Wandavision's Big Turn

The streaming services have changed the game in how media is consumed. Whether it’s bingeable television or original movies or classic blockbuster hits, platforms like Disney+ and Netflix have truly changed pop culture. Disney, the owner of Marvel Studios and the unbelievably successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, have taken their jab at a television series in the past month with the widely talked-about Wandavision. Coming of the heels of the success of the live-action Star Wars show, The Mandalorian, this superhero show follows Wanda Maximoff, better known as Scarlett Witch, and her husband, Vision, in the events following Avengers: Endgame. In Avengers: Infinity War, Wanda watches her husband get murdered by the villain Thanos, who in Endgame is eventually defeated. Grief stricken, Wanda’s magical powers inadvertently create a world that changes at her will to morph to become sitcoms of different decades, with each episode being in a different time period playing on the pop culture tropes of that decade, while furthering the eerie story on how Wanda created this world. The purpose of the fantasy is so that Wanda can bring Vision back to life and live happily ever after as a family. It turns out, all of the residents of the town Wanda created are real people who are trapped under her control. It wasn’t until the most recent two episodes that the viewers get a full exploration on the weird and magical circumstances Wanda finds herself in. In the end of episode six, it is revealed that Wanda is not alone regarding her magical powers. Wanda has the ability to control objects and people with her mind and can manipulate reality as she sees it. In this episode, it is dropped on Wanda that there has been a villain behind Wanda’s fears and the fears of all the trapped residents. She is a powerful witch and she goes by the name Agatha Harkness. She kidnapped Wanda’s children to force Wanda to explain why she is as powerful as she is and how she created this illusion in hopes that Agatha too can exert this power over her enemies. It wasn’t until the most recent episode, episode seven, that we learn who Agatha is and how powerful Wanda’s powers are, thus connecting this superhero drama to the tropes and images of witchcraft.

The episode opens in Salem in 1692. Agatha has been captured by a group of mysterious women who then use magic to trap her to a wooden post. They then question her if she is a witch, to which she replies “yes.” The women then accuse her of using dark and forbidden magic, which Agatha vehemently denies. However, the leader of this “coven” presses her and the women start chanting in Latin. Blue beams of energy are then cast from all of the women’s hands and send Agatha into jeering pain. Agatha’s torso glows with fire as she is seemingly being tortured. Then, in a split second, Agatha’s demeanor swiftly changes. She then becomes resolute and stern. The beams hitting her body are then overtaken by a dark, purple energy coming from Agatha’s body, slowly reaching back to the women. Agatha yells and laughs, saying she is more powerful than them all. The leader of the women then rises in the hair, continuing to chant in Latin. She too casts a blue beam. Agatha begs her, “my power can be for good.” The woman replies, “you can never be good.” Agatha’s purple power quickly overtakes her blue beam as well. As the purple overtakes the blue, the women yell in pain and it seems their life force is sucked from them. As they die, Agatha gloats to herself in her power. Fast forward to present day, and Agatha is still alive and well. After the course of the episode, Agatha discovers that Wanda is the fabled “Scarlett Witch” whose power is called “chaos magic,” one of the most powerful forms of magic. This depiction of witches in a superhero show is certainly one that hasn’t been done before. The tropes of witches being all-powerful magicians is alive and well in the Marvel Universe. What does this mean for the image of the witch? The sheer existence of Wanda and her adversary, Agatha, shows that its not the mere fact that they are witches that determine if they are good or evil. It is their morals and who they are as people. It is a truly unique take on witches that may not be the most immediate image of witches people think of when they think of witches in popular media. However, Wanda has become one of the most recognizable characters in the world. The tropes of witches in media are all present, but this take on what a witch even is, is something that I believe is worth exploring and I am beyond excited for the season finale this coming week.