***Spoilers Ahead for WandaVision Episode 7***
So far, the biggest villain in this series has been the credits sequence. With each passing episode, I become more infuriated as the “Please Stand By” screen appears because the producers have continuously teed up the next episode so perfectly. This week is no exception, as I audibly shouted “oh come on,” at the end of episode 7.
Showrunner of the series Jac Schaeffer intricately weaved the story so the audience would continuously flip between believing someone was controlling Wanda and being certain this whole situation was Wanda’s doing.
This week, Agnes was revealed to be the magical Marvel villain Agatha Harkness. While many viewers expected this, the writers always left a small semblance of doubt in our minds as we tried to untangle the mystery. The reveal spurred a major development in the story, but viewers didn’t expect to travel through each of “Agnes’s” appearances, revealing how everything that went haywire in Westview was “Agatha All Along.”
That was a very smart choice because it removed the villain label from Wanda. While we still do not know if Agnes is behind everything, it does not seem like an illogical leap to assume Wanda is innocent.
Agnes controlling the situation would allow Wanda to return to a heroic standing within the MCU for the future films in which she is set to appear. More clarification will likely come next week, but it seems unlikely Wanda will remain a villain following this series.
Additionally, we finally see Monica earn her comic book abilities. While not seeing the full extent in action, the scene in which she breaks through the barrier was incredibly powerful.
We see her almost be torn apart by the barrier, but through sheer force of will she pulls herself together and fights through the barrier — a feat even Vision, one of the most powerful Marvel characters, could not do. Monica is clearly going to be a major player going forward and having a scene where she truly earns her strength makes her appear an even more worthy hero.
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While admittedly this was not my favorite episode, it was certainly necessary for bridging the sitcom-styled episodes to the final two episodes, likely set in a more grounded, traditional MCU style. Most of the audience saw the reveal of Agnes actually being Agatha Harkness coming a mile away, but we needed an episode to try to wrap up some loose ends before going forward.
New episodes of WandaVision premiere every Friday on Disney+.
