WandaVision is arguably the best MCU TV series in Disney+. The show manages to connect the superhero genre with sitcoms to create the ultimate grieving metaphor. As Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) accesses her full powers, she creates the fictional town of Westview to live an idyllic sitcom life with her late lover, Vision (Paul Bettany).
WandaVision makes the audience laugh, cry, and follow Wanda's pain throughout a perfectly balanced series that shows what the MCU could become if they delved deeper into the psyche of their characters. With the fantastic portrayals of Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, the show became one of the most exciting superhero shows in recent years.
Cast and Character Guide
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch
Elizabeth Olsen has played Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since her mid-credits scene cameo in Captain America: Civil War. Wanda is one of the most powerful characters in the MCU since she can alter reality to her will and has telekinetic and telepathic abilities. In WandaVision, Wanda mourns Vision's death in Avengers: Infinity War at the hands of Thanos, so she creates the fake town of Westview, where she pretends to have a classic sitcom life with the love of her life.
Wanda Maximoff, aka later on as the Scarlet Witch, is Olsen's most widely popular role. However, she recently received many positive reviews from critics for her role as Candy Montgomery in the HBO Max series Love & Death. In 2023, she appeared in the drama film His Three Daughters with Natasha Lyonne and Carrie Coon.
Paul Bettany as Vision
While Vision died in Avengers: Infinity War, Paul Bettany reprised his role as Wanda's magical recreation of Vision in WandaVision. Vision is an android created with the Mind Stone by the artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S and Ultron, but in WandaVision, he acts like many iconic characters from sitcoms, an ordeal that Bettany managed to do in a wholesome and hilarious manner.
Bettany's acting in WandaVision was so terrific that he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Among his most recent endeavors, Bettany is set to appear in The Collaboration as Andy Warhol, a role that he already played in theaters in London's West End.
Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness
One of the most hilarious actresses of this era, Kathryn Hahn, appears in WandaVision as Agatha Harkness. Agatha first goes by the name Agnes as she pretends to be one of the many characters in Westview who are being brainwashed by Wanda. However, she turns out to be a witch and the series' antagonist.
Kathryn Hanh is known for her many outstanding comedy roles in movies and television, such as Bad Moms, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and the recent Netflix film Glass Onion. Those who loved Hahn in her Agatha Harkness role will be glad to know she's set to appear in a Disney+ series, Agatha: Dark Hold Series.
Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau
Teyonah Parris appears in WandaVision as Monica Rambeau, an S.W.O.R.D. captain investigating the situation in the fictional town of Westview. At first, she introduces herself as Geraldine, one of the many people in Westview acting like sitcom characters because of Wanda. Later on, she wakes up to her regular identity.
Parris is an amazing actress who people may remember from her role in Mad Men as Dawn Chambers in the show's later seasons. She also starred in the Netflix series Dear White People in 2014. What's more, Parris will reprise her portrayal of Monica Rambeau in the film The Marvels, which will be in theaters on November 10, 2023.
Randall Park as Jimmy Woo
People instantly recognized Randall Park as Jimmy Woo in WandaVision, the FBI agent from Ant-Man and the Wasp assigned as Scott Lang's parole officer. Park reprised his role in WandaVision, where he collaborated with S.W.O.R.D., alongside Darcy Lewis and Monica Rambeau, to investigate the situation in Westview.
Park continued his work in the MCU, and appeared in Ant-Mand and the Wasp: Quantumania, where he has a small cameo being close friends with Scott Lang. What's more, Park will also reprise his role as Jimmy Woo in The Marvels.
Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis
A character everyone loves from the Thor series, Kat Dennings returned to the MCU as Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster's former intern and S.W.O.R.D.'s current astrophysicist. Darcy collaborates with Jimmy Woo and Monica Rambeau in WandaVision to unfold the mystery of Westview town.
Even though Kat Dennings is a fantastic actress, she hadn't played her role as Darcy Lewis since Thor: The Dark World 2013, so fans were glad to see her return to the MCU, especially after she also had a cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder. Dennings's most popular portrayal is Max Black in the hilarious sitcom Two Broke Girls.
Evan Peters as Ralph Bohner
Even though people expected Aaron Taylor-Johson to reprise his role as Pietro Maximoff, Wanda's twin brother in the MCU, Disney shocked the audience by bringing Evan Peters to the series, who played Pietro in the X-Men film series. This Pietro is a regular citizen called Ralph Bohner, enchanted by Agatha Harkness to act like Pietro.
Evan Peters is widely known for his role as Pietro in the X-Men movies, but he's also had several critically acclaimed roles. In 2021, Peters won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Support Actor for his terrific job in the miniseries Mare of Easttown. In 2022, Peters won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his outstanding portrayal of Jeffrey Dahmer in Dahmer -- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Season 1 Episodes
Episode 1: "Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience"
"Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" makes a literal allusion to the episode's title, as it is indeed filmed before a live studio audience as a reference to all the classic sitcoms that used this format. This episode is also in black and white as it alludes to popular sitcoms from the 1950s and 1960s, such as I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
"Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" opens with Vision and Wanda having an idyllic married life in the 1950s with the stereotypical jokes from classic sitcoms. However, in typical sitcom fashion, the characters try to hide their special abilities.
