WandaVision



WandaVision is a nine-episode miniseries streamed in early 2021 on Disney+ as part of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in which Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their Avengers roles as Wanda Maximoff and Vision. Set only a few weeks after the climax of Avengers: Endgame, viewers find themselves thrust into the ultimate in Mood Whiplash for the MCU: what appears to be a 1950s Sit Com featuring two of the Avengers. Even as Wanda and the Vision live out their lighthearted I Love Lucy lives, though, there are already hints that something darker is going on.

Eventually we discover that an entire New Jersey town has been trapped in what SWORD -- a counterpart organization to the more familiar SHIELD -- is calling "the Westview Anomaly", and Wanda seems to be at the heart of it. Monica Rambeau, a SWORD agent and astronaut returned from Thanos' blip only three weeks earlier, is dispatched to investigate it at the request of an FBI agent, and is sucked in. There she is forced into the role of "Geraldine", one of Wanda's neighbors. But when Wanda accidentally awakens some of Monica's memories and personality, it seems to trigger the beginning of some kind of breakdown in the stability of her sitcom fantasy world.

And throughout it all it's impossible to tell if Wanda is villain or victim -- although the aggressive commander Tyler Hayward of SWORD is more than willing to paint her as a terroristic monster as his forces stage just outside the energy wall that surrounds the town, even as some familiar faces from other MCU films argue that she may be just as trapped in Westview as any of the other residents. And when respected astrophysicist Darcy Lewis, called in by SWORD as a consultant, discovers that Westview is broadcasting a Sit Com about Wanda and Vision through the cosmic background radiation of the universe, things start getting weird on both sides of the barrier.

An innovative series that won accolades from fans and critics alike, WandaVision sucked viewers in with an unusual premise that led inexorably to a classic climax that, as usual, changes the game and the rules for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and directly sets up an upcoming film, 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Note that the appearances of many tropes within the sit com segments are deliberate invocations, often lampshading their use by other series while at the same time helping establish the atmosphere of the various homages in which they appear. And sometimes, these tropes (and the fact they are tropes) become plot-critical.

"Have fun in prison!"
 * Adult Fear:  holding Billy and Tommy hostage against Wanda.
 * All Just a Dream: A recurring motif within episode eight, from a Dick Van Dyke Show episode to Wanda and Vision's own lives in Westview.
 * Anachronic Order/In Medias Res: We enter the series at a point that we don't discover is essentially the middle of the action until episode eight.  It turns out there are several weeks' worth of developments (which we don't see until episode eight) which lead directly to the first seconds of episode one.  Episode four hops backward to something near the beginning, only outside the Hex, and later episode eight bounces through several different time periods before showing us the point where the series starts.
 * And I Must Scream: The native residents of Westview, who are still aware to some degree under the "characters" imposed on them. They can even manage to express themselves through the characters, as demonstrated by Herb and the doctor.
 * Apocalypse Maiden: The destiny of the "Scarlet Witch", according to other witches' lore.
 * Arc Geometry: Hexagons.  Hexagons everywhere.  From the opening sequences to the arrangement of certificates on Hayward's office wall to the shape of the Mind Stone to the Hex itself.
 * Arc Words: "For the children", at least in the earlier episodes.
 * Aspect Ratio: Is constantly changing and a clue to where the action takes place.  Anything inside the Hex is shown in the old-fashioned 4:3 ratio; anything outside the Hex is in 1.88:1 or even 2.35:1.  Crossing the boundary in either direction results in the screen expanding or contracting accordingly.
 * The Atoner: Wanda, when the extent of what she's actually done to Westview is made clear to her in episode nine..
 * Awesome Moment of Crowning: Of a sort, when Wanda finally gains the headpiece of the Scarlet Witch in episode nine as part of a sort-of "Transformation Sequence"; it's teased a couple times before it actually happens.
 * Back from the Dead: Vision, for no known reason at the start of the show.
