I had big expectations from this episode and I was not disappointed. I mean it's the holiday special – a Halloween special and it was special and awesome. It was an absolute delight and mindboggling as always.
Obviously spoiler warning for this and previous episodes of WandaVision.
This episode immediately smarts differently. On the previously part of the episode we see Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver dying in Avengers: Age of Ultron just so we remember that Evan Peters is a fake Quicksilver in this reality. Or an alternative Quicksilver, either way, that is not her brother. No matter how much we want Fox Quicksilver to become Marvel cannon Quicksilver, I don't think it will happen. But it does signal that Pietro will be a big part of this episode and he was. Evan Peters is a brilliant actors and he totally did his creepy slightly evil thing in this episode.
This episode is brought to by Malcolm in the Middle. Even the font in the opening song is the same. Which means the sitcom skipped the 90s and went straight to the early 2000's. The lyrics are even creepier this time. It just gets worse with each episode. "Don't try to fight the chaos", "don't question what you've done", "what if it's all an illusion, sit back and enjoy the show". Basically this song calls to Wanda that the reality is all fake, but that she should just play along with it. She should keep the illusion going. Also, bring your fake brother into the family. Agnes is in the same frame as the twins when the names are introduced so that is suspicious. She's not family and she is not that close to them. The lyrics are just creepy and ominous.
The twins narrate the sitcom as they talk to the camera, breaking the forth wall. Billy is dressed in the Halloween cheap version of his comic book costume which is super cool. Instead of being someone else for a day, he gets to be himself. They have a cool moment with their fake uncle as they debate whether to wake him up as he is asleep in the middle of the day. Also, it is cool to see Quicksilver using his powers when he tries to scare them. Then Wanda shows up in her comic book accurate costume which Elizabeth Olsen fought for to have on the show. I have to say, it looks so awesome. Even the headpiece. I wish she would keep it forever. Pietro shares with Wanda a memory of their Halloween in Sokovia which she remember differently. Probably because it doesn't make sense for her to be dressed like Black Widow and for him to be dressed as Nick Fury before either one become known to the public. Pietro tells her that she suppressed a lot of the trauma, which is true. He is spot on with that. All Wanda ever does is suppress the trauma of her past and live in the present. Pietro is just too observant, we know that can't end well.
Vision shows up wearing a ridicules version of his comic book costume. It is the worst of them all and probably intentionally so. It was the only outfit in his closet. He is not happy about it. But then he changes his behavior in order to avoid another fight with Wanda. He is pretending that it is a costume of a Mexican wrestlers. No one buys it. But at least Pietro is bonding with the kids who seemed to be having a good time with him. Vision tells Wanda that he will be going with the neighborhood watch and Wanda is not happy about it. When Billy tells to the camera that his parents are acting different since Pietro arrived, Pietro looks directly at him, he is noticing that Billy is acting according to the TV trop of the episode. Pietro volunteers to be their father figure for the night, which solves the Vision problem. I mean the kids don't look upset or that they care that their father is not coming with them. Vision's goodbye words are: "be good". Not ominous at all.
Pietro is a trouble maker. Wanda warns him that if he will cause trouble she will magically turn him into a "pickled harrying". She could. Literally. Also, he and Tommy have matching Quicksilver costumes. Comic book accurate, with the crazy hair and all. It just looks cheap, which is super funny. Pietro manages to dress Tommy, who didn't want to put on a costume until now, just like himself. I wonder if it some subconscious way to give him the same powers.
Outside in the real world S.W.O.R.D. are in action. They brought back the drone that Wanda destroyed with her magic and it is still magically glowing. That's interesting. Darcy Lewis is just brilliantly hilarious, calling Director Tyler Hayward "the guy who almost got murdered by his murder squad". She's right you know. This leads to a really nasty confrontation between Monica Rambeau and Hayward. He is an asshole. But most strangely, the way in which he hates superheroes reminds me of the language used to describe people who are anti-Mutants. So much hate. He hates the fact that Rambeau has a history with Carol Danvers, what did she ever do to him? He doesn't listen to logic, or to the possibility that killing Wanda won't destroy the hex and free the people. He is such an idiot, telling Rambeau she doesn't have what it takes for the job. Then he basically fires our favorite trio of Rambeau, Darcy and Agent Jimmy Woo. Once they are outside, Woo and Rambeau attack the soldiers to break free and stay on base. They do have what it takes to be heroes.
