Why WandaVision Should Reveal Its Big Bad Now, Versus Later

With just three episodes left, WandaVision needs to conjure firm answers, and quick, about who all is behind the proverbial curtain. Especially if it’s not Wanda herself.

Disney+’s first Marvel series has rightly earned kudos for spinning a slickly produced, highly unique and super-fun yarn, dropping Wanda Maximoff and her synthezoid “husband” Vision (played by MCU vets Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany) inside a sitcom-perfect enclave.

But after spending six episodes (two-thirds of its run) raising questions about the mastermind behind the weird world that has vexed both Vision and the S.W.O.R.D. agents camped outside, and largely teasing that it is a grief-stricken Wanda herself, it is time to confirm who the Big Bad is — and in doing so allow enough build-up to the inevitable season-ending showdown.

WandaVision Dottie
WandaVision Dottie

At first, WandaVision had us thinking that both Wanda and Vision were oblivious to the artificial nature of their Westview existence (see them hem and haw when asked about their backstory by the Harts). Then, it was lightly suggested that Emma Caulfield’s Dottie “For the Children” Jones was more than just the resident queen bee (see how quickly she changed the subject after that strange radio broadcast, and casually slashing her hand with a broken glass).

Of course, from go there has been speculation that Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) is not just a nosy neighbor, but in fact might be a top-shelf sorceress in her own right, given her non-reactions to the rapid aging of twins Tommy and Billy and the fact that of all the “Westview” characters on S.W.O.R.D.’s bulletin board, she is the only one that Darcy, Jimmy et al have yet to match to a real person’s driver’s license. (Her choice of Halloween costume, in turn, was quite on-the-warted nose.)

Speaking of S.W.O.R.D., lord knows that Acting Director Hayward (Josh Stamberg) has been acting conspicuously aggressive, starting with his covert plan to launch a missile at Wanda and most recently evidenced by his ejection of level-headed Monica from the premises. But is he merely a mid-level poser, out to exploit the Westview anomaly for his and Project CATARACT’s own means?

Lastly, beginning with the shocking end to Episode 3 — when Wanda blasted gal pal “Geraldine” across town and through the Hex’s barrier — we have been led to believe that She Who Should One Day Be Known as the Scarlet Witch is the architect of this artifice and will do whatever is necessary to keep potential buzzkills from going off script.

Agnes herself has indicated as much, turning to Wanda for direction when an Episode 5 scene hit a snag, and most recently by telling Vision (after he “unlocked” her true personality) that Wanda “won’t even let us think about” leaving town. Similarly, an oddly persistent Pietro (Evan Peters) pressed Wanda at the Halloween festival about how his sis managed to pull off such a large-scale, energy suck of an illusion.

♦ Is Wanda truly the primary perpetrator of this sitcom prison? There are many clues to the contrary, including a yet-to-air trailer moment where she and Vision agree to “fight for” their home. And every act of aggression we have seen from her can also be viewed as self-preservation, by someone resolved to staying put in an admitted fantasy.

♦ Is Agnes employing some misdirection, “framing” Wanda for something that she orchestrated? (Given Wanda’s response to Pietro’s line of questioning, she claims she is unsure how she did it — and previously, she convincingly assured Vision, “I don’t know how any of this started in the first place.”)

♦ Or is someone entirely different, a character we have not yet met or do not yet know by their true name, manipulating Wanda, Vision et al?

If a character we have yet to truly meet (perhaps some version of this devilish baddie?) is in fact the Big Bad, the time is absolutely now to reveal as much, in Episode 7 debuting this Friday, Feb. 19. Because with just three episodes to go (speculated to average 50 minutes each), we need sufficient time to get the download on motivations and means. And that will likely involve an elaborate “rewind” to recontextualize Wanda’s stealing of Vision’s corpse and spell out how Westview first came into existence. Even one more episode of stalling, teasing and red herrings would be precious time to waste.

Do you agree that answers need to be delivered in Episode 7? Or are you willing to hold out until Episode 8 (or later) to learn who WandaVision’s Big Bad is? And who is your current guess as to said supervillain?

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