This week's episode is the one we've been waiting for.
We finally get some major answers, though the audience kind of saw some of them coming. Vision is finally seeing the big picture. Monica Rambeau is becoming the bigger factor we expected her to be. Everything is finally going along schedule. Admittedly, though, in the back of my mind, I can't help but worry that the final two episodes won't provide a strong enough conclusion to both satisfy the story involving these specific characters while simultaneously setting up future MCU projects the way they tend to do so. I still feel like they have a lot of ground to cover in the final two episodes while still proving to be entertaining (we've started getting more action scenes lately, so hopefully more of that is coming). But I'm also not willing to bet against Marvel tying up this whole season with a pretty bow.
One thing I will say more directly: I'm tired of feeling trolled by Marvel. It's annoying how direct and cheeky the script is getting. It's almost like the dialogue is speaking directing to the redditors of the world. Again, I like fan service, but I don't want it to compromise the integrity of the show too much. Lines like Scarlet Witch saying "Maybe I am already" turning into the villain (a poorly timed line by the writers), or when this week's commercial literally addresses the symptoms of controlling your own reality, are examples of rough patches for me; they definitely are getting too on-the-nose when they do that.
The big reveal of this episode is that Agnus is behind everything. At least, that's what her delightfully spooky, personal theme song tells us. Agnus is really Agitha Harkness, a witch from the comics who, in one comic series, plays a role in Scarlet Witch's development of her powers. I think we're going to get a lot more context to Wanda's past. How did she actually get her powers? Was it just the Mind Stone? Or did the Mind Stone merely unlock what was already there? Is she more akin to mutants?
Speaking of, I still think there are X-Men seeds getting planted in this show. But I felt a little deflated after seeing the montage of Agitha pulling the strings in several scenes from behind the scenes (no pun intended). The reveal that she manipulated/created an illusion of Pietro was a bit difficult, though he shows up again in the post-credit scene, so maybe I'm worrying for nothing (Agitha probably is controlling Pietro, and maybe she'll start controlling Monica/Spectrum, too). Either way, this was another example of Marvel trolling the audience.
Agitha still doesn't feel like the true big bad of the show. I still think (after researching) that WandaVision is blowing the doors open to introducing another villain in Mephisto, a devilish-type character in the comics who could be from another dimension (think Dormammu from Doctor Strange). Mephisto and Agitha seem to be working together. She keeps referencing her as-of-yet-unseen husband Ralph, but is this Ralph going to end up being the true leader of this villainous operation? (Is the giant fly we see during Agitha's theme song secretly Ralph in hiding?) Another possibility is that Agitha is working with Tyler Hayward, the S.W.O.R.D. director, to get Vision's powers somehow.
A friend of mine posed an idea that I find fascinating and more likely to happen after this episode. What if, in the MCU, one of the good guys turns to the dark side? (Sorry, criss-crossing my references there). We've dabble with this notion before in Captain America: Civil War before with Cap himself. The doors seem to be opening more and more for Scarlet Witch to actually remain a villain going forward, though it'll be interesting to see if her eventual confrontations with Agitha (and presumably Mephisto, though I'm betting we'll only get a Thanos-like scene with him at this point) will realign her loyalties (remember, she was very much ready to tear S.W.O.R.D. apart a few episodes ago, and I don't think it was because she was being mind controlled in that moment). It could be that Agitha takes on her role from the comics as Scarlet Witch's mentor, which would further make the case for Scarlet Witch to turn into a villain.
I certainly felt like Scarlet Witch was walking down the dark path during her encounter with Monica Rambeau. But that's when we get our first true look at the potential of Spectrum. Earlier, Monica forced her way through the Hex in one of the coolest scenes of the show so far from a visual perspective.
Looking ahead, we still have a lot of questions to unravel. Why is Agitha after Wanda? With the twin boys disappearing at the end of the episode, they may be after the kids. Maybe they're
I wished they had explored Wanda's state of mind a little more. The opening scene was tantalizing as she basically ranted to her boys as her fears and uncertainty started oozing out of her. I wish they gave us a little more time with her in this fragile state before she quickly closes up. Her state of mind is going to be so critical to validating the impact of the key scenes in the final two episodes, especially if she teeters between going down a dark path or not. My biggest fear right now is that all of Scarlet Witch's arc is going to be rendered useless - as a wasted opportunity - because all that's going to matter to her in the end is the safety of her kids. We're not going to get any clear closure to what she's currently dealing with, what with her grief about Vision, her parents, her brother, etc. The story is basically rolling up her character development into a writing mechanic that will only be used to set up the bigger picture. The show started out so singularly focused, but now too many branches are opening up with no real closure or explanations.
Notes:
-I loved when the boys' video game systems switched up. The controllers changed to Nintendo Gamecube controllers, then Atari controllers, and we later see Wiimotes.
-The play on Modern Family and The Office shows (far moreso the former, but the song was The Office played to techno music) was superb. Elizabeth Olsen was so much fun to watch in a mockumentary setting! Amiright?!
-Despite the trolling by Marvel, the commercial was the best one of the season so far.
-Initially I thought it was ridiculous for S.W.O.R.D. to bring in a space rover, but I quickly remembered that S.W.O.R.D. normally deals with outer space, so that was actually a nice touch.
-There was a book with some glowy effects around it. It gave me mad "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." vibes. I wonder if that will have Doctor Strange ties, too.