WandaVision Episode 8, “Previously On,” might be one of the most polarizing episodes of the popular Disney+ series as it leans so strongly into the best and worst elements of the series – sometimes at the same time.
The penultimate episode of the season (and series?) finds Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen, Ingrid Goes West) in the clutches of the newly revealed Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn, The Romanoffs). As learned at the end of Episode 7, it was truly “Agatha all along” who was pulling the strings in so many situations and now has Wanda and the kids in her deadly, powerful grasps.
Yet, with the reveal of Agatha came something many dreaded would happen in this penultimate episode – an exposition dump that would get us no closer to the finale than we were at the end of Episode 7.
The structure of the episode carries the same “how the cake was made” style of storytelling that we saw in Episode 4, “We Interrupt This Program.” While the flashbacks are a much more artful way of explaining the plot (as opposed to characters literally explaining everything), there’s still a generous heaping of hand-holding throughout the episode.
The episode takes us through Wanda’s traumas: her parents’ death via a Stark missile, her interaction with the Mind Stone while she was “volunteering” at Hydra, the fallout of her brother’s death at the Avengers’ HQ, the attempted reclamation of Vision’s body, and then the final straw of seeing the plot of land Vision purchased for them in the dilapidated town of Westview, New Jersey. We see these episodes under the guise of Agatha’s search for how Wanda created Westview and resurrected Vision, but ultimately that’s a thin excuse to spell out why everything is happening in the series.
Two storylines suffer the most from this guided tour of trauma – the reveal that Monica Rambeau (Tyonah Parris, If Beale Street Could Talk) has powers and the motivations of SWORD. The Monica Rambeau storyline has been one of the best parts of this already fantastic series and sidelining last episode’s big reveal in order to make sure everyone understands everything is disappointing. The SWORD storyline suffers because it gets exposed further for being a paper-thin archetype that really has no teeth in the story. The series may be trying to establish SWORD (in particular Hayward) as the typical conspiratorial government agent/agency who could harm our heroes, but we’ve learned time and time again SWORD really means nothing in terms of a threat. If anything, the SWORD storyline is merely a way to introduce the “white” Vision they’ve created.
The exposition dump also puts into question Agatha’s motivations. Is she simply just the stereotypical mustache-twirling baddie looking for more power, or is she here at the behest of someone else? It’d be a shame if this character who’s been the straw that stirs the drink in the series gets the typical MCU villain treatment and is just a megalomaniacal figure hellbent on power who is one and done for this series. Hahn is too good to just be finished after WandaVision, as she’d be an absolute gas within future series and films. Now, if she’s working at the behest of someone and that leads us ultimately to the next Marvel big bad or at least a larger villain for say The Multiverse of Madness, that’d be a much more satisfying payoff.
Yet, amongst all the faults of the episode, it’s the performance of Elizabeth Olsen that makes this a must-watch episode. In lesser hands, the trauma tour Wanda goes on could’ve turned into melodramatic flagellation. Yet, the gravity Olsen brings to these scenes of trauma grounds it in reality. Olsen’s performance seemingly reaches out and grabs the audience and brings them along for the ride. For anyone who has ever lost someone (or multiple someones), the effect of trauma on one’s personality is undeniable. And given our current societal situation, where mourning and grieving are been hindered by a worldwide pandemic, it’s not difficult to relate to Wanda’s constant denial of being able to mourn and grieve.
Anecdotally, Wanda’s reaction to the passing of Vision, burying herself in a heightened, alternate world, and having difficulty feeling the hurt of the trauma, is something this writer has felt on a personal level. Olsen’s performance felt like it really captured moments over the past decade (after my own father’s passing) that I had experienced numerous times with absolute perfection. The fear to confront the hurt, the crushing weight of grief, the interpretation of grief as pure sadness (and not love persevering), and trying in any way, even at the cost of your health, to keep the dead alive – despite all of the fantastical elements around it – felt wildly realistic and honest.
That’s the frustrating thing about WandaVision Episode 8. At times it throws subtlety and nuance out the window in order to have the audience prepped for a finale, but it also does this incredible job painting this realistic portrait of grief and trauma through a brilliant performance. The series seems to be walking this unnecessary line of keeping hardcore MCU-heads happy, but also trying to satisfy those who’ve been intrigued by the David Lynch-esque exploration of emotion at the same time. The series has walked this line so well since Episode 4, but on this episode, they stumbled.
Despite this stumbling to please everyone, WandaVision Episode 8 is still a strong episode of the landmark MCU series. While it does not put us any closer to having insight into the finale’s direction, we’re treated to an amazing performance by Elizabeth Olsen and a surprisingly realistic look at grieving. It’s a good episode, but not the best the series has produced either.
WandaVision Episode 8 is now streaming on Disney+
Epilogue: There is one thing I’d like to address that would not fit the structure of my review and that would be about mutants. According to MCU honcho Kevin Feige, mutants are in the works for Marvel, but down the road. However, it sure seems that Wanda has mutant powers, doesn’t it? Her powers were first seen as a late tween/early teen because of a heightened emotional state. The powers were then increased after her encounter with the Mind Stone. Agatha and Wanda can’t figure out “how” she does it. This screams mutant to me. The powers she showed are reminiscent of how Magneto showed his powers in X-Men and X-Men: First Class – under trauma and duress. This could easily be the explanation of Wanda’s powers beyond the on-the-nose line “You’re the Scarlet Witch!” But then again, I’m usually wrong.
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