Hot damn! If the first three episodes of Marvel’s WandaVision didn’t grab you, this recently released fourth episode, titled “We Interrupt This Program”, most likely will. This is the episode that starts to answer a lot of questions that we’ve had so far, it opens up the world and the story and shows us what exactly is going on on the other side.
We learn Monica Rambeau’s story who was previously seen as a child in the ’90s-set Captain Marvel. This episode reveals that Monica was one of half the universe that was snapped out of existence when Thanos snapped his fingers with the Infinity Gauntlet. When she vanished she was in a hospital with her mom Maria, who had just had a seemingly successful surgery to remove cancer.
In the five years Monica was gone, Maria’s cancer came back and she died. The episode shows us the kind of chaos that was caused when everyone who disappeared started blipping back into existence. It was really kind of fascinating to watch. But, to come back to find that her mom is dead, is a huge blow to Maria.
SWORD is revealed this episode and confirmed to stand for the “Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division”. The US intelligence agency was set up by Maria to monitor threats and potential allies from space, but that all shifted to focus on “robotics, nanotech, AI and sentient weapons” during Monica’s absence. It also started work on sentient weapon creation.
Episode 4 brings back astrophysicist Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and FBI agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), who were last seen in Thor: The Dark World and Ant-Man and the Wasp, respectively. They are pretty much the stars of this episode as the two main characters figuring things out with what is going on with Wanda, Vision, and this little town that is in Wanda’s sitcom world that she’s created. It’s great because they are watching the episodes play out the same way that we’ve been and like us, they are also trying to find clues as to what is happening. Darcy is actually enjoying the show.
Jimmy is totally into the show too, but where we saw interruptions like the radio broadcast and “beekeeper” in episode 2, the show just skipped a scene for them. It cuts away when Wanda reacts to any interruptions from the MCU reality, censoring whatever she doesn’t like.
We learn that Wanda has taken over the small town of Westview, New Jersey, and all the people who live there have been forced to become “actors” in the shows that Wanda is creating. The town has also been erased from the memories of those in the area.
In the process of all this, Wanda is censoring the things that she doesn’t like. She reacts to the things coming from the MCU reality such as the radio broadcast and the beekeeper. The show just snips those things and moves on.
Speaking of the beekeeper, we learn that this person is Agent Franklin, a SWORD agent who is sent to infiltrate the town. He initially entered the town through the sewers in a radiation suit, but it ended up transforming into a beekeeper outfit as he passed through the barrier. As for the bees, they are just something that came along with the suit. Just like the SWORD drone shifted design and color, Jimmy explains that it’s “to go with the production design.”
We’re really starting to see the dark and haunting side of Wanda here, especially when she thrusts Monica out of her world after she tries to talk to her about what what is happening. Right after this scene, Wanda sees Vision standing as a horrifying gray corpse, with a hole blown out of his head from where Thanos ripped out the Mind Stone. Wanda’s mind is obviously still fighting off her horrific memories. It’s also likely a hint that Vision is still very much dead.
When she sees this version of Vision she responds, “No, we can’t. This is our home,” with tears welling up in her eyes, suggesting her Westview TV land reality is the only place she can keep Vision alive.
When Maria comes back to the real world of the MCU, she explains, “It’s Wanda. It’s all Wanda!” While that might be the case, I can’t help but think there is something more going on, something more sinister. Could Wanda be being controlled by someone or something else? I imagine there are going to be some more twists and turns coming our way.
The song that was utilized in this episode is 1968’s Voodoo Child (Slight Return) by Jimi Hendrix, which features the lyrics, “Well I stand up next to a mountain, and I chop it down with the edge of my hand.” But it’s the next line of lyrics are even more relevant to what is happening, “Well I pick up all the pieces and make an island, might even raise just a little sand.”
Wanda has created her own little island paradise in Westview trying to keep a shred of happiness in her life after everything that she’s lost.
Things are definitely getting interesting in this storyline. We’ve been told several times that this is going to blow up into full-on MCU awesomeness, and I can see that coming. It’s going to be quite the treat when what we were promised finally arrives. But, while we wait for that, I sure am enjoying the ride!