WandaVision review: “Previously On” is a blast to Wanda’s past

The penultimate episode of WandaVision centers on Wanda’s past, which halts the story’s momentum but sets up an exciting climax.

With only one episode left in the series, WandaVision puts a pin in the conflict to explain the Scarlet Witch’s backstory. “Previously On” opens with Agatha as we get a glimpse of her life in a coven. Then, in an attempt to learn more about Wanda and her magic, Agatha forces her to relive traumatic events from her past. This episode is a real stroll down memory lane.

I love Marvel. I love how they took 10 years to slowly build up their universe before releasing the biggest movie of all time. They clearly have the patience for long-form storytelling, but sometimes their timing isn’t always the best. They like to pause the action right before the grand finale, as seen with the releases of Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel in between Infinity War and Endgame. They’re doing the same thing here; the show is taking a breather before the finish, which is fine, but we really want some answers!

And we do get some. Sort of. We get a better understanding of Wanda’s life and her motivations. There were theories about why WandaVision was paying homage to so many sitcoms from different decades. It turns out that the Maximoff family watched The Dick Van Dyke Show to practice their English, and Wanda has great memories of watching the shows with them. It’s a small detail that expands Wanda’s character.

Throughout the series, Wanda was hesitant to talk about her painful past, reseting scenes whenever someone was getting too close, or kicking Monica Rambeau out of Westview when she mentioned Pietro. She isn’t ready to confront those parts of her life at the start of the episode. But as the episode progresses, Wanda overcomes that fear and confronts her trauma.

Elizabeth Olsen was typically excellent in this episode as she played Wanda’s distress and detachment, but I was waiting to see how Kathryn Hahn would step up her game after last week’s twist. Plus, we’ve all had the “Agatha All Along” song stuck in our heads for a week.

It was a delight to see Hahn portray this wicked witch who enjoys toying with Wanda. We see how deadly and menacing she is in the first scene as she kills the coven and her mother with no remorse. So she’s sinister, but Hahn also injects some comedy into the role. As Wanda remembers significant moments in her life, Agatha looks impatient and bored. When a memory is over, Agatha recaps it in a mocking and disinterested way. It’s almost as if she’s making fun of the sitcom formula.

Since the episode is mainly focused on Wanda’s past, she and Agatha only exchange a few lines of dialogue. But when they do, they have a fun dynamic that crackles with tension and wit. Hopefully, it will lead to a nasty confrontation between the two next week, which will be exciting to watch.

This episode also marks the first time we get to hear someone in the MCU call Wanda the Scarlet Witch. And it’s revealed that Wanda didn’t actually take Vision from the S.W.O.R.D. Compound. She created him while inside the Hex, which is why he can’t leave it. Wanda unintentionally created the Hex after she failed to retrieve Vision’s body from Director Hayward. We don’t know yet if this was his plan the whole time, but he does have something up his sleeve. The post-credit scene reveals that he was working on Vision’s body the entire time, and he finally got him working again. Only this time, Vision is completely white, and has no Infinity Stone.

This version of the character acts more synthetic than human. I’m not sure how he will play into WandaVision’s finale, but boy, that was an awesome reveal!

Because this episode was heavily focused on Wanda, there were no updates on Vision and Darcy or Monica or Agent Woo. We briefly see the twins at the end, whom Wanda will have to save from Agatha’s clutches next week.

This episode put off a lot of things we all want to see. But it does set up an explosive finish. Look forward to typical Marvel action, more twists, and another surprising guest appearance. Let’s see if the series could pull one more magic trick before it’s over.

Grade: B+

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