WandaVision episode 4 ditches the sitcom format in favor of something that gives us a much clearer picture of what’s happening in the “real” MCU. Primarily functioning as a Monica Rambeau origin story, and one that gives us a better look at the inner working of SWORD (and puts FBI Agent Jimmy Woo front and center!), this week’s WandaVision also answers some big questions about what’s going on in Westview. Or does it? Let’s get to work…
MONICA RAMBEAU
This episode is more or less Monica’s MCU origin story. We learn that Monica was snapped, Maria wasn’t, and she died two years after Monica disappeared. Her reappearance after “the blip” makes this chronologically the first appearance of adult Monica in the MCU, taking place concurrently with the final act of Avengers: Endgame. If you look at those numbers closely, the “9” and the “6” don’t appear to be different numerals. And what’s a “9” but an inverted “6” meaning that this is low key continuing the recurring “666” motif that keeps popping up in this show. The sheriff’s deputies are from the town of “Eastview.” Mephisto is also known as Lucifer…as in Lucifer Morningstar, and The Satanic Bible says that as one of the princes of Hell, Lucifer’s domain is the “east.”
JIMMY WOO
Welcome back to the MCU, Jimmy Woo! Jimmy is one of the older characters in the entire MCU, believe it or not, predating the actual Marvel Comics universe by several years, having first appeared in 1956. His MCU version made his first and only appearance (until now) in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Agent Woo pulling out his card with close-up magic was a fantastic callback to the running gag from Ant-Man and the Wasp.
CMBR
The “Wandavision” broadcast being hidden in the cosmic microwave background radiation feels like an indication of just how serious Wanda’s powers are. The CMBR is, as Jimmy says in the episode, the leftover radiation from the early moments after the Big Bang. It’s not a formative energy source, but it’s the waste product of a formative energy source. To hide a signal in there could be an indication that there are some fundamental tenets of reality being altered. According to Darcy, there are other episodes of WandaVision’s “show” that have aired before the first and second episodes. Not to mention the glance she got prior to the first episode.
VISION
Vision’s true form is a colorless husk with a chunk of his forehead missing due to what Thanos did to him. This coincides pretty well with the comics where Vision was captured and disassembled during the West Coast Avengers days. While he survived, he wasn’t quite the same and was illustrated as colorless. This just added to Wanda’s downfall.
THE CITIZENS OF WESTVIEW
Herb’s real name is John Collins and Mrs. Hart’s real name is Sharon Davis. Wouldn’t you know it, those are also the names of two of the show’s art directors! We haven’t turned up anything on the others yet, though. And yes, we’re also suspicious that they can’t place a real name to Agnes, as well.
While a lot of the glitches appear to be censored from the broadcasts of the sitcom, the file on Mr. Hart shows that the entire “Stop it!” moment was shown in its entirety.
SKRULLS?
On his whiteboard, Jimmy Woo suggests that Skrulls might be behind all of this. No, you have a few years before we get into that plot, dude.
THE SONG
The end credits song is “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” by Jimi Hendrix. The lyrics certainly hit different in the context of the show, like creating your own island, stealing the time of others, and seeing the dead in a new world. Not to mention the first line is “Well, I’m standing next to a mountain…” as in…Mt. Wundagore?
The Ending
The final moments of this show sure would appear to point towards a House of M scenario where Wanda has lost all control, but that seems a little too easy now, doesn’t it?
