Vision's iconic "What is grief, if not love persevering?" line from WandaVision gets a whole new meaning in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The projection of Vision from Wanda Maximoff's subconscious was so accurate that it was wise enough to be able to explain Wanda's actions in Westview with one well-placed line. Indeed, Vision's interpretation of grief poignantly and succinctly encapsulates the events of WandaVision - a lofty idea that comes crashing down to Earth in the Doctor Strange 2 ending.

In the WandaVision post-credits scene, Wanda began studying the Darkhold, the corrupting influence of which served as the explanation for why Scarlet Witch was the major antagonist in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Combined with her grief about Vision's death and the loss of her children in Westview, the Darkhold pushed Wanda to embark on a twisted and murderous multiverse-ending quest to steal her own kids from an alternate universe. Wanda could have well succeeded if it weren't for America Chavez and Doctor Strange, who eventually stopped Wanda by showing her the error of her ways. In order to prevent herself or the Darkhold from threatening the multiverse or corrupting others again, Wanda collapsed Mount Wundagore with her under it, destroying all copies of the Darkhold across the universe and resulting in Scarlet Witch's death.

Related: Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Easter Eggs & MCU References

Ruined by Doctor Strange 2, Vision's perfect grief line was the perfect explanation for Wanda's motivation and her erratic decisions, but in giving her the excuse of getting corrupted by the Darkhold, the idea of her pain being the root cause of her actions was removed to a great degree. The implication is that the blame lies in the Darkhold for Wanda's corruption, and not "love persevering," even though the Darkhold really only magnified Wanda's internal feelings of grief. In fact, while Wanda's actions in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness threatened to unravel the very fabric of reality, what Wanda did to Westview in WandaVision was not unlike a war crime, and she hadn't even touched the Darkhold at the time.

Scarlet Witch's Grief Was Enough To Make Her Corrupted

Wanda in the Scarlet Witch form in Multiverse of Madness

As the main antagonist of the Doctor Strange 2 cast, Wanda proved that she never really needed the Darkhold to get corrupted, and that the Book of the Damned would not even be as dangerous without the Scarlet Witch of prophecy. Before Wanda was even physically near the Darkhold, she had already mentally enslaved an entire town to fulfill her fantasy about having a picturesque family with Vision. Wanda also irresponsibly created White Vision, who may or may not become threat in the MCU's future. The same can be said of Tommy and Billy Maximoff - Billy is even prophesied to have the same powers as Scarlet Witch. Fueled by grief and raw Chaos Magic, Wanda also did all this subconsciously, reflecting her inner desires. Moreover, Doctor Strange 2 also revealed that Earth-838 Stephen Strange was also corrupted by the Darkhold. However, unlike Wanda, this power-hungry Strange variant was eventually contained by the Doctor Strange 2 Illuminati, a group that was promptly murdered the Scarlet Witch-possessed Earth-838 Wanda.

Doctor Strange 2 may have ruined Vision's perfect grief line, but this also points to the most crucial lesson of Wanda's MCU Phase 4 character arc: the perseverance of love through grief is a beautiful idea - but it doesn't always end well, and can present problems if not worked through emotionally. Furthermore, although the Darkhold magnified Wanda's powers and fed on her emotions, the fact is that Wanda - not the Darkhold - is the most essential element in Cthon's Scarlet Witch prophecy. Curiously, as Earth-838 Wanda's powers appear to have awakened after getting possessed, the threat of the MCU's Scarlet Witch prophecy may not have ended with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

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