WandaVision episode 7 recap: Marvel’s new darling goes off the rails

WandaVision took on a suitably modern twist on Friday as episode 7 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe hit show Disney plus. In the episode, titled Breaking the Fourth Wall, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) expanded Westview’s boundaries to save Vision (Paul Bettany) from certain death after he is out sitcom town.

In doing so, she dragged astrophysicist Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and dozens of government agents into her fake world. However, SWORD agent Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and FBI guy Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) escaped the expansion as they had left to meet Monica’s mysterious aerospace engineer friend.

It’s time to SPOIL.

It’s been Agatha all along

In a deeply unsurprising (but beautifully executed) twist, it turns out the ridiculously suspicious Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) was a villain all the time. Wanda enters her creepy basement in search of her missing twins, and Agnes is revealed to be the witch Agatha Harkness. Turns out she was responsible for everything that went wrong or that is strange in Westview, including the arrival by Pietro Maximoff from Fox X-Men universe (Evan Peters).

“And me killed Sparky too, she said with a sneer.

It is the not too far Agatha. Killer theme song though.

A bigger evil?

There are a few clues that there is another force at work – including a super prominent cicada on the curtain in Agatha’s living room. It’s not a million miles from a fly, a form taken by the demon Mephisto in his first chronological appearance in the comic book. I’m sure MCU Spider-Man isn’t married.

“Ralph says I layer things,” Agatha says in one of her interviews, referring to her invisible husband (and suggesting he’s worse than her).

And where the hell are Tommy and Billy? This whole facade is probably a plan to get their hands on the overpowered children of Wanda and Vision, so… success?

The post-credits scene

Monica arrives at Agatha’s house and prepares to enter the basement, but is surprised by a creepy Pietro (who is probably under Agatha’s control).

“Snooper will snoop,” he said.

It’s likely that Agatha and Pietro are surprised, as they don’t know that Monica has gained superpowers. It seems possible that Agatha removed him from the X-Men Universe to manipulate Wanda.

The mighty Monica

After Monica broke through the Hex barrier and returned to Westview, her DNA was rewritten and she gained some abilities. She can perceive the electromagnetic spectrum, like electricity in pylons, and apparently absorbs kinetic energy when Wanda slams her onto the sidewalk.

In the comics, she was given the power to transform into any form of energy in the electromagnetic spectrum after being bombarded by extra-dimensional energies. And the SWORD outfit she wore on her second trip to Westview looks like her modern comic book costume.

Voice in the barrier

As she walks through the barrier, Monica hears a bunch of familiar voices – mostly a flashback to Captain Marvel. Speakers include her late mother Maria, Monica’s younger self, Nick Fury (!) And Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel).

Maria: “No, no, I can’t. I can’t leave Monica.”

Young Monica: “Mom, it’s okay. I can stay with Grandma and Pop-Pop.”

Maria: “There’s no way I’m going, baby. It’s too dangerous.”

Young Monica: “Mom, maybe I could fly and meet you halfway.”

Fury: “Only if you learn to shine like your Aunt Carol.”

Maria: “And you were the most powerful person I know.”

Dr harley: “Your mom, she’s dead, honey.”

Jimmy: “She was truly an inspiration. Sorry.”

Carol: “Your mother is lucky. When they were handing out children, they gave it the hardest part.

Join the circus

Darcy finds herself in the Westview role of an escape artist in the circus, but Vision wakes her up and she tells him her whole story. Now he is aware of the complete trauma that Wanda Avengers: Infinity War, after killing him to prevent Thanos from getting the Mind Stone, only to watch him die again after Thanos reverses the time. The movie is so fast I hadn’t thought how awful it would be.

It’s been five years in the universe since these events, but Wanda was one of those Blipped Away and only returned a few weeks ago. So this trauma is pretty darn fresh.

THE SWORD sharpens

We only have a moment with SWORD director Tyler Hayward (Josh Stamberg), but he’s determined to throw a strike against Wanda today. Her jerk mentions that the sitcom WandaVision is no longer airing – likely because Wanda is taking her a day or Agatha started blocking her as she prepared to move.

Jimmy doesn’t have much to do either, but he confirms in Darcy’s email that Hayward wanted to bring Vision back online. It ultimately took the power of Wanda to achieve this.

“Hayward wants his sentient weapon back,” Monica said.

The aerospace engineer

Fan theories suggested Monica’s aerospace engineer friend would be Reed richards or the Blue Marvel energy absorbing hero – no, man. Major Goodner and his team are apparently loyal to Monica, but don’t mention working for someone else.

It always hints at a faction of SWORD that will stick with Monica, who will likely end up replacing Hayward as director once the plot thread ends.

The announcement

This episode advertisement is for the antidepressant Nexus – in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tony Stark hacks into the NEXUS internet hub to discover that JARVIS (the AI ​​that became Vision) has dispersed his artificial consciousness across the web to stop Ultron.

In the comics, the Nexus is a multidimensional gateway that provides a path to various realities – connecting it to an antidepressant matches Wanda’s attempt to create her own reality to escape her trauma. It could be related to the next movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

“A unique antidepressant that works to anchor you in your reality. Or the reality of your choice,” the ad says. “Side effects include feeling your feelings, confronting your truth, realizing your destiny, and possibly even more depression.”

Right before Monica confronts Wanda, we see her taking pills from a bottle with a similar label.

Also in the comics, Wanda is a Nexus being – something whose power can affect odds and change the flow of time. These people are monitored by the Time Variance Authority, a group that will appear in the next Loki show.

WTF comments and questions

• The intro riffs on The Office and Modern Family.
• “I know what you’re doing Wanda” flashes on the screen during the intro, in the style of a ransom note. This could be a clue that Tommy and Billy have been kidnapped.
• Kathryn Hahn is considered one of the singers of “It Was ______ All Along”, which sounds a lot like the Munsters theme melody (and a bit like the Addams family, too).
• “I actually bit a child once.” Looks like Agatha needs her own Disney Plus series.
• The objects change from period to period, suggesting that Wanda is losing control. Or does Agatha take control away from him?
• “Don’t believe anything that man said. He’s not your uncle. After Wanda seemed to accept Pietro, she suddenly warns Tommy and Billy about him. Does his occasional cruelty about Vision’s death shaking her from her delusion?
• The voices Billy hears are the real personalities of the residents of Westview. Agnès / Agatha is “calm” because her personality is not suppressed.
• An empathetic Monica appears to have reached Wanda before Agatha interrupts her, which is hopefully set up for Wanda to come back from the edge.
• “Do you think maybe this is what you deserve?” Agatha says as an interviewer, suggesting that she punish Wanda.
• You can hear the purr as Wanda walks past Senor Scratchy the Rabbit in Agatha’s living room. The bunny could really be Agatha’s familiar cat, Ebony.
• Tommy and Billy’s controllers briefly transform into Nintendo GameCube tampons – certainly the best. They also use Wii remotes, but I don’t think this console needs my public support so much.
• Why didn’t Darcy and Vision come out and walk?

Join us for more Easter Eggs and Sightings next Friday, when episode 8 from WandaVision hits Disney Plus.

CNET’s Caitlin Petrakovitz contributed to this recap.