After a 2020 Marvel-less, WandaVision was the Studio’s first post-Endgame production and a venture into a new medium – television via Disney+. 

WandaVision is an eight-part mini-series that follows two superheroes, Wanda Maximoff and Vision, as they navigate family life through the lens of retro sitcoms – or so we think…

As soon as episode one ends, it’s apparent that there is more to this seemingly light-hearted sitcom. The episode-by-episode format is where this series shines. Each episode is allowed to build the story and mystery of what really created the town of Westview. 

This new format also allowed for a greater social media response from fans. Using Marvel’s already large fan base and a long list of easter eggs dropped within the show, Twitter was ablaze every Friday with theories after a new episode would premiere. This strong social media presence also spawned several memes such as a winking Agnes.

After episode 4, each episode would incorporate elements of a traditional Marvel production as they introduce the organization S.W.O.R.D. This organization for the first few times we see them acts as an information dump for viewers, confirming or denying some rumors, or telling us what is going on in the “Hex” as it will be dubbed… that is if you trust them.

This glimpse into the outside works perfectly in Wandavision. The direction of the show clearly outlines when you’re in Westview and when you’re outside. The outside is what you would expect from many other Marvel films, while Westview stays true to its sitcom aesthetic right until the finale.

The composition from Christophe Beck is also some of the best I’ve heard in any Marvel production. Tasked with creating the sound for both of these distinct worlds is no easy task, yet Beck did it perfectly. 

The soundtrack inside the hex feels like any other track that you would hear in a sitcom, immersing you in this fake world, and at points allowing you to forget that you are watching a Marvel Production. 

The moments when this soundtrack shines are in the later episodes when we are not in Westview.  Episodes eight and nine are my favorite musically, as this scoring takes a dramatic and cinematic turn as we learn of Wanda’s backstory. Scenes such as when Wanda transforms Westview, and when Wanda comes the Scarlet Witch both have my favorite scoring from the show. 

Songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez were tasked with writing the sitcom theme songs for each episode, which they did flawlessly. Each episode brought in a new and catchy theme. They even wrote the most famous theme from the show “Agatha All Along”, which went on to win multiple awards including an Emmy.

There are a few shortcomings of this show though, and many could be due to Covid. But one of the biggest that fans point out is the finale. Many fans say that it felt rushed and did not close things off as they should. After a rewatch, I can’t say I agree with this critique. I believe the story was wrapped up perfectly. A fully-realized Scarlet Witch, a heart-wrenching goodbye to Vision, and most importantly, a look into Wanda’s post-Endgame grief. 

Some other complaints can be simply chalked up to fans predicting outlandish theories that never came. From Mephisto to Nightmare, to the X-Men, Wandavision theorists have said it all. This speculation led many to believe that all of this needed to happen inside the show, and when this didn’t happen, many turned on the show for not fulfilling their wildest dreams. 

But to end this review on more theories of my own, there is something still fishy I believe with Evan Peters’ character of Pietro, Wanda’s brother. In the MCU, Pietro is played by Aaron Taylor Johnson, but Evan Peters also plays a version of this character in the X-Men movies. 

We were given a line about Jimmy Wu’s “missing person”, which we never got closure on. Inside the hex, Pietro, or “Ralph Bohner” as we later find out, was an actor. We were told earlier in the series that jobs in the hex weren’t all too different from their roles on the outside. My speculation leads me to believe there is more to Evan Peter’s character than we were told in the show. Perhaps a connection to X-Men’s Quicksilver? 

Overall WandaVison, even a year after its release, has stayed my favorite Marvel production. Its bold deviation from Marvel’s standard style should be worth enough credit itself, but it goes above and beyond with its cinematography and score composition. And even though it has its shortfalls, many of these are easy to look past if you are only a casual viewer. 

WandaVision – 9.2/10