 * Baleful Polymorph: In general, going through the barrier around Westview and into the town changes what goes through to fit the current setting of the town, from the molecules up.  (With a couple of notable exceptions.)  Objects native to the era within -- for instance, using a 1980s-vintage drone to enter the 1980s version of Westview -- don't get changed, or at least don't get changed noticeably.  Individuals are "rewritten" to fit the setting, with a new identity and personality imposed upon them.
 * When Wanda expands the Hex in episode six, it overtakes and absorbs most of the SWORD base on the outskirts of Westview, and turns it into a circus filled with far more clowns than is usual.
 * Beam-O-War: The Vision and  in the sky over Westview in episode nine.
 * Big Damn Heroes:
 * Darcy gets her moment in episode nine, preventing 's escape by ramming his humvee with the food truck she stole from the circus.
 * Bittersweet Ending: Wanda leaves Westview arguably better off emotionally and mentally than she was before she cast the Hex, but the residents of Westview are going to suffer the psychological scars of the Hex for a long time to come, and no one will really know the sacrifice she made to save them from herself.  And in the final moments of the after-credits scene, we see her astral form studying the Darkhold, a dangerous Tome of Eldritch Lore, as the voices of her sons scream for help.
 * Book Ends: Episode eight begins and ends with an older witch telling a younger witch that she is too powerful and too dangerous to live.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall:
 * A Visual Pun when Wanda ejects Geraldine/Monica from Westview in episode three.
 * Billy and Tommy both address the audience in episode six, which is a device used by the episode's inspiration, Malcolm in the Middle.
 * The name of episode seven. That episode includes an inversion when Monica forces her way through the barrier around Westview and into the sitcom reality there.
 * In episode eight, Wanda goes from re-experiencing the creation of the sitcom version of Westview to finding herself on the set for the first episode as part of 's efforts to get her past her traumas.
 * Brief Accent Imitation:  briefly copies Wanda's Sokovian accent to mock her when it comes out for a moment early in episode eight.
 * Broken Bridge: All the road obstructions in episode seven that happen simply to prevent Darcy and Vision from driving back to Westview from the circus. Eventually Vision gets fed up and remembers he can phase and fly.
 * The Bully: In episode nine, we find out when  breaks Wanda's control on her that "Dottie" (whose real name is Sarah) has an eight-year-old daughter; she offers her as a playmate to Tommy and Billy or even to take this role if Wanda will just let her out of her room.
 * But Now I Must Go: After her brief but effective Big Damn Heroes moment in episode nine, Darcy promptly leaves Westview, having told Jimmy "debriefing is for the weak".
 * Call Back: Wanda uses the very first power we ever saw her use in the MCU -- a mind manipulation -- as her first major salvo against  in episode nine.
 * Central Theme: Grief, and the responsibility for one's actions while grieving.
 * Chekhov's Gun: The runes  uses to deprive Wanda of her powers in episode eight.
 * Color-Coded for Your Convenience: All over the place, once you get out of the black and white era.
 * Agnes always wears something purple.
 * Wanda frequently wears red, the color of her magic. Even her car is red.
 * The Mind Stone's energy, and related powers, are yellow.
 * Billy always wears red and Tommy always wears blue and/or green -- which correspond to the colors of their comic book counterparts' costumes.
 * Monica's powers appear to be colored blue.
 * Continuity Nod:
 * Jimmy Woo from the Ant-Man movies is trying to reach a person of interest to the FBI in Westview, and produces his business card for Monica when they first meet using the sleight-of-hand trick he was trying to learn in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
 * Darcy Lewis from the Thor films appears and has progressed from intern to doctor of astrophysics since we saw her last. SWORD has brought her in as an expert to help deal with the "Westview Anomaly".
 * Monica seems to get a lot of these in the form of snippets of dialogue from other MCU productions.
 * Cool Car: The rover vehicle Monica tries to use to get back into the Hex in episode seven.
 * Crapsack World: Westview, New Jersey is -- like most of the post-Thanos Earth -- run down and ill-maintained. Three weeks hasn't been nearly enough time for the damage to be repaired.
 * Creating Life: Possibly in play with Tommy and Billy; Agnes makes a couple cryptic comments that might mean they are independent free-willed beings and not magical constructs.
