15 hints on 'WandaVision' that tease what's really happening on the Marvel show
Kirsten Acuna
- Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for "WandaVision."
- Disney Plus' first Marvel series takes place after the events of "Avengers: Endgame."
- You wouldn't necessarily know that from watching the show, largely because Vision (Paul Bettany) is alive living out a happily ever after with Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).
- Vision was destroyed in 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War."
- Beneath the delightful facade of a sitcom, you'll start to notice other things start to feel a bit screwy in Wanda and Vision's "picture perfect" life.
- As "WandaVision" unfolds, it's likely we're seeing an alternate reality that either Wanda created for herself as a coping mechanism or that someone created for Wanda so she doesn't need to accept Vision's death.
If you're tuning into the first two episodes of Marvel's "WandaVision," you may be wondering what the heck is going on.
On the surface, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) have moved into a nice suburban home in New Jersey. The unusual couple tries to fit in while hiding the fact that they're two super-powered Avengers. It leads to a lot of delightful and often humorous shenanigans.
But the more you scrutinize Disney Plus' first Marvel series, the more you'll find everything isn't as rosy as it appears.
First off, "WandaVision" takes place after the events of "Avengers: Endgame." Vision shouldn't be there. He was "killed" in "Avengers: Infinity War" by Thanos. (We say "killed" because Vision's an A.I. Can you really kill a piece of artificial intelligence? Unclear.)
Vision's reappearance is just the first of many hiccups on the show telling viewers that something's screwy in Wanda and Vision's perfect fairy-tale.
Insider rounds up all of the little details you may have missed that hint that something's amiss on "WandaVision" and posits a few theories about what's actually going on in the Marvel series.
What am I watching? "WandaVision" is likely an alternate reality - or "Wanda's vision" of what she wants her reality to look like despite suffering a great loss.
If you're confused by everything happening on the first two episodes of the Marvel series, you're likely not alone.
What's happening?
Our best guess is that Wanda has created her own alternate reality as a coping mechanism. Instead of accepting and processing the loss of Vision in "Infinity War," Wanda is living out her own perfect "what if" scenario with Vision that was ripped away from her before she could have it.
Without saying too much just yet, this lines up with a version of the comics. We're preparing for a heartbreaking reveal at some point this season.
There's just one thing that doesn't align with this scenario.
By the end of episode two, someone is trying to reach out to Wanda, asking her, "Who's doing this to you?" It's possible someone else is keeping Wanda locked up in an alternate reality so that she's living in her own Truman Show.
We see someone overseeing and watching Wanda's life at the end of the premiere on a TV monitor. Someone may be trying to keep her happy because they know (and/or fear) that Wanda's one of the most powerful Avengers.
If Wanda isn't processing Vision's loss in a healthy way, her powers may be unstable. If she chooses to use them while depressed or upset, she could likely wreak havoc. We've already seen how Wanda has acted out in "Age of Ultron" after losing her brother. Imagine how that could be amplified by Vision's loss.
If that's the case, some mysterious figure, or figures, could be trying to placate Wanda in order to prevent her from using her powers during this vulnerable time.
With all of that in mind, there are several hints throughout the series that start to poke holes at Wanda's all too cheery life.
Let's go through them.
Vision and Wanda's house changes from a ranch to a two-story.
Wanda and Vision move into a ranch style home on the premiere. Later, on episode two, Wanda exits through the front door of a two-story home.
It's one of the first big hints that there's some sort of magical force at play on the series.
The quirky Stark toaster ad in the middle of the episode tells viewers to "forget the past."
The tagline for the Toast Mate 2000 is "Forget the past, this is your future!"
As Wanda is living in this picturesque fairy-tale, it's true that she'd rather focus on this fake future that's been laid out for her and Vision.
Read more: A definitive ranking of all the Avengers, from least to most powerful
The newspaper headlines don't make any sense.
On the first episode, Vision is seen reading a newspaper with the following main headline: "Little Baby June's First Word Tickles Mother Sue."
That isn't a news story at all, further suggesting that Wanda is in some too-good-to-be true dream-like apparition of the real world.
Wanda stares off into the distance, breaking character, when she's asked to answer real questions about her life.
When the Harts, Vision's boss and his wife, come to visit for dinner, Mrs. Hart doles a barrage of questions the couple's way: Where did you two move from? What brought you here? How long have you been married and why don't you have children, yet?
The two are unable to answer the seemingly simple questions. Wanda is then repeatedly hounded by Vision's boss about why the two of them came to XX.
She can't — and doesn't — answer, but it's likely because Wanda can't deal with her current Vision-less reality.
As the scene continues to play out, Wanda appears to momentarily break character as a pristine housewife, pausing to consider where she is and what's going on before returning mentally to the dinner party.
When Vision's boss starts choking, Wanda initially freezes up, helpless to save him.
As Mr. Hart chokes, his wife begins playfully yelling, "Stop it," over and over. She repeats it comically until it becomes incredibly unnerving and uncomfortable.
Eventually, Wanda orders Vision to do something and save his boss.
Though the scene may seem odd upon first watch, there's likely a deeper, unsettling significance to this scene.
The scene appears to parallel the moment from "Infinity War" where Vision is "killed."
The moment appears to parallel Vision's final moments in 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" where Thanos turned back time and brought the hero momentarily back to life just to choke him and tear an Infinity stone from his head to take over the world.
As Thanos rips the golden gemstone from Vision's head, you can hear a distinct shattering noise. Thanos then tosses Vision's body to the ground with a massive thud.
