WandaVision Episode 9, “The Series Finale” Recap and Review
AS WE CLOSE THE BOOK ON ‘WANDAVISION’ AND SAY GOODBYE TO WESTVIEW, WE LOOK BACK AT THE SERIES AND ITS CONCLUDING CHAPTER.
WARNING: Spoiler Alert
As far as series finales go, the “WandaVision” finale lands closer to “The Sopranos” than it does to “Game of Thrones”. That is to say that there is more to be satisfied with than to be disappointed by. And to be fair, there was always going to be disappointment given the amount of speculation this series has garnered. Nothing could live up to what we built in our minds. There was no game breaking cameo, and the one we thought we already had turned out to be the most elaborate dirty joke I have ever seen, to which I tip my hat to. What we have, though, is an emotional conclusion to Wanda’s journey as she finally comes to terms with her grief and loss. So, when we look at the series as a whole, beginning to end, it’s safe to say that showrunner Jac Schaeffer has successfully built the gilded bridge between the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we knew it, and the MCU we shall come to know.
We begin where we left off: Agatha threatens the twins while in a standoff with Wanda; Captain Rambeau is being kept as Fake Pietro’s company against her will; and Director Hayward has us seeing in double Vision. After a quick energy blast to the chest, Agatha releases the twins and they scurry off to their room. Wanda attacks again, but Agatha has a trick up her sleeve. Agatha can absorb Wanda’s powers, and that’s what she wants in the end: the boundless power inside Wanda.
As Agatha monologues, Wanda uses a little trick she learned against Iron Man and hits Agatha with a car from behind, but loses track of her afterwards. That’s when we see the white Vision descend from the sky. Wanda immediately runs to him, but as they embrace, white Vision lifts her up by the face and attempts to crush her. Suddenly, Wanda’s Vision knocks the other down the block and saves Wanda. The Visions clash and Agatha leads Wanda on a chase. As the Visions collide, Director Hayward confesses to Agent Woo how he manipulated the circumstances to bring Vision back, but Woo manages to escape and contact his team at the FBI.
Back in town, Wanda searches for Agatha as the residents of Westview continue their Hex-induced storylines. Agatha strikes, both physically and mentally with the knowledge she has of the Scarlet Witch from the Darkhold, also known as the Book of the Damned. She tells Wanda of the Scarlet Witch’s immense power, rivaling that of the Sorcerer Supreme, and her destiny to destroy the world. Wanda tries to deny this, but Agatha releases Dottie to prove how to Wanda how evil she is. Dottie pleads with Wanda, begging her to let her daughter out of her room so she can just hold her. Wanda still doesn’t believe she’s done evil, until Agnes releases the rest of the town and they descend on her.
Back with Captain Rambeau and Fake Pietro, Monica looks for clues to Fake Pietro’s true identity and finds it in a headshot revealing him to be none other than…Ralph Bohner. Monica quickly disables Fake Pietro, discovers that Agatha is controlling him through his puka-shell necklace, and releases the hold she had on him. As the twins watch from their room, Billy gets a vision of Wanda in trouble, so he and Tommy take off to join their mom. Wanda is being bombarded by the townsfolk by the reality of their pain and it proves to be too much for her. In a fit of panic, Wanda screams and clutches her throat, causing her magic to explode outward and begin choking the residents. Wanda immediately sees her error and releases them. It is Mrs. Hart who says, “If you won’t let us go, just let us die, please.” It is then Wanda vows to let them go, and with a burst of energy, Wanda breaks the seams of the Hex, allowing the residents to flee and escape.
S.W.O.R.D. and Director Hayward seize this opportunity and enter the Hex. Since Vision is attached to the Hex, his powers weaken, causing him to be shot out of the sky by White Vision. He lands at Wanda’s feet and she sees him begin to dissolve with the Hex, just as the twins arrive while the same is happening to them. Wanda realizes she cannot have her family without the Hex, so, unsure of what to do, she stops what she is doing and the Hex closes again.
The WandaVision family unite just as S.W.O.R.D. arrives, guns drawn. Agatha taunts Wanda, and the white Vision arrives on scene. The family split up to take them all on. The Visions’ clash leads them into the library where Wanda’s Vision uses philosophy and and reason to get past the white Vision’s programming. Wanda leaves the military to the twins, and disappears to confuse Agatha. The twins dispose of the Military’s guns so Hayward pulls his own gun on the Twins. He fires, and Captain Rambeau heroically steps in front of the bullets, which pass through her harmlessly and fall to the ground. Hayward tries to escape in a Humvee but Darcy Lewis comes barreling in, trapping Hayward and preventing his escape. After a brief philosophical discussion, the white Vision allows Wanda’s Vision to restore his memories, and it all comes flooding back. After a declaration of being, white Vision takes off into the skies and out of sight.
Vision joins Captain Rambeau and the twins as Agatha watches from the rooftops. In a classic move, Wanda infects Agatha’s mind and takes back to her judgement from the coven. But it’s different now, as Agatha is in control and puts Wanda on the post. Agatha makes one more attempt to convince Wanda to give her the magic willingly. But suddenly, the Scarlet Witch begins to manifest and she breaks free, returning them to Westview. Wanda and Agatha throw down in the skies of Westview with energy blasts. Wanda seems to miss a few which hit the walls of the Hex, but the ones on target, Agatha absorbs. Slowly Wanda’s powers drain until there are almost none left. Agatha taunts her one last time, then goes in for the final blow, but there is nothing: Agatha’s magic has been neutralized. Wanda then reveals that the energy blasts that she “missed” Agatha with, were making copies of the runes Agatha used to neutralize Wanda previously.
