This article contains spoilers for Wandavision episode 5.
This week, WandaVision received an 80s makeover with Westview’s inhabitants subjected to big hair, denim and jazzercize. The show kept up its tradition of paying tribute to popular sit-coms from bygone eras with episode 5. ‘On A Very Special Episode…’ was stylized in homage to Full House, which starred Elizabeth Olsen’s siblings: the Olsen twins.
Twins were also on the agenda in the MCU, as Wanda and Vision’s babies continued their rapid growth spurt. Episode 4 brought back some great supporting characters, but episode 5 brought an even bigger surprise appearance as the show continues to tease fans about the future of the MCU. Let’s take a look at what we learned in episode 5.
TV Shows traditionally offer viewers a brief recap ahead of the next episode in order to bring them up to speed. Until episode 5, there had been no suggestions that WandaVision was any different. However, eagle-eyed viewers will have caught a discrepancy during the scene after Wanda has evicted Monica from Westview.
In episode 4, Wanda tells Vision “she left, honey,” referring to Monica’s abrupt disappearance. Instead, during the recap ahead of episode 5, Wanda says “She didn’t belong here.” Given that SWORD is watching the broadcasts alongside fans, this can be seen as Wanda warning them to stop interfering.
Having been thrust out of the Hex, Monica sets about trying to figure out another way to get back inside safely. As she, Darcy and Jimmy discuss the level of power Wanda is seemingly wielding, the conversation inevitably drifts towards the battle with Thanos, Captain Marvel and the origins of their power.
Darcy points out that “her power came from an infinity stone too.” However, Monica is quick to steer the conversation away from Captain Marvel, “We are not talking about her, we’re talking about Wanda.” It prompts an uncomfortable glance between Jimmy and Darcy, suggesting that Monica doesn’t view auntie Danvers with the kind of reverence that she did when she was helping to pick her outfit as child.
Having learned more about Westview in episode 4, this episode confirmed that Wanda is rewriting reality inside the Hex. There had been lingering questions about what happens to material that enters through the barrier, dubbed ‘The Hex’ by Darcy. Upon studying the image of her drone, transformed into a toy helicopter inside the Hex, Monica decides to test the outfit she was wearing upon ejection from inside the Hex. She swipes Jimmy’s gun and fires three shots at the outfit, with each bullet failing to penetrate it. Monica discovers the outfit is made from the Kevlar material from the bulletproof vest she wore when she initially entered Westview. This is why the radioactive suit the SWORD operative wore when entering through the sewers transformed into a beekeeper’s suit in episode 2.
On the face of things, this appears to be an act of aggression from Wanda. Director Hayward is at pains to present her actions this way and the video footage, that was once considered to be teased during the credits of Avengers: Endgame, seems to confirm it. Yet, the fact that SWORD appear to be experimenting on Vision’s dismembered body suggests that, while he might be in pieces, he’s not exactly at peace when Wanda arrives to retrieve his body.
Instead of painting Wanda as a villain, it actually raises more questions. Vision was killed by Thanos before the snap, so have SWORD been experimenting with his body for a similar length of time? The answer perhaps lies in the conversation had between Monica and Hayward in episode 4 when she asks about SWORD’s change in focus from “observation and response” to “creation” of sentient weapons.
As if racing through a whole pregnancy in the space of an episode wasn’t enough, this time the twins aged ten years. The first instance occurs when they won’t stop crying in their cribs, despite Wanda and Vision’s best efforts. It’s not until Agnes appears and tries some alternate methods that they seem to settle down. Much to their surprise, though, the twins have actually grown from babies to children, which could hint that the young Avengers are on the horizon.
Their next growth spurt comes when their parents deem them too young to look after a dog, suggesting they need to be at least ten, prompting the two to age rapidly again. Wanda seemed perplexed as to where the dog came from, but whether the twins conjured it or someone else did is likely to be just one of the things fans speculate about until the next episode. On both occasions Agnes is present and doesn’t seem surprised by the occurrence, whether that’s down to sheer jadedness with Wanda’s sit-com illusion or something more sinister remains to be seen.
If that wasn’t disconcerting enough, Wanda seems unable to use her powers on them. While trying to nurse them to sleep she tries to take a shortcut, but her powers have no effect. This could easily be put down to the amount of effort she’s exuding, she couldn’t contain the stork in episode 3 during labor, however it seems likely that there’s going to be a more concrete reason for this. There are positives and negatives to the weekly release format, but these inconsistencies allow fans to speculate which increases anticipation for what comes next.
While the seams of the Hex strengthened as Wanda returned from her confrontation with SWORD, the fabric of her relationship with Vision appears to be tearing. In this episode, there were no skips, clips, or rewinds which often appeared to deploy whenever Vision’s immersion in the world was broken. Instead Wanda seems intent on living more openly with her superpowers, something Vision doesn’t agree with.
He has several murmurs of discontent as he questions why Agnes breaks character, how Agnes appears at the perfect time with a doghouse and he even manages to briefly relinquish Norm from under Wanda’s control after they receive an email from the outside world about the radiation dangers. All of this leads to a frank discussion where Vision grows more distressed at his inability to remember life before Westview.
As the end credits roll, Wanda and Vision argue about the morality of what’s going on inside the Hex and how much control she exudes. They’re interrupted by someone at their door, which Wanda claims she has no control over. To her surprise, Quicksilver, who was killed by Ultron, waits in the doorway. However, it is not the same Pietro (in a manner of speaking).
The fact that this is Evan Peters’ Quicksilver from Fox’s X-Men universe suggests that there is something else at play. This could have been the surprise cameo of Luke Skywalker proportions Elizabeth Olsen recently teased, though she also suggested that the cameo hadn’t leaked. While Darcy theorized Wanda’s power levels now greatly exceed what they’ve seen from her before, Quicksilver’s appearance could be a hint that there’s still someone influencing events from behind the scenes.
WandaVision continued its impressive run with an action-packed episode that jumped between the real world and events occurring inside the Hex. While this brought more answers, the episode’s final scene created a whole multiverse of questions. As for now, fans will have to chew over the first appearance of a mutant in the MCU and what it all means until next week.
New episodes of WandaVision release every Friday on Disney Plus.
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