Similarly, the longer Mr. Hart chokes, the intense dinner moment crescendos to the sound of, what sounds like, a shattering bulb. As soon as it happens, Hart drops to the floor.
In both scenarios, Wanda is unable to help the person suffering. In "Infinity War," Wanda is knocked out by Thanos. In "WandaVision," a horrified Wanda silently watches the events unfold.
Though Wanda was incapacitated in "Infinity War" at the time of Vision's death, it appears as if Wanda is playing out Vision's final moments in her head and her inability to do anything to change his fate.
Read more: Everyone who died in 'Avengers: Infinity War' from least surprising to most heart-wrenching
A character from "Spider-Man: Homecoming" is briefly mentioned in fake credits for the first episode.
As the first set of credits role at the end of the "WandaVision" premiere, you may notice that most of these names aren't real.
However, the name Abe Brown stands out. Brown is a minor character and classmate of Peter Parker's in 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming." In the comics, Brown becomes martial artist, Black Tiger.
It's unclear whether or not this was merely an Easter egg or a hint of a future character to come in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Someone - or some group - appears to be keeping tabs on Wanda.
At the end of the premiere episode, the aspect ratio of the episode changes and the frame pulls back to reveal that the entire "WandaVision" sitcom appears to be taking place on a telecast that someone is overseeing. An obscured individual can be seen taking notes.
A S.W.O.R.D. symbol is seen in the background and on the notebook belonging to the mystery character.
S.W.O.R.D. is is an acronym for a group called the Sentient World Observation and Response Department. (An alternative name for the group is the Superhuman Warriors Operation Redistribution Division.)
This group may be responsible for keeping Wanda at bay in her current alternate reality.
Wanda finds a toy helicopter with the same S.W.O.R.D. symbol.
While you may have been focused on the fact that Wanda finds a bright red and yellow toy helicopter while the rest of her world is in black and white, you may have missed the S.W.O.R.D. organization symbol on the helicopter.
What does it mean? And why is it in color?
We're wondering whether or not this is actually a toy helicopter or if it was one that was made smaller either by magical means or by using Pym technology (think "Ant-Man").
Wanda looks to a window in her house as she picks up the helicopter. She and Vision heard a loud rumbling outside the night before. Were they hearing the chopper?
Before Wanda can think about the helicopter too much, her neighbor Agnes shows up to distract her.
There are a number of lines in the episodes that appear to break the fourth wall and address the audience directly.
"Look, it's the star of the show," Agnes says to Wanda on episode two.
Is Agnes subtly joking about how Wanda's actually in her own fictional show It's like they know that we know that something is not right here, too...
Dottie seems skeptical of Wanda.
When Wanda approaches the community leader, Dottie, they have the following conversation, which leaves Wanda unsettled.
Dottie: "I've heard things about you, you and your husband."
Wanda: "Well, I don't know what you have been told, but I assure you I don't mean anyone any harm."
Dottie: "I don't believe you."
Does Dottie know more about Wanda than she's letting on?
A voice on a radio cries out to Wanda.
Immediately following Dottie's unpleasant conversation, Wanda hears a transmission come over a nearby radio saying, "Wanda, can you read me, over? Wanda? Wanda? Who is doing this to you, Wanda?"
The message leads an already suspicious Dottie to shatter a glass in her hand and start bleeding in color.
It sounds like someone is trying to get in contact with Wanda.
If Wanda is trapped inside an alternate reality — by her own or someone else's means — it seems like someone may be trying to reach out to her to save her.
An "Age of Ultron" villain is alluded to on episode two during another fake ad.
A fake ad for a Strucker watch bearing the H.Y.D.R.A. symbol references one of the terrorist group's leaders, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker.
In "Age of Ultron," Von Strucker oversaw the training of Wanda and her twin brother, Pietro, Maximoff. He was later killed by the film's villain, Ultron (James Spader).
The tagline for the product, "He'll make time for you," makes us wonder if it's a simple nod to his role in Wanda's past or if it's a deeper reference to a manipulation of time.
Also, the ticking of the clock reminds us of the ticking sound that played near the end of the "WandaVision" premiere where Mr. Hart collapsed on the ground.
And let's not forget Wanda will appear in the upcoming "Doctor Strange" sequel, which is set to explore the multiverse. Strange was previously the keeper of the Infinity stone, which can manipulate time.
Elizabeth Olsen told "Good Morning America" "WandaVision" will be a "natural progression" into what happens in the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring sequel.
Wanda's sudden pregnancy hints at a heartbreaking story line.
By the end of episode two, Wanda is suddenly pregnant, something that would be physically impossible since Vision is an android.
In the comics, Wanda conjures up two twin sons through means of magic, hinting that the show may follow this story.
A mysterious beekeeper appears outside of Wanda and Vision's home.
When Wanda and Vision hear something outside, they see a mysterious man in a beekeeper suit who climbs out of manhole.
Triggered by the sight of him, Wanda reveals she's able to rewind the events and play the scene over again to her liking so that Vision never sees the mystery man, suggesting she may be in control of this dream-like world.
There's a reason why Wanda doesn't want that man around so it's possible we may see him again.
In the comics, members of the A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) organization wear beekeeper uniforms. The group, which was first developed by Von Strucker, was built to overthrow the government. Perhaps A.I.M. has taken ahold of Wanda and is holding her hostage.
It's worth noting the beekeeper in "WandaVision" appeared to have the S.W.O.R.D. symbol on the back of their suit.
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