Is WandaVision Confusing? Here's What You Need to Know To Understand the Show

Credit: Marvel Studios


Credit: Marvel Studios

With all the strange things happening in WandaVision, it is understandable that some may still be confused about most things in the show.

Part of the new way of storytelling WandaVision is going for is that while the life of Wanda and Vision is seemingly perfect, each episode will be building up next to the other leading to the grand reveal of what really is happening in the series.

Albeit an uncanny way to tell a story, the show is laid out in a way that all the information is given away in detail and hints at first then it would gradually connect over time until it reaches the full truth.

Here are a few things to help you understand and get in tune with the show:

WandaVision being in black and white then technicolor

WandaVision had its first two episodes in black and white. A creative yet unusual choice, the show creator, Jac Schaeffer explained that the series is paying a tribute to the incredible shows of the past especially during the golden age of television.

Aside from paying tribute, the show also uses each era of television as a marker for each episode with the first one set in the ‘50s, the second in the ‘60s, and the third in the ‘70s.

While paying homage to popular televisions of the time, the series also utilizes the style to fit the story they are trying to tell and as we draw closer to the present, more information is revealed.

Following the trend, the show will continue with the use of each era until it reaches the present time whereas things get stranger, the truth behind everything happening becomes clearer.

Why is Vision alive in WandaVision?

One of the many questions since the first trailer of WandaVision is how is Vision still alive even after the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Given that the timeline of the series is set after Avengers: Endgame, it could definitely baffle the viewers how he is alive and well in the show.

Wanda has the power to warp the fabric of reality. Being her ever beloved, Wanda could have used her powers to bring Vision into life with her chaos magic. Dealing with immense grief as Thanos literally took everything from her, Wanda may seem out of control of her powers but it doesn't limit her, and rather, her power is possibly taking over her.

Another is that Vision is a sentient AI that technology could revive as explained by Shuri back in Infinity War. Vision could have been pieced again and without Thanos insight, Shuri may now have more time to bring Vision back. This is possible; however, it still cannot explain the return of the mind Stone on Vision's forehead.

A darker reason for Vision's revival could be Mephisto, ruler of the underworld yet to be introduced in the MCU. Mephisto could have given the life of Vision back but it will definitely be at a cost as Mephisto is known for his evil motives. It is possible that he gave Vision back to have Wanda under his wing and use her powers to strengthen his evil measures.

WandaVision's commercials

Another way Marvel thought of dropping hints is the commercial for WandaVision. Fitting in with the era chosen for the episode, Marvel made commercials that are special for the whole MCU and WandaVision. The first three commercials seem to all connect to Wanda's past and her identity as to what led her to become who she is today.

The first commercial is the Toast Mate 2000 of Stark Industries where the tagline is "Forget the past, this is your future." Stark Industries has a direct connection to Wanda as it is a bomb from the company that killed her parents and led her and his brother to a life full of experiments with Strucker.

"Forget the past" could mean that Wanda has to bury her dark and painful past and "this is your future" could mean that Wanda has to move on and face the reality on her own. The second line could also point to Wanda's magic-made future as a normal couple alongside Vision in Westview.

The second commercial has more deliberate information: The Strucker Watch. Strucker is the name of the man who experimented on Wanda and Pietro as seen in the end credits of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The tagline is "Strucker: He'll make time for you" where it could mean that the real nature of the reality that Wanda and Vision are living in is one that is outside the bounds of time, beyond time itself or an alternate time made by Wanda where she can rewind or alter at will.

The third is Hydra Soak. This commercial gives away more of what is happening to Wanda finding the goddess within herself as one of the most powerful, if not the most, in the MCU. Bearing the word "hydra" like the second commercial, it is a direct link to Hydra's connection to Wanda's past.

It says "escape to a world all your own where your problems float away" which can be directly linked into Wanda's pocket reality with her escaping the real world with all the painful events and into one of her own where she seems happy.

WandaVision's glitches

There have been numerous glitches in the show and it proves worthy of noting that each glitch was deliberately made and it is under the control of Wanda. If not under Wanda's powers, it appears in ways where it could seemingly fit the reality Wanda is in.

There is the mysterious beekeeper that Wanda recognized and upon saying the word "no," everything hit a rewind. The beekeeper is surely not part of the world Wanda wants to live in so she had to erase him by rewriting the narrative on her own.

The red helicopter and the blood on Dottie's hand popped the color red which explains that those things are not meant to be there inside Wanda's bubble of reality. It was out of place and is not supposed to be there which is why the colors appeared despite the black and white theme of the episode.

The glitch where Vision said that something is wrong and was replaced with words, without doubt, explains that Wanda only hears what she wants to hear.

WandaVision's Westview and the townspeople

Westview is the town where Wanda and Vision moved as a newly-wed couple. While it is seemingly perfect at first, there are a lot of things that are too perfect or too strange to indicate that there is a more sinister explanation on the town itself.

Westview only has a staple of people in town and when someone is new like Geraldine, they immediately recognize her as an outsider as Herb and Agnes told Vision that Geraldine has no home, no connection, and no family in town.

Westview is enclosed in a bubble or a forcefield. As seen in the third episode, a protective barrier is around the town, either for that inside as a shield from outsiders or for that outside so as the strangeness of the town would not bleed into the real world.

Westview is surrounded but cannot be infiltrated easily. With Wanda's powers constantly erasing the people she believes doesn't fit in her reality, and with the beekeeper going through the ground, it is clear that no one can enter easily in Westview. It could be a prison or something that Wanda is keeping away from the real world.

Westview townspeople are aware but scared to even mention the truth. May it be expressly or impliedly, it seems that they are all aware of what is happening. Herb and Agnes almost revealed the truth to Vision until they snapped back to their jolly old selves. The doctor of Wanda said that there is no escaping the town. There are subtle hints that they know the truth.

Who is behind all of these?

While there are clear indications that Wanda has dominion over time and reality inside Westview, there are still things that reveal to be beyond hers. Wanda may have a certain level of control but she is definitely not the only one behind the uncanny events in Westview.

Wanda can rewind the events to fit her own desire. If it doesn't, she will either glitch it out or banish it from existence like what she did with the beekeeper and when Geraldine mentioned Ultron.

But there are also times when she is not in control like when she had contractions delivering her babies and when she got excited, the butterflies fluttered.

This means that there is something more, someone else in control. With Jimmy Woo's distress call to Wanda asking who is doing it to her, it gives away the clue that there is someone else having control over Westview.

While a villain is yet to be introduced, Wanda seems to be both the protagonist and antagonist in her pocket reality.

With the fourth episode approaching, it has been confirmed that from that episode on, the events will get more exciting as the introductory phase is over. As the strangeness continues, hopes of having answers are getting closer as the series draws near the truth behind everything that is happening. Every unraveled hint will surely lead to an explanation.

WandaVision returns Friday, January 29, 2021, on Disney+.

Related: Paul Bettany Drops Clues about WandaVision Mystery Guest Star

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