It’s that time of the week again where I get Millie working on her home learning, I grab my morning coffee and I eagerly await Wandavision on Disney+! And ooooo boy Wanda Episode that was [pause for chuckle]…. I mean it was great and this show is going from strength to strength and we are only five episodes in! After last week’s scene setting, mind boggling, question posing episode, we are now getting a change to the way the episodes run with a mix of inside the anomaly with Wanda a family and outside with S.W.O.R.D. However, to say any more is to venture into spoiler territory so, as always, if you haven’t watched it go and watch it and then come back. And if you need a refresher as to my thoughts etc from last week, which I will be drawing on again this week, you can check the blog here.
Also buckle up because this is a long one.
SPOILERS AHEAD
I mean where to start? I guess we should start with the kids? Yeah lets start with the kids. I want to point out that a lot of this actually draws into an overarching theory I have which I shall get to at the end so bear with me readers!
The Kids Aren’t Alright
To quote the Offspring – The Kids Aren’t Alright! Early in the episode we see them age up from babies to young children where they are able to speak etc so it’s highly likely we will see teenage or fully grown Tommy (Speed) and Billy (Wiccan) by the end of the series, given that by the mid point they have aged themselves up to ten at will, like something out of Sims. The fact that they almost aged themselves up again means that either they have a semblance of control within the world (perhaps it’s Billy’s doing with his powers) or the world is responding to their desires. As much as I think it could be Wanda, I am not fully convinced still that this is all entirely in Wanda’s control because she actually stops them aging themselves up after Sparky’s brief but clearly impactful life causes the Twins to be upset and therefore try to escape by ‘growing up’. This means that these two have both free will and self awareness so their true nature will no doubt be a huge part of the later half of the series.
And I wonder how their growth actually works. From a maturity point of view, they are only a day old meaning they will lack any sort of world experience as well as what it means to both be a child and be a hero. There is an element of social education going on; for example Wanda talks about not running away from painful emotions in relation to Sparky’s demise, serving hopefully as the start of her self realisation that she’s not okay and needs help, but other than that there has been little time for them to truly learn and grow. If they continue on this tangent, we will likely see some incredibly immature and naive teenage heroes leading to some big learning moments in their futures.
It’s a brave but sensible choice to age these characters up as they provide more to lose for Wanda and Vision but at the same time their very existence creates more questions than answers. Outside the Hex, as Darcy has taken to calling it, they are rightly questioning the nature of these children and by extension the nature of Wanda’s powers. To begin with they believe her to have Telekinesis and Telepathy but it is from the questions surrounding the Twins that leads our trio of heroes to discover her true abilities. And we, as the audience, are also left with similar questions which makes for a fascinating and frustrating (in a good way) wait for the next episode.
I also want to say, Tommy was cheated out of a laugh track when his response when asked what Sparky was doing in the sink was ‘doggy paddle’.
It’s all falling apart
This episode makes it very clear that something is wrong in Westfield and most importantly it allows Vision to both explore and question these issues while it also shows that Wanda is struggling to keep everything under control. It is clear now that Wanda has the town under the influence of her powers and Herb’s and Monica’s testament to the emotions they are feeling suggest that they can feel her pain, her grief, following everything she has been through. She is clearly being vilified here and, arguably, rightly so as we do see footage of her attacking a S.W.O.R.D base and stealing Vision’s dismembered corpse… but good on Monica for stepping up to try and help rather than taking aggressive action immediately like Haywood and the rest of S.W.O.R.D. There is clearly a lot going on here and my discussion last week about this being a coping mechanism for all her grief is becoming more and more likely. Even Vision acknowledges this when he says that he believed it began, at first, as a subconscious response before she effectively embraced it because she enjoyed it. But she is clearly causing a lot of pain and trauma to the residents, has broken several laws and in general is not behaving as an Avenger should. I will be honest, its heart breaking to see a ‘good’ character behave badly but it does show us that she is as fragile as anyone else in this world but the problem is the fallout of dealing with painful emotions while also wielding reality bending powers can have more serious consequences than the average person.
It is clear that her world, her show, her home that she has built is falling apart. Her badass moment confronting the S.W.O.R.D agents shows that she just wants to be left in peace but cannot maintain the quarantine and isolation she has set for herself without a considerable amount of power, focus and management to keep it running. More and more cracks are showing, with Vision becoming more aware and the breaking of the credit reel showing that her control on this reality is faltering. This may be because of external interference such as Monica and the Agents but it could also be that she is simply stretched too thin at the toll the management of the town is taking… but more on that later. Her apparent lack of influence over Vision, or at least her unwillingness to control him shows that he could be the one who breaks all this apart. Back to my theories a few weeks ago, I spoke about ‘What is Vision’ (check it here) and I think last week I mentioned the possibility that she had literally reanimated his body – I think it is simply that. She has reanimated Vision but seems unable to influence him like the others which I find surprising as he should be the one who is easiest to control. It could be she has plucked another Vision from an alternate universe like Pietro, but given we saw Dead Vision last week I find that unlikely. But the fact her reanimated, android boyfriend is questioning her behaviour and losing trust in her isn’t a great sign given he should be the most loyal of all.
I just want to say as well, the foreboding and scary tone is becoming more and more prominent and this world has a certain horror feel about it. Its too perfect, too idyllic and it makes me uncomfortable. Agne’s switch at the start and the way she addressed Wanda as if she was a director with her worried/confused but also obedient demeanour was unsettling and obvious in a way that throws Vision off. Herb’s panic and worry for his sister and father shows the emotional strain that these people are going through. Wanda’s manipulation is invasive and abusive; these people are self aware yet powerless to wrestle back control over their own lives and after seeing this, it makes it even worse when you see a supporting character as you know that they cannot do anything but play their role. Also, the fear and stress that Vision feels at his own existence and lack of memories is distressing – this is a character who can process everything like a supercomputer but cannot compute what is happening with his own existence. Sod that.
