Coming to us in obnoxiously vibrant colors that were all the rage back then, WandaVision returned this week with a trip down memory lane of 70’s sitcoms. This third episode “Now in Color” has all the wacky and meta references to the genre it’s satirizing. But it also manages to intrigue and hit Marvel fans right in the feels!
Spoilers Ahead – You’ve Been Warned
Bundle of Joy
“Yep, definitely pregnant” are not only the first words uttered in this episode by Wanda’s doctor on a house call, but it’s a sentence that couldn’t have been uttered even in last week’s episode as it wouldn’t have been accurate to that time.
Back in 1952, I Love Lucy featured an entire season of the titular character being pregnant, however the word was considered too vulgar for national television, and instead they phrased it as “with child”. Most sources agree that the very first time the word “pregnant” was used in TV was the 1967 Star Trek episode, “The Trouble with Tribbles”.
Now in the 1970’s, many taboos were beginning to lift, and thus WandaVision can devote an entire episode to Wanda’s pregnancy, which granted moves must faster than average. In just mere hours, she seems to go through all three trimesters, but it is fun to watch Wanda put together a crib with her telekinesis, and see Vision use super speed to change a diaper.
Speaking as a parent of a toddler (which another one on the way), superpowers would really come in handy while preparing for and raising children. Everything from cleaning the house, to moving faster than humanly possible would be amazing advantages, and if anyone knows how to do it, please share!
With each contraction, Wanda inadvertently uses her powers to wreak havoc on the house (and town), causing a blackout. All of this culminates in a neighbor coming over and helping her give birth right there in the house. Wanda gives birth to twin boys, both of whom appear completely human and not at all android.
Naming their sons Billy and Tommy, it’s a genuinely heartwarming and touching moment as Wanda and Vision bask in all their happiness and joy. And it makes the next act of the episode (as well as the rest of the MCU) all the more heartbreaking.
“Why Did You Say That Name?”
As Wanda is looking at her newborn sons, we get the very first mention of Pietro since his tragic death in Avengers: Age of Ultron. She remarks that, she too, was once a twin. And upon hearing her neighbor say, “He was killed by Ultron, wasn’t he?” it suddenly breaks her reality, and brings everything back, even if just for a moment.
The neighbor, who clearly is more than just that, is expelled from some sort of electronic border and is immediately surrounded by modern-looking cars. All while Vision is outside, becoming equally suspicious. As the audience already knows, Wanda and Vision are beginning to find that this world they’re in is artificial.
New Theories
It’s certainly not a spoiler to state that this sitcom world isn’t truly real. The mystery however is in the 5 W’s, who’s keeping them there, what are they using to do it, where are they actually, when in the chronology is this series, and most importantly, why is this all happening?
Initial theorists (myself included) speculated that this could all simply be a dream world that Wanda created. However, given the very indefinable S.W.O.R.D. symbol we saw, as well as seeing the border itself, this world clearly does exist in some physical reality.
Perhaps then it’s all just a simulation inside a dome, much like The Truman Show. But that this still doesn’t answer the why. We also can’t be certain is Vision is actually alive, or if this is post-Endgame and this is but a recreation of him. Either way, it’s creative and intriguing enough to bring audiences back week after week!
What did you think of this week’s episode? What do you hope to see next week? Let us know in the comments!
WandVision is streaming exclusively on Disney+
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