WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS OF “WANDAVISION”
I was reluctant to watch WandaVision. After all, I never read the comic books and I barely remember what happened in each movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (“MCU”), except for the main characters, like Captain America, Iron Man, etc. Still, after a few friends recommended it to me, I decided to give it a go, but only after reading a brief summary online of what had happened to Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) in the previous movies.
So, to recap, Vision was killed during Avengers: Infinity War and Wanda had to witness it. How is it possible, then, to have a show starring both of them? That’s the main question that the audience faces in the first 3 episodes, when what we actually see are replicas of sitcoms from different decades: 50s, 60s, and 70s. Each of them with a specific opening theme and the respective style of clothes, dialogues, etc.
We find Wanda and Vision living in a small town called Westview, where they are leading regular lives as husband and wife. There are a few strange things happening, but it’s never explained why. After episode 4, however, the plot starts to get a bit clear, and the audience finally begins to understand that Wanda is the one who isolated that town and is controlling its inhabitants.
As the story moves along, we learn that its main plot is actually Wanda grieving Vision’s death. She created that whole illusion just to have him again in her life. That is, for me, the best character development Marvel’s had so far, allowing us to really dive deep into a character’s mental state instead of focusing only on the superhero aspect of it.
Maybe that’s why many people were a bit disappointed with WandaVision: a myriad of fan theories emerged every week, from Easter Eggs that would possibly mean that a character from the Fox franchise would appear to different scenarios of how it would end while creating a link to the new Doctor Strange movie.
If, however, you’re not attached to any of that, like me, you’ll be able to simply enjoy a show that pays tribute to television in all its formats while giving us a character so complex that makes you wonder what you would do if you had the same type of power.
The pivotal moment of the show happened during episode 8, when we are watching a flashback of Wanda and Vision at the Avengers’ compound talking about Wanda losing her brother Pietro. Vision, then, tells her that it can’t all be sorrow, since “what is grief, if not love persevering?”. That line resonated with many fans across the internet, including me. Anyone who’s ever lost a loved one immediately understands what Vision is saying and sympathizes with Wanda, as she goes through all stages of grief before our eyes.
The show has, of course, many moments familiar to the MCU, with epic battles and origin stories for other characters, but it is ultimately Wanda’s story and an invitation for the audience to reflect and properly grieve with her, regardless of what is going to happen in the next Marvel show/movie.
My advice, then, is to watch it as you would do with any other show: enjoy the story as it is presented to you, without thinking about how it will connect to the MCU. That way, you will be able to fully appreciate the production design, the score, the wardrobe and makeup of each decade, the superb acting from the whole cast, and, most importantly, the storyline. Wanda and Vision deserve our full attention.
