After mixed reception to the initial two episodes, Wandavision has quickly catapulted into one of the most talked about shows of the year and has firmly cemented Disney Plus as one of the strongest upcoming streaming platforms. Episodes 5 and 6 continue their homage to television by harkening back to Family Ties and Malcolm in the Middle, respectively. As the show continues to unfold, we begin to tackle the mysteries of Wanda’s power, Vision’s insistence on the truth, and dealing with a surprise visit. Spoilers ahead for Wandavision episode 5 and 6 ahead!
Episode 5: ‘On A Very Special Episode’
Uhhhh…what the hell?
Let me watch that episode again, real quick.
Okay, I’m back.
What the hell?
The juxtaposition between the series first episode and its fifth are in stark (See what I did there) contrast. What started off as a mundane homage to classic television has evolved into a constantly unfolding hexagon of mystery with new surprises and turns at every corner.
The episode begins with our favorite couple struggling to soothe their twins. Nosy neighbor Agnes overhears their cries from outside and offers to help the babies. Vision disagrees and Agnes, visibly shaken, asks Wanda, “You want me to take that from the top?” directly lending credence to the idea that Wanda is controlling this television dimension. Wanda agrees and allows Agnes to look over the boys, who sprays them with lavender to assuage them while Vision and Wanda argue. They turn around to check on their babies to find two toddlers in their place.
This week’s theme is a homage to Family Ties, with the portrait aesthetic being lifted directly from the show but, noticeably, the brush is floating with the characteristic red glow of Wanda’s power.
From the theme we find ourselves once again in the real world, checking on Monica Rambeau following her forced ejection from Westview. Monica’s test results return blank, but she refuses to be retested and joins Hayward and the rest of the S.W.O.R.D. crew in discussing Wanda’s surprising heel turn. During the group, Hayward reveals that, just nine days prior, Wanda broke into S.W.O.R.D. headquarters and liberated Vision’s dissected body.
We return inside the show to see our soon-to-be super twins hiding something in front of the kitchen sink. Their mother discovers a mysteriously unowned puppy who they beg to keep. Vision walks in just in time to hear their back and forth, ultra-aware of the strange activity going on in his home. His astute nature is once again proved right as when Agnes appears with her dog house in tow, Vision remarks, “I had a hunch someone might pop over…with exactly the item we require.” Wanda and Agnes press onward with adding a new member to their family with Wanda creating a collar for Sparky out of thin air right in front of Agnes, upsetting Vision.
Before Vision can question Wanda about the true nature of this reality, Billy and Tommy begin to beg to keep ownership of Sparky, disarming their astoundingly alert father. Wanda tells the twins that she and Vision don’t believe they’re old enough to take care of a dog until they are at least ten years old. The twins exchange a mischievous glance at one another and forcefully age themselves to their desired age, showing they have more inherent control and knowledge of Wanda’s reality than she does.
At the S.W.O.R.D. base, Darcy and Monica join forces combining their brainpower to get to the bottom of re-entering Westview. While listing the elements she would need for an armored vehicle to enter Wanda’s sanctuary, Monica makes a cheeky reference to photons, a nod to her superhero alias in the comics universe. Darcy introduces us to The Hex, the name she’s given to the anomaly. Agent Woo asks if they can identify Wanda’s children, to which Monica responds “Oh, Wanda’s twins are hers. Everything may look fake in the TV, but everything in there is real.” Much like real-world viewers, our group begins to realize that Wanda may be more powerful than we thought.
“But Wanda manipulates people’s perceptions, makes them hallucinate,” Woo responds confusedly to Monica’s revelation.
“Yeah, that’s her whole bag. If all the sets and props and wardrobe were solid matter, that would mean she’s wielding an insane amount of power,” replies Darcy.
“Far exceeding anything she’s displayed in the past.”
