After we stepped outside of the sitcom world in last week’s episode, WandaVision returned this week with viewers having much more context to this bizarre story. Of course, having more information helped to explain a lot of things, but there are still so many questions surrounding this series and this week’s episode, titled “On a Very Special Episode…,” only added to that total.
Spoilers ahead!
This episode drops us right back into Wanda’s sitcom world, now with an 80s motif. Wanda and Vision struggle to get their twin boys to sleep. Wanda even tries to use magic on them but they appear to be immune to her abilities. Here is where we see the shot we’ve seen from early trailers for the series, in which Wanda and Vision see the pacifiers shot back up into their faces after the babies reject them.
Right as Wanda says they need some help with the babies, the doorbell rings and Agnes enters, nearly catching Vision in his true form. She explains that she heard the twins were on a “sleep strike: and came to help. Vision, suspicious of their neighbor, asked who told her that and she jokingly explains that she could hear them crying. Vision laughs it off but still appears to be suspicious.
Agnes offers to help and Vision declines her offers, visibly confusing her. Agnes turns to Wanda and asks if she wants here to “take that again.” Vision and Wanda share a look of confusion and Agnes asks if they should take it from the top, as if they are actors on a television show. Wanda quickly puts a stop to the break in character and encourages her to help with the babies. Vision is disturbed by what he saw and tries to question Wanda about it, but she assures him that everything is fine. The crying stops and the couple goes to check on their babies, who are now missing from their cribs. As Wanda and Vision question what’s happening, a child’s voice calls out from behind them and they turn to see the twins, now five years old. They embrace their children and we cut to a new introduction and theme song.
The intro features baby pictures of the two stars of the show and by that I mean Wanda and Vision. Yes, that includes a picture of a baby Vision, which of course never existed and is honestly a bit nightmarish. It’s also worth noting that Billy and Tommy wear clothes that mirror their looks from the comics.
As the intro comes to an end, we hear some interference and come back out to the real world. We hear Monica being questioned about her experience in the sitcom world and she describes it as “pain” and “Wanda’s voice in my head.” She also says there was a hopeless feeling keeping her down and uses the word “grief.” We see that she’s undergoing some sort of brain scan before Jimmy Woo and Darcy enter. They tell Monica there’s a briefing in 10 minutes before the doctor tells them they need to run another scan because something is wrong with the machine. Darcy points out that the scans are blank. When the doctor says they need to draw more blood, Monica tells her they’re done here and begins to get dressed for the briefing.
Director Hayward lays out the situation for his team, now classifying Wanda as the “principal victimizer.” Woo provides history on Wanda and defends her when Hayward, on multiple occasions, point out her destructive tendencies. He also notably asks if Wanda has an alias, pointing to the fact that the name “Scarlet Witch” has not yet been used in the MCU. Monica also defends Wanda after Hayward refers to her as a terrorist. He points out that Monica described her experience in the sitcom as both “excruciating” and “terrifying.” Monica explains that she only survived her experience because Wanda protected her.
In order to further convince his team of Wanda’s dangerous intentions, he shares previously classified footage of Wanda infiltrating a S.W.O.R.D. facility where Vision’s corpse was being held. He explains that, nine days ago, Wanda stormed the facility, stole the Vision’s body and resurrected him. Woo points out that her actions violate the Sokovia Accords and Hayward adds Vision’s living will to that list. Woo points out that Vision “didn’t want to be anybody’s weapon.” Hayward adds that, “in her grief,” Wanda disregarded Vision’s wishes. Woo asks how she even managed to bring Vision back to life and Darcy wonders what’s going to happen when Vision learns the truth.
We jump back into the sitcom world where we see the twin hiding something in the kitchen sink. Wanda discovers that the boys have found a dog and ask to keep him. Vision enters in his human form. When Wanda asks him about his disguise, he explains he had a hunch someone might pop over. Right on queue, Agnes comes in the back door with a dog house, which Vision finds odd. Agnes asks the boys if they’ve named the dog yet and, after the dog somehow short circuits and outlet, suggests they go with Sparky. They of course stick with this name as Sparky is actually a synthezoid dog from the comics owned by Vision and his entirely synthezoid family. He does have a very different appearance in the show, however.
With Agnes still in the room, Wanda uses her powers to create a collar and nametag for the dog. Vision points out that she made no effort to conceal her abilities and Wanda explains she’s tired of hiding and tells him he doesn’t have to either. That prompts Vision to question Wanda regarding what she might be keeping from him. They’re interrupted by Billy asking again if they can keep Sparky. The couple tells their children they won’t be ready for a dog until they’re at least 10 years old. The boys look at each other and age themselves up to the age of 10, despite objections from their parents.
Back in the real world, Monica and Darcy try to come up with solutions. More importantly, Woo finally delivers a cup of coffee to Darcy! Monica says she knows an aerospace engineer who would be up for this challenge and begins sending a message on her phone. This could be a reference to a wide array of characters, with James Rhodes perhaps being the first on our radar.
Darcy refers to the sitcom world as “The Hex,” due to the recurring presence of hexagons. This gives us a snappier name for the anomaly and makes things easier for everyone going forward. Thanks Darcy. Woo questions if they’ve identified the twins yet and Monica tells him they’re really Wanda’s and everything happening inside the Hex is real. Darcy and Woo point out that Wanda usually makes people see illusions and that creating real matter would be a far greater power they’ve ever seen from her. Monica points out she showed some great power when she almost took out Thanos on her own. Woo responds that Captain Marvel almost did the same, which cause Monica to pause.
