Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyWandaVision
Disney Plus
Season 1 Episode 7
Breaking the Fourth Wall
The new episode of WandaVision doesn’t bury the lede as Wanda breaks the fourth wall in the first few minutes to talk to the audience. But that’s not all that’s broken. After expanding the Hex and bringing more people into it, Wanda is tired and the boys notice that there are some unintended consequences of using that much power. More glitches in the system start to pop up as Wanda decides to stay home and the “Modern Family’ aesthetic of the home and the episode’s music is a great touch.
Things get interesting when Vision wakes up in the aftermath of Wanda’s actions and seems to be the only one who remembers what happened as the rest of the SWORD team and Darcy become part of the simulation. After wrangling with a pretty funny moment with Darcy, he breaks her out of Wanda’s control and the two proceed to head back to Vision’s house. Both Paul Bettany and Kat Dennings are fantastic throughout this episode and Bettany’s comedic timing is perfect.
As Wanda’s confusion and emotional state continue to fluctuate, the glitches in the town increase. While some are comedic, others show some of the dark reality just under the surface of Wanda’s idyllic sitcom existence. It gets so bad that Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) has to intervene and take the twins with her to give Wanda some space. Hahn continues to give a pitch perfect performance as Agnes. She easily transitions between sitcom tropes and naturally blends into any scene.
Outside the Hex, Monica and Jimmy find Monica’s team and they have prepared a way for her to safely re-enter. Unfortunately, the Hex is stronger than any of them thought and Monica will do something bold to return and help Wanda. The scene of her fighting to get back into the Hex is really well done and does a great job of bridging the gap between Monica’s experiences post Captain Marvel to now.
When Monica re-enters, she immediately returns to Wanda’s house to try to help her. Unfortunately, Wanda is not interested in hearing her and one of the two truly moments in the episode occurs until Agnes comes by an defuses the situation. At the same time Vision and Darcy’s trip back to the town continues to hampered until Vision takes matters into his own hands.
When Agnes takes Wanda back to her house, we get not only a truly scary and intense scene, but one of the biggest reveals yet for the series as Wanda discovers there is more to Agnes’ house than meets the eye. What follows is another great musical moment in the series and a great nostalgic nod to shows like The Munsters and The Addams Family. A tune I’m still humming.
The latest episode of WandaVision is another great nod to American sitcoms as well as a brilliantly unfolding mystery anchored by amazing performances by the series cast. Everyone is on the top of their game and the surprises are well worth the watching. Kathryn Hahn is the definite standout of this episode and I cannot wait to see what happens with her character next.
WandaVision S01XE07
