WandaVision 2: Sitcoms and Superheroes and Spoilers too

[Poobah]

Spoiler

Finally got a bit of extra time to write my thoughts:

• It's good to get some extra depth to Agatha, it seems like she's not, or at least in the flashback wasn't, fully in control of her powers. Like she certainly didn't seem to make a conscious effort to drain the life out of her mother and the rest of the coven when they tried to magic her.
• On the infinity stone theme I note that Agatha spoke about following her power or something, and her magical colour is purple like the power stone.
• I find it interesting, and they even lampshade hung it about Wander an earlier episode, that none of the spellcasters in the MCU so far have "superhero names" - even Doctor Strange is his actual literal name and all his fellow wizards use theirs too, likewise Agatha uses hers and so does Wanda. Then of course we got the Scarlet Witch name drop at the end.
• I assume her newly discovered reality warper powers will play in to the upcoming multiverse stuff.
• So the kids are completely created from nothing, as is the Vision in the town.
• Hayward looking like the actual bad guy of the show of course. I mentioned previously that it's a tired concept and I still think so.
• I'm assuming that White!Vision will somehow merge with Wanda!Vision to enable bringing back a complete and independent Vision.

Overall this was a pretty bumpy episode for me, almost pure exposition and a bunch of it rehashing Wanda's origin story which has already been gone over once or twice in the movies. I didn't hate the Agatha flashback as much as some people here but agree it was a bit on the cringe side. I am generally enjoying her as a character though and hope she makes it out of the show alive.

[Heartofice]

Yeah right now I think I would have preferred some hideous old crone with a wart on her nose, cackling insanely to the Agatha we are getting here. Her character worked in sitcom world, as an exaggeration, but if that is genuinely what she is like then that is pretty irritating.

I mentioned up thread that her witches basement looked like a caricature of the sort of place a witch would live. I assumed it was, that it was an over the top facade coming out of Wanda’s mind, and hopefully it still is, but if not, it’s just really silly. And that opening scene was SILLY

[Rhom]

 

I've been trying to edit a quote from @Poobah without the spoiler box for like five minutes... so to hell with it. 

Quote

• I'm assuming that White!Vision will somehow merge with Wanda!Vision to enable bringing back a complete and independent Vision.

This was my initial thought as well.  We'll have some sort of Vision vs Vision showdown where the Magenta Vision wins out.

Creates some iffy things for the kids long term survivability though.  Vision broke apart outside the Hex.  What happens to the boys with nothing to anchor to?

[Corvinus85]

To hell with the Avengers and those UN assholes that are supposed to oversee them. No emotional support for Wanda, and now she's the baddie.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

19 minutes ago, Rhom said:

 

I've been trying to edit a quote from @Poobah without the spoiler box for like five minutes... so to hell with it. 

This was my initial thought as well.  We'll have some sort of Vision vs Vision showdown where the Magenta Vision wins out.

Creates some iffy things for the kids long term survivability though.  Vision broke apart outside the Hex.  What happens to the boys with nothing to anchor to?

Vision breaking though the Hex wall was interesting.  I figured he would become inert and fall over having reverted to his “corpse” form.  He didn’t.  He was conscious and able to communicate.  He was simply pull back into the Hex.  That means he does have independent action and sentience.  He’s more than a mental construct dependent upon Wanda.

Vision is a real boy.  Is suspect their children are real too.

I’m dieing to know what happened between Monica and Xverse Peitro.

 

[williamjm]

I agree the opening scene was a bit cliched and silly. I did like most of the rest of the episode, although it does feel it's leaving a lot for the last episode (is the next one the finale?).

Is the next episode going to be called Double Vision and if not why not?

I find it interesting, and they even lampshade hung it about Wander an earlier episode, that none of the spellcasters in the MCU so far have "superhero names" - even Doctor Strange is his actual literal name and all his fellow wizards use theirs too, likewise Agatha uses hers and so does Wanda. Then of course we got the Scarlet Witch name drop at the end.

It does seem uncommon to use pseudonyms but I'm pretty sure The Ancient One isn't using their real name.

[RumHam]

2 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

He wants Vision re-activated but under his control. We see in that scene at the lab that he tries to goad Wanda with the possibility of resurrecting Vision. But that doesn't work. Then the Hex is discovered, and through the sitcom broadcast, he realizes that Wanda re-created Vision from nothing. Then he offers a motive for the group of people from multiple agencies to find a way in the Hex and end Wanda's fantasy - she stole Vision's body and she's unhinged.

I would have thought the townsfolk being mind controlled to play roles in a sitcom was enough motivation. And now what's he gonna say when people see white vision? "uuh... I brought that synthazoid from home."

 

[DaveSumm]

Glad it’s not just me with that opening scene. I fucking hate it when shows lean into witch stuff and just go “Salem, 1600’s, incantations, that’ll do”. And the classic ‘shooting lasers from your hands’ magic, famously the bottom rung of all the magic systems. A real shame, I hope they don’t dwell on it.

Then it got a fair bit better, although it’s mostly filling in gaps. I’m a bit nervous though with so much up in the air. I was hoping Agatha was going to call her a nexus being at the end, at the moment it feels like an awful lot of work just so we can call Wanda a genuine ‘witch’. Who was that coming out of the mind stone? And how ‘real’ can we call the things that Wanda creates? It seems likely her kids will stick around, but two Visions? Unless in the finale, Wanda fuses monochrome Vision (who can exist outside her bubble) and ‘actual Vision’ (somehow retaining his personality through Wanda’s stone powers?). It seems overpowered for the future if she can create literally anything though.

