Through the healing power of grief, Wanda Maximoff discovers new strength within herself.
Spoilers Below
In WandaVision Episode Nine, “The Series Finale,” directed by Matt Shakman, Wanda and Vision battle both Agatha Harkness and the Hayward led S.W.O.R.D. for their home. The miniseries ends with an emotionally poignant episode that is full of action and suspense. Has Wanda and Vision’s love come to an end?
The revelation of “Fake Pietro” real identity is supremely disappointing. Fake Pietro locks Monica up in his bachelor pad. In the first half of the episode, Fake Pietro seems like he is Peter Maximoff from the X Men Universe since the living room looka like his basement in Days of Future Past. But then Monica figures out Agatha is controlling Fake Pietro through his necklace. She pulls off the necklace revealing Fake Pietro to be local actor Ralph Bohner. I wish that the WandaVision writers had decided to write a more engaging storyline where Agatha had somehow kidnapped Peter from his world, opening the possibility for Multi-Universe storylines for the MCU. Instead, Evan Peters is wasted as a mere Easter Egg in this miniseries.
Wanda lets go of her illusions allowing for personal growth. The Westview Sitcom World has enabled Wanda to live in all the lost possibilities that Vision’s death destroyed. Scarlet Witch unconsciously chose sitcoms as the vehicle because it’s always been a comfort source for her, and it’s a space where nothing truly horrible ever happens. Anything sad or complicated is wrapped up in the episode it appeared in and is never heard about again. Wanda pushed all of her pain into the minds of all the Westview citizens that she controlled. They shared her nightmares and shared her emotional agony during the day. Agatha reveals this to Wanda when she lifts Scarlet Witch’s control over them. People lash out when they suppress their grief. Wanda needs to let go of all of her denial of death to help everybody she hurt.
When Wanda faces the truth, she is finally able to defeat Agatha. Agatha wants all of Wanda’s magic. She promises Wanda that if she lets her steal her powers, the ancient witch will fix the spell that created the Westview Sitcom World. Wanda, her family, and everybody in Westview can live a pain-free life. Something that is impossible since life is never without its bumps. Agatha thinks she has won when Wanda can’t let her family go and save everybody by dropping all the Westview Sitcom World illusions. Instead, she starts blindly attacking the ancient witch, allowing her to absorb all her power. But like in Marvel Comics, Agatha “mentored” Wanda. In episode eight, Agatha instructed Wanda that only the witch casting specific runes in a room can use their magic. Scarlet Witch cast runes on all the spell barriers surrounding the Westview Sitcom World. Wanda makes Agatha think she won; instead, she is absorbing the villain’s magic. By embracing her Scarlet Witch persona, she becomes an actual superhero, even getting a new costume. Wanda is now ready to let go of her manifested dreams of what could of been.
Wanda slowly erases the Westview Sitcom World giving herself time to say goodbye to her family. The most beautiful moment is right before the erasure hits their home. Vision and Wanda discuss how they have said goodbye before, meaning they will likely say hello again. The existence of White Vision makes the continuation of their love story highly likely. S.W.O.R.D. programmed White Vision to destroy “conditional” Vision. The programmed synthezoid has no memories of his past, making him easy to control. During the primary fight, “conditional” Vision uses the thought experiment of the “Ship of Theseus” (that’s all about what makes something the original object) to convince White Vision that he is the real Vision. He takes out the memory block from the resurrected synthezoid. White Vision’s eyes change as he remembers everything, then he announces that ” I am Vision.” White Vision flies off. Maybe when the newly minted Vision and Wanda meet again, their love story can start anew.
The end credit scenes open up all sorts of possibilities for future MCU media. The first one starts right after Wanda flies away. A female detective tells Monica that somebody wants to talk to her in the old Westview movie theatre. When they enter the movie theatre, the detective transforms back into a Skrull. Skrulls are aliens that can mimic the form of any living being. The female Skrull tells Monica that a friend of her mother wants to meet her in space. The scene is an Easter Egg from Captain Marvel where Carol introduces Monica’s mother Maria to Talos, a Skrull General looking for a safe home planet for his people.
During the second end credit sequence, Wanda is living in a secluded cabin in the European countryside. These new living arrangements remind me of when Bruce Banner lived alone in a cabin trying to get his Hulk persona under control. There is an illusion that Wanda is making tea, but in actuality, she is floating in the air while reading a book about magic. The witch’s penance is learning how to control “the Scarlet Witch” inside her before re-entering society. Wanda hears one of her twins calling for help. Is this just a memory? A symptom of Wanda’s grieving process. Or do Tommy and Billy still somehow exist? There is no scene showing the twins disappearing at the end of the episode.
” The Series Finale” explores the beauty and pain in grief. WandaVision is a perfect television show for this time when too many people have lost family and friends before their time.
