It’s reassuring to witness Marvel’s progressive approach this year. Whether they realize it or not, we will be grateful to them for WandaVision as a feminist generation. The much anticipated Season 1 of WandaVision finally premiered in January of this year and now that it’s over one can say that it has truly been an ode to womankind. Until now, the unequal representation given to female characters, while not a major conversation for fans and the general public, was an underlying subtext that we simply chose to ignore because Marvel never did that intentionally right?
When one explores the comics, it’s easy to understand why the MCU is dominated by male Superheros and very few female ones. What can be done when the base material is set in stone, or in this case, a permanent comic page layout. We even see weak efforts on the comic’s part to build this bridge by introducing a Spiderwoman, who, let’s accept this, plays second fiddle to the main Spiderman.
But WandaVision is different. There has been a concerted effort put into developing the character of Wanda much before this show even premiered. In fact, the show acts as a culmination more than anything. There is no downplaying Wanda’s journey that has been rougher than most and it is awe-inspiring to see her overcome it anyway. Indeed, there is a resilient strength about her that makes her idol-worthy for both young boys and girls. Wanda fangirling aside, the quality that WandaVision as an MCU show has delivered is commendable. With a lot that needs to be discussed and explained, here’s everything you need to know about the WandaVision finale.
*Alert: Spoilers ahead!!!*
A recap of crucial events in the Finale
Everything moved at a lightning-fast pace at the beginning of episode 9 with confrontations galore and fights happen in different parts of the Hex. We witnessed all the major characters revealing crucial aspects of the plot like what was in the basement, the truth about Pietro Maximoff, the real form of Agatha Harkness, insights into the mind of White Vision himself, and S.W.O.R.D’s malicious intent for Red Vision among other things.
The episode begins to calm down a bit after Wanda’s Astral form takes over and starts to overwhelm Agatha Harkness before inadvertently defeating her. Now that Wanda has more or less acknowledged her grief and resigned herself to giving up her family as any Superhero must, the episode starts drawing to a close and ties up all the loose ends, and answers some of the peripherals. Of course, in typical Marvel fashion, we get some exciting post-credit scenes that get us riled up for whatever’s coming next (in this case Doctor Strange 2).
Related: What comes after WandaVision? What’s next for MCU?
Wanda versus Agatha Harkness
The quintessential hero/ine versus villain face-off came with quite a lot of gusto and fanfare. There was a typical let-down moment when Wanda is unable to pull the Hext back from Westview and restore the sanity of the residents. But we realize that it’s a good thing when Agatha, the White Vision, and S.W.O.R.D close in on her family in a full-throttle sort of attack. She really needs her entire family intact to fight back at this point.
The Wanda versus Agatha fight is interesting because Agatha ends up giving her a lot of useful information while also trying to usurp her Chaos magic. We already found out in episode 8 that Wanda Maximoff is the Scarlet Witch and in the final confrontation, Agatha name drops the Sorcerer Supreme and hints that the Scarlet Witch might be more powerful because of the kind of magic she wields. Eventually, Wanda transforms into the Scarlet Witch and manages to overwhelm Agatha Harkness. While she does not kill the witch, she punishes her by recasting Agatha as the nosy neighbor that she played in Wanda’s reality show version of Westview.
White Vision versus Red Vision
The hype was out of control when Marvel revealed White Vision in the post-credit scenes of episode 8. Introducing White Vision in the Scarlet Witch arc was the closest to comics in terms of plot, to what had also occurred in the Earth-616 universe. But everything from this point forward becomes unpredictable all over again. Since there was no Red Vision in the comics, White Vision ends up lacking the ability to humanize and becomes an indifferent Sythenzoid with no feelings for Wanda. But in the show, Vision uses the Ship of Theseus logic and then goes on to unlock the White Vision’s memories of themself from before everything that happened in Westview.
Even though the initial face-off between the two felt absolute in terms of one of them being destroyed by the other, turns out both Visions literally just talk it all out after the fight and sort everything. Unfortunately, White Vision ends up disappearing mid-episode and we are left to wonder about his fate and involvement. No there is no post-credit scene dedicated to clue us in on his whereabouts. It’s very likely that he’s in a rebellious phase after realizing that he was nothing more than S.W.O.R.D’s plaything when he deserved so much more.