 * Cut and Paste Note: A Freeze-Frame Bonus in the opening credits of episode seven is a ransom-note style message reading "WANDA I KNOW WHAT U ARE DOING".
 * Deadpan Snarker: Even as an astrophysicist, Darcy still gets her zingers in.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Even as an astrophysicist, Darcy still gets her zingers in.

"What are you going to do? Your ex and your new boyfriend showed up at the same party."
 * Delivery Guy: Geraldine/Monica serves this role for Wanda in episode three.
 * Delivery Stork: Wanda and Vision paint a stork on the wall of the new nursery in episode three, followed by the appearance of a real stork that Wanda cannot seem to make vanish with her powers.
 * The Diaper Change: Although the boys don't stay babies long enough for this to actually play out on-screen, in episode three we do see Vision practicing diaper changes (using a doll which is a perfect copy of the Kitty Karry-All doll owned by The Brady Bunch' Cindy -- as seen on an episode Wanda watches in episode eight).
 * Disappears Into Light:  when Wanda finally  at the end of episode nine.
 * Doing It for the Art: The production team went out of their way to recreate the proper look-and-feel for the various sitcom styles presented, even going so far as to use period cameras, lenses and lighting for the earlier episodes, and even filming the first episode with Three Cameras in front of a live Studio Audience (of friends and family of the cast and crew, who had all signed non-disclosure agreements).
 * Drop-In Character: Agnes.
 * Dungeon Bypass: When blocked by an endless series of obstructions that prevent him and Darcy from reaching Westview in episode seven, Vision eventually gets fed up and flies there.
 * Energy Ball: Wanda's magic, when used offensively, tends to take the form of balls of wispy red energy.
 * Epiphany:, aided by Vision, is awakened to his past and memories, rediscovers himself and rejects.
 * Evolving Credits: In addition to the changing voice-over on the "Previously On..." segments (see below), episodes one through seven end with "please stand by" cards appropriate to each episode's "era" -- and there's no such notice at the end of episode eight.
 * Exactly What I Aimed At: During Wanda's aerial battle with  in episode nine, she appears to be throwing eldritch bolts wildly, missing  as often as she hits her... until it turns out.
 * Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The series finale is called "The Series Finale".
 * Express Delivery: Wanda's pregnancy runs its full length in less than twenty-four hours.
 * Far Side Island: Setting for the "Yo-Magic" commercial in episode six.
 * Five Stages of Grief: Averted. The story is ultimately about Wanda working her way through her grief at all the losses in her life, but she does so in a very idiosyncratic -- and at least at first potentially self-destructive -- way, since she has the power to accomplish what could normally only be begged for in the "Bargaining" stage, and uses it to make her Denial "real".  By doing so, she breaks out of the usual grief pattern entirely, and has to find a new path to Acceptance.
 * Flashback: Episode eight is built of flashbacks, engineered by.
 * The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Very literally.  Wanda has no compunctions about coming out of Westview and threatening violence upon the SWORD troops and Hayward.
 * Freeze-Frame Bonus:
 * In the opening credits of episode seven there is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it frame or two of a Cut and Paste Note-style message reading "WANDA I KNOW WHAT U ARE DOING".
 * Glowing Eyes/Glowing Eyes of Doom: When Wanda taps her true power her eyes begin to glow red.  Especially if she's angry when she does it.
 * Golem: In episode eight,  implies that  is something like this.
 * Halloween Episode: Episode six, "All New Halloween Spooktacular"
 * Hide Your Children: Despite charity events run "for the children", Westview is remarkably devoid of them except for the Halloween Episode and a line of schoolchildren used as a barrier to keep Darcy and Vision from getting back into town in episode seven.  Lampshaded by Vision at the end of episode five when he points out that he's never seen anyone using a nearby playground.
 * Hide Your Pregnancy: Wanda employs all the usual tricks in episode three to hide her unnaturally-sudden and -advanced pregnancy from "Geraldine", lampshading their use in series like Bewitched to hide the pregnancy from the viewer.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard:.
 * Homage: Where do we start?