“Uh, she could have taken out Thanos on her own if he hadn’t initiated a blitz,” Monica says, revealing that the recent events of Endgame have been made public. Monica doubles down in her support of Wanda going as far as to say, “I mean, nobody else came close.”
“Well, I’d argue that Captain Marvel came close,” retorts Jimmy, visibly upsetting Monica in the process, who quickly asks to change the subject. Monica’s urge to change the topic from Auntie Carol finds her discovering some test results and questioning Darcy’s earlier theory about Wanda’s power level. The trio rushes to the lab and finds Monica’s Geraldine outfit from the previous episodes. Monica grabs Woo’s pistol, firing at her groovy clothing choice and seeing the bullets completely smashed in the process. Monica reveals that the entire suit is 87percent Kevlar as a result of Wanda’s energy field changing anything anachronistic in her world.
“It’s not an illusion. Wanda is rewriting reality.” Monica’s showcase of wit, intelligence, and integrity is on full display in this episode. Since her introduction in the show, Teyonah Parris has shown she can hit all of the required beats of a Marvel hero, having shown a more humorous side inside Westview and now getting to show her leadership skills in the real world. Parris’ Monica is one of the best implemented upcoming heroes, and her chemistry with Woo and Darcy, two already established characters, firmly plants Monica in the current universe and shows a clear knowledge of her best qualities. She single-handedly comes up with the idea to send something into The Hex that doesn’t require Wanda to change it.
We return to Westview, this time to an updated version of Vision’s workplace at Computational Services Inc., where it looks like they’ve stepped into the future by stepping into the world of computers. As Vision’s coworker Norm jokes about Vision being able to speak the computer’s language, they journey to the internet for the first time, and everyone in the office receives the same S.W.O.R.D. email about The Hex anomaly, frightening the steel nerved hero. Vision is finally beginning to piece together the happenings of this reality, and, using the Mind Stone, shocks Norm’s brain much like he did Ultron in Age of Ultron. Vision comes face to face with the real Norm, a frightened mess just looking for his phone to call his family. Fearing the worst for him, Vision releases him back to the spell he was under.
Back home, Billy shows off the tricks he’s taught Sparky, and excitedly wants to show his father. When the twins inquire about Vision’s whereabouts, we’re shown that the mysteries of this reality are amorphous even to Wanda.
“He’s at work.”
“It’s Saturday.”
“No, it’s not, it’s Monday.”
“This morning was Saturday.”
Wanda’s backpedaling on the day of the week and lies about Vision needing a distraction leads to the twins feeling as if their father doesn’t want to be around them. Wanda rebukes this and begins to extol the virtues of family, prompting their children to ask about Wanda’s family and her brother Pietro. Just as Wanda begins thinking about her deceased twin Pietro, Sparky begins barking, frightened by the world outside. Wanda opens the door to investigate and Sparky takes off as well, causing the kids to follow behind her.
Monica’s discovered a way to re-enter the Hex using an old 1980s drone. Woo and Darcy note that Wanda is framing the drone out of focus in the broadcast just like the jumpcuts in previous episodes. Monica tries to reach out to Wanda, but it’s clear the invasion has set Wanda off. She takes control of the drone, and Hayward attempts to shoot her with a missile. Just as he makes his command, an alarm goes off signifying a breach of the base. As they rush out to the field, they find Wanda exiting The Hex, dragging the drone along. As she tosses it back to them, it’s still glowing the Wanda’s pulsating, red energy. We see the distinct differences in the leadership styles of Hayward and Monica during their confrontation, with Hayward saying that she left them no choice, and Monica pleading with the woman she thought was her friend to let her help. Wanda replies that she has what she wants and that leaving her and her family alone would be the most beneficial option for them all. As she leaves, Wanda has Hayward’s men turn their weapons on him while she reinforces the barrier to Westview.