Monica Rambeau versus Pietro Maximoff
We like that Marvel pitted the Spectrum against Quicksilver in an attempt to match all the characters as evenly as possible. At least on that note, we know that few things will remain unchanged no matter how deep into the absurd Marvel decides to venture. In the post-credit scene of episode 8, Pietro Maximoff manages to stop Monica from entering the basement it feels like it’s game over for a hot minute. But in episode 9, we see that Pietro has managed to restrain her and keep her in Agatha’s living room which is basically a Stoner den. It is at this point that Monica finds out the true identity of Pietro or ‘Fietro’ as Agatha calls him. Pietro Maximoff is actually a resident of Westview named Ralph Bohner (no pun intended) and Agatha had been controlling him this entire time by using a magically charmed necklace. She manages to restrain Fietro and then plucks the necklace off of him, effectively bringing back Ralph Bohner. Despite how intense it was, this arc was probably the tamest compared to everything else in episode 9.
The post-credit scenes
Marvel is not beyond creating as much hype as they possibly can. This is why we get to see not one but two post-credit scenes in WandaVision and both are quite telling in terms of what is coming in the future. Two very major expectations have been created thanks to the post-credit scenes, the first expectation pertains to the involvement of the Skrull and possibly Nick Fury in the future and the second one (more like hope) is that Wanda might still be able to salvage her family from the wreckage that was the whole Westview debacle using the Darkhold.
The endings are definitely setting up the narrative for future movies and shows so it fair to hope that the Scarlet Witch is at least mentioned in Doctor Strange 2 if not make an appearance herself in a cameo role.
The restoration of Westview
We realize the extent to which residents have been traumatized by Wanda’s mind-control magic in the final episode of Season 1. Mrs. Hart tells her how the residents of Westview have been dreaming and living Wanda’s nightmares for her. It is in the resentment in their eyes and the anger with which they look at Wanda that we get an inkling of how deeply she exploited the citizens of Westview no matter how unintentional it was.
Despite the town having the plot that Vision purchased for them to grow old in, it’s very unlikely that Wanda will return to the now unforgiving town. After she removes the Hex, Wanda takes off to the location that we see in the final post-credit scene.
The forging of the Scarlet Witch
If we were to measure the power of a Superhero/ine by the trauma they experienced to attain said power, then Wanda is right up there with the bigwigs and with good reason. The Scarlet Witch is currently being considered as the most powerful being in the entire MCU and which good reason. When one takes into consideration Wanda’s life experiences since she was a child, the forging process has actually been going on for years and years now. Add tragic losses to the process and you get more Witch than Wanda from the situation.
The forging process itself was also quite rigorous. Wanda was quite powerful before her unraveling in Westview and the addition of Chaos Magic could put her in the same league as Thanos if not higher. A lot of the magic that she did at the beginning of the show was either unconscious or subconscious but after when she learns to wield it, we see some powerful moves on her part. In a Doctor Strange versus Scarlet Witch situation, it will be interesting to see who prevails.
The Fate of Red Vision
Even though Wanda was the main focus of it all, we cannot ignore the bombs that were dropped regarding Vision either. In the finale, we understand the true extent to which the Red Vision’s life is connected to the magic of the Hex and by extension, to Wanda herself. As the hex draws in and they have their final farewell, we come to know that the Red Vision is a part of Wanda, having been magicked from her feelings for him. Indeed if Chaos magic is powerful enough to create life the way it does, then both Wanda and the fans are in for quite an interesting journey. Here’s everything that the finale cleared up for us in terms of the Vision.
Two Visions in MCU
In episode 9, it became quite clear that there are two separate Visions in MCU. The White Vision will have a continued physical existence in the Red Vision’s old Synthezoid body while the Red Vision’s future appearance will continue to remain subject to Wanda’s magical capabilities. For the Red Vision, it is very likely that he won’t make an appearance for a very long time, if at all really since the future is all about the Scarlet Witch and not the Wanda-Vision pain fest that it has now become.
The Ship of Theseus logic
When both the Visions have their confrontation, the Red Vision uses the Ship of Theseus logic to solve the White Vision’s identity crisis. As an added bonus, he also restores the White Vision’s memories of the past. But does this mean that the White Vision will become a placeholder for the Red Vision is not there? or will the White Vision re-establish himself as an entirely new person/Synthezoid? The effect of the Ship of Theseus logic will only be revealed in future Marvel shows and movies.