 * Episode one: I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show
 * Episode two: The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie
 * Episode three: The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, That '70s Show
 * Episode five: Family Ties, Full House, Growing Pains, Step by Step
 * Episode six: Malcolm in the Middle
 * Episode seven: Modern Family, The Office, Happy Endings, The Munsters
 * Episode eight: While this episode is formed almost entirely of flashbacks (mostly to Wanda's life) and thus doesn't exist within Wanda's sitcom fantasy, the moment when Wanda transforms Westview is visually reminiscent of a similar moment in "House Call", an episode from the fifth season of Charmed.
 * Episode four has none; it is completely backstory for Monica, Jimmy Woo, and SWORD.
 * Episode nine takes place after Wanda has gotten past her need to emulate sitcoms, although she is still imposing her own desired pattern on Westview.
 * Human Mom, Nonhuman Dad: Wanda and Vision, of course, to Tommy and Billy.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each episode is named for a "standard", even cliched, line from the history of television, some of which are still used today:
 * 1) Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience
 * 2) Don't Touch That Dial
 * 3) Now in Color
 * 4) We Interrupt This Program
 * 5) On a Very Special Episode...
 * 6) All-New Halloween Spooktacular!
 * 7) Breaking the Fourth Wall
 * 8) Previously On...
 * 9) The Series Finale
 * In the Style Of: All the various "theme songs" for the different Sit Coms through which Vision and Wanda's life together progresses -- along with the special separate theme song at the end of episode seven -- are deliberate pastiches of the themes of real Sit Coms.
 * Instant Birth, Just Add Water: As part of Wanda's Express Delivery, the process of her giving birth lasts all of five minutes.
 * Jump Scare: Two, in episodes three and six; both times Wanda looks at someone and suddenly sees them as they last were in the "real world" -- Vision drained of color and his forehead torn open, Pietro/Peter riddled with bullet holes, and both very dead.
 * Kaleidoscope Eyes:  has almost literal kaleidoscope eyes which look like gems with internal facets.  When the Vision restores his memories, they change to normal human eyes.
 * Kill the Dog: At the end of her "theme song" in episode seven,  proudly admits to killing "Sparky".
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia: Neither Wanda nor Vision can remember just how they came to be in Westview.
 * Laugh Track: Used in episodes two through five.
 * Line-of-Sight Name: Agnes suggests the name "Sparky" for the dog in episode five because of sparks that fly when he tugs on an electrical cord.
 * Loss of Identity: In particular, the Ship of Theseus paradox becomes key to resolving the conflict between  in episode nine.
 * The Lost Lenore: Wanda's got a whole carload of them:  her parents, her brother, The Vision.  The cumulative grief of all these emotional wounds eventually erupts in the moment that creates sitcom!Westview.
 * Manipulative Bastard:
 * Masquerade: Wanda and Vision initially maintain one when they arrive in Westview, but Wanda becomes less and less concerned about hiding their abilities until in episode seven she attacks Monica with her powers in the street in front of their house, in full view of their neighbors.
 * Meaningful Echo: The "traditional Sokovian greeting" from episode one makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reappearance in the flashback to Wanda's childhood in episode eight.
 * The Missus and the Ex: Invoked by  early in episode nine when Vision and  are battling in the street.

"Darcy: She recast Pietro?"
 * Mistaken for Subculture: When Vision comes upon the former SWORD base, now a circus, in episode seven, an obnoxious strong man who seems to be in charge mistakes him a clown who is supposed to assist their new escape artist act.
 * Mockumentary: Episode seven employs the style of early 21st Century series like The Office and Modern Family in which Reality Show-style "interview" segments are interspersed among the story segments, representing the characters' inner thought processes.  Vision suddenly realizing he doesn't have to wait at an eternally-blocked traffic light is represented by him yanking off his lapel mike and walking off the "set".
 * Monologuing:  almost continuously throughout episode eight.  The use of the redirect here instead of the actual trope, Evil Gloating, is deliberate because it's not exactly clear that her motives are, strictly speaking, evil.