[Kalbear]

I thought it was clear that it was the scarlet witch coming out of the mind stone. It's very close to her comic costume. 

[JGP]

6 minutes ago, Karlbear said:

I thought it was clear that it was the scarlet witch coming out of the mind stone. It's very close to her comic costume. 

I had to skip back and pause it, but yeah. Definitely some kind of Nexus or higher version of Wanda. 

[Kalbear]

And hey, @JEORDHl - you were right! Wanda is totally going to be responsible for thousands of people hating and fearing her because she felt bad. 

My new prediction is that this is going to be entirely glossed over.

[JGP]

15 minutes ago, Karlbear said:

And hey, @JEORDHl - you were right! Wanda is totally going to be responsible for thousands of people hating and fearing her because she felt bad. 

My new prediction is that this is going to be entirely glossed over.

Being the far superior narrative choice [imo] the showrunners were brave enough, and clearly had the rope. I hope you're wrong and they don't gloss over but run with it instead.

Time will tell, I suppose, but it wouldn't be a terribly bad place to launch off a general anti-mutant or perhaps even an anti-super sentiment-- without cocking it up like Snyder did at the other half of the Big Two.

[Jaxom 1974]

4 hours ago, JEORDHl said:

 

Hayward's referred to Vision as a 'weapon, expensive hardware, blar de blar' a few times, iirc, so it would follow that an intent to reanimate and control something that advanced that he doesn't consider human, say, wouldn't be met with approval by Wanda, the Avengers, or possibly in general, Hayward doesn't want an independent Vision back, he wants a host with Vision's abilities to do with what he would. There was a stint in West Coast Avengers run where Vision was white. That was a long time ago so I can't recall the details offhand. It could simply be a callback, and symbolic for being a white board maybe.

       

VisionQuest was Byrne’s initial AWC storyline. Vision was deconstructed. When Hank Pym tried to rebuild him, he didn't have Wonder Man's mind pattern and some other things, so Vision came out white, emotionless, and more robotic.  Helped push Wanda over the edge to becoming evil later on...

The show is liberally borrowing scraps from that storyline, without actually doing that storyline...

[Kalbear]

47 minutes ago, Mr Gordo said:

Wow, I uh, thought Agatha was amazing and this was a very emotional powerful episode. 

And yeah that was future her on the mind stone now when I think about it.

Also I’m thinking Dr Strange has to show up now if only for the last 5 mins.

Went back and looked at it, and it's not only clear that it's a Scarlet Witch outfit, it's also Elizabeth Olsen playing that ethereal being. It looks like a more modern costume version with something like a half-dress behind her, though I guess it could be a cape. It's pretty close to her Sokovian costume idea.

[RumHam]

3 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I’m dieing to know what happened between Monica and Xverse Peitro.

I really don't think that's Xverse Peitro. Agatha said it was too much trouble to bring him back as a zombie because his body was on another continent. It seems unlikely it was easier to pull another version of him from another universe and forward ~30 years in time. I think the casting was probably just a meta joke.

Whatever happens in the final episode will probably open the door for the multiverse stuff. 

[AverageGuy]

Opening scene and the "You are the Scarlet Witch" line were both a little cringe-y. That aside, I liked it overall. I know it was heavy exposition but I was still entertained. Interested to see how they wrap it up next week.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

11 minutes ago, RumHam said:

I really don't think that's Xverse Peitro. Agatha said it was too much trouble to bring him back as a zombie because his body was on another continent. It seems unlikely it was easier to pull another version of him from another universe and forward ~30 years in time. I think the casting was probably just a meta joke.

Whatever happens in the final episode will probably open the door for the multiverse stuff. 

Ockham’s razor suggests that’s the Xverse Pietro.

[RumHam]

2 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Ockham’s razor suggests that’s the Xverse Pietro.

Does that really apply to fiction?

I don't even see how Xverse Peter works as an alternate version of MCU quicksilver. He's decades older, is not a twin, has different parents and a different country of origin. 

[Heartofice]

The absolute worst solution is that this Pietro is nothing more than a cheeky wink to the audience and isn’t actually in any way pointing to a bigger crossover or plot. I would hate that.

[RumHam]

2 hours ago, Heartofice said:

The absolute worst solution is that this Pietro is nothing more than a cheeky wink to the audience and isn’t actually in any way pointing to a bigger crossover or plot. I would hate that.

Do we really want a crossover with the Fox movies? I mean we're apparently getting one with Deadpool 3 but he's a special case and I'm really curious how they'll handle his fourth wall breaking. Anyway I'd rather Marvel Studios just do their own take on the X-Men. 

I could see Even Peter's character being an alternate Peitro maybe, but I just can't imagine them somehow indicating "Hey this is the guy from those other movies" 

But the way that Agatha called him a fake I think suggests he's just that. That would have been the moment I think to confirm he was from another world. And as I said above it seems really unlikely that Agatha has the power to access other dimensions and travel through time, but traveling to Europe to get Peitro's body was unfeasible. 

But hey I'm usually wrong about these things.