WandaVision

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

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, while 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. It is the twenty-fourth work in the MCU, and the first work released as part of its Phase Four.

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.

WARNING! There are unmarked Spoilers ahead. Beware.

Tropes used in WandaVision include:
  • Adult Fear: Agnes/Agatha 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.
  • All There in the Manual: The commercials? Dr. Strange's attempt to reach into the Hex and contact Wanda. But the only way to know that would be to consult interviews and other supplemental materials about the show.
  • 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.
  • Aside Glance: All throughout episode seven as part of its inherent homages.
  • 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. She willingly gives up her happiness with Vision and her sons to take down the Hex and then essentially exiles herself after leaving Westview.
  • 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. It's not until episode eight that we discover that Wanda has apparently recreated him from scratch, the yellow energies involved suggesting with the use of the Mind Stone's power, while SWORD still retains his original body.
    • In the final moments before he is unmade by Wanda collapsing the Hex in episode nine, he offers her the hope that he may yet come back to her once more.
  • Badass Family: Wanda, Vision, Billy and Tommy, particularly in episode nine.
  • 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.
    • In episode nine, Wanda locks Agatha into her role as Nosy Neighbor Agnes, transforming her both in mind and body.
  • Beam-O-War: The Vision and the White Vision in the sky over Westview in episode nine.
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • Darcy gets her moment in episode nine, preventing Hayward'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.
  • Black Best Friend: Geraldine seems to serve this role for Wanda until too much of Monica surfaces; and in an interesting reflection, Monica seems to take on this role for Wanda in episode nine.
  • 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 Agnes/Agatha's efforts to get her past her traumas.
  • Brief Accent Imitation: Agnes/Agatha 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 Agnes/Agatha 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 Agnes/Agatha in episode nine.
  • Central Theme: Grief, and the responsibility for one's actions while grieving.
  • Chekhov's Gun: The runes Agnes/Agatha uses to deprive Wanda of her powers in episode eight.
  • Clip Show: Episode eight, "Previously On...", is presented as an ersatz clip show.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: All over the place, once you get out of the black and white era.
    • Agnes always wears something purple. And when she is revealed to be Agatha Harkness, her magic is also 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.

Have fun in prison!

