The following contains spoilers for the finale of Marvel Studios’ WandaVision.
Near the beginning of WandaVision’s climactic conclusion (so confident in its own finality the episode is literally titled “The Series Finale”), the show brings audiences up-to-speed on the immediate whereabouts of Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau, trapped in a basement and held hostage by Evan Peters’ mysterious individual calling himself “Pietro Maximoff.” Rambeau later discovers “Pietro” is neither a brainwashed doppelganger from the X-Men movie universe nor a subconscious creation of the title character’s sprawling circling cycle of grief like so many believed – he’s Ralph Bohner, an ordinary Westview resident, powered by and under the command of Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness. No multiverse, no X-Men, no crossover. He’s just… a guy.
To many Marvel Cinematic Universe scholars, this “Bohner” joke was emblematic of WandaVision’s disappointing ending – a handy helping of anti-climaxes served to a community that had spent the preceding weeks feverishly piecing every bit of each episode into a cohesive hypothesis for the MCU’s future, both immediate and distant. But chastising the show’s supposedly underwhelming closing episode ignores the consistent commentary permeating the series, right up to the end. WandaVision’s finale satisfies in its own unique way, with its pointed meta-meditation on a part of modern movie culture that helped build Marvel Studios into the great and terrifying force of filmmaking it is today.
Throughout its nine-episode duration, WandaVision couldn’t stop dropping clues to an exciting future for both Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff and her surrounding cinematic universe: Who’s Agnes? How was this sitcom-world created? Is Evan Peters playing the same Pietro he played in the final few X-Men films? And what’s with all the hexagons?
Just as the series came to a close, the wider mysteries covering every corner of the “event series” were solved one after another, revealing a heaping of herrings as red as Wanda’s wardrobe: The recurring shape of the interdimensional “Hex,” the array of vaguely themed commercial breaks in every sitcom-based episode, and the aforementioned true identity of the dude calling himself “Pietro Maximoff” were not onions of lore with everlasting layers like so many assumed, but instead standalone details without agenda. It amounts to a finale that plays locally – no surprise appearances or bombshell exposition drops, just a superpowered family protecting their home.
It’s not as if this wasn’t part of the point – from musical stingers to odd details in the background, WandaVision was designed to cater to the MCU’s amateur fortune tellers, more than any other entry in the preteen-aged universe. The intention was only made clearer by the unfolding mystery outside Wanda’s world, as Monica, along with Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo and Kat Dennings’ Darcy Lewis, observed the goings-on within “WandaVision,” speculating as passionately as the fans watching the show. Marvel is known for its meta-storytelling, but this was on a completely different level.
The metatextual narrative arguably speaks to one of the hallmarks of a frighteningly-effective Marvel Studios strategy: Over the last decade, coverage and discussion of popular genre media have adopted an unending cycle of speculative content generation, largely thanks to the MCU. No longer simply trailer drops and cast announcements, but additionally theories and easter egg guides and potential reference material for later films. The inherent lack of moderation in this model has created a hungry machine with a bottomless stomach, with which Marvel feeds with post-credits scenes and cameos.
At the tail-end of a recent WandaVision theory video on the popular YouTube channel “The Film Theorists,” host Matthew Patrick unintentionally lays out the result of Marvel Studios’ marketing model in designing its cinematic universe with so much speculative texture: “We do [Marvel theory videos] all year-round, even when there’s nothing to talk about in the Marvel Universe.” Thanks to its marketing model, Marvel Studios is literally never out of style.
Yet, in the aftermath of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and the universe’s unplanned year off in 2020, speculation surrounding the studio’s future began to swell, and after MCU CEO Kevin Feige confirmed the upcoming introduction of the Marvel multiverse at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, said speculation – and accompanying expectations – reached a fever pitch. Whether by fated circumstance or intentional timing, it’s fitting the MCU’s grand return would have something to say about this enflamed culture of rumors and predictions.
Given its premise, lead character, its ties to future films, its arrival as the first MCU product in a year and a half, and its (last-minute) placement as the first production in Marvel’s “Phase Four” media lineup, WandaVision was intensely scrutinized from the first frame of its debut trailer. Whether anticipated or not, the show was geared to play a game of expectations with the most attentive part of its audience; as it entered its twilight episodes, fans grew convinced their many ambitious predictions would be verified and validated. Then the rug was pulled out from under them and, within the final trio of chapters, the show’s actual hand was revealed.
The most deafening nail in the coffin came during the seventh episode, “Breaking the Fourth Wall,” in which Wanda explicitly tells her sons – and, in turn, the audience – she’s just as lost as they are: “I’m your mom, and as such, you are counting on me to have all the answers, right? Well, I don’t!” WandaVision’s self-contained finale offers a way for Marvel Studios to firmly slam its foot down, reminding everyone easter eggs and sequel teases are not, nor were they ever, the reason its mega-franchise became the most successful in film history. Though the MCU may rely on theory culture to stay relevant, what keeps people coming back are lovable characters and engaging storylines – WandaVision not only proved that, it also demanded its fans acknowledge that too. Marvel baited its millions of fans into proving a point – it’s hard to argue that’s a genius creative choice in and of itself.
Despite what many fans wanted, WandaVision is not the story of Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, introducing the multiverse and relocating the X-Men to the MCU – it’s the story of Wanda Maximoff, a person drowning in a sea of grief, taking an entire town with her as she spirals. It ends with that same person recognizing the havoc she’s wrought and choosing to rectify her poor decisions the best she can, even when presented with a permanent way out of her pain. Monica’s aerospace engineer friend wasn’t Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, Dottie wasn’t Arcana of the Squadron Supreme, and Agatha Harkness wasn’t playing second-fiddle to Mephisto, Marvel’s version of the Devil. Everything played out more-or-less as expected, and the lack of any universe-building surprises left so many fans sour (even with two post-credits scenes teasing upcoming Marvel films).
That such a straightforward ending is controversial posits a question of priorities on the part of the MCU’s loudest and proudest fans – if the only reason someone’s watching a Marvel Studios production is to figure out clues to the next three Marvel Studios productions, what is their goal (or “endgame”)? Experiencing well-produced mass entertainment eventually becomes a never-ending cycle of emotional investment and disappointment. For these die-hards, there will never be enough answers, just more questions to ponder, leading to the perception of an underwhelming conclusion for the MCU’s streaming debut – for everyone else, WandaVision’s moving and bombastic finale proved the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe looks a lot like Wanda’s world: weird, wild, and wonderful.
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