“WandaVision” spoilers below, obviously.
The “WandaVision” finale was all about loss. For Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda, it was about the loss of her family and Vision. For fans, it was the loss of their theories.
RIP.
For weeks, viewers have combed every detail of “WandaVision,” extracting elaborate hypotheses from even the smallest of clues. But in Friday’s finale, there was no Mephisto reveal, Evan Peters’ character may actually just be some guy named Ralph, and the secret cameo Paul Bettany had been teasing all season ― the actor that was “fireworks” on set ― turned out to be ... himself.
In an interview Monday, director Matt Shakman told HuffPost he expected some people to be disappointed with the finale, saying there will “certainly be theories that don’t pay off.” But it was never about that.
“As taken as I have been with everybody studying the various mysteries and creating theories, ultimately, as I hope people gathered from the last episode, this is a human story,” Shakman said.
“WandaVision” wasn’t a show made for flashy cameos. As much as we’d all love that “aerospace engineer” reference to secretly be about the Fantastic Four or a reveal that Señor Scratchy was really a powerful demon all along, the show wasn’t about potentially evil bunnies (as great as that sounds). It was about Wanda facing her own grief.
And, in the end, she does ― freeing the people of Westview from her mind control, breaking her hex and giving up her kids, whose existence was tied to her make-believe world, and saying goodbye again to her reincarnated version of Vision.
“This is a story about processing loss. That is the core story we’re trying to tell, and that all of the quirkiness and the sitcom exploration — all of that had a real purpose. It was about Wanda trying to escape from that world and turn away from her loss,” Shakman said.
Even for theorists who were way off base, there was still plenty to get excited about.
Wanda ultimately becomes the Scarlet Witch, getting a spiffy new outfit and leaving villain Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) trapped in her role of the nosy neighbor of Westview. There was no Benedict Cumberbatch appearance, but Agatha drops a Doctor Strange reference when telling Wanda that the Scarlet Witch has even more power than the Sorcerer Supreme.
And, sure, maybe Bettany was trolling fans with his tease of a secret cameo, but it was basically fireworks when the two versions of his character, Vision and White Vision, had an explosive battle. White Vision then ends up with all of Vision’s memories, flying off to places unknown. So, Vision is technically back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with his future TBD.
“WandaVision” also blessed us all with two post-credit scenes.
In one, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) gets pulled to the side by a Skrull who says they were sent by an “old friend” of her mother’s. This “old friend,” presumably Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury, wants Monica to come to space.
In another — in very Edward-Norton’s-“Hulk”-meets-Taylor-Swift vibes — Wanda is secluding herself in a cabin, reading from Agatha’s magic book the “Darkhold,” when she hears her kids’ voices.
Could dark magic be afoot? Sure, maybe. Is Señor Scratchy secretly behind the voices? Meh, it’s probably some-bunny else.
If your theory didn’t come true, just remember the story is about facing loss. If Wanda can do it, you can too.