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WARNING: *SPOILER ALERT*
*This article contains spoilers for Avengers movies, including Age of Ultron, Engame, WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier and possibly more so proceed to read with caution!*
WandaVision was the first Marvel television series to make its debut on Disney+ and it definitely captivated audiences. Following Wanda and the newly-resurrected Vision in their new sitcom themed town of Westview, there was plenty of mysteries to unpack as we followed Wanda on her grief-stricken journey in the aftermath of the events of Avengers: Endgame. The series ended on March 5th, leaving this side story wrapped up-but not completely. There is lots to unpack after this story and lots that we learned about Wanda and her journey. As a huge Marvel fan, I have to talk about some of the important doors WandaVision opened for the Scarlet Witch as well as cover the beginning of the newest Marvel series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
For those of you who haven't been following (why haven't you been following?!) the series came out on January 15th and takes place four weeks after the events of Avengers: Endgame (if you don't know what that is or what happened I'm not helping you*). The series opens with Wanda and Vision (who is somehow mysteriously alive again) as they begin their new normal life in the small town of Westview. The first few episodes are simple enough, each taking place in a different era of sitcoms as Wanda and Vision experience the suburban life. Soon, Wanda begins to notice strange happenings and little moments that don't fit in with her picture perfect sitcom life. S.W.O.R.D. enters the picture around the third episode and that's when audiences realize the true nature of Westview, which has been taken hostage by Wanda who is broadcasting her sitcom series through her wall of red magic dubbed "The Hex".
The series continues as more and more strange events begin to break apart Wanda's new life and S.W.O.R.D. continues investigating the Westview anomaly, with the help of special agent Jimmy Woo (seen in Ant-man) and Dr. Darcy Lewis (last seen in Thor: The Dark World). Monica Rambeau, last seen as a child in Captain Marvel, soon joins their crew to investigate Westview, but gets sucked into Wanda's world when she touches the barrier. Monica asks too many questions and Wanda expels her from her dream world, which is when S.W.O.R.D. realizes that Wanda is the one controlling the whole anomaly.
A whole crazy series of events happens that I won't describe in detail but eventually Monica and Darcy both get sucked into the Hex (again for Monica) and Wanda reunites with her "brother" Pietro (or Fietro if you know what I mean ;), who died in Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the ultimate few episodes, we discover that Agnes, Wanda's nosy neighbor, has been manipulating Wanda and Vision all along in an attempt to understand why Wanda is so powerful and how she came into her powers by revisiting her past traumas, including the bombing of her home in Sokovia, the death of her brother, her accidental "mess" in Lagos (she tried to contain a bomb but spun it into a building instead, killing many people), and the heartbreaking death of Vision in Endgame. We also see Hayward, the evil S.W.O.R.D. director, creating a new, evil version of Vision called White Vision whose goal is to kill Wanda's resurrected Vision, who we find out came solely from her powers and the piece of the Soul Stone inside her.
The final episode is the massive showdown between Agnes (Agatha Harkness) and Wanda and Vision and White Vision respectively. Vision is able to outsmart the White Vision and restore his memories, making White Vision flee the scene. Vision returns to find Wanda battling Agnes, who is slowly sucking her powers from her and holding their twins hostage. Wanda manages to take the battle away from her children and into the center of town. Agnes seems to be winning as she becomes stronger and stronger by feeding off of Wanda's powers, until Wanda casts runes onto the sides of The Hex and takes her magic back from Agnes, becoming the Scarlet Witch and even pulling off an awesome costume change.
Finally, the series wraps up with a final little fight between Hayward and Monica, with the help of the twins (whose powers include super speed and telekinesis). Wanda wipes Agnes's memories and they all return to their home in Westview. Wanda has realized that she had been hurting the citizens of Westview by controlling them and makes the difficult decision to lift her curse on the town, losing her sons and Vision. They say goodbye and Wanda thanks Monica before flying off. Monica, Jimmy and Darcy clean up Westview and Monica secretly meets up with a Skrull, but that's another story. The final post-credits scene shows Wanda in a cabin (presumably in Sokovia) using astral projection (a trick of Doctor Strange) to study the Darkhold, given to her by Agnes when she learned she was stronger than the Sorcerer Supreme. She hears the calling of her twins (who were supposed to be gone) and her attention turns immediately off-screen.