This week’s commercial is for Lagos brand paper towels, and once again sees our commercial couple returning for another week of extremely referential advertisements. Lagos is the location from Captain America: Civil War where Wanda accidentally killed multiple people, including a few Wakandans, in a hotel resulting in the Sokovia Accords. We see our commercial mom wiping up a red liquid, serving as a reference to both the blood spilled in Lagos, as well as the formless Aether/Reality Stone.
We pick back up on our search for Sparky, and we have another interaction with the postal worker from Episode 2 that Agnes faked shooting with finger guns. The mailman promises the boys’ their mom won’t let anything happen to the dog and is immediately wrong. Agnes comes from around the bushes with a wrapped bundle in her hands, saying Sparky got into her azaleas. Billy and Tommy’s knowledge of the world begins once again to show cracks in Wanda’s reality. After Wanda urges them not to age themselves again, the boys implore her to use her abilities to raise the dead and bring Sparky back. Wanda is surprised by them saying this and tells her children that despite how sad it is, she cannot reverse death—even as her previously dead husband walks up just in time to find his heartbroken family.
Vision decides to confront his wife over her actions, revealing that he spoke with the true Norm without Wanda’s influence. Wanda attempts to brush Vision off, saying they should turn in for the night and watch television. Vision, much like his creator Ultron, responds with a firm declaration of his independence: “You can’t control me like you control them, Wanda.” Wanda literally rolls the credits on Vision in an attempt to avoid this conversation.
Wanda seemingly doesn’t know what Vision is talking about until he raises his voice, yelling “STOP LYING TO ME!” as he floats into the air. Vision knows this world is strange, even going as far as to ask Wanda why there are no other children in Westview. Wanda ascends as well, bursting with energy, saying that everything she has done she’s done for them. But just as Vision described earlier and just as they’ve calmed down and begin to have a civil discussion, there’s a knock at the door. This time it isn’t our nosy neighbor, it’s someone else entirely different–Evan Peters as Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Pietro.
They recast Pietro.
Episode 6: ‘All New Halloween Spooktacular’
Episode 6 kicks off with an homage to the classic late 90s-early aughts sitcom, Malcolm in the Middle. Unlike previous theme tracks, which have been more simplistic and rarely feature any lyrics, this week’s theme song talks directly to the themes of the show including lyrics like: “Don’t try to fight the chaos/don’t question what you’ve done. The game can try to play us/ don’t let it stop the fun.” These lyrics seem like an indication that not all is what it seems in Westview. Up to this point, Wandavision has led us to believe that this alternate reality is solely Wanda’s doing, but Episode 5 cast a few doubts on that theory. As we move deeper in time in the show, the narrative style begins to change, as well.
The 90s were a more honest time than earlier decades and show families in a more chaotic and realistic light. Likewise, this 90s-themed episode shows that Wanda’s existence is becoming more complex by the day (decade?). It also directly harps on the previously aforementioned Malcolm In The Middle by using Billy and Tommy in the place of Malcolm, as the episode’s narrators.
The episode begins with Billy dressed in a comics-accurate version of his Wiccan garb from his Young Avengers days, talking about the joys of Halloween. Tommy is much more lax about the holiday and seemingly more calm and collected like his uncle Pietro. As the kids play with their uncle, Wanda descends from the stairs, also dressed in her comic book uniform which is explained in-universe as the clothes of a “Sokovian fortune teller” subtly adding more lore to the lost land of Sokovia. Pietro hates the costume, saying that it’s worse than the ones their mother made for them the year they had typhus. The show quickly drops in a flashback of the two, depicting them trick-or-treating with Pietro dressed as Nick Fury.
“That’s not how I remember it,” Wanda says, looking at Pietro puzzledly.
“You probably suppressed a lot of the trauma,” he responds, causing Wanda to make a sort of pained, wincing look and walk off suddenly. Billy notes his mother’s strange behavior in another fourth wall breaking moment.
