We Interrupt This Program Review: ‘WandaVision’ Presents a Rambunctious Snap Back to Reality

The latest episode of “WandaVision” takes a step back from the sitcom antics of Wanda and Vision to look at the outside world. We Interrupt This Program answers most of the recurring questions about the series, such as:

• Who is controlling the world?
• Where did the helicopter in episode 2 come from?
• Who was on the other end of the radio broadcast?
• How did Monica Rambeau aka Geraldine enter WandaVision?

The answers to all of these questions takes the more predictable route. Where this episode succeeds is with the introduction of Monica Rambeau. Teyonah Parris is sensational in every frame of this episode and the emotional connection you need. Unfortunately, she’s offscreen for the bulk of the episode.

Taking her place is Randall Park returning to the FBI agent role he played in Ant-Man & The Wasp as Woo and Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis making her return to the MCU for the first time since Thor: The Dark World. Both do a great job adding some levity to the proceedings and do their best to fill in the gaps in the story.

I wonder if this episode should have been cut into smaller chunks and placed into the previous three episodes. Rambeau’s introduction would have been a great catalyst for the series and provided a character journey to follow from the outset.

The direction they take with Wanda is a trope we’ve seen before, but it fits what we’ve seen of Wanda to this point.

With the non-spoiler details out of the way, let’s dive into nitty gritty of “WandaVision’s” We Interrupt This Program. “WandaVision” is currently streaming on Disney Plus.

If you like the content on The Intersection and have the means, a donation is much appreciated. The Intersection will never have ads on the website. In order to expand coverage to golden era tv shows and add new features, we need your help. You can provide a one-time donation via PayPal or Stripe below.

Rambeau is Marvelous in We Interrupt This Program

The episode begins by literally showing Monica’s return after Hulk’s snap in Avengers: Endgame. She finds our her Mom, Maria Rambeau from Captain Marvel, passed away due to cancer. Monica thought her Mom was cured but was snapped out of existence on the same day. Turns out the cancer returned three years later.

Monica heads to work at S.W.O.R.D., where she’s an agent. S.W.O.R.D. is an agency designed to protect from extraterrestrial threats founded by Maria. Monica is informed by Director Hayward played by Josh Stamberg (Definitely fits the agent role), that she and any agents who disappeared during the snap are grounded. The rule was established by Maria.

Hayward assigns Monica the task of heading to a small New Jersey town to investigate some anomalies. Upon her arrival, Agent Woo introduces himself with some fun closeup magic and explains the situation to Rambeau.

According to two local beat cops, the town behind the perimeter that everyone can see, doesn’t exist. There’s Eastview, New Jersey, not a Westview. There’s a force field surrounding the town, which doesn’t allow Woo to enter. Monica decides to test the barrier and is sucked into the world of yesteryear sitcoms.

Every scene up to this point in We Interrupt This Program is outstanding. We understand who Monica is, how she was sucked into the barrier and what is going on in the aftermath of the snap 2.0. I don’t understand why this is a S.W.O.R.D. operation and not S.H.I.E.L.D., but that’s a small nitpick at this point in the story.

We Interrupt This Program to Answer Some Questions

Monica’s absence results in the FBI and S.W.O.R.D. calling in experts from different scientific fields. One of these experts is Dr. Darcy Lewis, whose background in astrophysics leads to most of the answers in We Interrupt This Program.

Lewis discovers the bygone sitcom world. Woo begins diving into the identities of the other people in the town, with Agnes being conspicuously absent from the investigation board. Yes, Woo was the voice on the other end of the radio in episode two.

“WandaVision” uses Dennings’s terrific comedic chops better than any of her other MCU appearances. Park is a fun comedic presence opposite her and their shared emotional investment in the fake show is a lot of fun. However, all of the answers provided are the most predictable, plus there are still questions to be answered.

• Why sitcoms?
• What did Wanda do to the beekeeper?
• Who is Agnes
• Is Vision dead or on magical life support?
• Why are these other people in Wanda’s fake reality?

Also, Marvel has a character in their arsenal that could help solve the problem. Daisy Johnson aka Quake from “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D“. would be a perfect fit for this show’s problem. Her powers not only allow her to shake things up, but she can channel her sonic waves to match sound frequencies. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like WandaVision will be utilizing this approach.

Wanda’s Role

Based on the ending of last week’s episode, we know Monica is kicked out of Westview and WandaVision’s set. We Interrupt This Program shows the climax in that episode from Monica’s perspective. The red aura of Wanda’s magic shows up and blasts Monica away.

Wanda turns back towards Vision and sees a horrific sight. Standing before her is Vision with head caved in, eye shut and a drab color pallet.

The first words Monica says outside of Westview are “It’s Wanda, It’s all Wanda.” More than likely, this signifies that Wanda is the villain of the series.

A woman’s overwhelming grief over losing the love of her life is a tired trope on television and in cinema. However, in Wanda’s case, she’s lost far more than just a love interest. Here’s a quick list of Wanda’s losses:

• Parents
• Siblings: Her brother died in Avengers: Age of Ultron
• Vision: Died in Avengers: Infinity War
• A father figure in Steve Rogers: He left at the end of Avengers: Endgame to be with Peggy Carter
• Even Tony Stark, who she hated, sacrificed himself in Avengers: Endgame

There’s really nothing on planet Earth that connect to her humanity, so the trope absolutely works for Wanda.

Final Thoughts on We Interrupt This Program

I do wonder if all of the people in Westview with the exception of Agnes are dead or near death for some reason. In response, Wanda created this Westview to keep them alive, so in theory, Wanda could have perceived Monica as someone who would harm the residents of Westview. This would be a cool turn, but I expect that Wanda will stay on the villain course through the rest of the season.

What did you think of the latest “WandaVision” episode?

Liked it? Take a second to support Chris Lee on Patreon!