Thermodynamics Lesson
I am going to channel some science and thermodynamics here, stating the first law of Thermodynamics which is energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transferred. As alluded to by our now favourite trio of Woo, Monica and Darcy – where has the energy come from to ‘create’ the kids? Monica’s clothes were created from her S.W.O.R.D outfit, repurposed for the era at the time but there is no real life ID for Billy and Tommy. She has physically created these. If this is the case, then this energy must have come from somewhere. Now, in my mind there are multiple options, none of which really spell a positive outcome for Wanda in the coming episodes.
- Someone else’s energy – so in order to create lives she could have taken lives and then repurposed this energy to create the twins. Not ideal as it means that she has potentially killed two people in Westview.
- Another universe’s energy – she could have drawn this from the multiverse, which could also suggest why Pietro has rocked up from the Fox universe. It could be the case, but again it could have also resulted in a death just this time from another universe. Again, not great.
- Borrowed someone else’s energy – now the last few run of episodes have sought to paint Wanda as the sole instigator of the ‘Hex’ and that this is her doing. It is certainly clear that her power is integral to creating this world she has but I am not convinced she is acting entirely on her own. This is where I think that Mephisto could still have a hand in, lending his power to create the Twins and which will then result in him ‘reclaiming’ them at some point. This would certainly set the scene for a Wanda v Mephisto showdown and give her reason to pursue him with Dr Strange.
But boom there’s some science for you. I mean it could be that she has drawn the energy from the plants or something but firstly there isn’t evidence of that and secondly its not as dramatic. Either way, these boys and to a certain extent the revival of Vision, suggests that there needs to be ‘energy’ taken from somewhere. She can’t create energy, only manipulate it so I think that this will play a key role in her undoing, either now or further down the line. It must take a massive amount of energy to keep the town contained and running as well as keeping it stable so it is likely putting a lot of strain on her, but curiously not a strain we have seen, at least not physically. As she explains at the end though, and something that gives credence to the Mephisto theory, is that she isn’t controlling everything in the town. The episode has also taken its time to make us, like Vision, not trust her but she seemed surprised when Evan Peter’s Pietro rocked up meaning that maybe, just maybe, this isn’t all her doing and then someone is using her abilities as a conduit of a greater scheme and lending her power and energy in the process.
Recast Time!
Although this episode gave us some stand out moments, some further clarifications on the world and some great character development, the biggest surprise came in the final minutes of the episode with the reveal that her brother Pietro is back… but as Evan Peter’s from the X-Men continuity and not Aaron Taylor Johnson’s iteration who we saw die in Age of Ultron! I mean we knew he had been rumoured to be on set but it still doesn’t detract from his reveal and the implications that come with it.
Firstly, Wanda seemed surprised by this and this surprised me. She has clearly created or re-animated Vision and she has popped two children out of thin area but she is surprised when her dead brother rocks up? My gut feeling here is that she wanted this to happen but either didn’t have the power to or as she said when talking about Sparky, somethings are forever including death, meaning she may have respected her brothers death as final. But his alternative appearance means that, much like the children’s power over the world, either the Hex, or the guiding power behind it, saw fit to bring Pietro back. The fact she is surprised may also be because she doesn’t recognise him meaning that this is probably not her Pietro reimagined and instead one that was plucked from the alternate universe. This is one of the reasons why I don’t think she is fully responsible for this world and instead she is enjoying the perks but not considering the ramifications of this existence. If either her subconscious power, or the greater power behind the curtain, has the ability to rip a soul from another universe then it is not to be messed with and the future ramifications will be huge.
So if we consider the implications here, we have now seen the first actual crossover of a previous franchise into the MCU meaning that these universes are on a collision course incredibly soon. The Hex could represent a crossing point between these realities allowing for this manipulation to occur easily and consequently feed right into the upcoming films. It also, and more importantly, means we now have an X-Man within the MCU! Which is doubly important because he is the first Mutant to be introduced meaning that the idea of Mutants and the X-Gene could well be addressed in this series, or at least very soon. I want to stress, we don’t know that this is THE Pietro from the X-Men First Class films as, with all multiverse cases, it could be an alternate alternate Quicksilver meaning that they acknowledge that some Pietros look like Evan Peters but not all of them?
Also with this, does this mean we will see him training Speed?
Multiverse Madness
So taking all this together, I think that it is evident that Wanda is a very powerful, grieving Avenger who has been given the opportunity to use her powers to create her own home, one that she will fight for. I believe that she has been gifted the energy and guided in terms of how to do it but has not questioned the implications of her actions along the way. As a result, this action has created the Hex, a rift which allows for Multiversal Travel between these realities and potentially dragging a lot of these universes together. The act of either drawing power or drawing Pietro there has likely caused a weakness between these realities which will no doubt ripple through the MCU reality as we know it. This is my working theory.
I am pretty confident that the Westfield we see is of the MCU Universe and that those outside the Hex are within this Universe too because they are dealing with the fallout of the Blip (which was the one case in millions where this was fixed) but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone within Westfield is from that Universe. What is evident to see, by the final moments of the episode, is that there are some reality hopping shenanigans afoot. The fact that Darcy states ‘she recast him!’ also means that S.W.O.R.D will now also be aware of, at minimum, her ability to change reality. At best, they will know that the multiverse is at play. I think that now we could well see further key cameos, such as Dr Strange cropping up at the end to figure this all out… but what is clear is that through this final shot, the MCU just got a whole lot bigger.
Checkpoint 
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