 * Motif: As this YouTube video demonstrates, every "theme song" in the show -- including the unexpected one at the end of episode seven -- is built around or employs the same four-note motif.
 * Mythology Gag: According to Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige,.
 * Necromancy: Mentioned by, who notes she couldn't use it to bring back.
 * Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:.
 * Nosy Neighbor: Agnes..
 * Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Wanda's gradual loss of her Sokovian accent during the Avengers films is lampshaded six ways from Sunday and actually becomes something of a plot point.
 * The Other Darrin: Invoked and referenced when Pietro Maximoff shows up on Wanda and Vision's doorstep at the end of episode five, and he's not played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson as he was in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but by Evan Peters, who played him in the Fox X-Men movies.


 * Parody Commercial: Every episode that's presented as a sitcom has a commercial break with... disturbing implications and hints about the story.  In general the same people appear in them, although not all of them in every one.
 * Pillar of Light: Wanda emits one in her signature red in episode nine when she begins to tear down the Hex.
 * Plot Twist: Early in episode eight, we discover that  has been trying to snap Wanda out of the "suburban sitcom" fantasy world she's created out of Westview -- contrary to what was all but stated outright in The Reveal at the end of episode seven.
 * Power At a Price: Seemingly averted by Wanda, who is monstrously powerful with almost no training or effort; this seems to deeply offend, who has worked and studied centuries for her power.
 * Power Glows: Well, yeah, it's an MCU work.  Everyone with some degree of inherent power manifests glowing, color-coded light when using it.
 * Power Incontinence: Wanda starts showing signs of this as early as episode three.  It gets much worse after she expands the Hex at the end of episode six.
 * "Previously On...": In an interesting variation on Evolving Credits, Elizabeth Olsen's Once Per Episode delivery of "Previously on WandaVision" changes with each episode, starting out perky and excited, and losing energy and growing "flatter" and more angry sounding with each episode.
 * It's also the name of episode eight, which is built mostly of flashbacks.
 * Remembered I Could Fly: Vision in episode seven: after one too many road obstructions appear to prevent him from returning to Westview with Darcy, he finally just phases through the roof of the food truck they're in and flies off.  Lampshaded in the Mockumentary segment that's supposed to represent his inner thoughts, Modern Family-style, when he suddenly declares, "Why am I just sitting around here?", pulls off his lapel mike, and walks off the "set".
 * Requisite Royal Regalia: At one point the leader of the witches during the flashback in episode eight appears to be wearing a crown made of blue magical energy.
 * Reset Button: Cited in-universe several times in episode eight, as Wanda explains in different contexts that it's one of the things she loves about sit coms -- that no matter what happenes everything will be all right at the end.  And at the same time it seems to be darkly foreshadowing that WandaVision is not that kind of show, and there'll be no reset button to fix things at the end.
 * The Reveal: In episode eight we discover that Wanda did not storm SWORD and steal Vision's body, as Hayward had claimed in an earlier episode --.
 * Scenery Censor: Wanda gives birth in the living room of her home, with the lower half of her body hidden from the camera's point of view by the couch.
 * Shadow Archetype:, to Wanda.
 * Show Within a Show: WandaVision, the show being broadcast out of the Hex unconsciously by Wanda.
 * Skyward Scream/Death Wail: Wanda amidst the abandoned foundations of the unbuilt house in Westview she and Vision were to live in, in episode eight.
 * Slow Clap:  in the empty audience of the TV studio version of Wanda and Vision's 1950s-era home, during a flashback in episode eight.
 * Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: Invoked, lampshaded and maybe even mocked with Tommy and Billy going from infants to seven-year-olds in an instant in episode five -- and then aging themselves up to ten a few minutes later so they can keep a dog they found.  Later in the same episode Wanda convinces them not to age themselves up again to escape grieving for the dog after it dies.
 * Spell My Name with a "The": "The Vision" appears to be his legal and formal name -- in episode eight Hayward uses it, as does the deed in Wanda's possession.  Addressing him as "Vision" appears to be an affectionate diminutive (and "Vizh" even more so).
 * Standard Fifties Father: Vision's role in the first episode, despite there being no children in the family.
