‘WandaVision’ Recap: Instant Baby (Episode 3)
What if Wanda Maximoff had a fast and furious pregnancy? No, Wanda didn’t give birth to “family”, Corona beers, or Vin Diesel’s finely fitted white tees. The Scarlet Witch just birthed not one, but two of the Young Avengers into the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
Today, we’re recapping episode three of the series (expect new recaps every week).
*Please note: spoilers for episode 3 of WandaVision below
Episode 3: What Had Happened Was…
To start we are welcomed back into “Wanda’s World” with a sweet ’70s style montage. Bushy sideburns, bell bottoms, and Brady Bunch fashion abound. Episode three is a literal labor of love. The main plot is all about Wanda’s baby bump and moving through the entire pregnancy before the credits roll.
Much of the episode enforces what we learned in the first two. Wanda is in control, at least a little. As the babies grow we have contractions causing blackouts, fluttering baby kicks cause plastic butterflies to fly, and Wanda’s water breaking becomes a full-on deluge indoors. The world is consistently changed by her whims whether she is conscious or not.
Like the rewind from episode two, Wanda resets Vision (as if the TV signal went out) when he announces that something in their perfect suburbia might be wrong. The other major issue this time around is Geraldine. Agnes tells Vision that Geraldine has no family and no home. Back inside with the babies, Wanda mentions her brother’s name to Geraldine, and that simple word snaps her out of the TV trance when she remembers that Pietro was killed by Ultron.
The biggest revelations come from outside of the television bubble. Wanda goes a bit crazy when she recognizes the S.W.O.R.D. necklace around Geraldine’s neck. When Vision returns inside she has been banished. The final moments of the episode show what we can only assume is a S.W.O.R.D. Response Team coming to check on Teyonah Parris’ character.
MCU Threads & Marvel Connections
Holy crap! Speed (Thomas “Tommy” Shepherd) and Wiccan (William “Billy” Kaplan-Altman) are officially little babies in the MCU! There are so many questions to ask. Are they real? Will they rapidly age as they did in the womb? Are we really building to a Young Avengers team for Phase 5? We’ve seen an aged up and recently recast Cassie Lang a.k.a. Stature. We also have Iron Heart, Ms. Marvel, Kate Bishop (Hawkeye), and America Chavez on the way. There must be a teen/young heroes series or movie on the way.
Jumping to the signature commercial break, we get another connection to Wanda’s past. The toaster commercial featured a ticking sound similar to a bomb, like the Stark one that almost killed her. The watch was named after the doctor who experimented on her, and now the “Hydra Soak” soap alludes to the organization that held her captive and also controlled her fate. Another important connection was the messaging about “getting away”. Wanda’s doctor is trying to leave for vacation yet he can’t leave and the neighbors try to form a sentence, perhaps they can’t leave either.
Another MCU connection for the Hydra soap goes back to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In the series, there is a Matrix-like digital world controlled by Hydra called The Framework. In The Framework, a version of Coulson mentions that Hydra keeps order in the WandaVision-like world through mind control soap. No joke. This could be a reach but it’s a pretty great call back if this is the case.
The Futurist
Speculation time! It’s clear Wanda has the power to bring things into her world with a simple word. She said her brother’s name and in theory, he should appear in a future episode. In the same episode that Wanda calls out Pietro’s name, Vision is able to speed run to grab the doc. This could be a “make the plot move” coincidence but it could also mean something more.
Outside of Quicksilver making an appearance, which Avenger makes the most sense to show up? One thing that sitcoms have always been famous for is having guest stars of the week. If not the speedster then who could we see? Well, Hawkeye makes the most sense given their connection in Age of Ultron and how he rescued Wanda in Civil War. For fun, the wildest MCU guest would be James Spader showing up in the flesh, but still talking like a fully realized Ultron. That would be gold.
This could be way too early to call, but in a recent interview, WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer was reluctant to confirm or deny if a second season of the series was possible. With Wanda off to likely wreak havoc on the multiverse in Doctor Strange 2, where does that leave Vision? The dream scenario is an adaptation of Tom King’s Vision comic arc. The synthezoid family series could fit nicely into the sitcom framework already established by WandaVision. Let Paul Bettany shine some more on the small screen while Wanda goes to play in the movies.
It may not be obvious, but it looks like Marvel is trying its best to compete with The Mandalorian. If you’re going to top “The Child” bringing in two baby Avengers isn’t a bad way to start.
Listen to our Podcast below:
Episode 3 of WandaVision is streaming now exclusively on Disney+!
P.S. Phil lucked out. Best dodge of a “does this make me look fat” we’ve seen in a long time.
