WandaVision Episode 8, "Previously On" Recap and Review
The penultimate episode finally answers all the pressing questions in a look back at the life of Wanda Maximoff
WARNING: Contains Spoilers
So many threads to tie up before the finale with so little time, relatively. “Previously On” is a race to answer any remaining mystery before the season, and possibly series, finale. Much like episode 4, we are shown all the key moments from Wanda’s past that help inform how we arrived at this moment but this time they use the Ghost of Christmas Past-format. I mentioned in the review of Episode 4 just how hard it is to pull off these episodes without them falling into the filler category and although “Previously On” toes the line better than episode 4 thanks to a perfectly hammy Kathryn Hahn but the result is still one of the weaker episodes of the series.
The episode begins in Salem, Massachusetts in 1693 during a witch trial, as one does in Salem. But this is no ordinary trial, Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness is being tried by her own coven for betraying her sisters and mother and dabbling in forbidden magic. The coven tries to execute her but Agatha’s powers are too grand even for them. Back in present day, Agatha and Wanda finally have their tete a tete. Wanda doesn’t mince words after asking about the twins, but Agatha’s preparation has her in full control. She constrains Wanda and presses for the answer her own question on how Wanda was able to do all of this. Wanda is still not sure how she did all this either, so Agatha takes her back into her past shed light on it all. Agatha takes her first to Wanda’s childhood home where the Maximoffs have TV night. Here learn her father sold bootleg tapes of old TV shows and we learn the origin of Wanda’s love for Sitcoms, with The Dick Van Dyke Show being her favorite. But this is a day Wanda would never forget, when the Sokovian war took her parents, and a Stark Industries mortar almost killed them too. Next Agatha takes her to her time as a Lab experiment and we witness the moment the soul stone gifts Wanda her powers. Wada witnesses a silhouette of herself in the stone. Agatha pieces together that Wanda is a witch at heart and that the soul stone merely amplified what was already there. But Agatha needs more information they head to the Avengers facility shortly after the events from Avengers: Age of Ultron where we are treated to a tender moment between Wanda and Vision after he comforts her after Pietro’s death. Agatha almost has her answer so they go to the S.W.O.R.D facility where Wanda supposedly broke in and stole Vision’s body, but this time we see what really happened. Wanda never broke in, she politely requests to take Vision’s body and ensure he has a proper burial. Here she meets with Director Hayward who outlines his plans with Vision, how he wants to ressurect him. She reacts as a grieving next of kin would, but ultimately she leaves Vision with S.W.O.R.D and leaves to a place far away from the situation, Westview, New Jersey. She visits a lot in town, a lot that she purchased with Vision to grow old in. She cannot contain the grief and breaks down into tears, and suddenly, her powers explode outward. In that moment, she created the Hex, to control of the town and residents, and created a new Vision, one for her new reality. Agatha sees Wanda clearly now for what she is; a wielder of chaos magic, a dangerous force, a mythical Scarlet Witch. The episode ends but we are given a teaser mid-credits. We learn that Wanda never had Vision’s body, Director Hayward had it all along but now, thanks to a missile tainted with Wanda’s magic, he has succeeded in bringing Vision back.
Not all mysteries are created equal, it is very clear which answers were prioritized by the writers. Pietro was just someone that Agatha possessed, and dubbed Fake-Pietro or “Fietro”, hoping that Wanda’s grief would blind her to her identity. Wanda was always a Witch and may have saved her and Pietro from the Mortar. The Hex was using mind control on the residents and Transmutation to change the environment. These answers were given in brief expository dialogue. Compare to the big questions; how did is Vision back, why did Wanda do all this and how? The how and the why are the focus in this episode, for as to why the answer is grief. Through the flashbacks we see how grief shapes her life, losing her parents, losing herself, losing Pietro and her future with Vision. The life they planned was similar to the one she created in Westview, her and Vision living normal lives away from the marvellous world that suffocates them. As she stands in the lot that would have been her house she fails to contain her emotions and her abilities and the Hex was created. During the chaos, she creates a Vision. Her vision is formed from the remnants of the Soul Stone within her, exactly how he was. As for the real Vision, he is back but to what degree remains to be seen. He is now a full Monochromatic white like he was briefly in the comics, and if his personality matches that time while illustrated then expect an emotionless husk of who he was previously. It will be interesting to see how Wanda reacts to the new Vision but even more interesting to see how Wanda’s Vision reacts to Hayward’s. Now as to how… It seems that Wanda is special, and always has been. By the end of the episode Agatha recognizes that Wanda is a wielder of the powerful and raw Chaos Magic like in the comics, a nice touch, and Wanda is the mythical Scarlet Witch. Some people will no doubt call this series the most elaborate way to explain a super hero’s name in TV history, those people don’t recognize how good this series is, but Marvel is attempting to create a new mythos for Wanda. This idea of a Scarlet Witch is new to Marvel which is exciting especially after the tease of her new costume during her interactions with the Soul Stone in the flashback.
For what it’s worth, the episode makes a commendable attempt at having a full story, seeing the emotional trauma compound for Wanda scene after scene makes the emotional breakdown at the end feel earned. As for Agatha, I really hope that Kathryn Hahn sticks around after the series, we all know Marvel has a habit of killing their Villains. Hahn works well with the exposition heavy dialogue she is given and I am truly a big fan of hers, but I do have a few nit-picks with her character most of which pertain to her tenuous involvement in the situation. We weren’t given details as to when she arrived but it seems as she sensed the Hex and simply showed up. But rather than dwell, I cant help but move on and think of the finale they set up. Witch vs Witch, Vision vs Vision and an open challenge from Captain Rambeau. I haven’t seen a better fight card since ‘Steve vs Steve’ in Endgame and I can’t wait to see the spellbound showdown.