It’s rather appropriate that the seventh episode of WandaVision kicked off with a massive breakdown of Disney Plus. The show caused a stir on Twitter as people couldn’t get onto the streaming service to log in and watch the episode.
It’s also rather fitting that one of the main talking points on Twitter has been WandaVision’s “big bad.” “When will the big bad appear?” and “Why is the show taking so long to set them up?” was a big part of the online discourse.
Episode 7 answered us almost directly — breaking the fourth wall and talking to the audience about just what’s been going on.
It’s All a Circus
After waking up and having a fourth-wall-breaking moment talking about the events of the last episode and how she’s struggling, Wanda assumes a position familiar to many people in quarantine — living on their couch in sweatpants and a bathrobe watching ungodly amounts of television. Much like the rest of us (perhaps this is too much fourth walling) Wanda then assures the audience that she’s fine and that she’s going to fix things murmuring “I’m fine,” over and over again.
Jumping to Jimmy Woo and Monica was a treat. Monica is on the verge of greatness and we finally get to meet her engineer who turns out to be someone loyal to her mother. While fans might be upset it’s not Reed Richards, it sets up a very interesting fact about SWORD that I’ll touch on later.
We meet Darcy the escape artist who Vision helps escape (both mentally and physically) and the two of them flee the former SWORD circus.
“Do you think maybe this is what you deserve?”
Children of the 90s who came of age in the 2010s will remember commercials like the one for Nexus, advertising anti-depressants before they became commonplace trying to convince people to take them. After Wanda laments that she can’t fix it and the interviewer asks “do you think this is what you deserve?” Nexus asks us to come back to reality, or at least the reality of our choice.
While Wanda falls, Monica rises — literally — in the space rover her engineer designed. She narrowly escapes as the Rover is re-written but Monica faces her truth and her destiny, walking through the Hex to save Westview.
While there she faces her powers, or the growth of her powers, and has a quiet yet powerful superhero origin story (perfect to explore in a series of her own perhaps?). Facing her destiny and being reminded of her relationship with Carol Danvers, Monica strides through and sees the world in a whole new light — or at least on a whole new spectrum.
The soldier turned superhero makes her way through the Hex and heads to Wanda’s house. Her journey is more direct while Vision and Darcy’s is a little more meandering. Vision speculates that Wanda is trying to slow him down from getting to her. Darcy takes the time to catch Vision up on what he’s missed. In a nod to all of us (because the meta nature of this show never stops) Darcy shares with Vision what she’s observed.
“I’ve only been watching WandaVision for a week, and the love you two have is real.”
That’s enough to make Vision realize where his priorities lie. Monica and Wanda reconnect in a more violent way however with Wanda realizing that she and Monica might be on the same level powers-wise. Everything ends with Vision on the way to his wife, Darcy stuck in traffic (poor Darcy) and Wanda visiting the neighbors — but as we’ve been taught Agnes is a bit too nosy for her own good.
It Was Agatha All Along
The long-running theory of Agnes’s true motives is finally confirmed. Now that Wanda’s in her house everything seems considerably darker than the rest of Westview.
When told to go down to the basement, Wanda does so encountering a room looking like something out of Doctor Strange and a book that Agents of SHIELD fans might recognize. Darkhold or not (or another universe’s Darkhold) it seems like Marvel will forever pay tribute to its flagship television show (and rightfully so).
The place glows with purple energy and evil — very different from Doctor Strange — and horror fans should start to get excited. We’re getting a glimpse of what horror looks like in the MCU with Agatha’s lair just a taste of what’s hopefully to come!
True believers need to stay after the “Credits.” While Marvel may have jumped to streaming it’ll always love the movies and we get our first end credits scene for a Marvel Disney+ show, featuring Monica… and the mysterious “Pietro.” Episodes 8 and 9 can’t come soon enough!
End Credits Thoughts
- Monica setting up rifts in SWORD could be setting up Secret Invasion. Much like the SHIELD/HYDRA debacle the moral of the story is don’t trust government agencies (except the post office. Who doesn’t like Dan the Mailman?)
- I have no confirmation that the book is in fact the Darkhold. It could be a book that looks just *like* the Darkhold but it could be a witchy book like a grimoire or a book of magic if you will. Though the Darkhold was also a book of magic. Avenues to alternate realities have been explored before but now we’re really getting into the meat of this.
- Who —or what — is Ralph???
Did you like episode 7 of WandaVision? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!