Episode 2: "Don't Touch That Dial"
In the 1960s, "Don't Touch That Dial" continued to be in black and white until the last scene in the episode, which changes to technicolor when Wanda resets reality. Throughout the episode, Wanda and Vision continue to live their idyllic sitcom lives together with other stereotypical characters in the neighborhood, Agnes and Dottie. Wanda and Vision also struggle to hide their powers in what seems to be a direct reference to the popular sitcom from this time, Bewitched. What's more, Wanda becomes very pregnant all of a sudden.
However, "Don't Touch That Dial" continues to provide clues about something wrong happening in Westview. For example, Geraldine (later on Monica Rambeau) finds a colorful helicopter and hears a radio voice. All of this gives the audience an ominous feeling that contrasts with the lighthearted tone of the episode.
Episode 3: "Now in Color"
Like the episode's title already hints, "Now in Color" transitions from the black and white last two episodes to a colorful show in the 1970s. With explicit references to family sitcoms from the time, such as The Brady Bunch, "Now in Color" follows Wanda and Vision as Wanda's pregnancy goes fast and Geraldine helps her to deliver her twins, Billy and Tommy.
The show becomes darker when Wanda realizes that Geraldine is an outsider and recognizes the S.W.O.R.D. symbol she's wearing. Wanda immediately makes the character disappear, and Monica is seen getting out of the town and arriving at the S.W.O.R.D. facilities positioned just outside the fictional town. This episode manages to keep the tension going while amusing the audience with the typical sitcom jokes from the time.
Episode 4: "We Interrupt This Program"
Episode 4, "We Interrupt This Program," completely changes the format that the audience has followed in WandaVision so far. This episode illustrates the life of Monica Rambeau from the moment she returns from the Blip and discovers that her mother, Maria Rambeau, died of cancer.
WandaVision shows how Monica, Jimmy Woo, and Darcy Lewis investigate the curious events going on in Westview and how they figure out that Wanda created the fictional town and created sitcom characters out of the common residents of the area. While the episode isn't as interesting as the others, it gives much-awaited insight into what's happening in the series.
Episode 5: "On a Very Special Episode..."
"On a Very Special Episode..." continues with the sitcom tradition, this time with shows from the 80s and early 90s, such as Full House, Step by Step, and Family Ties. This makes sense as Wanda and Vision's children grow from babies to toddlers throughout the episode.
However, the show isn't as idyllic as in the first few episodes. When Vision receives an e-mail at work detailing what's happening in Westview, he starts noticing suspicious things. He discovers Wanda's agenda after managing to wake up one of the residences. Things get tense as Wanda warns S.W.O.R.D.'s acting director, Tyler Hayward, to leave her alone, and she shows a more villainous side.
Episode 6: "All-New Halloween Spooktacular!"
"All-New Halloween Spooktacular!" follows Wanda's family as they go trick-or-tricking on Halloween. In a late 90s/early 2000s setting, the show references sitcoms like Malcolm in the Middle, especially since the children are becoming mischievous, like Malcolm and his brothers. This episode includes Evan Peters's cameo as Pietro Maximoff as he plays around with Tommy and Billy in typical sitcom fashion.
At the same time, however, Vision discovers from Agatha Harkness that he's dead while Jimmy, Darcy, and Monica struggle with Haywood's ruthless orders. While Wanda acts like a villain, other characters want to give her the benefit of the doubt. This episode manages to create tension as the audience starts to question who is the real antagonist in the series.
Episode 7: "Breaking the Fourth Wall"
As the title suggests, "Breaking the Fourth Wall" has the characters doing metatextual interviews, clearly referencing mockumentary sitcoms like Modern Family from the late 2000s and early 2010s. Wanda's unkempt appearance as she struggles to keep everything together is an apparent reference to Claire Dunphy.
This episode shows how Wanda's reality falters as she struggles to keep Westview in place. At the same time, S.W.O.R.D. tries to enter, and Monica Rambeau succeeds. However, when Monica and Wanda confront each other, Agatha takes Wanda away. She reveals that she's the true antagonist of the series with the terrific and catchy bop "Agatha All Along."
Episode 8: "Previously On"
"Previously On" finally gives the audience the answers they've been waiting for since the first episode of WandaVision. The episode reveals that Agatha Harkness is a witch who practices dark magic and killed her whole coven a few centuries ago. The show also tells Wanda's tragic life story and explains that she always had a special attachment to sitcoms, as they helped her go through the most difficult times.
"Previously On" is a harrowing episode that makes the audience sympathize entirely with Wanda despite her shady agenda. People follow the character as she tries to come to terms with Vision's death, but her grief proves to be strong, and she manages to create Westview town with what Agatha reveals to be chaos magic. In this episode, Hayward also manages to repurpose Vision's body to create The Vision, a white version of this character that Hayward controls.
Episode 9: "The Series Finale"
"The Series Finale" completely abandons the sitcom format as every storyline explored in WandaVision comes to its climax. Wanda and Agatha face each other while Hayward tries to attack Wanda with The Vision, but Wanda's version of Vision confronts the android.
Finally, Wanda manages to defeat Agatha Harkness and liberates the town of Westview for a bittersweet ending where she says goodbye to Vision, Billy, and Tommy. However, the post-credit scene of WandaVision shows Wanda as she studies the Darkhold and listens to her children crying for help. This is the prelude to Wanda's full transformation into a villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.