We’re now seven episodes into the premiere season of WandaVision, with two left to go. On the whole, the show has been a success. If nothing else, Disney deserves a lot of credit for boldly experimenting with the form of the superhero story. This is the first-ever TV show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they decide to make it a half-hour homage to classic American sitcoms, complete with laugh tracks and references only members of the Greatest Generation will get? That takes guts, and I commend them for it.
That said, the unorthodox format has caused some issues. Namely, for a show about sitcoms, WandaVision isn’t actually all that funny, but that’s okay, because there’s also a genuinely interesting story here about Wanda coming to terms with her grief in the wake of returning to life after getting Snapped away by Thanos, and then immediately having to deal with the death of Vision. That part of the show has gotten more focus as it’s gone on, as the real world has encroached on Wanda’s show-within-a-show. It’s all leading, hopefully, to a thrilling climax where Wanda’s invented world comes to an end, one way or another.
Things have been building nicely, but the latest episode, “Breaking the Fourth Wall,” took an unexpected — and unwanted, at least for me — turn.
SPOILERS from here on out.
In the latest episode, we learned that Wanda’s nosy sitcom neighbor Agnes is actually Agatha Harkness, a “magical girl” who has been “pulling every evil string.” Essentially, she’s the big baddie. It’s been Agatha all along:
First of all, I want it known that the song, by Frozen composers Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, is fantastic. It’s been playing on a loop in my head since I saw the episode and I’m not mad about it. The execution of this twist was terrific.
But the twist itself, not so much. My big problem is that it takes away from the most intriguing plotline the show has going for it: the idea that Wanda is the villain of her own story, that her grief has driven her to essentially torture an entire town full of people all so she can live an idyllic suburban existence with her dead partner and their fake kids. Learning that she’s been manipulated in some way — we don’t know the full extent yet — absolves her of some responsibility for what’s been happening, and I think that’s weak. Holding Wanda accountable for what she’s done would make the plot of WandaVision as bold as the format, and I want to see Disney take that risk.
But that might be asking a bit much of this franchise, which always has to take things back to zero so there can be more stories. Thanos Snapping away half of existence in Avengers: Infinity War was a horrifying thrill, but it was undercut somewhat by the knowledge that it was definitely going to be reversed in Avengers: Endgame. Now I’m afraid that WandaVision is going to go back to zero at the end of this season, and that would be disappointing.
It may not have been Agatha all along after all
Of course, there are still two episodes left and it’s early to jump to conclusions. We don’t even know if the reveal that Agatha has been pulling the strings is genuine. This could be Wanda creating another mental barrier for herself, forcing Agnes to play the part of a supervillain so she can avoid dealing with her grief.
I’d prefer that explanation, because it means a proper reckoning for Wanda is still possible. But if that’s the direction they’re going in, it seems redundant. The whole show has been about Wanda being so deep in her grief that she doesn’t care that she’s torturing the people of Westview, and doing everything she can to avoid confronting that fact. She’s switched sitcom eras five times now, she’s created children for herself, she’s even come to the brink of a superpowered smackdown with her husband Vision, who has caught wise to what she’s doing and is determined to fight back. Agatha would just be yet another self-imposed roadblock at a time when the story should be barreling towards bigger conflicts, either between Vision and Wanda or between Wanda and the S.W.O.R.D. operatives preparing to end her fantasy by force.
“Breaking the Fourth Wall” even seemed to be making fun of itself for this stalling, with Vision and Darcy stuck at an intersection unable to get to Wanda and forward the plot. It was probably the funniest part of the episode, but it still means the show is putting off the good stuff.
WandaVision has been a refreshing take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s already established itself as a good show. But the ending will determine if it can be great, and I want that for it.
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