With a simple ring of the bell, WandaVision episode 5 flipped the MCU (and future Disney Plus shows) on its head. And since the big news is a bit confusing, we're gonna break it down for you right now.
Of course, consider this a spoiler warning — we're diving into the story of episode 5 and what it means for the show and Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward.
To give the big moment some context, let's look at the rest of the "On A Very Special Episode…" aka WandaVision episode 5. And first of all, the opening credits (if you were wondering) are an homage to Family Ties, with the paint by numbers visuals.
WandaVision episode 5: Let's talk about grief
This week's edition is mostly about life, death and grief. Not only do Wanda and Vision's babies grow to be young children (and then 10 year olds) before you can say "Avengers assemble!" but they find a dog too. It's named Sparky, after an incident with an outlet (And, yes, there was a synthezoid dog named Sparky in the comics, and Vision made it).
Then, back in reality, we learn about how death has been a constant presence in Wanda's life. Agent Hayward informs the assorted feds that Wanda's parents Irina and Oleg (more on him later) died in 1999, when she was 10, during air raids on Sokovia. Then, she and her brother Pietro were "radicalized" (Hayward's words) by Hydra. This all preceded her earning the trust of the Avengers, and her involvement in the attacks in Lagos and Germany during Captain America: Civil War.
Next, another heaping portion of grief as we are shown footage of someone who appears to be Wanda, breaking into S.W.O.R.D. HQ to steal Vision's body. The whole cast refers to Wanda as acting with grief, but it's unclear as to what pushed her to this.
When Wanda's trying to be a good mom, one of her sons (they look too alike than dissimilar) asks if she has a brother. Questionably, she says "he's far away." But as we all know, Pietro died. Maybe she's referring to the grave he's in?
After Hayward foolishly tries to shoot a missile at Wanda using a drone, Wanda emerges from the Hex (Darcy's term for the dividing gateway, due to its hexagonal shapes). And she looks 100% like the Scarlet Witch we know. And the one seen on tape taking Vision's corpse.
Monica asks Wanda what she wants, to which Ms. Maximoff replies "I have what I want and no one will ever take it from me again." That 'again' is doing heavy lifting, practically screaming that Westview is a manifestation of Wanda's grief over losing all her family members. In Westview, they're safe.
After a quick commercial break — advertising Lagos brand paper towels, flashing back to Wanda's past as noted above — we learn that Sparky is dead.
Sparky ate some of Agnes' flowers, and Billy and William then shockingly just demand their mother bring Sparky back to life. This is keeping with a trend of the episode where the townspeople aren't all acting like everything is normal. Agnes even asked Wanda if she wanted her to repeat one of her lines.
But Wanda tells her sons to not run from grief, which seems a bit hypocritical. "We can't reverse death," she says, "no matter how sad it makes us."
WandaVision episode 5: Look who's come to Westview
And that all adds up to the big finale. After Vision and Wanda have a bit of a fight, he's beginning to see that everything is very wrong, the doorbell rings. Wanda claims she's not responsible for that happening. Vision, rightfully so, doubts her.
And at the door we see Pietro Maximoff — but he's not played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson (who played the role in Avengers: Age of Ultron). Tonight, the role of Pietro will be played by Evan Peters.
Yes, Evan Peters, who played Quicksilver exclusively in the Fox movies X-Men Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, and X-Men: Dark Phoenix. And with this scene, Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, which owned the rights to the X-Men and all things mutants has made it through to the screen.
Darcy, as confused as anyone who didn't see those later X-Men movies, asks "Did she recast Pietro?" But those watching at home can get the message clearly.
Should we trust Wanda, who says she wasn't the one responsible for this version of her brother appearing in Westview? Does that mean someone else can match her powers?
Either way, the wall between the Disney Marvel Cinematic Universe and Fox's X-Men films is no longer keeping these worlds apart. This opens us up to Magneto, the X-Men and all sorts of other additions to Phase 4 of the MCU.
Speaking of Magneto, remember how Wanda's father was named Oleg? A quick search online gave us a wink and a nod, as Oleg V. Tozoni was a famed scientist, born in the U.S.S.R., who specialized in the field of ... you guessed it, magnetics.
WandaVision episode 5: Who's next?
This will have your head spinning for sure, but it's as simple as this: the possibilities for Marvel movies and Disney Plus shows has now been opened up completely.
Speaking of, earlier in the episode, Monica Rambeau mentioned an aerospace engineer that could help them all. A quick skim through our mental index of Marvel characters has us wondering if Reed Richards of all people could show up in WandaVision.
Anyway, WandaVision fans, what do you think about the big twist of WandaVision episode 5?
