REVIEW: WandaVision, Season 1 Episode Nine 'The Series Finale'

 REVIEW: WandaVision, Season 1 Episode Nine 'The Series Finale'

Originally published in March 2021, here are my thoughts on WandaVision's season finale.

The series finale is always a hard prospect for a television show. It's the episode where after hours of build up, the show is suddenly forced to provide a conclusion that satisfies the core audience. It's no easy feat, particularly given that by its very nature, a series finale is never going to please everyone. Everybody has their own individual idea of how a series should end, every perspective is unique - particularly with a show like WandaVision, which has sparked so many theories and speculation as to  what will happen. 

For the most part, WandaVision provides a stunning job with its series conclusion. The battle between Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) is just as spectacular as you would hope; the visuals are a delight to watch, and you can only begin to imagine just how ncredible it would have looked had WandaVision taken the theatrical approach like its Marvel Studios predecessors. The climatic scene between Wanda and 'Agnes' in particular, with the red storm clouds, are a 'marvel' to behold.

 Vision (Paul Bettany) versus Vision is a fight in particular I never realised I wanted before now, but seeing these two different versions of Vision duking it out was very cool to witness. Paul Bettany plays the dual role well, offering such distinct personalities to both versions of the character, and also delivering a very profound discussion with the Ship of Theseus.

A stand-out of this finale, however, was seeing Wanda and Vision fighting with their kids Wiccan and Speed side-by-side. This scene gave me some serious Incredibles vibes, particularly in the way they represent the hierarchy of a family unit. The parents give the commands, the kids do as their parents say. Wanda tells them to deal with the SWORD agents, the kids deal with the SWORD agents. It feels like exactly what would happen if Brad Bird directed a Marvel property, and it's the vibe I hope they opt for with Jon Watts' upcoming MCU Fantastic Four film.

The family aspect is also one of the most tragic aspects of this episode. When Wanda comes to the realisation that she must let Westview go, and by extension lose her family, it's utterly devastating to watch. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany play the emotion of this event with such profound subtlety, and little touches such as Vision deciding to turn back on the lamp in the house that Wanda had turned off add some real weight and meaning to what would otherwise seem a very mundane action.

This is by no means a perfect series finale however. One of my biggest criticisms is the Evan Peters reveal. When he appeared in episode five I had expected that this was the start of the multiverse, however this episode does a disappointing U-turn, and backtracks on what would have otherwise been a very exciting start to the next chapter of the MCU. It's a twist too far in my view, and I hope they retcon this decision in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness to actually be what we had all suspected. 

Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Darcy (Kat Dennings) are also drastically under-used within the episode's narrative. Monica is treated a little better, as she does at least get a short fight scene, and a deep and meaningful discussion with Wanda at the end, but Darcy's involvement in the episode amounts to little more than a minuscule cameo, in the truck from the seventh episode of the season. It feels almost like somebody forgot to add Darcy into the screenplay, panicked and quickly wrote in the first thing that came to mind, and it's a shame to see her so under-utilised like this. 

The mid and post credits scenes have some exciting hints at future films. It's nice to see this series setting up Captain Marvel 2 (NB: Now known as 'The Marvels') and its link into Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness here; the latter tease is perhaps a tad more surprising, as I think we had all guessed Monica would be in Captain Marvel 2, whereas the future of Wanda's kids given that they had just disappeared was less certain, but they're fun scenes to end the series on.

Overall, WandaVision's finale offered a largely satisfying finale to what has proven to be an extremely strong start to Marvel Studios' slate for television programmes. There are some genuinely impressive fight sequences here, although some of the twists feel disappointing rather than a satisfying resolution to lingering plot threads, and Darcy and Monica are unfortunately given short shrift in the screenplay. It's a real shame that Darcy and Monica were not given more to do, as they are such interesting characters who deserved a bigger role in this series' conclusion.

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What are your thoughts on WandaVision's ninth episode? Let me know in the comments.