FULL SPOILERS AHEAD

Things are escalating quickly in WandaVision, although there are still some major questions left unanswered. That’s about all I can think of saying before getting to spoilers, so let’s dive right in!

Now in the 90’s, Wanda’s show has a Malcolm in the Middle feel with Tommy and Billy sometimes talking directly to the audience. Agnes is now listed in the theme song, and so is Pietro. He’s been crashing on the couch and the twins look to him as the cool uncle. This “episode” is about Halloween, and the costumes are just… chef’s kiss. I love them. Wanda, Vision, Quicksilver, and Billy/Wiccan–put a pin in that–are all wearing the Dollar Store equivalent of their comic book costumes while Tommy is dressed as a little Quicksilver. Anyway, Vision goes off to do neighborhood watch stuff and Wanda is annoyed that this was unplanned (by her). Turns out they haven’t been fighting, per say, but things have been tense. So Pietro fills in and the four go out trick or treating. Wanda’s still wary that Pietro has a new face, but he appears to be the same person with the last thing he remembers before Westview was getting shot–his death in Avengers: Age of Ultron–and then “the next thing I know, I heard you calling me.” The two talk and Wanda reveals she doesn’t know how she did all of this. Then it turns out Tommy has super speed, but more importantly, Vision lied to Wanda. He explores the edge of Westview and finds the people out there are either stuck in short loops or just frozen in place, suggesting Wanda’s control–while still strong–is less controlled the further out you go.

Outside the Hex, Hayward has plans within plans and Monica, Jimmy, and Darcy are not part of them. The three beat up guards escorting them out of the facility and then manage to hack into the SWORD database. Turns out Hayward has been tracking Vision and has some secret project called Cataract. Or CATARACT? It could be an acronym, covering my bases just in case. Monica’s ready to go back in but Darcy finds Monica’s bloodwork revealing that going through the barrier twice has changed her in ways that aren’t explained yet. Put another pin in that. Anyway, Jimmy and Monica begin plans of reentering while Darcy stays behind.

Back in Westview, Vision finds Agnes on the edge of town, barely responsive. He “awakens” her, which causes her to freak out. She recognizes Vision as an Avenger, something he doesn’t know anything about. Then she tells him that he’s supposed to be dead and starts freaking out some more. He… unawakens her, I don’t know what to call it yet, and walks to the edge of the Hex. He goes through the barrier but starts disintegrating on the other side, yet another bad sign for his survivability. Billy’s powers manifest and he warns Wanda about what’s happening. Pietro mouths off about her dead husband and she blasts him, then freezes everyone in town and forcibly expands the Hex to envelop the weakened Vision. The SWORD base gets absorbed, turning into a circus (ha). The only ones to avoid getting sucked in are Jimmy and Monica off on their own, and Hayward and a small team of agents.

The commercial this time is for kids’ yogurt involving a claymation shark. Sound cute and EXTRME? Well it gets dark as hell when the kid can’t open the container and starves to death, shriveling up into a skeleton. “Yo-Magic! The snack for survivors!” Well that was… going to give someone nightmares.

The big questions I have are why Hayward was tracking Vision specifically, as if he was waiting for the synthezoid to attempt to cross the barrier? What’s Cataract? And is this how Monica becomes Spectrum?

What a wonderful segue to talk about the connections to the comics! In that Marvel universe, Monica, Billy, and Tommy all have powers. Monica currently goes by Spectrum, but has also gone by Photon and–worth noting–Captain Marvel for a while. An villain’s weapon gave her energy powers, including the ability to turn into just about anything along the electromagnetic spectrum. Remember last episode when Monica’s scans revealed literally nothing? Maybe she has energy powers right now and doesn’t know it yet!

As for the twins, that’s a little more involved… As I discussed with episode 3, originally the twins were conjured into being using pieces of Mephisto’s soul and ceased to be when he came to get them back. But that’s not the end of the story. Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd were born to different parents and raised without ever knowing about each other. Billy developed electric powers and joined the Young Avengers as Wiccan, but turns out his full powers were a variety of powerful magical abilities. Things got weird when he met Tommy, a stranger with super speed–codename Speed–and Billy’s face. Hmm… twins… one with magic… and one with super speed and white hair… After some drama with the Avengers and Doctor Doom, it was revealed that the two were the reincarnations of Wanda’s original twins. How does that work? It’s comic book bullshit, don’t think about it too much. The Billy and Tommy in the show seems to be a combination of the two versions–the biological children of Wanda with the powers the reincarnations had (mostly because her kids ceased to be before they were old enough to develop powers). Could this be the origin of three new MCU heroes? Other Young Avengers include Cassie Lang, AKA Ant-Man’s daughter, and Kate Bishop, the supposed star of the upcoming Hawkeye Disney+ show, so this could be the start of the next generation of MCU heroes!

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