Back in Pleasantville, trick or treating is on. Pietro calls after the twins: "unleash hell, demon spawns". I wonder if that is a comic book reference because it is spot on for the comics. From some reason Tommy is the cooler twin in the show, unlike in the comics. Wanda keeps asking her brother questions to see what he remembers from the past, but he knows that she is testing him and he doesn't answer but deflects. Also, they say "Kick-Ass" twice. I wonder if that is a meta reference as both Quicksilvers, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Evan Peters, play in that movie. While Pietro goes with the twins, Wanda goes to Herb (David Payton). All is quiet until Pietro causes problems. Although it is a funny scene when Herb gets the information about the problems that Pietro is causing before they happen. I wonder if that is a sitcom trope. Wanda says that Vision can help and Herb spills the beans that Vision is not on duty, meaning that he lied to Wanda. Wanda is clearly not happy. Herb creepily asks if he can help her somehow, or if she wants something to be changed. Meaning he too knows that she has control. Wanda doesn't like to be reminded of this fact, so she simply says that everything is fine. Wanda is not exactly Ms. Stable and Vision and Pietro's behavior are making things worse for her.
Speaking of Vision, he really wants to know the truth. Although in this case I highly doubt that the truth shall set him free. Vision is just walking about town looking at all the people, the town does look a lot more crowded then usual. Then we see the first glitch in the Matrix, a woman trying to hang a decoration, but missing the string, and she is stuck doing the same movement again and again and a tear is rolling down her eyes. She is trapped in this moment of hell. That's terrible. You can tell that Vision thinks it is odd, but he just keeps walking. He is looking for bigger answers or bigger glitches.
Then it's commercial time. This one is super duper creepy. A child is stuck on an island and he is starving. Then a shark shows up telling him that he used to be hungry all the time until he started snacking on "Yo-Magic". The shark gives him the yogurt, but the kid can't open it and he basically starves to death. That is morbid. But it is also telling the shark is eating "Yo-Magic", meaning your magic. Something is feeding from magic, probably someone is feeding from Wanda's magic. She certainly has a lot more of it now. Some magical being can be literally feeding from the hex, and that means big trouble is coming.
Back in Pleasantville Wanda, Pietro and the twins continue their night. Pietro is angry that Wanda makes the twins return all of the candy that they stole. When she says that he is a bad influence his response is "who beefed in your borscht?" That is hilarious. Borscht is a beef soap that is super popular in East Europe, I love it, it's one of my favorites, but I've never heard it mentioned on TV until now. Also, it is a super cool reference as they are from East Europe, so the show is doing a super good job about noticing the little details. Also, since borscht contains beef, Pietro's comment makes no sense, which adds to our suspicion that he is not the real Pietro. He tells her that he is simply playing his part perfectly. He actually explains the role that the uncle who comes to visit unexpectedly has in sitcoms. He knows that he is trapped inside of a sitcom and plays his part. He tries to get Wanda to trust him by playing on her heartstrings. He tells her that the details of everything that happened are fuzzy. He remembers that he got shoot for no reason. Are you kidding me? He got shoot because he and his sister helped Ultron before they realize he wants to wipe out all of life. And he died saving Hawkeye and a little kid. That a damn good reason to die. Then he lies that he heard Wanda calling him and he knew that she needed him. She doesn't need him, she needs her real brother and sanity. Luckily her twins show up so she doesn't need to respond to this bullshit.
This holiday turns out to be a big one for the twins. Tommy manifest his powers and gets super speed. Pietro is excited saying that he is "a chip off the old Maximoff block." Which is true. Wanda is super excited and happy that her kids are following in her footsteps. Just like Tommy was born first, he got his powers first. Tommy starts running around at super speed and his mom gives him a few moments to humor him, but then she uses her powers to grab him at just the right moment. Apparently her powers can do that. Funnily she tells Tommy that if he is going to break the sound barrier, he has to take his brother with him. Billy is happy about it, but Tommy is not. Wanda reminds them not to go beyond Ellis Avenue. Which as we will soon learn is the barrier of the hex. She is worried about what will happen if they will leave the hex. I wonder if they are aware that it exists.
