The penultimate episode of WandaVision took us away from the sitcom format we have grown to know over the last seven episodes for something different that will drive us into an epic finale next week to the series.
Be aware, there are spoilers for the latest episode of WandaVision throughout the rest of the review, so a spoiler warning is in effect.
Spoiler Warning
The episode starts with an introduction to Agatha Harkness. We see her brought to a stake in 17th century Salem, in what initially appears to be a witch-burning. But this is not the case. It is actually a group of witches putting her on trial for breaking their rules, including her mother.
After they determine her guilt they begin attacking her with magic. She ends up using this against them, rapidly aging the entire group at once, then her mother to protect herself from their attacks.
She then takes something from her mother before leaving.
Once arriving back in Westview, we begin exactly where we left off, with Wanda being controlled by Agatha Harkness in her basement lair. She has enchanted the room so only she can use her magic, making Wanda powerless to stop anything she does.
Agatha reveals some of what she has done throughout the course of the series, including controlling Pietro, but that she is still clueless of how Wanda was able to achieve these feats.
This then drives the primary story of the episode, diving into Wanda's complicated past through a series of moments led by Agatha Harkness.
We begin with a look back at Wanda, Pietro, and their parents in war-torn Cold War Sokovia. The family is having a television night to practice their English and Wanda chooses for them to watch an episode of the Dick Van Dyke show.
This is used as an introduction to Wanda's love for American sitcoms, as they were her escape as a child with little to be hopeful about. We see her parents with many of the sitcoms that inspired episodes of WandaVision before things are suddenly interrupted.
Their apartment is bombed and her parents are killed, meanwhile, Wanda and Pietro are left stranded under a bed watching a dud Stark bomb ticking. It is this red light and ticking that inspired the toaster from the first episode that was the first use of color in the series.
From this point, we move to the Hydra base where Wanda is participating in experiments with the mind stone.
She becomes the only survivor of this experience and has a strange vision from the stone before being rendered unconscious. It is this that created what we have seen as her powers from Age of Ultron through WandaVision, although the exact details are left mysterious.
We then move to Wanda and Vision getting to know one another following the death of Pietro.
Wanda introduces Vision to her love of sitcoms as he tries to help her with her loss, but not fully understanding the concept of grief. It is a small moment that helped to build their eventual relationship.
We then move to SWORD after the death of Vision, where Wanda is attempting to get the body of Vison to give it a proper funeral, peacefully at the reception desk.
It becomes immediately apparent that the footage shown to us earlier of these events was altered, as Wanda was willingly let into SWORD to meet with the director, and did not break in as we were told earlier.
She is shown SWORD dismantling Vison's body, and after some tension, she is allowed to closely observe it. She uses her powers on his head and remarks that even with her powers she can tell he isn't there.
She then leaves SWORD in her car without Vision, following the instructions of a note.
This note brings her to a plot of land purchased by Vision in the town of Westview New Jersey that he had started building a house on for them to grow old together in.
It is at this moment that all of Wanda's grief comes rising to the surface and she explodes in her emotion which expresses itself through her powers.
The foundations begin transforming into the house we have seen in the series in a pixelated manner through her powers.
The entire town is turned to black and white in an instant, with every object, person, and building befitting the new 1950s time period.
We then shift back to Wanda's house, where we see Vision, emerging from her powers fully formed. He appears in black and white and welcomes Wanda into this new sitcom-based reality.
She is shown to be aware of this false reality, looking at the cameras and lighting equipment, but she chooses to embrace it for more time with Vision.
Agatha meanwhile is shown to have been watching this play out from the audience, just beyond the set of Wanda's house.
This is an amazing fourth wall breakage, that shows the falseness of the reality we have lived through this show in by harkening back to another classic element of sitcoms, the live audience.
Agatha then leaves to go to Wanda's children, instantly followed by Wanda in persuit.
Billy and Tommy are shown outside to be captured by Agatha, now shown in full witch attire flying above the street.
She expresses fear over the strength of Wanda's power, calling it chaos magic, and that she may fulfill some kind of prophecy she knows of about the Scarlet Witch.
This is where the episode ends, but like last week there is a post-credits scene.
The scene takes us outside the hex for the only time this week in the present. SWORD has found a way to rebuild Vision as a blank template, and uses Wanda's powers to reactivate him.
It is unclear if this is Vision, or some new character, but it will almost certainly be an element of the finale next week.
WandaVision has been a master at building a slowly revealed mystery, giving just enough answers each week while leaving the majority of events unexplained. With just one week left, answers will be coming soon.
Check out our review of the series finale here!
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