WandaVision boxed itself into a corner this week by requiring another detour through MCU lore for viewers who haven’t been following the universe’s larger story over the past seven years. With little time left to wrap up the season, “Previously On” leaves fans anxiously waiting for a series of flashbacks to end and for the action to begin. It never does, leaving all the exciting superhero stuff for next week’s finale.
Even so, “Previously On” is not a waste of time. It strengthens the bond between the audience and the lead characters through great acting and one profound conversation. Though undeniably inefficient, heart drives the story, and it’s becoming one of the most emotional tales that Marvel Studios has ever told.
Our gleeful and sarcastic tour guide through Wanda’s tragic past is Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), who serves as a delightful commentator and detective. Agatha prys Wanda’s mind for information on The Hex’s creation, transitions from flashback to flashback with Hahn’s signature wit, and explains Maximoff’s life story to viewers who haven’t seen Avengers: Age of Ultron.
For longtime fans, early scenes featuring Wanda’s Sokovian upbringing and HYDRA days may feel like valuable seconds squandered, but each scene ties into the events of WandaVision in creative ways. A flashback to the night Wanda’s family was killed by a Stark Industries missile gives an explanation – though it’s a bit of a stretch – for why Wanda’s idyllic world is a 1950s sitcom: Her father sold DVDs of shows like Bewitched and Dick Van Dyke and brought some home for family bonding nights. At the HYDRA base where Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) received her powers, she reveals her penchant for editing film by cutting her encounter with the Mind Stone from HYDRA’s recordings.
These scenes also make Wanda even more sympathetic. MCU fans know a Stark Industries bomb leveled her home and killed her parents, but seeing the scene unfold makes the horror tangible. Agatha criticizes her for turning to “an anti-freedom terrorist organization” as a result, but she can’t argue with Wanda’s dream to “change the world.”
The final two flashbacks are the most significant to WandaVision itself, and the first provides the origin of Wanda and Vision’s love story in what may be the series’ best scene. Vision (Paul Bettany) visits a disconsolate Wanda, still mourning her brother’s death, and provides a profound description of grief: “What is grief, if not love persevering?” Olsen and Bettany’s chemistry is always on point, but they bring this moving scene to life by pacing the dialogue perfectly. Bettany’s Vision speaks in a way that blends his robotic and human sides with precision, calculating the impact of every word before he speaks. Darcy said last week their love is real, and you can feel it come to life here.
Very much not alive is Vision in the final flashback, which pits Wanda against the insufferably arrogant SWORD Director Hayward (Josh Stamberg). Wanda asks Hayward for Vision’s corpse so he can be buried properly, but Hayward gives her a hard no. He’s cocky, and his body language conveys an artificial bravado put on to seem above her. Even though he may not be a complex and nuanced villain, Stamberg deserves credit for making him so detestable. He’s not cunning or calculating like Iron Man’s Obadiah Stane or Winter Solider’s Alexander Pierce. Hayward is an insecure dude who has no idea how to responsibly use the power he has been bestowed, and he becomes unforgivable because he has no interest in learning to.
One of his biggest transgressions is lying about Wanda stealing Vision’s corpse, a reveal that absolves Wanda almost fully of responsibility for the tragedy in Westview. She leaves the facility empty handed and drives to the town. At the site of two lost goals, the undeveloped plot of land where she first dreamed of growing old with Vision and then planned to bury him, Wanda collapses in sadness and loses control of her powers. The energy transforms the town into Westview, 1950, and also creates the copy of Vision we’ve been watching through the series.
With that, Agatha and the audience finally understand exactly what’s been going on all this time. Kathryn Hahn, looking even more witchy, holds Tommy and Billy hostage while sorting through her thoughts. Hahn plays Agatha with just the right amount of mystery. “You’re supposed to be a myth,” she says, both disappointed and impressed, “A being capable of spontaneous creation, and here you are using it to make breakfast for dinner.”
Through its ups and downs, WandaVision has been consistently excellent in the performances of its actors. “Previously on” may be a failure in planning – rehashing 2015 movies in your TV series’ penultimate episode feels less than optimal – but the cast succeeds in making it an impactful watch regardless. My eyes are already watering for the sure to be emotional finale next week.
WandaVision Episode 8 Awards
MVP: Elizabeth Olsen – The flashback sequences this week feel like an Elizabeth Olsen Best Of tape. She conveys an uneasy dread while guiding Agatha through her memories, depression and love in the Avengers HQ scene, and resignation while at SWORD. She carries the entire episode masterfully and without breaks, as she stars in almost every scene.
LVP: 30 minute episodes – This week featured another mid-credits scene that revealed White Vision’s awakening. Hayward rebuilt Vision and resurrected him with traces of magic left in the drone Wanda destroyed back in episode 5. I’m guessing the finale will be a longer episode, but there is absolutely not enough time to make us care about this foe if the runtime is the standard 30 minutes we’ve come to expect. It feels like there’s a lot more ground for WandaVision to cover and not enough time.
Most Improved: Agatha’s look – Give props to the makeup artists because Agatha looks amazing after dropping the suburban cat mom bit. She looks as intimidating and aged as a centuries old witch should. Even her nose looks a little more pointy!
Character I Least Want to Say Goodbye To: Vision – Until WandaVision, both Wanda and her synthetic boyfriend felt like low-tier Avengers. Even characters like Yondu and Hawkeye felt more important to the MCU, and it always seemed like Olsen and Bettany were being underutilized. Now that we’ve seen the depth of both Wanda and Vision, I don’t want to let these characters go. They’re one of the few remaining connections to the Infinity Saga, which makes them sentimental favorites, and they also have more stories to tell. Wanda will appear in “Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness,” but I have no idea what Vision’s fate will be. When The Hex falls, Wanda’s recreated Vision will disappear with it. I hope he’s not gone for good.
