Well, it certainly appears that things are quickly spiraling out of control – both for our titular couple and for the SWORD team led by the morally ambiguous Tyler Hayward, which means we’re heading into the final stretch of WandaVision. With Vision unable to truly break free of the hold Wanda has on Westview and those within it (and, really, considering he was about to die outside of the reach of Wanda’s powers, I can’t say I’m sad he will presumably live for several more episodes – what can I say, Viz is really growing on me), and Wanda being forced to use her powers to absorb even more of the outside world into her fantasy (which cannot mean anything good for those trapped on the outer edges, as we’ve seen Wanda isn’t able to keep those outside of her immediate reach animated and active), well, how much longer will Wanda be able to keep this up before everything comes crashing down?
While “All-New Halloween Spooktacular!” offered a deeper look into the mechanics of Wanda’s Westview (how she handles “characters” who aren’t part of the action), it offered more questions for us to ponder when it comes to several of the key characters within the story. For starters, there’s Peter, who as we discussed last week is the Fox X-Men version of the character and not the MCU one who tragically died during Age of Ultron. Wanda notices the difference, and Peter is absolutely aware he’s not wearing the right face now – although he doesn’t seem all that concerned with the change. Peter was also super vague when discussing how he arrived in Westview, making it appear that there’s definitely something fishy going on here (I’ll have some thoughts on that at the end of the review). This Peter doesn’t have a ton of details on Piotr and Wanda’s childhood (is it because he’s not from this universe . . . or is it something more sinister?), but he absolutely knows exactly what Wanda is up to with her fantasy world and isn’t afraid to ask some uncomfortable questions that Wanda doesn’t want to think about.
But, at some point, Wanda is going to have to start reckoning with her pain in a more constructive way. I’m not sure Vision will be able to get through to her, and I know Monica won’t (as she’s tried and failed already). If we’re assuming this is still a riff on House of M, well, I guess Doctor Strange could factor into things as he does in that series (and, of course, we know Wanda is part of the next Doctor Strange film as well). Perhaps Wanda isn’t going to start healing in this series and her anger and pain will continue to spread beyond the borders of Westview and begin to engulf more and more of the world, creating a global crisis? I mean, that would be a hell of a tease for the next Doctor Strange film, after all – a Peter from another universe infiltrating this one, Wanda slowly taking over the world, possible influences of nefarious characters urging her along. But there’s a large part of me that really wants to see the series continue to focus on Wanda’s path to healing. This is a show centered around her grief and her desire to recapture the love she has lost. It would be a shame if the series ultimately pushed that resolution off onto another writer and another character’s star vehicle. At this point, Wanda (and Elizabeth Olsen) has more than earned the right to complete the telling of this part of her story herself.
As for additional lingering questions, well, there are the ones surrounding Monica. We know that her time in the hex world changed her on a cellular level, so does this mean we’re going to start seeing Monica begin exhibiting some powers of her own, bringing her more in line with her comic counterpart? And who is this mysterious scientist who is coming to help her out (there are a number of guesses out there if you want to take a look – I’m still not sure which route the show wants to go with it)? And the ones surrounding just how Peter arrived in the fantasy without Wanda actively calling him there. And what about Billy and Tommy? They are clearly manifesting their powers, but if they are truly extensions of Wanda’s vision, will they die off when the fantasy comes to a close? Or will they somehow factor into it continuing to expand beyond its current scope? Lots of questions and only a handful of episodes left in which to answer them. I’m excited to see what else is in store.
WandaVision Theories/Easter Eggs:
— So, Agnes dressed up as a witch for Halloween pretty much confirms she’s Agatha Harkness, right?
— Ok, let’s dive into some more Peter/Pietro speculation. I think we can all agree something is really up with this character. He’s not acting like his X-Men counterpart, and the show took great pains to remind us just what happened to Pietro in Age of Ultron in the previously piece. Add that to Peter knowing WAY too much about what Wanda is doing (the question about what Wanda did with the kids prior to this episode was particularly chilling – he seemed super impressed that she came up with a seemingly “kind” way to keep them out of the story until she needed them and considering we have been shown multiple times how horrifying this experience is for all the adults within Westview, well, I don’t particularly care for how chipper Peter was when talking about the moral implications of this fantasy world), and well, I’m starting to think we might be dealing with Mephisto after all. Plus there were all the references to Hell and devils Peter was tossing out – and the callous “Your dead husband can’t die a second time!” Yeah, this isn’t really Pietro – any version of him – and something weird is going on here. Considering one of the twins is worried he might be a vampire . . . perhaps someone trying to suck the power from Wanda while she goes about her work (which would tie into the commercial about snacking off magic)?
— There’s been some speculation that perhaps Magneto, who is hinted to be this Peter’s father in the Fox X-Men series, is somehow involved in things here. After all, Vision was made of metal and put back together (although we still don’t know how well he was put back together, seeing as when he “died” in the real world again he looked pretty destroyed). But I just can’t see Marvel throwing him into the mix here, without the time to explain (organically and not via an exposition dump of dialogue) how he exists in this reality. Magneto is incredibly powerful, but even he doesn’t have the ability to jump to new universes without some help.
— I loved the Kick-Ass reference. A fun meta joke.
— And I suspect everyone recognized the classic comic Vision and Scarlet Witch costumes? But did you catch Billy wearing a kid version of his own Wiccan costume?
— Now that Darcy is in the fantasy realm, the series would be remiss if it didn’t have her working in a diner a la Kat Dennings’ 2011 sitcom 2 Broke Girls. I know next episode should only cover the first decade of the 2000s, but come on, they have to do it, right?
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