WandaVision is a story of Wanda’s grief

Marvel Studios first Disney+ show, WandaVision has finished airing after 8 weeks of intrigue. A common theme throughout the series was the fan theories that were circulating around the globe. Although fun to be a part of, these theories did take away from the fundamental story that was being told in Westview, that being how Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) copes with her grief. Some fans were actually disappointed with the finale as there wasn’t the big reveal fans had expected. However, looking back at the series as a whole while accepting nobody made a cameo, the story of Wanda’s grief is well told and complex like a 6 hour series should be.

Throughout the series we get to witness how Wanda struggles with being alone after the death of her lover Vision (Paul Bettany). After episode 8 when Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) forces Wanda to revisit her past, we get a new found appreciation for what Wanda has been through. Witnessing Wanda visit the corpse of Vision was an emotional moment and when the hex is created we are actually routing for her, even though what she has been doing is a villainous act.

With this knowledge, everything that precedes the 8th episode can be viewed in a different light. If we breakdown how Wanda is responding to her grief, creating the hex was a form of her denial as she cannot accept Vision’s death. The first 3 episodes focus on this in more detail and the style of the show helps create this feeling of denial because no answers are provided for what has been going on in Westview, as a viewer like Wanda we are denying the truth.

Introducing the S.W.O.R.D. dynamic allowed for more of an explanation for everything that has been happening, which in turn moves the focus of Wanda’s story and begins the circus of fan theories. Now we know what happens we can look past this to once again look in detail at Wanda’s story.

One main aspect of the later episodes that gets lost in the theories is the love Wanda has for her children. Fan theories about the children being ‘demon spawns’ took away from what they actually were which was the love of Wanda. Billy and Tommy’s introduction added another dynamic to Wanda’s grief as she seems to mask the crumbling of Westview by adding more to her fantasy. At the time the twins are born, Vision starts to question things he is seeing in Westview leading to cuts from Wanda, the twins allow for Wanda to forget about what Vision is saying as she doesn’t want to remember what is happening in the real world.

Moreover, the fact that Vision wants to know what is happening goes to show how much love Wanda has for him. We now know Wanda created the Vision, which means everything inside Vision comes from Wanda’s mind. Subconsciously Wanda always knew Vision would want to do the right thing, which is one of the reasons why she fell in love with the synthezoid.

Introducing Pietro (Evan Peters) at the end of episode 5 adds another layer to Wanda’s grief and how out of control she is. Obviously a fake, Wanda actually believes that ‘Fietro’ was her brother. This tells us how out of control Wanda has gotten and how she has started to be consumed by her false world. It is only the threat of Vision’s death which causes her to snap out of it and expand the hex.

This then leads into the next phase of Wanda’s grief whereby she is depressed at everything and just wants to be left alone. Even the twins are not enough to make her happy, she just wants to be left in peace and not have to think of her trauma. However, the events of episode 8 wake Wanda up to the truth of her life and although she experiences the pain all over again, it makes Wanda once again aware that she had a life before the hex and she can no longer run from her problems.

After Agatha reveals her plan and highlights what Wanda has been doing we begin to see Wanda accept her grief. With the threat of Agatha bringing her back to reality, it is only then Wanda can’t allow for herself to be engulfed by her own false reality. After Wanda embraces her destiny of becoming the Scarlet Witch, there is still a sense that her grief isn’t completed as once again she has to say goodbye to Vision.

After Agatha is defeated, Wanda begins receding the hex and she finally gets the goodbye with Vision that she never got after Thanos killed him. Saying goodbye to Billy and Tommy was just as emotional, but seeing the final conversation between Marvel’s favourite couple was what the show has always been about. We finally get an understanding of what Vision was to Wanda. Saying Vision was the part of the mind stone that lived inside of her gave some closure to the couple. It’s clear that Wanda takes the message, ‘grief is love persevering’ that Vision says to her in the flashback to heart. As such when Vision is no more, the journey that Wanda has been through allows her to accept her loss.

When the hex fades to nothing Wanda ends in the exact same location when everything began. A full circle feeling is given to the series but there is a stark difference between how Wanda created the hex in a burst of emotion compared to how she can now accept what has happened to her loves.

If we look at the stages of grief throughout the series Wanda has gone through most of them. Denial, anger, depression and then finally acceptance highlight the story of grief which Wanda goes through, which is what the heart of WandaVision was all about.

Like we have said fan theories did take away from the beautiful story being told about Wanda’s grief. The journey that Wanda went through in the end didn’t actually affect anyone else other than maybe Monica, but what it meant for Wanda shows the progression she is currently on as a character. Looking back at WandaVision it’s clear that the focus needs to be on Wanda and if we look at Wanda at the start of the series compared towards the end, her journey has seen a major change. Moreover, Wanda feels more mature as a character compared to the scared child she has previously been presented as. The question of what is next for Wanda will likely be answered in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but for the journey WandaVision put Wanda through it’s likely that Wanda will continue to search for her happiness even if that means breaking the multiverse.

Images:

Marvel Studios

Disney+