WandaVision, 2021’s best show so far by a country mile, has come to its conclusion. What will our Fridays be like without it? WandaVision was never meant to be the first MCU TV show to arrive on Disney+ —that distinction was supposed to go to Falcon and Winter Soldier (premiering in two weeks). But because of pandemic delays and switcheroos, Wanda was our introduction instead. And it was a helluva thing. Not an easy entry point, and yet, fascinating, wondrous, and deeply emotionally resonate.
However, an expansive exploration of grief and loss is not what some viewers signed up for, and it’s understandable that it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But focusing on a comic-y “Big Bad” of the season was to miss the point—it was depression, from Episode 1 onward. Even those who hadn’t watched the movies leading up to WandaVision (or didn’t remember the finer points of the relationship between Wanda and Vision, which was never a focus) could tell there was something horrific lurking under the surface of the technicolor world we were presented with. In time, all was mostly revealed.
But as cathartic as “The Series Finale” was in regards to Wanda’s emotional state—in working through her grief over losing Vision and her sons and the world she literally built around them—it still felt rushed. Sometimes the best finales are not the ones that leave you wondering “how the heck are they going to wrap this up??” but the ones that already kinda did wrap it up and instead focus on the repercussions of that. WandaVision tried to have it both ways, with mixed results. Below are 5 lingering questions we have after those mid and post-credit scenes rolled:
Where Is White Vision?
WandaVision’s penultimate episode introduced us to White Vision, the culmination of Hayward’s machinations throughout the season. He was built as an emotionless killing machine, and it seemed to set the stage for a Vision vs Vision showdown. (By the by, Paul Bettany’s quote about a finale cameo from an actor he’s always wanted to share the screen with, and that their chemistry is explosive—clearly talking about himself—is absolutely iconic, and I will fight anyone who was upset by it).
What happened instead was a limited fight scene and the resolution of Visions via the Ship of Theseus thought experiment. It was actually perfect that the Visions would figure themselves out thanks to a mental puzzle rather than brawn. It also reconciled the two Visions, body and mind.
But then… where did White Vision go? Now equipped with all of the memories and the hardware of OG Vision, he just took off. Again, it was fitting that Wanda’s version of her love was the one who said goodbye to her and her sons when the Hex came down. But the only hint that Vision gave about the fact that he’s actually alive and well with a new paint job was to agree they’ll say hello again (hello, tears), and to cryptically note that he might return in some other form.
While the Visions might have had some kind of telepathic understanding that Wanda was going to need some time to heal before meeting White Vision, it still leaves a lot of questions about when or if that will happen, and meanwhile, where is he hanging out?
What Are Monica’s Powers?
As someone who has watched all of the Marvel movies but hasn’t read any comic books (just the occasionally Wikipedia entry for context), I could not tell you—from WandaVision alone—what happened to Monica or what her powers are now. Darcy did note that entering into the Hex will change your cells, but does that mean that Wanda accidentally created a town of mutants? Or is it only if you pushed through the Hex barrier? The first question we don’t have an answer to, but the latter one we do: Monica is a mutant now, with powers that…? Allow her eyes to light up, saved her from bullets, and allow her to land pretty hard on concrete. Beyond that?
A flippant line from Darcy might have helped explain a little bit about that, or even something between Monica and Not-Pietro (who is also, crucially, not Quicksilver from X-Men; just coincidentally both are played by Evan Peters. Major trolling). The Pietro reveal was also a bit of a letdown—he’s just a bro. And that’s fine! But his character was so fun and then ended with just… nothing. The same kinda felt true of Monica, even though the mid-credits scene set up a connection to the Skrull (and… Nick Fury? I mean, it’s always Nick Fury). Agatha kinda stole Monica’s thunder there in the end, and it was Wanda’s family who grounded her. In a finale full of so many great moments, this one felt like the most major letdown.
Are We Supposed to Care about S.W.O.R.D.?
While the Wanda parts of the “The Series Finale” were great, the S.W.O.R.D. subplots really took a hit. Everything with Jimmy Woo, Monica, Hayward, and Darcy felt rushed. Heck, we only got one line from Darcy (“enjoy prison!”) which—while great—also felt like not nearly enough (and where did she go in the end?)
Timing-wise, I also have no sense of what happened between Darcy ramming Hayward with the truck and then them all just… sitting there I guess? while Wanda and Agatha and the Visions fought in the sky? Although, what can you do at that point; your military was disarmed by two little kids… who Hayward also attempted to murder. Which… feels like we needed a little more time to process his whole thing. (What was his ultimate plan for White Vision?)
These are just a few examples of character moments and developments that were unaccounted for in the final episode. S.W.O.R.D. never seemed that important (besides making Pokemon S.W.O.R.D. and S.H.I.E.L.D. jokes), and it was certainly not the heart of WandaVision; in the end, the show focused on the right things. But why did it have to choose? Why not have that one additional episode to fill things out just a little more?
Oh God, What Is Wanda Learning from the Book of the Damned?
A.K.A. the Darkhold (thanks Wikipedia!) One of the most interesting things learned in the final two episodes of the series is that Wanda is full of world-ending Chaos Magic that she doesn’t understand. She kinda knows how to control it, but Agatha showed her she still has a lot to learn. In the post-credits scene, we saw an astral projection of Wanda reading through the book as regular Wanda got some tea and chilled in her remote cabin. But we also heard Wanda’s children calling to her for help from…?
We have known since before WandaVision began that the show would lead into the film Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, and this seems like the most logical connection. Wanda’s sons need her help, possibly calling in from somewhere in the multiverse, which also opens up an entire, well, multiverse of story possibilities. Wanda also needs some kind of magical mentorship, and while I can’t really see her and Stephen Strange getting along all that well, it would make sense that they would try and work together to harness their mind-bending powers for good.
Is WandaVision Really Over?
In a virtual press conference during the Television Critics Association tour earlier this month, MCU chief Kevin Feige hedged questions about Season 2 by suggesting that other, later MCU TV series were being developed with multiple seasons in mind. Ipso facto, WandaVision is probably not going to get another season. And that makes sense, right? The show was built around the show that Wanda built, and now that’s all over and done with. Her bubble of grief to keep her love alive has been sacrificed for the good of those in Westview, where all the world’s a stage and the men and women in it merely players (once she realized what she had done, of course). I certainly hope that we see more of Wanda beyond Doctor Strange, but I’m also grateful for the wonderful weirdness this show gave us. You don’t expect the MCU to spend nine hours meditating on grief, depression, anxiety, and loss, but it was truly a gift.
Of course, Agatha is still being held in a mental prison within Westview which is… not great, and a glimpse of the dark spark that Wanda holds within her. Let’s hope that we meet up with Agatha again as well for more witch-offs. After all, who else is going to teach Wanda about runes?
Allison Keene is the TV Editor of Paste Magazine. For more television talk, pop culture chat and general japery, you can follow her @keeneTV
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