Our favorite trio gets into S.W.O.R.D. computer room which apparently has no guards. Darcy is now apparently also on top of being smart, she's also a hacker. She hacks into the S.W.O.R.D. inner computer system to fish for information. They find out that Hayward has a way to look through the boundary. He isn't following Wanda though, he is following Vision. Makes sense considering that he kidnapped Vision's body. Hayward can also see the people around Vision which means he is following Vision pretty closely and accurately. Has he hacked into Vision's system somehow? Or can he access it remotely? Woo notices that the people at the edge of the town aren't moving and he wonders if they are alive? A question which we get an answer to as we move to Vision POV. Pleasantville, I mean Westview, looks like a horror movie. There is a strange fog covering the background area. Everyone are dresses for Halloween, but they are frozen in place. I guess now we know how Wanda controls everyone, she doesn't. When she doesn't need someone, they are simply frozen. Basically these people are stuck in a nightmare, even the children. Vision changes his ridicules costume to his Avengers outfit and flies up to see the town in full. That is not helpful at all. So now we know that everyone are controlled all the time.
Vision isn't done though. He notices a car at the edge of the road and it is running so he flies down to it. What do you know, Aunty Agnes is in the car. She seems not frozen like everybody else, just slow. She says she got lost and she is so freaking convincing, she actually has tears welling up in her eyes. She's also trapped in the Matrix. Vision uses his powers to wake her up from the spell that she is trapped in. Her response is totally different from that of Norm. He was all confusion and worrying about his family. Agnes goes for recognition. She recognizes Vision from the Avengers. She asks is he is here to help. He wants to help, but he has no clue what the Avengers are. That is not a great sign for his ability to help. Then Agnes asks if she is dead, to which Vision replies that she is not. She tells him that she thought she was dead because he is dead. He asks for a clarification and she again repeats the fact that he is dead. She says dead a few times. She is right and not right and the same time. He doesn't understand that. Vision tells Agnes that he plans to leave Westview to make sense of their situation, but she says that Wanda has them trapped. Wanda won't even let anyone think about leaving. Which only makes him more determined to try and leave. Her hysterical laughter makes Vision turn the magic back on. But then she just drives off. Which is strange because everyone are frozen in place so how can she move? It is a strange interaction and it makes me more suspicious of Agnes. But, then we see where Vision is standing, Ellis Avenue. The place that Wanda doesn't want her twins to go beyond. But he chooses to go beyond.
Then we are back with our trio. While Darcy is on the computer, Rambeau gets a message that the special vehicle she needs to go back into the hex will be there in an hour. Rambeau doesn't care that she might get brainwashed again. Darcy says she can see her blood results and that her cells has mutated because of exposure to the hex. Rambeau doesn't believe or care about the genetic changes. I think she is at the point where she doesn't care about her life anymore which is really sad. Her deep grief is part of the reason she is motivated to help Wanda deal with hers. Darcy chooses to stay behind to continue to snoop out S.W.O.R.D. secrets. It's sad to see my favorite trio split up.
