Previously On Review: Retcons Matter in ‘WandaVision’

In Previously On, WandaVision takes on a tried and true sitcom storytelling device: a flashback episode. The decision to use the penultimate episode to highlight Agnes’s origin and revisit key moments throughout Wanda’s life is brilliant.

Retcons have taken on a negative connotation in recent years. However, retcons as a storytelling device are used to add layers to a previously told story that changes the character’s arc or motivation in the present. Previously On features several retcons which help deepen Wanda’s character and her superpower origins.

Previously On feels the most like an MCU film, while also being quite small. Most of the episode is a two-person affair with Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda and Kathryn Hahn as Agnes. Olsen and Hahn are just phenomenal as they go through Wanda’s tragic life.

Vison has a truly poignant scene featuring one of the most beautiful explanations of grief I’ve ever seen or heard. Laura Donney‘s script throughout the episode is the best of the series so far and the Wanda-Vision scene should receive award consideration.

With the non-spoiler details out of the way, lets dive into the 4 major storylines in Previously On. WandaVision is currently streaming on Disney Plus.

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Previously On: the Salem Witch Trials MCU Style

While Agnes has ulterior motives, it’s unclear whether she’s trying to actually help Wanda while also trying to fulfill her yet undefined goals. Hahn does a tremendous job walking the line between authentic villainy, sympathy and biting sarcasm.

The episode begins by showing the Salem witch trials. In the MCU, Agnes is tied to a stake, but not for witchcraft. Agnes is accused of using magic outside of her coven’s authorization and her mother sentences her to death as a result. The spell backfires. Agnes begins absorbing the magic, which kills the other witches including her mother. The MCU’s de-aging technology is used to great effect in this scene.

After the MCU history lesson, the episode returns to the present day. Agnes wants Wanda to explain how she was able to generate enough power to create Westview. Wanda says she doesn’t know and to Agnes’s credit, she believes Wanda. Using Wanda’s children as leverage, Agnes and Wanda go on a trip down memory lane to figure how Wanda could generate so much power.

Sokovia and Hydra Revisited

The first stop on Wanda’s journey down memory lane features Wanda and Pietro as children before the bomb rocked their worlds. The Maximoff family seems to be living a happy life despite a civil war taking place right outside their door. Wanda’s father makes a living selling old English-language tv shows. In order to teach the twins English, the family watches shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched and Malcolm in the Middle to name a few.

Just as the family sits down to watch, the bomb lands in the apartment killing the parents. However, new information comes to light in this scene. Not only did the Stark Industries rocket not go off, but according to Agnes, Wanda instinctually deactivated the bomb using magic. The reveal contradicts Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the Avengers sequel film, it was revealed that it was the Hydra experiments that gave Wanda and Pietro their power. Could possibly be used as groundwork for mutants.

The Hydra angle is further explored in the next scene. Agnes has a great remark on Wanda and Pietro’s decision to join Hydra. Despite offering to volunteer, Wanda is locked in a Hydra cell and watching The Brady Bunch. The Hydra scientists ask Wanda to touch one of the infinity stones – The mind stone. Wanda appears to faint after touching the stone, but that’s an illusion, which looks like a jump cut.

Wanda activates the stone, which explodes in a beautiful stream of yellow, with the visage of a woman appearing above Wanda. The imagery seems to indicate the original Scarlett Witch, but could very well be a vision of Wanda as the titular witch. Agnes concludes that the Mind Stone sent Wanda’s powers into overdrive. With Wanda’s origin cleared up, Agnes needs to find out how Wanda created Westview.

Time for a Good Cry

The next memory shows Wanda at the Avengers compound. This is the moment when Vision and Wanda experience an emotional connection. Wanda is watching Malcolm in the Middle. Vision phases into her room. He’s having a hard time understanding the humor of Bryan Cranston hurting himself. Vision encourages Wanda to open up, which she doesn’t see as being particularly helpful. Vision then decides to make the room dusty with a sad, yet beautiful explanation of grief.

The line even brings Agnes to honest tears as a tear falls down her face behind Wanda’s back.

The final memory arrives after Avengers: Endgame. Wanda shows up to S.W.O.R.D. to bury Vision’s body. Director Hayward lets Wanda see Vision’s dismantled body, but refuses to allow Wanda to place the sentient weapon in the ground. Wanda leaves without taking Vision’s body, which contradicts Hayward’s version of events.

In the passenger seat of Wanda’s car is a note and she drives to Westview, New Jersey. This version of Westview is rundown and clearly suffering after the residents returned from “the snap” in Endgame. With the exception of Dotty and Agnes, all of the characters in the WandaVision sitcom are accounted for.

Wanda drives to a plot of land and opens the letter, which is a call back to Avengers: Infinity War. It’s the deed with a simple message.

To grow old in

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I can’t remember a better performance in any superhero film or tv scene than what Olsen delivers. Wanda’s grief is overwhelming. Her powers explode with her red aura and she begins creating the fictional sitcom world. Adding to the crimson fury is the yellow aura from the mind stone, which she uses to create an artificial version of Vision.

The episode ends with Agnes holding a pair of magical leashes with Tommy and Billy attached at the end. Agnes tells Wanda she’s dangerous, reveals that Wanda is using Chaos magic and calls Wanda The Scarlett Witch.

Final Thoughts on Previously On

Previously On is easily the best episode of WandaVision and I’ve given 10’s to three other episodes. The depth of storytelling is far above anything the MCU has attempted before and the results are stunning. The final episode seems set to send WandaVision out with a bang.