Wanda accepts who she is, and absorbs all the energy Agatha stole from her. The Scarlet Witch fully manifests itself with a new costume, and Wanda has won. With Agatha powered down, Wanda traps Agatha in her own mind, destined to play the role of nosey neighbor indefinitely. The family reunites, and returns home. As the Hex closes itself, Wanda and Vision put the boys to bed for the last time, telling them how proud they are of them, kissing them on the forehead, and saying goodnight. As the collapsing Hex approaches the house, Wanda and Vision share his last moment and a final kiss. And just like that, it’s over.
Wanda, now alone, wanders back into town with the hateful eyes of the residents following her. She thanks Monica and leaves before the FBI can arrive. As she flies out of town she takes one long look back at Westview before disappearing into the horizon. After the credits roll, we see Jimmy Woo coordinating the FBI and he reunites with Captain Rambeau. They say their final pleasantries before Monica is summoned to the town’s movie theater. Alone in the theater, a Skrull spy reveals herself to Monica and offers her a chance to return to space. And just when we think it’s finally over, there is another scene after the final credits. Here, We find Wanda relaxing in a secluded cabin at the base of a mountain range, but at the same time, her astral projection is scouring the Darkhold for answers when she hears the cries of her children, plain as day.
The Scarlet Witch has arrived and she is glorious. Her costume is a beautiful design that is comic-accurate and fits perfectly in the MCU, and she is now confirmed to be using actual magic similar to Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, who got a shout out this episode. It’s no surprise that they would pivot to her magic use, as Elizabeth Olsen is confirmed to be co-starring in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, but the implications of how her strength would apply to the magic used by the good Doctor are exciting. Wanda uses astral projection to study the Darkhold, which in itself in something we’ve seen the Doctor do before, but where Wanda differs is that her body is still conscious and making decisions. That subtle difference could mean a huge difference in power levels between Wanda and her future mentor.
Speaking of future MacGuffins, I don’t think this is the last we will see of the Darkhold. Agatha called it the Book of the Damned, which brings Mephisto to mind, seeing as Mephisto is the closest thing Marvel Comics have to the Devil. This could lead to contention with the Doctor as he knows what happens if one derives their abilities from the wrong magical deity. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Agatha return in the “Doctor Strange” sequel either, as her knowledge of the book could be useful to Doctor Strange. And I really hope she does, as Kathryn Hahn brought a unique sense of arrogance and charm to the role that was an absolute delight. One thing I hope does change is how Wanda uses her magic. The fight between Wanda and Agatha was just an exchange of energy blasts that didn’t feel like magic. Compare that to when Doctor Strange took on Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War”. Magical combat can be creative and interesting like in the Harry Potter films when used diversely, but when that creativity is ignored it becomes dull and repetitive like the Fantastic Beasts franchise. I’ll give credit to Agatha at least, as she performed a few incantations and spells here and there, with a nice little enchantment on Fake Pietro using puka-shells.
I’m sorry, I should have called him by his actual name, Ralph Bohner. Am I upset by the fake out? Absolutely not. Jac Schaeffer used our preconceived notions of who we believed him to be to put us in the same mindset as Wanda and draw us further into the narrative. However, I know that there are a lot of people out there who were getting flashbacks to “Iron Man 3” and Ben Kingsley’s greatest role. Whether that’s a good thing or not, it’s not my place to say. How many times is Vision going to die? The answer: at least one more time. Vision once again left us, this time in a bright golden flash, but now there is another. The white Vision is out in the world, completely aware of who he is, which is great news for Paul Bettany. Who am I kidding? It’s great news for all of us. Bettany never disappoints as an actor, from trudging naked as Geoffrey Chaucer to flogging himself as an albino monk, he is always a delight.
At the end of the episode I was less optimistic about seeing the twins again than after the credits. When Wanda is reading the Darkhold while in astral form, she hears the twins, meaning they are out there somewhere, maybe not on this side of the multiverse, but Wanda’s search for her kids and her feelings towards the white Vision could be major story arcs for her in the future. I feel there were a couple other major arcs that got concluded in this series that might get overlooked. I am of course speaking to Agent Woo’s mastery of close-up magic and Darcy Lewis becoming Doctor Darcy Lewis. Both Kat Dennings and Randall Park should reappear again in their respective franchises, but I for one am holding out hope for an X-Files style series where Darcy and Jimmy roam the country investigating the paranormal. As for Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau, no doubt we’ll see her again in Captain Marvel 2, but her final scene points at an appearance in Marvel’s upcoming Secret Invasion series. This seems to be merely phase one of Monica’s journey to becoming Spectrum, and is something that we should all pay attention to.
Overall, “The Series Finale” was good, but shy of great. The magic fight between Agatha and Wanda felt underwhelming. That could be because Agatha felt she didn’t have to fight back much, seeing as her goal was to get Wanda to expend all her magic, but even if this was the case, Agatha could have toyed around with Wanda more, in the process doing some more interesting witchcraft. Even Wanda couldn’t tell the difference between magic and energy, and that right there should have been a red flag.
This could have been forgiven if the emotional climax didn’t feel muted. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany are incredible actors who are more than capable of giving heart wrenching performances, but when they were saying goodbye to the twins, I couldn’t connect to the scene. However, when I step back and look at the problems I have in this episode, nothing was egregious enough to ruin the series overall. The mind-bending style and mystery established in “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience” continued through most of the series, constantly being propped up by new wrinkles in each episode. If you didn’t have an emotional connection to Wanda and Vision before, you probably do now. Olsen has propped herself up as being capable of leading her own MCU films, or even another series. And the future of Jac Schaffer’s career looks bright. Her next project will be “Black Widow”, one of the most coveted solo outings in MCU history. Suffice it to say that, after enjoying this series as much as I did, it has lulled me into an assured confidence that Black Widow is and always has been in great hands.