Strange things are happening in Westview, all of it centered around Wanda and Vision.
Disney+ released the third episode of WandaVision Jan. 22. Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Teyonah Parris and Kathryn Hahn star. David Payton and Randy Oglesby make guest appearances.
A caution to all readers: there will be spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.
At the end of episode 2, Wanda (Olsen) and Vision (Bettany) were living ideal lives in the small town of Westview. Right before the credits rolled, Wanda is shown with a baby bump and the screen goes from black and white to color, signifying the decade switch from the 1960’s to the 70’s.
Episode 3 kicks off almost immediately afterward where it is confirmed that Wanda is, in fact, pregnant. Her powers seem to be on the fritz as her pregnancy progresses at an alarmingly fast rate, raising some suspicion with the neighbors. She gives birth to twin boys at the end of the episode with the help of her friend, Geraldine (Parris), who seems to be hiding something.
This episode confirmed my gut instinct that the series wasn’t what it looked like in the beginning. It quickly took a turn from fun-loving sitcom to what I’d traditionally expect from Marvel.
One thing that was extremely satisfying in this episode was the mention of a character that I personally feel hasn’t gotten enough credit. Pietro Maximoff, also known as Quicksilver, was Wanda’s twin brother, who died in the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. His death hit Wanda hard and we never really saw that after Age of Ultron. The death of a sibling, while painful and hard to talk about, is still something that would change a person and warrant some discussion. Unfortunately, this never happened. Mentioning Pietro after the birth of Wanda’s twin boys was a beautiful way to pay homage to Quicksilver.
This mention of Pietro was also the lead into an interesting development. Geraldine’s character as Wanda’s friend seemed innocent, just another woman for Wanda to pal around with. She shouldn’t know how Pietro died, except she does. Not only does Geraldine seem to know more than she should, neighbors Herb (Payton) and Agnes (Hahn) also seem to know things that Wanda and Vision don’t.
Having all these new characters who know more than they should makes for a picture-perfect Marvel series. After seeing Geraldine shot into the 21st century, I have high hopes for the rest of the series. If you haven’t seen the first two episodes yet, or just couldn’t get into them, stick with it. Even though it starts a little strange, it’s definitely worth watching.