 * Stealth Insult: When the expanding Hex engulfs the SWORD base at the end of episode six, it turns into a circus filled with clowns.
 * Stealth Joke: When she, Monica and Jimmy are thrown off the SWORD base by Hayward (and escape their escort), Darcy is the only one to stay behind.  When she reveals herself at the end of episode six, she's handcuffed to a truck, and is unable to escape when Wanda expands the Hex.  She becomes the new escape artist -- wrapped in chains -- for the circus the SWORD base is turned into.  (In a moment of disgust with Vision she simply shrugs and the chains drop off her.)
 * Studio Audience: Used for the I Love Lucy Homage episode and made up of friends and family of the cast and crew who had all signed non-disclosure agreements.
 * Super-Hero Origin: Going through the boundary around Westview alters a person to a molecular level.  Monica Rambeau goes through it three times and ends up empowered like her comic book counterpart.
 * In episode eight, we learn.
 * And ultimately, the entire series is the story of how Wanda became a near-mythical figure of power exceeding even that of the Sorceror Supreme -- the Scarlet Witch.
 * Survivor Guilt: It's never explicitly said so, but it seems obvious that Wanda suffers at least some degree of this in addition to her grief.
 * Three Cameras: Used in filming the I Love Lucy Homage episode.
 * Three-Month-Old Newborn: Tommy and Billy, upon their birth at the end of episode three.
 * Three-Point Landing: Monica makes one when she breaks free of Wanda's attack in episode seven.
 * Tome of Eldritch Lore: The book surrounded by wisps of red light found in Agnes' basement at the end of episode seven, which turns out to be.
 * Too Many Babies: Apparently, having a pair of twin infants for all of a couple days is enough to leave two superheroes utterly frazzled.
 * Torches and Pitchforks: Invoked by in episode nine as a reason for Wanda to yield her magic.
 * Transformation Sequence: Wanda's "ascension" into the Scarlet Witch in episode nine is played a little like this, complete with swirly lights and a costume change.
 * Translation Convention: Subverted in the flashback to Wanda's childhood in episode eight -- rather than Sokovian, the Maximoff family speaks in English because it is their practice to do so on the nights they watch American sit coms.
 * Trapped in TV Land: When we first learn that neither Wanda nor Vision actually remember how they ended up in Westview, a variation of this trope appears to be in play.
 * The Un-Reveal:
 * Monica's unknown engineer friend was given just enough build-up to generate rampant viewer speculation that he might be a major figure up to and including Reed Richards. Turns out she was no one familiar from the comics at all.
 * On the other hand, viewers familiar with Marvel Comics had sussed out that Agnes was actually several weeks before it was confirmed at the end of episode seven, so her unmasking was less a surprise and more "I knew it!" for most watchers.
 * Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Geraldine/Monica utterly fails to notice Wanda's sudden and advanced pregnancy in episode three until Wanda goes into labor right in front of her.
 * Very Special Episode: The actual title of episode five, which is a self-aware "very special episode".
 * Visual Pun: When Wanda ejects Geraldine/Monica from Westview at the end of episode three, she sends her hurling through four walls.
 * We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties: Episodes one through six all begin their end credits with a period-appropriate "Please Stand By" card.
 * We Interrupt This Program: The title of episode four, in which we see what's happening outside Westview for the first time.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?:
 * The "witness" Jimmy Woo was sent to check on in Westview -- who got mentioned once early on and then was all but forgotten.
 * And what about ? Vision released his memories, he rejected his role as Hayward's weapon and the two essentially reconciled, and then he took off for parts unknown.
 * Whole Costume Reference: In episode six, the "Halloween" episode, Vision and Wanda both wear cheap homemade versions of their iconic comic book costumes.  Wanda says hers is a "traditional Sokovian fortune teller", while Vision's is described as a luchadore.
 * Whole-Plot Reference: The plots of the Dick Van Dyke Show, Brady Bunch and Malcolm in the Middle episodes Wanda is shown watching in flashbacks in epsiode eight all have parallels to the overall plot of WandaVision.