Monica notices an image of the drone they sent into the Hex earlier and asks to be shown to the lab. Once there, she finds the 70s-style wardrobe she wore in the Hex. Darcy and Woo question if they’re being mind controlled to see the clothing and Monica assures them it’s real. She even grab’s Woo’s gun and shoots at the outfit. She points out that the clothes are 87% kevlar because she was wearing a bulletproof vest when she entered the Hex. That leads her to the conclusion that Wanda isn’t creating an illusion, she’s rewriting reality. She then questions what would happen if they sent something into the Hex that didn’t require any change to fit with the current theme inside.
In the Hex, we return to Vision’s office for the first time since the first episode. Vision tries to teach Norm how to use the internet when the entire office receives an email from S.W.O.R.D. and begins reading it out loud. Vision, once again suspicious of what’s going on, uses his power to turn off the computer and turns to Norm. He uses his power to awaken the real Westview resident who immediately begins to panic. The real world person playing Norm pleads for help and tells Vision he has to stop “her.” As he yells for Vision to make “her” stop, Vision uses his power again to return Norm back to his normal sitcom self.
Wanda and the boys play with Sparky in their house and the boys begin to question Wanda about where their father is. When she tells them he’s at work, they begin to debate over what day it is. Wanda abandons her initial explanation that it’s Monday and instead explains that there was an emergency at the office. Wanda goes into a classic sitcom speech about how “family is forever” and the boys ask her if she has a brother. With a distant look, she explains that she does but that he’s “far away from here” and that makes her sad.
They’re discussion is interrupted when Sparky begins to bark at the door. Wanda goes outside to investigate, letting Sparky run out the door. An old S.W.O.R.D. drone is seen flying over Westview and Hayward and his team get a visual of Wanda. Woo points out that the drone is out of frame on the broadcast and Darcy explains that Wanda is controlling the shot. Monica attempts to communicate with Wanda, but instead we see her eyes glow red. Monica says her controls aren’t working and Hayward orders another agent to “take the shot.” The drone feed is lost and Monica stands to question Hayward.
An alarm begins to sound and an agent explains that there’s another breach. Everyone rushes to the border of the Hex where they see Wanda emerge from the forcefield, dragging their destroyed drone. Wanda gives S.W.O.R.D. their “only warning” to stay out of her home. She tells them she won’t bother them but Hayward explains she’s taken an entire town hostage. When Monica approaches, Wanda begins to use her powers, with the familiar red glow. Monica pleads with Wanda to trust her explaining that she knows she’s an ally. Wanda questions how she can help and explains that she has what she wants. She then uses her powers to have the soldiers turn their guns on Hayward and retreats back into the Hex.
We then get out next commercial, this time for “Lagos Brand” paper towels. This of course is a reference to Wanda’s experience in Lagos from Captain America: Civil War, in which she failed to save several citizens from an explosion. The ad even uses the tagline “for when you make a mess you didn’t mean to.”
Back inside the Hex, Wanda and the boys go looking for Sparky. They come across Agnes, holding what appears to be Sparky wrapped up in a blanket. She explains that she found the dog in her azalea bushes and couldn’t stop him before it was too late. The boys share a look and Wanda stops them before they can age themselves up again. They argue over whether or not Wanda should use her abilities to “fix the dead.” Agnes, seemingly shocked, questions that Wanda can do that. Instead, Wanda tries to teach her boys a lesson about the rules in life, explaining that they can’t reverse death, no matter how sad it makes them. The boys continue to plead with her as Vision arrives. He comforts his children as Wanda shows a troubled look.
Back at home, Vision confronts Wanda about what he saw with Norm. He tells her he was in pain and shrugs off her attempted distractions. He tells her she can’t control him and she responds with “can’t I?” The audience applauds and credits begin to roll but Vision refuses to let the argument end. He confronts her again, eventually using his powers to take a fighting stance. Wanda takes a stance of her own and explains that “all of this” is for them. When Vision questions what’s outside of Westview, she tells him he doesn’t want to know. Wanda explains that she doesn’t know how any of this started in the first place and Vision tells her what she’s doing is wrong.
Their argument is interrupted by the doorbell. Wanda opens the door and appears to be shocked. We cut back out to the S.W.O.R.D. base where we see Darcy notice the broadcast. Vision questions who is at the door and we pan to see white hair. After seeing both Darcy and Wanda stunned, it’s revealed that Pietro is standing at the door. Only, it’s not the Pietro we know from the MCU. Instead, it’s Evan Peters, the actor who portrayed the character in several X-Men films. The audience cheers at his reveal and Darcy questions that “she recast pietro.” Quicksilver steps inside the house and shares an emotional embrace with his sister before asking “who’s the popsicle?” in reference to Vision.
This is obviously a huge shock ending that opens the door to some incredible things for the future of the MCU. Were were all just introduced to the multiverse? What was another great episode of this series, loaded with tons of other questions and Marvel Comics references, is sure to be overshadowed by this groundbreaking finish. Wanda has been reunited with her brother, but not the one we expected. What does this mean for the future of the MCU?
You can watch WandaVision on Disney+ now.