Ryan Shoots First: WandaVision (S1 Ep7) “Breaking the Fourth Wall”

An interesting title for this week’s episode as we not only see the show take on the early 2000’s documentary style sitcom most famously seen in Modern Family but the mention of the fourth wall. This show has already done a lot of that both in the meta of the show and seemingly beyond the MCU into our universe. With the Modern Family style seeming like a fourth wall break let’s dive in and see what they have in store!

Fan Theories

This week all the talk in the WandaVision community has been whoever the aerospace engineer friend is that Monica is waiting on. Many are hoping it is Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four being introduced to the series and many hoping it will be John Krasinski himself playing the role. Which led to many inevitable jokes since Randall Park (who plays Jimmy Woo in WandaVision) famously portrayed Asian Jim in The Office… which is also a famous documentary style comedy we could see the show spoof. Like I said there are so many layers to this but let’s get to this week’s episode. 

Recap

The episode starts with Wanda waking up in bed alone then in the eat talking to the camera A la Modern Family, she is struggling with control after flexing her powers to expand the barrier last week and has decided to enforce a quarantine stay-cation as punishment on herself. Things around the house are changing eras seemingly uncontrollably like the boys game controllers and the milk. This weeks credits are like the office complete with a coffee cup but the logo is a more Modern Family look complete with a Created by Wanda Maximoff. 

Vision wakes up in the middle of the carnival with all the people who were sucked in last week being part of the circus. Darci is chained up to a tractor as the Escape artist. Vision attempts to speak to her after they locked eyes the night before but Darci is in character and wishing she could have been the bearded lady. Back at home Wanda explains to the boys Pietro is not really their uncle and she doesn’t really have all the answers about who he really is. Agnes offers to take the kids for the day and give Wanda a break. 

We cut to Monica and Woo and discover they were trying to bring Vision back online when Wanda took him. They meet her friend who is….some lady. Major Goodner, I suppose she is someone from something but I will need to find out. They show her this crazy tank vehicle that Monica is going to use to drive into the hex. Darci eventually is snapped back in by Vision and the two go on the run to get some answers and so Darci can catch Vision up on what she knows. Wanda mentions she can’t figure out why she can’t fix everything and the voice behind the camera asks if it is because she feels like she deserves it and Wanda snaps that he isn’t supposed to talk. At Agnes’s house the boys are saying they like it here and Tommy says he likes Agnes cause she is empty inside. They ask her if there mom will be ok and she tells them she will be fine and can do anything. She talks about Ralph again who we still have not seen. 

Monica heads into the hex in her tank rover but hits a wall and is sucked in and spat back out but Monica is able to escape. Monica decides to run through despite everyone’s warnings, as she phases through she remembers her upbringing and emerges on the other end with powers now of some kind. Darci catches Vision up on the MCU timeline and after his death, he believes she is keeping him from returning home with various impediments. Vision has a funny moment with his in person interview and even a sarcastic look to the camera when a road crew blocks them. Darci fangirls and tells Vision the love he and Wanda have is real. Back at the house Monica shows up to confront Wanda, she flexes her new powers to counter Wanda and tries to get through to her and convince her not to be the villain but Wanda says maybe she is. Agnes, seeing from the house, comes and gets her and seems to be protective of Wanda. Vision has a funny moment where he realizes why is he playing along with all this? and heads out. 

At Agnes’s house Wanda starts to notice some stuff is odd, she asks where the twins are and Agnes says they are probably in the basement. Wanda goes down there and finds vines and a dungeon. She pushes forward and finds a ritual room with a book. Agnes comes in and confesses that she is in fact Agatha. We get a funny cutaway opening revealing it has been her all along… oh and she killed Sparky. We get our first post credit scene in the show as we see Monica uncover the access to Agatha’s basement when Pietro comes up from behind her. 

Well one of the grand mysteries of the show has been answered and while there are some little questions and loose ends to tie up there isn’t much left to reveal. I have to be honest I think I liked the House of M style a little more where there is not some grand Big Bad pulling the strings that this all was really just Wanda in her grief. I feel it kind of takes way from the power Wanda has for it all to be a manipulation but we shall see as the series winds up in the coming weeks. 

Observations

• I need Wanda in the hot mom flannel that Claire in Modern Family made legendary. 
• Even Wanda needs a Mental Health day every once in a while. 
• Why didn’t Vision just instantly bring Darci back?
• Great now I have to figure out who the voice behind the camera is. 
• Great now I am skeptical of Agnes again after I had cleared her of any wrongdoing. 
• I hope John Krasinski is cast as Ralph instead of Mr. Fantastic. 
• Bet you were not expecting a origin story in your Marvel Series. 
• I love the music change when we are with Darci and Vision
• Vision did the Jim look!!
• Ok Agnes is Agatha and is grooming Wanda… Until something next week convinces me otherwise.
• All right so we got a big bad, now that there are not many mysteries left in the show in the final weeks it will be interesting where the show goes or if it just turns into a magical fist fight now. 
• Kathryn Hahn has been great in this series.