Wondering about ‘WandaVision’: Season 1, episode 7

Feb. 24, 2021, 10:17 p.m.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for “WandaVision” and other MCU films.

I keep saying this about every episode, but Episode 7, “Breaking the Fourth Wall,” was insane — probably my favorite so far. Filmed in the style of 2000s sitcoms like “Modern Family” and “The Office,” the episode nears the show’s climax as it lingers on the following idea: “If Wanda is our problem, then she has to be our solution.” Below are five takeaways from the episode. 

1.) Hayward wants a weapon. 

I said Hayward was an asshole in my previous installment of “Wondering about ‘WandaVision,’” which still stands, but I think his depravity goes further than that. Upon driving to the aerospace engineers to enter Westview, Monica and Agent Woo receive the data Darcy found. They see that she got through the firewall and found operation ‘Cataract’ among Hayward’s files, which reveals that Vision was not at S.W.O.R.D. to be decommissioned but to be brought back as a weapon. This is why Hayward was tracking Vision in the Hex — not to get a population count of Westview. While I am not surprised, I wonder how Hayward will complicate things in the next episode. 

2.) Wanda is really losing control. 

While in previous episodes people were becoming more aware of their captivity by the minute, the Hex itself is now falling apart. Household items morph and change from the modern aesthetic to that of other decades. This all occurs as Wanda confines herself in her house and acts collected even though it is clear she is distraught over her relationship with Vision, and enters a depressive episode. 

One reason for Wanda’s unraveling could be that she’s alone. In the episode’s theme song, which feels much like that of “The Office,” the lyrics are one word: Wanda. The producers tack “Vision” onto the end to introduce the show’s title — uncharacteristic of the couple’s typical shared space in the show — which implies how isolated Wanda must feel from Vision. She also feels like a failure due to what had happened to him. At one point, Wanda says into the camera that she “[doesn’t] understand why it’s all falling apart and [she] can’t fix it.” This quote unveils her reasoning for why she kept the Hex around: She finally has control over her life after all her past trauma.  

Each episode has a commercial that reveals an easter egg. The commercial in this episode is an advertisement for “Nexus,” an antidepressant, and thus relevant to Wanda’s morose dilemma between moving on from Vision’s death and maintaining the Hex. It is also important to know that in the MCU, “Nexus” is the gateway to alternate realities. Basically, the multiverse has been confirmed multiple times now. 

3.) Darcy, Vision and Monica are inside the Hex … 

My first comment is that Darcy and Vision have such good platonic chemistry. Vision is able to find Darcy and breaks her out of her Hex trance. The two steal a bus and drive away from the circus that formed when Wanda expanded the Hex. Upon talking, they realize Vision has no memory of anything prior to Westview, so when Darcy recaps it all to him, he finally understands Wanda’s pain.

As for Monica, her and Woo’s plan to get through the Hex with a space rover failed. So what does she decide to do? She goes without any sort of safety net into the Hex, struggling to avoid captivity. Previously, Darcy warned her that the Hex altered her genetic code twice from being pulled in and thrown out. And though Monica avoids being “rewritten” this time, the change in her genes provides her with superpowers. Now Monica has spectral vision and energy absorption abilities.

4.) … and I should have never doubted myself. 

I think the true lesson here is that often you are smarter than you think you are. In my Episode 5 article I shared my suspicions about Agnes, but I doubted myself in my most recent article. Turns out Agnes, now Agatha Harkness, was the evil mastermind “all along,” as seen from her catchy showtune in the show. 

Her reveal as the major villain began as she separated Wanda and Monica from each other during their confrontation, just as Monica was getting to her. Later, Wanda is alone in Agatha’s living room and calls out to her; she replies that she is in the basement. When Wanda goes downstairs, there are glowing vines and an overall eerie atmosphere. Suddenly, Agatha appears, saying that Wanda “isn’t the only magical girl in town.” She shuts the door behind Wanda, and right before, it cuts to her montage — Wanda seems to be put under a trance.

It seems that Agatha has been manipulating several events in Westview, from the magic show to Herb’s brief moment of consciousness in episode 3. She also allowed Pietro’s appearance and faked her trance in the Halloween episode. (And she killed Sparky, the boys’ dog. The horror!)

Her intention was obvious: She wanted to isolate Wanda by placing distrust in Vision through providing him clues about the Hex in Episode 3 and the previous episode. It has worked…  so far. But now that Vision understands Wanda’s motivations, I wonder how his rescue will play out.

5.) Wait? There’s finally a post-credit scene?!

Throughout this episode, I was wondering where Pietro was — then Marvel reveals him in the first post-credit scene of the series. The scene begins with Monica searching for an entrance to Agatha’s house, ultimately busting open the basement doors from the outside. She sees the vines crawling out of the basement. As she stares in shock, Pietro appears behind her, saying “snoopers gonna snoop.” It ends there.

My best guess is that the siblings will team up against Agatha. While it is possible that Pietro may turn on Monica given that Agatha was the one who allowed him in there, I still hope that Dr. Strange had a role in bringing Pietro to the Hex since there were hints at the multiverse. With this cliff-hanger, I hope the penultimate episode clears many things up. 

Kyla Figueroa ‘24 is the former Vol. 260–262 Managing Editor for The Grind, the 263 Screen DE for Arts & Life, and a staff writer for News. Throw pitches and questions her way — kfigueroa ‘at’ stanforddaily.com.

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