This week’s episode of was by far the creepiest of the series, with no shortage of majorly uncanny moments to show the sitcom structure beginning to fray at the edges. And the artifice of the whole thing isn’t the only thing fraying–Wanda’s mental state does not seem to be improving. And on top of their reality literally starting to feel like a poorly rehearsed play, Wanda and Vision are also struggling to keep up with their new twin sons who are displaying some disconcerting abilities of their own.
Meanwhile, outside the Westview anomaly, SWORD and their contracted experts Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis are doing their best to figure out the best way to breach the bubble and rescue the civilians trapped inside–but there are some major differences of opinion among the ranks when the question of how Wanda should be handled comes up.
Oh, and there’s also one of the single –so if you haven’t watched the episode yet, you might want to do that. Major spoilers below.
1. Another new house
This week, Wanda and Vision’s home is definitely inspired by Full House and any number of other ’80s sitcoms.
2. Auntie Agnes
This could be nothing, but given our on-going “is Agnes actually Agatha Harkness?” hypothesis, Agnes volunteering to behave as the babies’ nanny and saying she’s got some “tricks up her sleeve” seems like something we should take note of.
3. Take it from the top
This episode wastes no time at all in being insanely creepy as Agnes asks to “take it from the top” after Vision fails to stick to the script. It seems that Westview’s reality is breaking down faster than before.
4. Show me that smile again
This week’s theme song borrows heavily from the classic ’80s sitcoms Family Ties and Growing Pains. Interestingly, Growing Pains had a spin-off–Just the 10 of Us, which starred WandaVision director Matt Shakman.
5. Photon origins
In the comics Monica has superpowers of her own, and has even used the Captain Marvel codename. It’s entirely possible that the anomalies we see here with her blood samples and scans are the first clues to her MCU superhero origin, so it would be smart to keep an eye on her moving forward.
6. Never Scarlet Witch
It’s easy to forget that Wanda’s never formally used the Scarlet Witch codename in the MCU–which makes sense because her powers in the movies have never actually had anything to do with magic like they once did in the comics.
7. Wanda’s got Vision’s corpse
So is the Vision within Westview actually Vision or not? We now know she recently stole Vision’s dead body from a lab and has seemingly reanimated it in Westview. But…does that mean he’s alive? Or, at least, whatever Vision’s version of alive is? Given that it was revealed last week Wanda can see him in his dead state, probably not.
8. The Sokovia Accords
Wow, remember Captain America: Civil War? The Sokovia Accords were a direct response to the Avengers at large but, specifically, were kicked into gear when Wanda lost control of her abilities and killed civilians.
9. Vision is playing “Father Knows Best” in Suburbia
The feds throw out a quick joke about how Wanda has Vision playing “Father Knows Best” in suburbia. Father Knows Best is a sitcom that ran for over 200 episodes in the ’50s.
10. Sparky
He may not be green but the Vision family dog from the King and Walta comics has officially made his MCU debut. Unfortunately, he meets a very similar fate. RIP.
11. Wanda’s “hex”
Wanda’s powers in the comics were once very literal hexes–magical abilities she had to train and learn from a magical mentor. The actual “magic” part is left out here but we still get the name, thanks to the hexagonal shape of the Westview bubble.
12. Carol’s powers
Carol and Wanda are the only two Avengers aside from Vision to be directly empowered by Infinity Stones–Carol just also has the benefit of being a Kree-hybrid, which makes her even more powerful.
13. Dial-up internet
The sweet, sweet sound of a dial-up modem made an appearance in this episode, as Vision connected the computers in his office to the internet, just in time to receive an electronic mail.
14. Vision can “save” Westview’s residents
Vision may have lost the Mind Stone when he died, but that apparently isn’t going to stop him from interacting with people’s minds. We see him break through Wanda’s conditioning on Norm, temporarily freeing his repressed personality–which is pretty horrific for Norm but also begs plenty of questions for the nature of Vision’s resurrection.
15. The twins are onto Wanda’s tricks
In addition to being able to age themselves up at will, the twins are also completely aware of Wanda’s powers and apparent control over their reality. Like Vision’s powers, it’s really impossible to tell what this might mean for them going forward–are they just artificial projections of Wanda’s desires? Will they still be around once the Westview “hex” is eventually solved?
16. The old Wanda returns
When Wanda leaves the hex, she’s wearing a costume very similar to what we saw in the most recent Avengers films. What’s more, her accent is back (and possibly thicker than it was in Endgame).
17. Lagos brand paper towels
Lagos brand paper towels, “for when you make a mess you didn’t mean to” is the most direct commercial reference yet to Wanda’s history. In Captain America: Civil War, Wanda accidently blew up a building in Lagos, which in turn led to the Sokovia Accords.
18. “Your mom won’t let him get far”
The mailman gets in on the episode’s creepy undertones as he offers a pointed barb about Sparky to the twins: “your mom won’t let him get far,” much like she won’t let anyone in Westview get out.
19. “We can’t reverse death”
Wanda’s explanation for not resurrecting Sparky seems pretty hypocritical when you consider that reversing Vision’s death is apparently one of the major aims of Westview as a whole.
20. Wait, he’s from the wrong franchise
Did the MCU just incorporate the X-Men movie franchise? Because it sure seems like it with. That’s Evan Peters appearing as Quicksilver, a character he played in multiple X-Men films.
