WandaVision: Why Scarlet Witch Is NOT Behind This

Is Scarlet Witch really the cause of WandaVision's sitcom-inspired world? Monica Rambeau, newly expelled from the mysterious bubble and the alternate reality within, certainly thinks so, telling Jimmy Woo at the end of WandaVision episode 4, "it's all Wanda." However, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the simplest answers hardly ever turn out to be the right ones. And in a show as zany as WandaVision, the truth behind the weird goings-on of Westview is sure to be complicated.

To be fair, WandaVision, episode 4 "We Interrupt This Program" takes Wanda's dark and unsettling behavior up a notch. The previous episode ended with Wanda expelling Geraldine (a.k.a. Monica Rambeau) from the idyllic laugh-track punctuated utopia, but now the audience is able to see more of their confrontation - and Wanda (aka Scarlet Witch) is downright terrifying. However, after Wanda uses her red, glowing telekineses (as seen in previous MCU appearances but conspicuously absent in the show so up until this point) to push Monica through the walls of her home and out of the mysterious dome, Elizabeth Olsen's performance is so multilayered that her character's motivations are difficult to decipher. Interestingly, there is a brief moment in which Wanda looks at her hands in something resembling surprise, as if she's not entirely aware of what just happened. On the verge of tears, she breaks out of her brief daze, reforms the broken walls, and tells Vision (who has presumably been reanimated by her magic after his death in Avengers: Infinity War) that she has everything under control. But does she?

Clearly, Wanda and her blossoming reality-warping abilities are central to the goings-on in Westview. However, it is still very unclear as to if Wanda is truly to blame for the citizen's current brain-washed predicament. Scarlet Witch is an immensely complicated figure in the comics (even her famous "House of M" storyline, which WandaVision is seemingly inspired by, doesn't cast her as a true villain), so it is still possible that more information will be unearthed in coming weeks to suggest that Wanda has simply fallen victim to some grander machinations - a force capitalizing on her grief and traumatic past.

WandaVision Wants You To Believe Wanda Is The Cause

wandaVision Episode 3 Scarlet Witch the Vision

WandaVision episode 4 goes out of its way to paint Wanda as the series' true villain, with Monica explicitly identifying her as the culprit in her final shot. However, with five more episodes remaining (and countless mysteries that still need unraveling), it is possible that this is misdirection on the creators' part. Wanda has been shown manipulating her sitcom reality in previous episodes, of course, rewinding time when seeing the infiltrating beekeeper (who we can now confirm was really an agent of S.W.O.R.D.) and awkwardly cutting back to rewrite a scene with Vision when he gets too close to the truth.

If Wanda is really altering the reality around her as we assume, then how did she acquire these particular abilities? The MCU has yet to explain how Wanda - who had previously wielded somewhat nebulous telekinetic and mind-controlling abilities - received this most recent power upgrade. WandaVision episode 4 reveals that the events of the show take place about three weeks after Wanda was resurrected for Avengers: Endgame's climactic battle. Last seen at Tony Stark's funeral having a heart-to-heart with Hawkeye and reflecting on the loss of Natasha and Vision, there is still time unaccounted for in Wanda's personal timeline. Details of where Wanda went after the funeral (and who she interacted with) will likely be key to understanding her role in all of this.

The Censoring Of WandaVision Hints Someone Else Is Involved

Watching Wanda's confrontation with Geraldine/Monica Rambeau on her monitor, Darcy notices that "someone is censoring the broadcast." What exactly is being projected to Darcy and her S.W.O.R.D. colleagues is still a bit unclear (Darcy mentions watching Wanda routinely wash dishes, so the audience are presumably not seeing as much as they are), but it is apparent that someone is manipulating the show, curating what is presented to the outside world. In WandaVision episode 4, viewers see Wanda's forcible and chilling removal of Monica with better clarity, as well as her horror at seeing Vision's muted synthezoid corpse - moments which were excised from Darcy's broadcast. If Wanda is busy living in and occasionally protecting her artificial reality from intruders, who is doing the video editing?