  • 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'‍s Cindy -- as seen on an episode Wanda watches in episode eight).
  • Disappears Into Light: The Vision when Wanda finally draws the magic of the Hex back into herself 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). Even beyond that, the camera crew and production team all wore period clothing for the filming. (And judging from some of the footage in the WandaVision episode of Marvel's Assembled, so did some of the audience!)
  • 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: The White Vision, aided by Vision, is awakened to his past and memories, rediscovers himself and rejects Hayward's contention that he is an easily-controlled weapon and nothing more.
  • 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.
    • And of course there are the different opening credits for each episode, styled after the sit com(s) which subsequently receive Homages in that episode.
  • Exactly What I Aimed At: During Wanda's aerial battle with Agnes/Agatha in episode nine, she appears to be throwing eldritch bolts wildly, missing Agnes/Agatha as often as she hits her... until it turns out she's been inscribing runes on the inside of the Hex to deprive her opponent of her ability to use magic.
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The series finale is called "The Series Finale".
  • The Exile: What Wanda does to Agnes/Agatha at the end of episode nine amounts to.
  • Express Delivery: Wanda's pregnancy runs its full length in less than twenty-four hours.
  • Fail O'Suckyname: Ralph/Pietro is clearly less than pleased that his last name is "Bohner"[1]
  • Fanservice: Episode 2 has the curvy Wanda wearing a very flattering magician's assistant costume. Then there's episode 7, where Darcy's tight-fitting escape artist outfit serves as little more than an excuse to show off Kat Dennings'... assets.
  • 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 Agatha/Agnes.
  • 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".
  • The Ghost: Agnes' husband Ralph. Subverted when we discover in episode nine that "Pietro" is Ralph, and he isn't her husband so much as he is a brainwashed slave.
  • 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, Agnes/Agatha implies that the fake Pietro -- or "Fietro" -- is something like this. He isn't.
  • Halloween Episode: Episode six, "All New Halloween Spooktacular".
  • Happily Ever After: What Wanda is desperately trying to force into existence for herself, despite the tragedies and traumas of her life.
  • Hate Sink: While he starts off seeming like a reasonable, and even good man, Hayward is eventually revealed to be a ruthless madman willing to violate Vision's will by repurposing his corpse into a weapon, as well as recklessly try to kill Wanda with no regard for collateral damage. He also becomes a lot less pleasant and acts like a tremendous asshole in every other scene.
  • 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. We find out in episode nine that they've apparently been sealed in their rooms when Wanda's "story" doesn't require them.
  • 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: By casually showing off in episode eight how learned she is in magic, Agatha accidentally teaches Wanda the one thing needed to defeat her.
  • Homage: Where do we start?
  • 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
  • Immune to Bullets: Monica Rambeau after she passes through the boundary of the Hex for the final time. When Hayward shoots her, the bullets flow through her as though passing through a gel, losing their energy in the process and simply falling to the ground when they exit her body.
  • 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.
  • Jittercam: As part of the "self-videotaped" look of episode seven's opening credits.
  • Joisey: Set in the fictional town of Westview, New Jersey.[2] Judging from the geography and the locale, it's probably supposed to be somewhere in Hunterdon County -- which is supported by the zip code on the deed: 08801 is Annandale, NJ, almost dead center in the county.
  • 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: The White Vision 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, Agnes (really Agatha Harkness) 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.
  • Learnt English From Watching Television: In a flashback we see Wanda and Pietro learned English from watching American sitcoms as kids, along with their parents. They had achieved a remarkable fluency at a surprisingly early age.
  • Light Is Not Good: Hayward creates a ghostly white copy of Vision that serves as a ruthless living weapon. That is, however, until he and the real Vision fight and talk philosophy, which leads to White Vision gaining the original's memories and breaking free from Hayward's control, parting on good terms with his other self.
  • 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 Vision and the White Vision 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: Hayward. It becomes clear in episode eight that he wants Wanda to restore Vision -- he presses every button he can think of to get her to do so. He paints Wanda as an unrepentant terrorist when discussing her with his underlings and the experts he's brought in. He also lies to Monica, as seen in episode four, saying that Wanda stole the Vision's body when she didn't, in the hope of getting... something out of Westview to help him reboot the reassembled Vision -- which succeeds when Wanda returns the drone, covered in her red energy.
  • 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 openly 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.
  • Meaningful Name: Senor Scratchy, Agnes' bunny. While it comes off as a cute, inoffensive pet name, Scratch is also a name used to refer to the Devil, specifically as Old Scratch. And while the scene was left on the cutting room floor, he was originally supposed to be revealed as a demonic abomination taking the form of a rabbit.
  • Medium Awareness: Wanda has almost complete control over the Show Within a Show being broadcast out of Westview -- she edits out things she doesn't want "seen" and at one point actually starts the end-of-episode credits rolling in an attempt to short-circuit an incipient argument with Vision (although it doesn't work).
  • Mind Rape: Wanda is subjecting an entire town's worth of people to this as she sucks the entirety of Westview into The Hex so she can have them act out her ideal sitcom life. When they're freed from their brainwashing, it's shown to be incredibly traumatic for them.
  • The Missus and the Ex: Invoked by Agatha early in episode nine when Vision and the White Vision are battling in the street.

What are you going to do? Your ex and your new boyfriend showed up at the same party.

  • 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: Agnes/Agatha almost continuously throughout episode eight. The use of the redirect here instead of the actual trope, Evil Gloating, is deliberate because at the time it's not exactly clear that her motives are, strictly speaking, evil. They are, though.
  • 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, the casting of Evan Peters as Pietro/Peter.
  • Necromancy: Mentioned by Agnes/Agatha, who notes she couldn't use it to bring back Pietro, as his body was too far away for her to reach (and probably too riddled with bullets for it to work anyway).
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: All Agnes/Agatha's efforts to drain Wanda of her magic accomplish is to fully waken her to her potential as the Scarlet Witch. Worse yet, in the process of showing off her centuries of study, Agnes/Agatha teaches Wanda just enough of formal magic to defeat her.
  • Nosy Neighbor: Agnes. When Wanda finally defeats Agnes/Agatha in episode nine, she locks Agatha into the role of Agnes, explicitly calling her the "nosy neighbor", and implies that she's bound her to Westview.
  • Old Format, New Work: As noted elsewhere on this page, all but the the final few episodes were filmed in the style of (and using techniques and equipment from) Sit Coms from various decades of television history.
  • One True Pairing: In-universe, Darcy feels this way about Wanda and Vision, and tells Vision so as they drive back into town in episode seven.
  • 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.

