WandaVision Redeems Darcy After Thor: The Dark World Failures

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for WandaVision episode 4, "We Interrupt This Program."

WandaVision not only redeemed the character the Thor movies failed the most, Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), but it has also gone a remarkably long way into fixing one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's overall issues: supporting characters providing little more than comic relief. WandaVision's rehab of Darcy is especially welcome considering the untapped potential of the character from her only two previous MCU appearances in Thor and Thor: The Dark World.

WandaVision episode 4, "We Interrupt This Program," opened up the world beyond Westview, New Jersey, and revealed the efforts of multiple government agencies led by S.W.O.R.D. to find out just what's happening in the strange reality Wanda Maximoff AKA the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) created for herself and Vision (Paul Bettany). Despite Wanda's efforts to control her ideal life, which she manifested as an evolving sitcom about a typical American nuclear family, the real world keeps rudely intruding on her fantasy. This began with S.W.O.R.D. sending drones and even an agent, who was transformed into a beekeeper, into Westview, and culminated in Wanda realizing that her friend Geraldine is really an uninvited outsider, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris).

The shift in focus to how the greater MCU is responding to the inexplicable goings-on in Westview has brought both Darcy and FBI Agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) to prominence, with outstanding results. Both Darcy and Jimmy are part of the MCU's long legacy of supporting characters who were generally underserved by the films they were part of, which started with Iron Man's Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), James Rhodes (originally Terrence Howard), and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau). A few MCU ancillary characters were able to literally claim a greater agency, such as Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), who starred in two seasons of Agent Carter that evolved her character far beyond her tragic love story with Captain America (Chris Evans), although Avengers: Endgame's conclusion reset Peggy so that her and Steve Rogers' literal endgame was ending up together.

But what WandaVision did for Darcy, and also Jimmy Woo, is even more impressive, considering how much character development and interest was accomplished in the brief half-hour runtime of "We Interrupt This Program." Indeed, even though WandaVision episode 4 reintroduced the adult version of Monica Rambeau - which directly linked the series to Captain Marvel - and heavily focused on Monica, Darcy and Jimmy emerged as the standout characters and WandaVision spoke to the bright future both ought to have in the MCU going forward into Phases 4 and 5.

Why Wanda Vision Needed To Change Darcy

Darcy debuted in Thor as a political science major who was the only applicant to be the intern for Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). While Jane and her mentor, Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), were astrophysicists working to solve the mystery of the Einstein-Rosen Bridge in New Mexico - which was actually the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard - Darcy's main purpose was to be comic relief, providing one-liners and reflecting the audience's confusion as to what was going on. Perhaps Darcy's most memorable trait was noting Thor was "hot" and her inability to pronounce the name of Thor's hammer Mjolnir, calling it "Mew-Mew."

It's not that Darcy wasn't funny, because she was, and Kat Dennings' comic timing and charisma made her character endearing. But the real issue with Darcy in Thor was that she wasn't really necessary to the story and her main function was to be a sounding board for Jane to bounce off of. Darcy was arguably even less essential to Thor: The Dark World: Lewis' main function was to pull Jane back into action after Dr. Foster spent a couple of years moping over her breakup with Thor. But once that was accomplished in the film's first act, Darcy, who, by then, had an even more superfluous intern of her own, was once again not vital to the story, since much of Thor: The Dark World took place in Asgard and other realms.

None of this was Dennings' fault, it was a failure of the writing and conception of both Thor films. After that, Darcy was entirely absent from Thor: Ragnarok, and, unfortunately, she wasn't missed from Taiki Waititi's colorful cosmic romp. WandaVision including Darcy was a chance to give the character a necessary evolution because she couldn't be the same mere quip-machine she was in her Thor appearances. Thankfully, WandaVision's creative team knew just what to do to fix Darcy Lewis.

WandaVision Made Darcy A Better Character

In WandaVision, Darcy's reintroduction was efficient and strikingly effective. From her first moments riding the "clown car" of various scientists into S.W.O.R.D.'s Westview base, Lewis' observations and her quips were sharp and illuminating. It was also key that Darcy immediately corrected her S.W.O.R.D. liaison that she was correctly addressed as "Dr. Lewis," which gave her instant status and agency while communicating that she has professionally evolved in the decade since her last appearance in Thor: The Dark World. Dr. Lewis is now on the same level as Dr. Jane Foster, and she's clearly a renowned expert in her field of astrophysics - why else would S.W.O.R.D. have requested her expertise in the top-secret, highly-sensitive, and potentially dangerous situation in Westview.

Darcy not only quickly figured out that the hidden data entwined in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation emitting from the mysterious Westview were television broadcast signals, but she also had the smarts to demand an old-style cathode tube TV set so she could watch Wanda and Vision's sitcom. Darcy was key in researching the true identities of Wanda's show's supporting cast - perhaps Darcy could relate to them since she was a supporting character herself. Dr. Lewis then figured out how to send a signal into the radios inside Westview, which allowed Jimmy to try to talk to Wanda through the radio. While it didn't quite work as intended, it was an ingenious plan.

Best of all, Darcy was able to provide the necessary scientific data and analysis while still being her naturally funny self, quipping about getting coffee and enjoying Wanda's show. In under 30 minutes, WandaVision not only transformed Darcy into a thoroughly well-rounded character but it also turned Dr. Lewis into the episode's co-lead who anchored the most impactful chapter of the MCU series so far. WandaVision not only fulfilled Darcy's potential but left fans wanting more of her.

WandaVision Finally Fixed The MCU's Supporting Character Problem

WandaVision Episode 4 - Jimmy Woo and Darcy

Alongside Darcy, WandaVision's other major reclamation project was Agent Jimmy Woo. Jimmy only appeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp prior to WandaVision and, while he was an entertaining new character, his main function was to be bamboozled by Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) breaking house arrest while Woo tried (and failed) to master magic tricks. But Jimmy was still memorable and endearing, thanks to Randall Park's wit and charisma, so it's great that WandaVision also imported Agent Woo and gave his character more credence. WandaVision was able to showcase Jimmy's smarts and humor while delving into his lifelong love affair with the FBI. There is also a meta magic to watching Jimmy and Darcy enjoy Wanda and Vision's TV show and succinctly commenting on it, considering both Kat Dennings and Randall Park starred in the sitcoms 2 Broke Girls and Fresh Off The Boat.

The MCU movies' laser focus on its marquee superhero characters are a primary reason why they and the films are so beloved by audiences worldwide, but the downside has always been the disservice paid to the movies' supporting cast, its villains, and even other heroes like Scarlet Witch herself. The promise of Disney+'s MCU series is to use their long-form storytelling to give more time and development to ancillary characters underserved by the films' two-hour format, and WandaVision has already proven this to be the case. For fans who have been waiting years for Darcy, especially, to have her potential finally fulfilled, it's gratifying to see WandaVision fix a character the Thor movies didn't do nearly enough with. And it wasn't because of magic; Darcy Lewis became a better character thanks to WandaVision's good writing.

Next: WandaVision: Every MCU Easter Egg In Episode 4