Jimmy Woo, Thor‘s astrophysicist (Dr.) Darcy Lewis, Captain Marvel‘s Monica Rambeau, smash them together, and boom! You have a whole sorta-kinda-established cast to investigate the whole Westview anomaly. The crew posts up in Westview (which, we learn, is a town that supposedly doesn’t exist) and somewhat figures out what’s going on. Westview occurs in a crazy-energized space that emits a broadcast signal—which allows people in the real world to watch the sitcom Wanda (most likely) designed as if it’s a real TV show. The characters in the show are real-life, missing people who were absorbed into this space, and are experiencing some sort of brainwashing that makes them believe they’re actually retro sitcom characters. The show seems to be “censored” by an unknown force—who is likely either Wanda or a villain we haven’t met yet. But Rambeau seems to think Wanda is the one pulling the strings, saying when she returns to the real world, “It’s all Wanda.”
Does This Make Wanda the Villain?
Probably! Seems like she up and trapped a whole damn town inside a creepy sitcom of her own design—just so she can live inside of it, forever, with Vision. (As fans have been speculating the whole way through.) That’s probably what Kathryn Hahn’s Agnes was trying to tell Vision in the backyard during the last episode. That they’re “all trapped” inside the alternate reality Wanda created. Bummer. Wanda seems evil too, given the scene between her and Geraldine/Rambeau. She uses her powers to blast her back into reality—before welcoming Vision back home and reassuming ’60s sitcom life. If Wanda really is the antagonist here, TBD who S.W.O.R.D./Rambeau/the FBI are gonna send into Westview to fight her.
Disney
Poor, Poor Vision
Earlier this week, a Wandavision fan caught Vision making a Fleabag/Office-esque, knowing look into the camera, implying that the guy knows he’s in a sitcom. The end of this episode all but confirms that theory. After he reenters their home after Wanda boots Geraldine/Rambeau out of town, he briefly turns… grey and dead. (I.e.: what he looked like when Thanos ripped the stone out of his head.) Wanda shakes the mirage off and he turns red again. Then, as Vision sits down with Wanda, his eyes dart around again. Only this time? He looks downright uncomfortable. Almost as if Wanda has trapped him there too. And given that Vision is probably still dead following the events of Avengers: Infinity War, is it possible that Wanda somehow trapped an unsuspecting person in a fake Vision body? Maybe Doctor Strange? That’s probably why Vision is trying to tell Wanda that something is rotten in the state of Westview. It’s… a lot. Hopefully we get back to blissful sitcom life next week.
Mike Kim
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