How strong were the villains of WandaVision?

Head writer of WandaVision Jac Shaeffer recently said in an interview with Deadline that “the big bad is grief.” While we agree with what Shaeffer is saying, WandaVision still has a number of antagonists which helped make the show what it was. The MCU has a history of rather underwhelming villains, but since the arrival of Thanos there seems to have been a shift in focus which gives our heroes a compelling opposite to clash with. WandaVision continues this theme as phase 4 onwards looks to introduce more complex villains into the universe.

Agatha Harkness:

After episode 7, the big reveal of the series was that it was “Agatha All Along”. Many fans had speculated that Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) would be Agatha Harkness and they were proved to be correct. Just like the theme of the series, her character was surrounded in mystery all throughout the series and this is why her reveal was so well received. As for her true form as the witch from Salem, her presence was on point which made her a strong villain for Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) to go up against.

As the nosy neighbour Agnes, the mystery around her character was what made the series so intriguing to watch. Every scene that she was involved in it was hard to take your eyes off her as we were always expecting something important to come from her. Acknowledging the fact that Wanda was in control during episode 5 was one of these moments which helped create the intrigue that gave the show such a watchable feel. As such the slow build of character through the decades made the reveal in episode 7 much more satisfying.

With Agatha revealing herself as the one tampering with everything, our answers to all the creepy aspects of Westview were answered. She also helped us understand Wanda’s powers which Wanda herself couldn’t. This made Agatha seem knowledgeable while powerful and cunning, traits which makes a strong villain.

However, where Agatha fell into the traditional MCU villain mould was with her motivations. Wanting to take powers from the undeserving as Agatha said was her primary motivation. This didn’t hold up to the complexity that the likes of Killmonger’s (Michael B. Jordan) and Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) plans have had. While the plan of Agatha seemed rather basic, the introduction of the Darkhold did keep that sense of mystery around her character and this is something which still remains after the finale.

Before Wanda trapped Agatha in her Westview character Agnes, there seemed to be a lot more knowledge Agatha had to share which wasn’t given to us just yet. Her motives for taking witches powers definitely were more complex. The fact that Agatha is still alive means the potential for her return is likely and we could later understand her character motives much more when Wanda needs her help. For that reason the journey of Agatha doesn’t seem to be over and WandaVision was just a setting off point for her character.

Overall, Agatha has to be considered a strong villain in the MCU. Although not on the level with the big guns the role she played within WandaVision was just what the show needed. Agatha never took anything away from the story of Wanda’s grief and she provided the test Wanda needed in order to overcome her personal struggles. Along with this, the journey of Agatha doesn’t seem to be over which is what still makes her character one of the intriguing and exciting parts of the MCU. It may just be me but I would love to explore all the knowledge Agatha holds and understand why she takes powers from witches. Seeing her play a role similar to the comics whereby she mentors Wanda could be the direction needed to explore what Agatha knows about the world.

Tyler Haywood:

Introduced in episode 4 to help provide some context to the show was S.W.O.R.D. and the head of the organisation the wrongful Tyler Haywood (Josh Stamberg). Across the series the role S.W.O.R.D. played always felt secondary to what was going on inside the hex. That doesn’t mean their role wasn’t important because their role helped the series flow. But, due to being a secondary focus Haywood never felt anything more than a villainous man in power which has been done before in the MCU and numerous other movies. Therefore, although having a good plan, Haywood wasn’t a stand out villain.

Taking a look at Haywood’s plan we come to the conclusion that it was well thought out and fit with the arrogant personality he has. His aim which he revealed to master magician Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) was to bring the Vision (Paul Bettany) back online under his control which he then uses to take down Wanda Maximoff. In terms of a plan coming from a man in a suit it is a strong plan and was well executed to begin with. However, when things started to go wrong, it was quickly established that Haywood was nothing more than a coward.

When S.W.O.R.D. entered the hex in the finale, Haywood showed his true colours as he tried to shoot Billy and Tommy. Monica (Teyonah Paris) prevented this from happening and it was then Darcy (Kat Dennings) that hit Haywood with a truck when he tried to escape. The subsequent arrest of Haywood fell flat and didn’t give the secondary villain a big defeat which many had expected.

I know Haywood was never the main antagonist, but his defeat to Monica, Darcy and Jimmy deserved some more love. After all the S.W.O.R.D. dynamic of episode 4 is what sparked many fans to get on board with the series. Therefore a bigger demise to his character would have made his villainous agenda feel a bigger threat. Also, the Vision didn’t remain under his control which made the plan of Haywood fail and fail quickly.

As such, Haywood as a villain wasn’t on the level of Agatha in any way. He did provide a different dynamic which helped the series flow. As a whole though, Haywood was nothing more than another MCU villain with an evil plan. I wouldn’t say he was bad but I still wouldn’t say he was good. For that reason I am left with a sense of disappointment really with Haywood as I felt the build-up that was given for him deserved more of a focus in the finale. If this was given then Haywood as a villain would be much more talked about.

Wanda Maximoff:

Despite not being presented as the antagonist, Wanda definitely at times was the villain of the series. As we learn that Wanda created the hex and was controlling everyone within Westview against their will, we know the act she had taken was villainous. The scene in the finale when Agatha sets the residents free of Wanda’s control further highlighted the distress everyone was in. Take out the love we have for Wanda as a character and it is unquestionable the act that she took was in line with a villain.

Although taking the actions of a villain, Wanda in the series was the primary protagonist which does make it harder to view her as a villain. Her love for Vision and the twins is not something you expect from a traditional evil villain and how their relationship was presented in the series backs this up.

That being said, everything that happened within Westview has set the potential for a more serious villainous turn from Wanda in the future. Therefore, what WandaVision did was provide a motivation for Wanda to undertake evil actions. Creating the hex came from her grief and the post-credit scene seems to have set up Wanda doing something much worse than taking over a town to suppress her grief. Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will give us a better sense of what is to come from the new Scarlet Witch.

As a whole an argument can be made to suggest Wanda was the main villain of WandaVision. But, being the central character in the show I find it hard to make the case that Wanda was the villain. Instead I prefer to view WandaVision as a set up for the Scarlet Witch to be the next big villain in the MCU. We know more about Wanda now more than ever before and a turn to a villain seems like the next step which makes sense for Wanda to move into as she continues to cope with her grief. As for WandaVision Wanda isn’t my villain she is still my grieving hero.

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