WandaVision review: “The Series Finale” is a thrilling conclusion

While it doesn’t wrap up every plotline, “The Series Finale” is an emotional, explosive episode that provides closure for Wanda.

WandaVision has been a wild ride from the start. What began as an homage to the Golden Age of television slowly unraveled as a character study of Wanda Maximoff, until now a supporting player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with lots of mystery and a dash of MCU action along the way. The final episode sticks the landing without making the rest of the mini-series a confusing mess.

In “The Series Finale,” Wanda and Vision defend Westview and their children from Agatha Harkness and the emotionless and terrifying White Vision. The action gets turned way up here, and the special effects keep pace. Agatha’s magic, Visions’ energy beams, fights in the sky, the Hex…it all looks impressive. We also get the twins using more of their powers and Monica phasing bullets through her body. Much of the episode is taken up by these elaborate fight sequences, which is great for fans who love the spectacle, but that doesn’t leave much time story or character development.

“The Series Finale” has a lot to juggle. All the plotlines built up over the last several episodes intersect here, and not all of them have satisfying payoffs. White Vision leaves Westview after a short, philosophical chat with Wanda’s Vision, Director Hayward only appears in three scenes before getting arrested, and Darcy only shows up once to deliver a one-liner. I wish there was more time to flesh some of these stories out.

But Wanda’s story, at least, wraps up nicely. If it didn’t, then this series would’ve fallen flat. Wanda finally gives up Westview and sacrifices her family and the life she built. The Scarlet Witch faces the consequences of her actions when Agatha breaks the spell on the residents. The people of Westview begin to surround Wanda begging her to free or kill them in one of the show’s most bone-chilling scenes.

While Wanda clearly doesn’t want to break the spell because it would mean ending her fantasy, she does it anyway, pushing past her selfishness. The series took a serious look at Wanda Maximoff and gave her character layers the movies failed to provide. I went into this show not caring about the character, but I am coming out of it eagerly waiting to see what’s in store for the Scarlet Witch.

The actors are all excellent here. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany sell Wanda and Vision’s pain as they realize they are short on time. They get the proper goodbye they were denied in Avengers: Infinity War. This series makes me want more of Olsen and Bettany, and I’m sad to lose their dynamic. Julian Hilliard and Jett Klyne as Billy and Tommy were also wonderful, and their farewell scene heart-wrenching.

And who knows, it’s possible we could see more of them: we hear their voices in a post-credits scene teasing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And the mid-credits scene sets up Monica Rambeau for Captain Marvel 2…or possibly a stand-alone Disney+ show? As long as we’re talking about that, Agent Woo and Darcy deserve Disney+ shows of their own. They are too good to be relegated to the background. In addition to ending Wanda’s story, this episode lays the groundwork for what’s to come.

While it has its flaws, the finale of WandaVision is a wonderful episode that wraps things up nicely for our main players. I loved the oddball structure and whacky classic sitcoms references throughout the show and hope Marvel experiments again like this soon.

Grade: A-

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