Vision follows down soon after, also looking like his comic book self. Wanda thanks Vision for wearing the silly outfit, and he retorts, “Well there were no other clothes in my closet.” Wanda shoots him a subtle look, and he changes his tune entirely, seemingly reveling in Wanda’s love for “Mexican wrestlers.” As Wanda and Vis look on at the kids and their uncle playing together, Vision is surprised by Pietro’s ability with the children which is also a surprise for Wanda.
Instead of the festivities planned by Wanda, Vision heads out saying that he’s working as part of the neighborhood watch. Wanda is upset by Vision’s choice, but Pietro quickly agrees to pick up the slack and accompany Wanda and the kids to that night’s spooktacular events. Vision, ever the astute synthezoid, kisses Wanda on her cheeks and knowingly says “Wanda. Be good.” before departing.
Pietro, like any self-respecting uncle on Halloween, asks Wanda where her water balloons are so that he and Tommy can throw shaving cream balloons. Wanda notes that Tommy and Pietro aren’t even prepared to celebrate Halloween properly, which prompts Pietro to grab his nephew by the hands and return in their own comics accurate costumes. Curiously enough, the two both dress as classic Pietro instead of Tommy donning his Speed uniform like his brother.
Outside of Westview, we see soldiers carrying the drone from the previous episode, still encased in Wanda’s energy, followed by Hayward and Monica. Hayward is obviously not taking having his own soldiers forcibly turn their guns on him very well and lashes out at Darcy, Monica, and Jimmy Woo. Monica tries to reason with her old friend Hayward, advocating for more caution and less violence. Hayward goes on a diatribe about the hardships of the last five years and removes our favorite real-world trio. As soldiers attempt to escort them off the base, Monica and Jimmy Woo take them down and take their uniforms, allowing them to remain on the base undetected.
Back in Westview, as the trick-or-treating begins, Wanda begins to quiz Pietro on their childhood in the orphanage. Pietro quickly catches on to her tests and is just as confused about his resurrection as she is, saying he remembers being shot in the street one minute and waking up the next. After their talk, Pietro takes off with the kids to help them maximize their candy acquisition (read: steal), and Wanda talks to Herb, who is working as a member of the neighborhood watch. But before they can chat, the troublesome trio causes a bit of havoc with their uncle’s super speed. Before Herb takes off on his wild goose chase, Wanda says Vision can help him round up the troublemakers. Herb responds that Vision isn’t on duty for Halloween. Herb notices Wanda’s surprise and, like Agnes, directly asks if there’s anything he can do for her and if she wants something changed.
Elsewhere in Westview, Vision walks down a street filled with children, despite noting that there were no other children in Westview up to that point in the last episode. Vision stops his trek to find a woman stuck in a loop of hanging a Halloween decoration in her yard, as if her programming is unfinished. If that wasn’t enough, a tear streams down her cheek as Vision follows the glitchless children to their next destination.
This week’s commercial is vastly different from the previous iterations, as it is entirely done in Claymation style and does not feature our standard couple at all. We see a gaunt red-haired child stranded on a deserted island with only a crab for company. A shark begins to circle the tiny island and pops onto land with its surfboard. The cool surfer shark hands the child a single cup of Yo-Magic yogurt before returning to “hang fin.” The child struggles to open the cup for what seems to be an eternity as we watch them grow thinner and thinner, until they’re just a skeleton, making a macabre play on the Yoplait and Gogurt commercials that were popular at the time.
After our commercial, we return to our trick-or-treaters, whom Wanda is forcing to return the candy. Wanda calls out Pietro’s irresponsibility, calling him a bad role model. Pietro responds in a way that seems to know Wanda’s every desire, “Come to town unexpectedly, create tension with the brother-in-law, stir up trouble with the rugrats, and ultimately give you grief. I mean, that’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” Time and time again, Pietro exudes a knowledge of Wanda’s reality that takes her aback, finally prompting her to ask him: “What happened to your accent?” A question that he immediately flips back on her. As the original twins have their heart-to-heart, Wanda’s twins return with news of full-size candy bars. Tommy takes off to get his treat and shows off his newfound super speed. Wanda begrudgingly allows them to use his super speed to trick-or-treat before warning them not to go past Ellis Avenue, a nod to Marvel writer Warren Ellis.
