WandaVision Episode #5

Everybody, I was not expecting WandaVision Episode #5 to be THIS GOOD. From a shocking return of her accent to Paul Bettany showing off his acting chops, I was pleased as punch (wrong era) with this particular episode. As always, we were left with several questions (especially regarding that BIG reveal at the end of the episode) but I found myself admiring several themes and possibilities in this episode. With that being said, let’s dive into Episode 5 of WandaVision.

Hex: By now if you’re reading this, you have already watched episode 4. In episode 4, Agent Woo had the word “hexagon” circled in red. In episode 5, Darcy nicknamed Wanda’s bubble “the Hex.” On the surface, this seems innocent enough since the forcefield looks like a hexagon. But for those eagle-eyed Avengers/X-Men fans, we know that Wanda has “hex” powers. A hex is an old-fashioned word for a spell. I find it very interesting that Darcy has chosen to name Wanda’s bubble “the Hex.” Is this a simple Easter Egg? Or perhaps Marvel is beginning to do a deeper dive into what makes Wanda the Scarlet Witch. Either way, kudos to you Marvel for plating a few seeds in my head.

Scarlet Witch: I recently began to do a complete binge-watch of all of the Marvel Movies (particularly the ones with Wanda). One thing I noticed is that she has never been officially named “The Scarlet Witch”. Instead, she has been “Jean Greyed” along the lines of just being called her first name. This topic was also raised by Agent Woo (side note: I read somewhere that he should have his spin-off show in the vein of the X-Files…I am ALL for this) during a briefing. Now, this could go multiple ways. Maybe Marvel wants to drop the name “The Scarlet Witch” for the MCU and have her just be Wanda. She is powerful and important enough to not warrant a code name. She could just be Wanda. On the other hand, Marvel could have had been planning this for many years.

A witch is traditionally an evil female magic wielder. It has only been within the last several decades, that the connotation of a witch has changed (Veronica Lake’s movie in the 1940s, Samantha Stephens, Sabrina the Charmed Ones et al). Now, remember, Wanda was initially a part of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants; hence the moniker “The Scarlet Witch.” Thus far in the MCU, we have seen Wanda as a hero. Maybe by the end of WandaVision, she will officially be named “the Scarlet Witch” for her most recent actions.

Awareness: As stated in the last episode by Monica Rambeaux, Wanda is behind everything. She is operating out of a place of grief. As I have said before, she lost the man (android?) of her dreams! This theme is very subtly displayed during the recap of episode 4 to the S.W.O.R.D Agents and blatantly while the agents were reviewing video footage. I feel as if she is like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. She is lost and wants to go home. Home is with Vision and (now) the family she has created. Unlike Dorothy however, Wanda just may be the Wicked Witch (see what I did there) of her story.

Family: Now hear me out on this one, but family is one of the major overarching themes in WandaVision. For starters, Wanda has had two major deaths in her life: Pietro and Vision. Now, she was able to somehow bring Vision back to life, but Pietro…In WandaVision, we see that Wanda has also given birth to two sons (twins in fact). At her core, I feel as if Wanda truly wants a normal family life. She wants to be the Samantha Stephens type of housewife that dotes on her husband and kids. This may potentially explain why she is going through various tv eras.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Stop reading this and go watch WandaVision. This is an AMAZING tv show. Episode 5 catapults the MCU into a brand-new arena. Marvel is finally on the cusp of exploring the multiverse and episode 5 cements this concept.