WandaVision's New Magic Bubble Name Confirms It's A Curse

Warning: SPOILERS for WandaVision episode 5, "On a Very Special Episode..."

The magic barrier surrounding WandaVision's town of Westview has been dubbed "The Hex", which is an apropos name reinforcing that it's a curse to be trapped in Wanda Maximoff's (Elizabeth Olsen) sitcom fantasy. WandaVision episode 5, "On a Very Special Episode", featured some shocking moments, from exiting Westview to confront SWORD to the unexpected appearance of Pietro Maximoff - but with the X-Men movies' Evan Peters as Wanda's brother instead of Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

SWORD held a briefing about Wanda Maximoff to run down exactly who and what they were up against. Wanda's origin, which was first introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, was reiterated: She and Pietro were born in Sokovia in 1989, and their parents were killed when they were 10. As teenagers, the Maximoff twins were recruited into Hydra and were subjected to experiments with the Mind Stone, which gave them both superpowers. Wanda gained telekinesis and telepathy but her powers have grown by leaps and bounds in the years since, to the point where she was strong enough to potentially kill Thanos (Josh Brolin). But nine days before WandaVision began, Wanda broke into SWORD headquarters where Vision's (Paul Bettany) corpse was located. Wanda not only took and resurrected Vision but she created a bizarre TV sitcom reality for them living as man and wife in Westview, Jersey. Meanwhile, Maximoff is also forcibly holding the townspeople of Westview under her psychic control and keeping out intruders with a magic bubble that even extends beneath the town.

In WandaVision episode 5, Dr. Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) dubbed the mystical barrier erected to protect Westview from outsiders as "the Hex". It's a clever moniker that's also an Easter egg to Marvel Comics because the Scarlet Witch's magic was originally called her "hex power". When Scarlet Witch debuted in X-Men #4 back in 1964, she was a member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and her hex power merely caused calamities to happen to whatever she pointed at. Over the decades, the Scarlet Witch's abilities evolved into actual sorcery and then the power to reshape reality. The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Wanda Maximoff followed this example since she has also advanced far beyond the telepathy and telekinesis she displayed in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Darcy's Hex moniker is also very sly because it harkens to witchcraft and how a hex is a negative spell meant to injure or cause pain to its target, i.e. a curse. Being cursed is just what it's like to live in Westview for the people in psychic agony whose lives are being sublimated to fulfill Wanda's fantasies. This is what a witch would do, and although WandaVision took pains to establish that Wanda Maximoff isn't called by any kind of codename in the MCU, fans still know her as the Scarlet Witch. WandaVision may even lead to Maximoff finally being called the Scarlet Witch in the MCU, although that remains to be seen.

Finally, calling Westview's magic bubble the Hex is also spot-on since the magic field surrounding the town is mysteriously shaped like a hexagon. The six-sided polygon pops up elsewhere in the MCU; most notably, the Universal Neural Teleportation Network that allows for rapid interstellar travel, as seen in Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel, is hexagon-shaped. Westview's Hex barrier brings the hexagon to Earth. Meanwhile, Darcy's "Hex" name is starting to catch on among SWORD, and it may only be a matter of time before "the Hex" becomes synonymous with Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision.

Next: WandaVision Episode 5 Cast Guide: Every Marvel Character