Inside S.W.O.R.D., Monica, Jimmy, and Darcy sneak in to hack S.W.O.R.D.’s files and in doing so find Hayward’s secret files. It is revealed that not only has Hayward found a way to look inside the anomaly, he’s also tracking the Vibranium decay signature of Vision. Hayward’s database reveals that the townspeople on the outskirts are barely moving and hardly seem alive.
Vision is witnessing this firsthand, talking to a woman in town that, unlike earlier, is simply just frozen in time. Vision gives up on his costume and takes flight, finding a car stopped at the edge of town. He goes to investigate the vehicle and finds his neighbor Agnes in a stupor, speaking more like her old-timey 1950s self. Vision unlocks her true self like he did with Norm at work, and it turns out to be quite revealing.
Agnes recognizes Vision as one of the Avengers, something Vision himself is unaware of. Agnes places the blame on Wanda, saying that she won’t even let them think about leaving, an untrue statement, seeing as Dr. Nielsen once had a trip to Bermuda planned with his wife. Agnes finally tells Vision that he was once dead, saying “All is lost,” and laughing maniacally before Vision returns her to her original state. We find out that Agnes, and now Vision, is exactly where Wanda didn’t want anyone to be–at the end of Ellis Avenue. Vision treks off into the empty field ready to venture outside of Westview and get some help.
Back at the S.W.O.R.D. headquarters, Darcy is going through Hayward’s files, and Monica is setting up a way back into The Hex. Darcy tells Monica that going through The Hex twice has fundamentally rewritten her cells and that going through again could be dangerous. Monica refuses to let that stop her, saying that she’s seen enough lab results to last her a lifetime. Darcy gives up on the argument but tells the team that she’s staying back to crack Hayward’s final firewall.
Wanda and Pietro chat about Wanda’s soccer mom life, saying that their parents would have loved this place. Pietro inquires about where Wanda has been keeping the children, assuming they’ve been sleeping peacefully this entire time. Pietro seems to know about this alternate reality she’s created and, unlike her husband, is impressed by the growth in her abilities. He goes further, asking, “How did you even do all of this? This is a long way from giving people nightmares and shooting red wiggly woos out of your hand.” Wanda reveals that she is unaware of how Westview came to be, saying that she felt only nothingness. In a moment of reflection, Wanda looks away from her brother, trying to recollect how she got here. When she looks back at him, she sees a zombified version, riddled with bullets much like her encounter with Vision.
Darcy cracks the code to Hayward’s firewall and discovers a project entitled Cataract. Before she can investigate this folder, however, Vision begins to breach the border between Westview and the S.W.O.R.D. lab. As Vision struggles to break through the boundary, we see that outside of Westview, Vision still has his Mind Stone. Inside The Hex, Billy’s abilities awaken, and he hears his father pleading for help. Billy urges his mother to help Vision and Pietro butts in, saying “Don’t sweat it, it’s not like your dead husband can die twice.” This angers Wanda, who has been loving but confused by her brother, and she blasts him away. Vision begins disintegrating outside of Westview, which Billy can physically feel. Wanda leaps into action by freezing the entirety of Westview and focusing that energy into expanding The Hex. Onlookers outside of The Hex rush to get away from the memory wiping, personality-altering energy with Hayward and some goons speeding off in a truck. As The Hex expands into the S.W.O.R.D. base, it begins to transform everything around it and those unlucky enough to be caught. Wanda turns the S.W.O.R.D. base into something very fitting of this outfit, a circus replete with clowns. The Hex envelopes Vision, restoring his damaged body. The episode ends with the sinister red glare of Wanda’s eyes.
