Major Spoilers ahead
Wandavision’s latest modern family inspired episode wastes a lot of time but kicks into gear in the final third with a twist ending
Wandavision continues to take audiences through the eras, literally. Last week’s Halloween episode took inspiration from Malcolm in the Middle and whilst it was not the best episode, it certainly was enjoyable. In particular, it was a delight seeing Evan Peters, who played Quicksilver in the X-Men films, appear as “Uncle Pietro”, a new arrival who claimed to be Wanda’s long lost brother. The episode also upped the stakes with the Hex expanding to engulf the SWORD campus. Now Wandavision picks up the morning after with a Modern Family inspired episode. This episode contains some filler but really picks up in the final third where it ends with a big reveal which sets the stage for the final two episodes.
Modern Family Inspiration
Once again, this episode of Wandavision has an apt title, “Breaking the Fourth Wall”. Taking inspiration from Modern Family, characters regularly break the fourth wall in interviews where they say what is on their mind. Another source inspiration is the Office. The opening credits and the documentary style of the episode are clearly inspired by the two shows. At this point in Wandavision, the novelty of the sitcom format has slightly worn out. This episode in particular does not make the best use of the format and the inventiveness of the earlier episodes is lacking. However, the actors once again fully commit to the set up. Elizabeth Olsen’s acting, for example, is on point as Wanda this episode is a lot like Julie Bowen’s Claire Dunphy.
The cliffhanger last episode does not lead to much apart from Darcy now being a part of the Hex as an escape artist. Once she is no longer being mind controlled, Darcy interacts with Vision and catches him up with what happened to him before Westview. These scenes with Darcy and Vision are fun but they are also very filler. These scenes could have taken up less time with the same result and for this episode at least they do not affect the story in a major way. The main scenes to watch out for involve Wanda yet the show too often pivots away from her. Fortunately, this episode does not spend too much time with Director Hayward who is turning out to be a bland antagonist. However, there is one exciting development in this episode which does not involve Wanda and that is Monica finally showing off her powers.
Monica’s powers
The Hex has expanded but Monica and Jimmy escaped. They have people working with them on the outside to get Monica safely back into the Hex. This is a key development in the show and the writers wisely waste no time here. Whilst Monica’s initial attempt to cross the boundary in a vehicle fails, she straight away and rather impulsively runs into the Hex. Crossing the barrier requires a lot of effort and Monica emerges in the Hex with blue eyes and powers which are on display in a confrontation with Wanda. After some teasing in earlier episodes, Monica’s powers have now been revealed. Although they are only briefly on display and we still do not know the extent of her abilities, Marvel is here evidently taking a cue from the comics. In the comics, Monica is the superhero Photon who has energy related powers like in Wandavision. This is an exciting development not just for Wandavision but for the overall MCU. Teyonah Parris is set to reprise her role as Monica Rambeau in Captain Marvel 2 so it will be interesting to see how the character develops in the final episodes of Wandavision and beyond.
The Main Villain is…
The end of Wandavision is really when things start to get interesting setting the stage for the conclusion of the show in the next two episodes. The final reveal is that the main villain is none other than Agnes, Wanda’s neighbour who has been there from the very start of Wandavision. As many fans predicted, Agnes is none other than Agatha Harkness, an infamous witch in the comics. This reveal is dramatic as Wanda’s children are nowhere to be seen and Wanda ventures down to the basement: Such a classic creepy scenario. However, it is also done in quirky fashion with a scene accompanied with a musical number which explains what Agatha has been doing in the previous episodes. The cast are again having a lot of fun with Wandavision as this time Kathryn Hahn fully leans into the cheesiness when she reveals herself as an evil witch with a lair. The reveal is a fairly predictable one but the episode makes the most of it. One can only hope that the show does not pin everything on Agatha. That would take away from the themes of trauma that the show has been exploring in previous episodes with Wanda just wanting a normal life with Vision.
One question that is still left unanswered is who exactly this imposter Pietro is. Clearly he was sent there by Agatha to cause trouble but who is he? He could be Agatha’s son, Nicholas Scratch as in the comics, working with her. Or he could be brainwashed like all the others. Underneath the facade, he could indeed still be a Multiverse version of Quicksilver or he could merely be a random citizen. The Multiverse was maybe teased this episode with the Nexus ad. Nexus in the comics is related to the Multiverse so the ad could be a nod towards that or maybe not. There are so many things to read into in Wandavision and only until all the show has aired will fans know which theories were right and which were wrong. Mephisto might still appear in Wandavision! No one knows yet. The weekly format continues to pay off for Marvel in a big way and anticipation for the final two episodes could not be higher.
Conclusion
Overall, the Modern Family influence in this episode is great but the episode is not as inventive with it as in previous ones. There are also a lot of filler moments. Time is unnecessarily wasted but in the final third or so of the episode, everything kicks into gear. Things get interesting and there are big reveals setting the stage for the final two episodes. We get a glimpse at Monica’s powers and this perhaps signals that she will go on to become the superhero Photon as in the comics. Wandavision though saves its biggest reveal for the final moment pulling back the curtain on the real villain of the show in dramatic and quirky fashion. Agnes is revealed to be the witch, Agatha Harkness, as many fans had suspected and this changes the dynamic of the entire show going into the final two episodes. This twist is predictable but handled well. Hopefully, having another villain pulling the strings will not take away from the trauma aspect of the show going forward.
The final two episodes of Wandavision are highly anticipated and Marvel has so far kept them a complete secret. Literally anything could happen. As ever, there are still questions to be answered and fans still do not know whether the Multiverse will even be a part of Wandavision. With still so much to address, the final two episodes will hopefully be straight to the point and a climactic end to the MCU’s fantastic first venture into TV on Disney Plus.