On a Very Special Episode…
Episode 5 of WandaVision returns to our sitcom style as Wanda cradles one baby while Vision holds the other. Unfortunately they both have trouble stopping the babies from crying. Well, Aunt Agnes heads over to lend a helping hand. Only, something is wrong when she breaks character and asks if Wanda wants to try again. Just like that, the two kids, Tommy and Billy, suddenly grow into 5 year olds. Interestingly, our intro scene feels like an homage to Full House, with the ending of the family on the grass mirroring shots from that sitcom. Anyway, we then jump out and see Monica interviewed about her experiences inside the anomaly. Monica soon gets dressed though and attends the morning briefing. After a brief recap of what’s happened across the MCU thus far, Hayward spins this event and calls Wanda a terrorist. Monica is not so sure this is accurate, claiming that the barrier is Wanda’s way of forming a quarantine around her own creation. Hayward bites back, showing the group CCTV footage of Wanda storming a facility 9 days ago and taking the corpse of Vision, resurrecting him and bringing him inside this sitcom world. The ‘how’ surrounding this event is still unknown, especially given the Mind Stone isn’t in their possession anymore, but it still poses a worrying vision (no pun intended) for the future. What happens when Vision finds out the truth? We then jump back inside the sitcom as Wanda and the gang get a new dog. Things begin to unravel though when Wanda uses her powers out in the open. Vision is concerned, especially when the kids suddenly grow to become 10 year olds. Word of this reaches the group outside too, as Monica decides to head back inside the anomaly. Before she does, Monica realizes that Wanda is rewriting reality. If she can change things as they enter the “Hex” (Darcy’s pet name for the anomaly) what happens if they send something that doesn’t need to change? Well, the group test that theory by sending in an email, right on the edge of the sitcom reaching the electronic age of computers and emails. Within the email, word of the Maximoff Anomaly and radiation is eerily read by every single person within Vision’s workplace as Vision looks around confused. Vision uses his powers to touch his colleague Norm, who pleads with Vision to stop Wanda before it’s too late. Monica sends in a drone to talk but Wanda is having none of it. As we soon learn, Hayward armed the drone and tells the authorities to take the shot. Only, they’re interrupted by a breach at the perimeter as Wanda drags the drone out from inside. She controls the guards, turning their guns against Hayward and heads back inside her home without anyone firing against her. Inside the sitcom, Tommy and Bill experience grief for the first time as their dog Sparky passes away. They ask Wanda to fix the dead and plead with her to bring their dog back. She refuses to, telling them there are rules… just as Vision appears. That evening, Vision confronts Wanda about what’s going on. Wanda refuses to talk though as credits roll down the screen. Eventually the pair talk and Vision admits that he’s scared. He tells Wanda what she’s doing is wrong… as the doorbell rings. As she opens the door, Pietro happens to be there. Quicksilver is back!
The Episode Review
WandaVision returns with its best episode yet, blending the sitcom comedy with darker drama outside the anomaly. This balance works surprisingly well as more answers are drip fed out and what’s happening is finally made clearer. With Vision starting to comprehend the reality he’s trapped inside, the return of Quicksilver is a neat little cameo but one that’s almost certainly going to end in tears. So far WandaVision has been a slow burn thriller with touches of psychological horror thrown in. This actually works surprisingly well and as I’ve said before, this show is a perfect example of why you can’t judge a 9-10 episode show by a handful of chapters – especially a mystery box like this. With a cliffhanger ending and lots of neat Easter Eggs throughout, WandaVision is shaping up to be one of 2021’s brightest sparks – not bad for a show that felt like an indifferent sitcom three weeks ago!