Who Is Agnes? Is She Agatha Harkness?

Kathryn Hahn as Agnes in WandaVision Episode 3

Jimmy Woo and his team piece together the identities of many characters within the Westview bubble, all of whom have been assigned new alter egos to better fit into Wanda's sitcom world. However, on S.W.O.R.D.'s helpful board outlining their work, it looks as though Agnes - a prominent supporting character in WandaVision's story - has yet to be identified, no doubt bolstering fan theories surrounding this mysterious character. It has been long-rumored that Agnes is the MCU's version of Agatha Harkness, Wanda's witch mentor and occasional antagonist from the comics. Fans have picked up on some references to witchcraft made by Agnes, mentioning that her anniversary with her unseen husband Ralph is on January 2nd (the date which began the Salem Witch trials) and replying to Dottie's "The Devil's in the details" with a pointed "That's not the only place he is."

When audiences last saw Agnes in WandaVision episode 3, she was acting particularly shifty, stopping Herb from telling Vision some sort of information. It is still very much within the realm of possibility that she is the one pulling the strings - or else in the service of someone who is. Given all of the demonic imagery (and the apparent necromancy that came with resurrecting Vision from the dead for WandaVision), many have suggested that Mephisto will serve as the series' primary antagonist. Marvel Comic's devil stand-in character has frequently plagued Scarlet Witch on the page, as fragments of his soul secretly formed her two sons Billy and Tommy. Eagle-eyed fans also spotted the Grim Reaper's helmet in episode 2's animated introduction, perhaps teasing another comic book villain (one who has a dark history with Vision). It is possible Agnes is serving a greater master - perhaps her unseen "husband" Ralph, who she ominously notes "looks better in the dark." Regardless, Agnes certainly knows more than she is letting on and will certainly be a character to keep an eye on as Westview's mysteries continue to unfold.

Why Scarlet Witch Can't Be Behind Everything

Wanda Maximoff using her powers in WandaVision

WandaVision episode 4 may give its audience a peek outside of Westview's decade-hopping facade, but we have only just begun to see the edges of the series' larger picture. For example, Darcy mentions that the CMBR ("cosmic microwave background radiation" ) emanating from the dome was present at the Big Bang, the event which canonically formed the Infinity Stones. Since the Mind Stone has been glimpsed in WandaVision multiple teaser trailers, could it be responsible for the apparent brainwashing of the Westview citizens and maybe even Wanda herself?

Another character omitted from this week's discussion was Dottie, a figure presented as the "Queen Bee" of Wanda's new world, one who led the off-putting "for the children" chant in episode 2. In Agnes' words, Dottie is "the key to everything in this town," perhaps hinting at her greater role in the series' larger plot. Then there is Jimmy Woo's unnamed witness who took him to Westview in the first place. Considering the MCU's history with plotting, it's unlikely that this mysterious person won't figure in later. It is difficult to get a full picture of WandaVision's endgame when we don't yet know who its major players are.

While Wanda is often able to orchestrate the action within her Westview sphere, there have been some moments that even her magic couldn't penetrate. Most notably, WandaVision episode 3 featured a strange sequence with a stork that refused to be vanished by her powers. Of course, this could have been to play up the sitcom-like hijinks within Wanda's fantasy world, but could also show that Wanda is not the one controlling Westview, or at least not to the extent she, and the viewers, think.

Then there is the characterization of Wanda herself, who, despite some early flirtations with villainy in Avengers: Age of Ultron, has consistently been an honorable character, joining the Avengers, aligning with Captain America to save Bucky, and sacrificing her partner and happiness to protect the universe in Avengers: Infinity War. In truth, Wanda has had her mettle tested more than almost any hero within the MCU and has always managed to come out on the other side of tragedy stronger and more determined than before. WandaVision may see a scarier Scarlet Witch than audiences have seen previously, but the list of unanswered questions is still too long to give Wanda all the blame - at least for now.

Next: WandaVision Gives Thanos' Infinity War Snap Real Consequences