The first episode of WandaVision was released a year and some months ago. So, it is not exactly recent anymore but since it has already been a while, I have had time to watch the series several times. Three times, to be exact. Based on that number, you can probably tell that I like WandaVision. I was extremely excited to watch it when it first came out because Wanda is my favourite MCU character. I know that WandaVision divides opinions but I definitely wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed every moment of my first, second and third watching and in my opinion, WandaVision is the best MCU TV series to date and one of the best things MCU has produced in general. Warning: this article contains spoilers!
We can all agree that WandaVision was somewhat experimental. MCU had never done anything like it. The jumps from one decade to another were not only a great artistic device but also an amazing plot device. I love the first few episodes where we see Wanda in a cute old-timey dress in black and white. Everything is designed according to the 50s and 60s aesthetic: the clothing, the music, the jokes, even special effects. But then again, everything also has a modern twist because we know that Wanda is really from our time. The first episodes are genuinely so funny and also look gorgeous. I especially love how the special effects are kind of bad on purpose, it really adds to the old-time feeling and atmosphere.
The same goes on in all the other episodes, though we also increasingly see what is going on outside the Hex. The aesthetics from different decades are there throughout the series and you can see that a lot of planning went into for example making the theme songs for each episode. I also love the ads in the middle of the episodes; they are a cute way of adding to a specific decade’s feeling but we also see things like Hydra’s logo show up.
Now for the plot: I love it. It was the best feeling watching WandaVision for the first time and being so confused about what was going on. Is this just gonna be Wanda and Vision hanging out like normal people? But Vision is dead, though?? No, something is definitely up! But what is it?? I love how the viewers are given small hints about what was happening and they can make up their own theories. I’m not gonna lie, me and my partner had some pretty wild conspiracy theories going on. And when Pietro showed up?? Yes, it was all just a boner joke in the end but it was still a really cool introduction to the multiverse. I also liked how everything was fully revealed in the end so that we didn’t only have to rely on our own theories. On later watchings, I obviously already knew what was going to happen, but I still enjoyed it.
Many people were disappointed with the series finale. I can see why; the show was so experimental and different but at the end, we just got some pretty regular MCU action. However, I was pretty happy with that, actually. I really liked the show being somewhat different but I also really like basic MCU action, that is why I watch MCU movies and shows. The final showdown was pretty epic in my opinion and I found it so funny that Vision destroyed himself with logic. I still don’t know where the other Vision went, though.
Now let’s discuss villains. Granted, Hayward is not a very good character. He’s kind of just evil for the sake of being evil. However, I do like Agatha. A YouTuber called Pillar of Garbage pointed out in their video essay that Agatha really has such a big effect on Wanda even before Wanda knows who Agatha is. She very subtly messes with Wanda from the very start and her actions are what makes Vision realise something is wrong and cause him to try to leave the Hex. Agatha All Along is also a bop.
One big villain in the series is of course Wanda herself. One of the reasons I like her is that she is so morally gray. I wrote an article before discussing how much trauma Wanda has gone through: the death of her parents, her brother and her partner, who she had to kill herself because she was the only one powerful enough to do so. She kind of was friends with Captain America and Clint but the former died and the latter understandably wants to spend time with his family after 5 years apart. So basically, she has no one. Though I don’t think any of us has held an entire town hostage with our magic powers as a response to trauma, there is still something so relatable in Wanda’s struggle. She only wants the person most dear to her back and that is completely understandable. Of course, she ends up losing it all in the end but we all know she’ll have a big role in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness. I absolutely can’t wait what’s in store for Wanda in that movie and many more to come.