Darcy: She recast Pietro?

  • 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 Agnes/Agatha 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. It then twists again, when we find out that the only reason she was helping Wanda break out of her self-delusion was to make it possible to steal her power.
  • Power At a Price: Seemingly averted by Wanda, who is monstrously powerful with almost no training or effort; this seems to deeply offend Agnes/Agatha, 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 during the flashback in episode eight, the leader of the witches 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 happens 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. Ultimately subverted in that Wanda herself presses the metaphorical reset button at the end and returns Westview to what it was before she changed it, undoing everything she did to make it "all right" to begin with.
  • 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 -- she (re)created the Vision we've seen in the show out of wholecloth; and not only that, but SWORD still has Vision's body and has reassembled it.
  • 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: Agnes/Agatha, to Wanda.
  • Show Within a Show: WandaVision, the show being broadcast out of the Hex unconsciously by Wanda.
  • Signature Colors: All over the place, once the show leaves the black-and-white era.
    • Agnes always wears something purple. And when she is revealed to be Agatha Harkness, her magic is also purple.
    • Wanda frequently wears red, the color of her magic. Even her car is red.
    • The Mind Stone, its 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.
  • 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.
  • Slipped the Ropes: Darcy, "recast" as an escape artist when Wanda expands the Hex and engulfs the SWORD base, simply shrugs off the mass of chains binding her.
  • Slow Clap: Agnes/Agatha 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 it's averted when 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.
  • Stunt Casting: Deliberately invoked by the casting of Evan Peters as Pietro.
  • 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 Wanda has always had her powers -- she is a born witch, and used them to save her and Pietro's lives when they were ten. All the Mind Stone did, at least according to Agnes/Agatha, was restore and amplify Wanda's natural talent which had been up to that point "withering".
    • 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.
  • Surveillance Drone: The disappearance of the one she sends into the Hex prompts Monica to try to reach through the wall enclosing it -- and results in her being sucked in; both she and the drone are "reformatted" to fit the 1950s reality currently inside, with the drone becoming a toy helicopter. A 1980s-vintage drone is later sent into the Hex during its 1980s phase and escapes "translation" because it was already appropriate to the era.
  • 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.
  • Theme Initials: According to creator Jac Shaeffer, the town name "Westview" was settled on in part because it incorporated the same "W-V" combination as "WandaVision".
  • 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 the Darkhold.
  • 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 Agnes/Agatha 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.
    • It's definitely in play for Monica when we first see her as "Geraldine"; as seen in episode four, she was literally sucked into Westview and forcibly "cast" as Geraldine.
  • Trial and Error Gameplay: A variation of this video game trope is in play starting from the first episode -- Wanda keeps (unconsciously) changing the decade and sit com style of her life with Vision every time something happens that breaks her Willing Suspension of Disbelief, in the hopes that she will get it "right" and find a "perfect" setting to live in Happily Ever After.
  • 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. Although the episode nine mid-credits scene offers a tantalizing hint that she may have been a Skrull, along with the other SWORD agents loyal to Monica instead of Hayward.
    • On the other hand, viewers familiar with Marvel Comics had sussed out that Agnes was actually Agatha Harkness 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".
  • Villain Song: The sitcom theming gives the MCU an excuse to finally have a Disney-esque musical number for one of its villains: It's been Agatha all along!
  • 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.[3]
    • And what about the White Vision? 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.
  • Willing Suspension of Disbelief: Wanda submerges herself in her "role" in each sit com setting and is depending on giving herself an internally-consistent sit com life with Vision, but she can't control everything, so her suspension of disbelief is violated again and again by events like Mr. Hart choking at dinner. And every time something reminds her it's fake, she resets Westview and tries again.
  • Wingding Eyes: Vision's eyes turn into hearts when Wanda kisses him in the animated opening for episode two.
  1. Some viewers point to his reaction as evidence that it may not actually be his real name, and he may be Jimmy Woo's "witness".
  2. There is a real West View in New Jersey, but it's an urban area adjacent to Hackensack, not the rural town shown in the show.
  3. Director Matt Shakman hinted in an interview after the series concluded that the unknown witness had not been forgotten, and might be revealed in a later MCU production.