10 Easter Eggs from WandaVision Episode 8

‘Previously On’ provided viewers with much needed answers to what has been happening in Westview and what came about. As we took a journey through Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) traumatic past, there were a number of Easter Eggs that had fans gasping as missing pieces of the Westview puzzle began to fall into place.

Salem Witch Trials:

As well as exploring Wanda origins, Agatha Harkness’ (Kathryn Hahn) back story is revealed and it takes inspiration to that of the comics. Like the comics Agatha was part of the Salem witch trails in Massachusetts and spent time being prosecuted.

However, there is a difference between the comics and WandaVision. In the comics Agatha was to be burnt alive by witch hunters, whereas in the series it was Agatha’s own coven of witches that were to execute her more practising dark magic. These witches also included the mother of Agatha.

After trying to execute Agatha, she overpowered all the witches including her mother and killed them all. After she had taken her mother’s life, she claimed the pin that her mother was wearing. This is the very same pin that Agatha has been wearing throughout the show even as the nosy neighbour Agnes.

Fietro:

One of the most questioned parts of the show for fans has been the arrival of Pietro played by Evan Peters rather than the original MCU version played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Fans have been speculating whether the ‘recast’ version came from a different universe, possibly the X-Men universe where Evan Peters played Quicksilver.

This question was cleaned up by Agatha as she explains that the Pietro that came to town was a fake. She called him “Fietro,” referring to him as fake Pietro. She also explains that it was her controlling him all the time, which was only hinted at on the previous episode.

With Agatha controlling Pietro that explains the questions that Pietro was asking and why he never answered any that Wanda had for him. Now that we know Pietro wasn’t the brother of Wanda, his arrival begins to make sense. It was “Agatha All Along”.

Watching Sitcoms:

Exploring the past of Wanda was depressing for both us and Wanda. Living through all the horror would not have been easy and this is why Wanda used sitcoms as her escapism from her pain. She explains to Vision that it “isn’t that type of show,” which refers to how in the shows whatever problem is encountered, by the end of the episode everything goes back to how it was. Something that Wanda dreams of.

As a 10 year old girl we also understand where the obsession began with the sitcoms, as her family would have TV night in the war torn Sokovia. We also see how Wanda is obsessed with the Dick Van Dyke Show and most notably the relationship that Dick (Rob Petrie) and Rose (Sally Rogers) have. This would be the basis of her dream relationship with her love Vision (Paul Bettany).

Stark Bomb:

While watching the Dick Van Dyke Show, a bomb hits the Maximoff house and kills the parents. The twins only survive because of an ineffective Stark bomb. Seeing the Stark logo on the bomb was one of the reasons why the twins originally fought against the Avengers because they blamed Stark for the death of their parents.

Agatha does help explain why the bomb didn’t explode. She explains that the young Wanda must have conjured a probability hex which reduced the chances of the bomb exploding. As such we know that Wanda must have had her powers on a low level before her work with Hydra.

Also, the stark bomb calls back to the very first commercial in episode 1 of WandaVision. The ToastMate 2000 courtesy of Stark Industries had a very simular beeping red light just like the bomb that didn’t explode in Sokovia.

Wanda being exposed to the Mind Stone:

During the painful trip down memory lane, Wanda explains volunteering with Hydra was her and her brother’s way of changing the world.

As we get to witness what happened to Wanda when she was exposed to the mind stone, a figure akin to the Scarlet Witch comes to Wanda and embraces her. As Agatha says the stone didn’t gift Wanda powers, it only amplified what was already there. It starts to become clearer that Wanda had some pre-existing powers since she was at least 10 years old.

Another aspect to the scene was how Hydra doctors could not watch what had happened on video. Like the problem S.W.O.R.D. have had a times, the feed cut itself out, meaning Hydra couldn’t view how she gained her powers. This was done subconsciously by Wanda, which also suggests when she has been editing the broadcast in Westview; it was also her subconscious tampering with the feed.

Vision and Wanda:

Our appreciation for Vision has grown remarkably in the series due to being able to understand what who he is. The scene with him and Wanda in the Avengers compound further establishes why Vision is so loveable.

This was the spark of the couple’s romance, as Vision provided comfort for Wanda and her pain. The line “what is grief, if not love preserving” hit hard and gives a new found appreciation for the android, as he seeks to understand the human mind.

Moreover, we get to see Wanda’s influence on Vision, as he she begins to teach him about social norms. Vision laughing at Malcolm in the Middle will have been one of the first times in his short lifetime that he felt humour. That coming because of Wanda shows how deep their love was.

Wanda doesn’t steal Vision’s body:

Arguably one of the most shocking discoveries in the episode was that Wanda never stole the Vision’s body. Haywood (Josh Stamberg) had been lying all along. Instead, even though Wanda wanted to take her lovers body, she couldn’t and could only say goodbye.

While looking at the corpse, the anguish on Wanda’s face is clear. She tries to feel Vision like the she had done in Avengers: Infinity War, but due to no mind stone Wanda felt nothing. This will have confirmed to Wanda that her love is truly dead.

Also, from this scene Haywood says, “Not everyone has the kind of power that could bring their soulmate back online.” From this line it is clear that Haywood’s only goal in all this is to bring the Vision back, so he could finally have his sentient weapon.

Wanda breaks down:

After saying goodbye to Vision, Wanda drives to Westview, New Jersey. While driving through we see all the residents of the town. There are nice call backs with the mailman (Amos Glick) actually being a pizza delivery man and Phil Jones (David Lengel) pinning up a sign for piano lessons.

As Wanda drives through she reaches a plot of land that Vision had bought for the couple to grow old in. This causes Wanda to breakdown into tears as she knows that she cannot live the life that they wanted. Or could they?

During her breakdown, Wanda’s powers burst out and the hex is created. She also creates the house and the Vision which we have seen in Westview. Notably that this burst of energy came because of Wanda’s grief, simular to Avengers: Age of Ultron when Pietro died. When Wanda is in pain she struggles to control her powers.

The Scarlet Witch:

While Agatha and Wanda relive past memories, Agatha claims that she has a theory. This theory turns out to be true. Agatha explains to Wanda that she is more dangerous than she ever knew telling Wanda that she was supposed to be a myth.

What Agatha is talking about is that the magic Wanda uses is chaos magic. In the comics chaos magic can construct and warp reality just like Wanda has been doing in WandaVision. The magic is so powerful that even the sorcerer supreme doesn’t believe it exists. Then the big revel was Agatha saying that this makes Wanda the Scarlet Witch.

Finally confirming that Wanda uses chaos magic and is the Scarlet Witch is fascinating. As it was established earlier Wanda had pre-existing powers before her exposure to the mind stone. In the comics the chaos magic powers came from Wanda being touched at birth by the demon Chthon, whom has previously ruled the Earth using chaos magic. This explains why Agatha is so shocked at her discovery.

White Vision:

We learnt earlier in the episode that Haywood still had the Vision’s body and was trying to get him back online. The post-credit scene dived further into what he has been doing. To bring Vision back online he needed energy from the source, energy from Wanda. Without knowing Wanda through this at Haywood in the form of the drone S.W.O.R.D. ad sent in.

What results of this is Vision being brought back online. However, the form Vision takes is white and soulless. This follows the comic book arc of Vision Quest and most notably West Coast Avengers #45 where Vision returned as a soulless android.

In the comics Vision remembers he is an Avenger but has no feelings towards Wanda as he doesn’t recall their romance. If this is where the series goes with Vision then we can only expect Wanda’s despair to get worse.

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