Now there's a lot to interpret from this ending and a lot of information to be processed. First, let's talk about the White Vision. White Vision flew off at the end of WandaVision (most likely to process all the new information and memories he acquired) and nobody knows where he went. He will most likely return in future Marvel movies at some point (possibly to help in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which Wanda is confirmed to appear in). As for whether or not Wanda and Vision will get back together, it's possible but probably unlikely for the time being. While he does have all of their memories, he is off doing his own thing, and Wanda as well, and even if they weren't, this Vision still isn't the same Vision she fell in love with.
As for Monica Rambeau, we saw in the end of WandaVision that because she went directly through the Hex three times, she gained some supernatural powers (in the comics this is her character, Photon). Monica can control energy, and while we haven't seen the full extent of her powers yet, we can guess that she will be appearing as her own superhero in further Marvel movies, perhaps in the Captain Marvel sequel or in the Secret Invasion series, since she was seen talking with a Skrull in the post-credits scene.
As far as Darcy and Jimmy, we can probably safely say they will reappear at some point (maybe in Thor: Love and Thunder).
Now, Wanda. Wanda had a crazy year, to say the least, and we last saw her studying the Darkhold and hearing the voices of her dead children. It has been heavily speculated that she will appear as the villain in Doctor Strange 2 when she possibly rips open the doors to the multiverse after coming in to her new powers. She has been confirmed to appear in the movie (along with Spiderman!) and the current theory is that Wanda, overwhelmed with her new powers, will sort of explode and possibly become a villain, opening the doors to the multiverse (where her sons are calling her from) and setting out the plot for Spiderman 3, where fans think Tom Holland could team up with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield (and possibly even Miles Morales) as these are Spidermans from parallel universes. Either way, Wanda, the newly dubbed Scarlet Witch, is expected to play a key role in Phase 5 and become a leader for the new era of Avengers.
In the end, the series was a fun way to celebrate Friday nights and follow the characters left in the aftermath of Endgame. It was definitely awesome to see Wanda become the Scarlet Witch and get an epic new costume and continue to grow even more powerful (and remember, before this she took on Thanos by herself and nearly defeated him). Phase 5 is going to be so exciting and we are already in high anticipation of Black Widow and the Loki series, which are premiering next after the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier!
Speaking of TFATWS*, if you haven't started the series yet, you should. I admit, it was the series I was least excited for out of the three, however the appearance of Bucky Barnes is completely enough. The first episode isn't the best, however it continues to get more and more interesting as we watch on.
The series so far follows Sam, who has given up the shield Cap gave him in Endgame (come on, Sam!) and Bucky, who, now cleansed of the Winter Soldier, is trying to make amends to all his past victims with the help of his government-appointed therapist. The two embark on a journey together to stop the Flag Smashers, a group of Super Soldiers who took the recreated serum and want to reunite the world back to how it was during the Blip. Buck and Sam are in a race against the government's new Captain America, John Walker, a soldier. This guy is a complete phony, dumb-dumb, and just plain old ignorant and horrible (in case you couldn't tell, I really hate him). *
(See, he even looks smarmy!)
So far, the pair have even reunited with Zemo, who they broke out of his cell in Germany so he could help them find and destroy the serum. The Dora Milaje also make an appearance as well as Sharon Carter in Madripoor, where the three go to find the serum's creator. All in all, the show is shaping up to be interesting, as well as addressing important issues such as police racism and finally addressing how exactly superheroes make a living! It's also fun to see Bucky and Sam's dynamic, especially when Zemo is thrown in the mix, and I'm sure audiences will also be excited to finally see Bucky cut his hair for once. Either way, I'm definitely excited for next Friday. And the next.
Anyways, that's all for today! I hope you enjoyed my Marvel catch-up, I know I did. Marvel is something I really love to talk about and watch and theorize about so you'll definitely be hearing more of it on The Butterfly Effect. If you're not into Marvel, I encourage you to sit down and watch them right now. You won't regret it, it's probably the best movie franchise ever created.
*I'm sorry but it's too much for me to explain and it's probably easier for you to either watch all the Marvel movies or just not read this article.
*The Falcon and the Winter Soldier acronym.
* I tried to be as nice as possible but the guy's a jerk. Watch the series, you'll want to punch him in the face too.
Thanks and see you next week!
Loreleixx
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