Is Red Vision dead or alive?
It’s better to stop measuring Vision’s life by both human and Superhero standards at this point. In the episode finale, we come to know that the Red Vision is Wanda’s creation and so, subject to the rules of her magic. If she recreated once, it’s very likely that she can recreate him again. The question is, will she do it knowing what a hefty price an entire town had to pay for it? Unless the Scarlet Witch can find a better way to resurrect her dead husband, we must assume that he will continue to stay in whatever limbo he does.
Monica Rambeau, Jimmy Woo, and Darcy Lewis explained
Monica Rambeau, Jimmy Woo, and Darcy Lewis worked together as a really powerful team from the periphery through the show. While one tried to bring Wanda to her conscious realization, the other two worked from the outside to stop S.W.O.R.D (especially Tyler Hayward) from achieving its malicious intent. These three characters came out as minor heroes themselves in the final episode. Here’s the down-low on all three and their treatment in the final episode.
Monica Rambeau comes into her role as a leader in Season 1. Now that Tyler Hayward is gone, Monica might actually become the new leader of S.W.O.R.D. That possibility aside, we also know that someone from the Skrull’s side is trying to get in touch with her. So she is definitely very crucial to MCU moving forward.
Jimmy Woo’s card tricks really paid off in the end. He was able to free himself, call his agent friend ‘Cliff’, and get Tyler Hayward arrested. In many ways, he was the biggest hero because having to deal with Tyler Hayward as a minor villain with legal authority was not something anyone was looking forward to.
Darcy Lewis was another fireball of a character who did her thing and bailed in episode 9 because debriefs are for the weak. She was instrumental in taking down Tyler Haywards thanks to all the hard evidence she had collected against him. Once her job was done, she pretty much disappeared.
What about Billy and Tommy?
Wanda’s twin children were another massive casualty in the final episode of WandaVision. We knew that once the Hex was removed, the children would disappear along with their father and that’s exactly what happened. Wanda made sure to keep them relaxed and happy, in the comfort of their beds when she drew the cover of the Hex off of them. It honestly felt like the children died because they literally just disappeared in the penultimate scene that focuses more on Wanda and Vision.
Fortunately, the post-credit scenes gave us some hope in the form of their cries for help. As the Scarlet Witch studies the Darkhold, the scene comes to a close with her being able to hear the cries of Billy and Tommy, so there might still be hope in the case of the twins.
What about Agatha Harkness?
Wanda manages to neutralize the malicious Agatha Harkness by unleashing the tremendous power of the Scarlet Witch. It was not even a fair fight after that point and we knew that it’s game over for Agatha. The Scarlet Witch then goes on to brutally punish the New Salem witch in a physically non-violent by controlling her mind and turning her back into the nosy neighbor that she was in Wanda’s Westview.
Setting-up for Doctor Strange 2
There is not a single reliable clue that we can work off of when it comes to Doctor Strange 2. If Agatha’s claim regarding Wanda’s chaos magic making her more powerful than the Sorcerer Supreme holds any kind of truth or merit, we might be able to predict the big villain and even see the Scarlet Witch’s mention in the Doctor Strange 2 movie that is coming at the end of this month.
Possibility of the main villain being Mephisto, Chthon, or Nightmare
While there was no mention of either in the last episode of WandaVision, speculation regarding either of these big-time Hell-Lords joining the narrative could be very much possible. Besides the fact that Wanda derives her powers from him in the comics, the moment we saw the Darkhold or the book of Darkness as it is also called, Chthon as a potential villain became a very real possibility.
Nightmare and Mephisto, on the other hand, are slightly weak contenders because all theories about them come from speculations. Mephisto still has a stronger claim because there is hope that Billy and Tommy might still be alive and in the comics, Wanda uses Mephistos powers to become pregnant with the twins. Anything can happen at this point and it’s definitely too early to tell who the main villain could be if there even is one.
So, there is a lot to digest in terms of information and occurrences in the finale of WandaVision. However, the execution of the show was absolutely marvelous and director Matt Shakman deserves all the applause he can get for his brilliant direction. It’s one thing to control the narrative of a show that has a linear narrative, but it’s another when there are inspirations from other sitcoms and timezones in history. It was a tough brief and he met it very gracefully, kudos to him for WandaVision.