Then we are back in Westview. Pietro and Wanda are walking around some maze made out hay and he comments that the town is "charming as hell." Is this a Mephisto Easter Egg? And no, she did not go full soccer mom, she went full psycho mom. I don't care what she says. Pietro says that their parents would have loved it. Probably to get her to trust him. Like he tells her she can talk to him, confine in him. He is not a judging person. That's because he is a snooping person. After a few kids run by he starts bombarding her with questions about her powers. Where were the kids up until now? Something that Vision asked when he comments that there are no children. There are children. Pietro assumes that they are sleeping peacefully most of the time, no need to traumatize them beyond the necessary. He actually tells her that she is handling the ethical side of the hex as best as to be expected. He doesn't mention the mental pain that they are stuck in. Then we get our first glimpse of the real Wanda. She told Vision she is not in control of it all, that it is not possible, but it is. She told him she can't control everyone all of the time and she doesn't. If she doesn't control them, then are asleep or frozen. Holly hell. She actually asks Pietro if he doesn't think that it is wrong. Clearly she knows that it is wrong, but chooses not to deal with the implications of her actions. Pietro is impressed, not judging. He is curious to know where she got the extra power from. This is pretty far from the nightmares and red control that she has until now. I am not sure if this is a Nightmare character reference or Avengers: Age of Ultron reference. It does make me wonder if we will see the return of Ultron. Even now Wanda says she doesn't know how it all started, she just remember her terrible feelings. She remembers feeling completely alone, empty and endless nothingness. This could be another lie. How did Clint or whoever was left from the Avengers just left her alone? All the people that just got blipped need help and a sense of stability. They just left her alone with her mountain of trauma? Not cool guys. He remembers those feelings make her see a really dead Pietro in front of her. One that doesn't buy the fact that she is fine when she lies. He seems pretty aware of his situation. Clearly Wanda has a lot more control then she was willing to admit up until this point and Pietro is snooping around to figure out where did it come from?
Things are not doing great outside of Westview either. Darcy finds out Hayward last secret, but then we switch to Hayward. He is tracking Vision who is getting closer and closer to the boarder of the hex. Hayward tells everyone to go outside where Vision will probably exist the hex. Darcy sees it too and is confused by it. He is not a real person so he can't leave. He is dead. Vision can see the force field and uses all of his powers and strength to breakthrough. It looks like a herculean effort on his part. As soon as he steps outside, it is clear that it is not going to be this simple. He is attached to the hex which tries to pull him back in. Hayward and everyone just stand there and watch him. Also when Vision leaves, he still has the mind stone, which is odd. Shouldn't it not exists outside as it is not real? But part of Vision get torn apart and get sucked back into the hex. Darcy exposes herself and yells at everyone to help Vision, but no one does. They don't need him alive for their purposes. Darcy is the only decent person among them, wanting to save Vision.
Then the cool part happens, Billy gets his powers, his mother's powers. He hear Vision's screams of pain from a distance and uses his powers to stop Tommy when he is moving at super speed. Just like his mom did to Tommy a short while ago. The only difference is that his powers are blue, unlike his mother's red powers. Billy runs to Wanda with Tommy following him, he tells her that he can hear his father in his head. His father is in trouble. As Vision is being torn into pieces he yells for help. Not for himself, but for the people of Westview. Even on the verge of death, again, he is thinking about others more than himself. Then he lies dead on the ground. Billy is panicking, about his powers and his father. Then Pietro says the wrong thing to say, "It's not like your dead husband can die twice". Which makes Wanda blast him away in anger, because he is an asshole. Billy tells her that he sees soldiers and that they think Vision is dying. Poor Billy, but also cool Billy.
Then we get to see who is really boss, Wanda is the big boss. She did say to S.W.O.R.D. that this is her finale warning. Her control of the hex is absolute. We can see just how much power she is wielding and it is insane. She freezes everyone inside of the hex and then her eyes go red and her powers explodes from her and expands. It covers the entire town, and then pushes the boundaries of the hex. She doesn't just save Vision, she swallows up the entire encampment in her powers. Poor Darcy, everyone else, not so poor. They are no longer a threat, they are just clowns in a circus. When Wanda's eye no longer glow, you can tell that she won this round.
It was a brilliant episode. Pietro was a nice addition, though I am suspicious of him and his questions and knowledge. It was super cool to see the twin get their powers, Young Avengers here we come. But the biggest reveal was Wanda. Her powers have grown, by a lot. She has full control over everything and everyone in this town. Her kids and Vision seem to be the only real exceptions. What she told Vision was a lie. The only real question is, why did she steal Vision's body and create the hex. How is the mind stone real outside of the hex? Also, even though Wanda is in full control of the town, is someone manipulating her? Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany are just killing it with their performances. They are terrific. You can see how Wanda goes crazier each episode and how Vision gets more suspicious with each one. This show is just crazy good and I can't wait to see what's going to happen next. Whatever it is, it probably won't end well.
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