After this week’s WandaVision, my fellow ‘90s kids and I are all Steve Rogers. I didn’t binge many sitcoms from ‘94-’02, being a toddler and all, but Wanda’s latest broadcast still felt instantly familiar. The dynamic camera, familiar score, and Halloween Special storyline had me smiling from ear to ear and quoting Captain America from start to finish.
“All-New Halloween Spooktacular” may not have zapped down Marvel Cinematic Universe barriers like last week’s episode, but it was another excellent installment in a series that may go down as some of Marvel’s best work.
This week’s intro sets the tone masterfully. Hidden behind the head-banging guitars and heavy snare drums are self-aware lyrics acknowledging that Wanda’s role as Westview’s goddess is no longer a secret. The young vocalists yell, “Don’t try to fight the chaos. Don’t question what you’ve done!” as Tommy records a typical morning in the Maximoff household.
I delighted in finally being able to pick out all the time period references. For a second I thought the camera HUD was ripped straight from a Kelbaugh Family Trip VCR tape, and suddenly I understood the emotional power behind WandaVision’s central concept. I bet all the ‘40s babies watching WandaVision were losing their minds at the Bewitched intro back in episode 2.
Back in Westview, a costumed Billy Maximoff (Julian Hilliard) runs down the stairs and talks to the camera about the significance of Halloween. He’s the typical younger brother, caught up in the magical parts of the holiday and the “thrill of getting to be someone else for a day.” Tommy (Jett Klyne), naturally, is the cynical older twin. He says Halloween is all about candy and thinks he’s too cool for a costume.
Evan Peters’ Pietro Maximoff serves as far more than a cameo this week. Tommy, with stars in his eyes, sees him snoring on the couch, and you can tell right away that Wanda wants this week’s show to follow the typical “cool relative takes things too far and causes trouble” storyline. Peters acts the hell out of the role. He dashes up from the couch and playfully screams at the twins, chasing them around the living room in a game that I am just now realizing every suburban ‘90s family must have played.
Ever the dutiful mother, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) rushes down the stairs rocking the Scarlet Witch’s costume from the comic books. Vision (Paul Bettany) dons his own comic book outfit and picks up where he left off last week. He is bent on finding the truth about Westview and reveals his plan of attack early, deciding to lean into the show to gain Wanda’s trust. He cuts the tension over his outfit with a joke and plays along with the shtick, telling Wanda he’s not going to be trick-or-treating because he’s serving undercover for the neighborhood watch.
Outside the Hex, Captain Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), Dr. Lewis (Kat Dennings), and Agent Woo (Randall Park) confront an increasingly unhinged Acting Director Hayward (Josh Stamberg). Hayward is already cooking up another god awful plan to follow last week’s “let’s shoot Wanda with a missile” strategy, and the trio try to reason with him. Predictably, he kicks them off the mission, but I have to credit Stamberg. Hayward looked poised to become a generic villain, and maybe that’s what he’ll be in the end, but he’s played with some depth here. He’s traumatized from the chaos superheroes have put the world through, and I kinda felt for him as he blundered his way through the episode.
Back in the sitcom, Wanda’s scripted Halloween episode is commandeered by curiosity. She and Pietro spend very little time actually trick-or-treating, trying to pry information about the matrix from one another instead. The first point of contention is Pietro’s new look, which he pins on her. “If I found Shangri-La,” he says, “I wouldn’t want to be reminded of the past either.” Wanda’s expression doesn’t reveal whether she thinks he’s right, and it feels like director Matt Shakman intentionally left it open to interpretation.
After a sublime commercial that made me feel like I was watching an episode of Jimmy Neutron, nightfall arrives, and their conversation shifts to other errors in Westview’s bizarre reality. They trade blows, each failing to explain where their accents went, but Pietro ultimately provides a little insight when he reveals he remembers getting shot in Age of Ultron. It’s a significant piece of info. Vision, by my measure, is equally dead, and he can’t remember anything. Why can Pietro?
Tommy interrupts, and for a moment the focus of the sitcom returns to the kids. Eager to get to the rich neighborhoods where parents are giving out king-sized candy bars, he reveals he has gained super-speed… “a chip off the old Maximoff block!” Wanda allows him to use his powers but warns him not to run past Ellis Avenue, and it’s a good thing he takes after his mother because that is exactly where Vision is headed.
Vision doesn’t have quite as much camera time this week, but his storyline successfully captures the uneasy vibe created when the sitcom charade would unexpectedly fall in the first three episodes. He heads as far from Westview’s center as possible, finding glitchy neighbors everywhere he goes. At the very edge of town, he discovers Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) stalling in her car. He wakes her from her trance, and she breaks like Norm did last week.
For a moment Agnes thinks she there’s hope. She recognizes Vision as an Avenger, albeit a deceased one, but he is befuddled and says he has no idea what an Avenger is.
Kathryn Hahn nails the scene. There’s something very off about Agnes, but it’s hard to place. If she is a major villain like many have theorized, she threw me off the trail here. Her screams of “DEAD! DEAD! DEAD!” feel more “my brain has been broken into tiny little pieces” than “I’m just acting scared to gain your trust.” Her witchy laugh when she declares all hope lost, on the other-hand, is distinctly Elphaba.
Meanwhile, Darcy flexes her hacking skills as Rambeau and Woo prepare to enter the Hex. She has no trouble at all pulling Monica’s health files, and the results aren’t pretty. Getting thrown in and out of the Hex has changed her cells, and Darcy warns that another trip through the barrier might be too dangerous. I guess telling her “Great news! You’re nailing this character, and we’re going to give you superpowers to keep you around” is a little too meta even for WandaVision, but the writers might as well have spelled it out like that. At least try to make it subtle!
Back in Westview, the sitcom approaches its emotional climax. A gentle piano plays, and usually there’s an “I learned something today” speech here, but instead Wanda and Pietro discuss the ethics of the Hex. Pietro doesn’t care at all about Wanda commandeering 3,000 people’s lives. He’s just impressed and dying to know how she did it. Her answer isn’t particularly revealing. All she remembers is feeling “endless nothingness.”
The way she turns her head after delivering the line feels like a poker player scratching their nose when they get a good hand: You know exactly what’s going to come next. Wanda turns to face Pietro, and he looks EXTREMELY dead. Arguably more dead than Vision back in episode 4! This scene is probably better if the build up is more subtle, but I still jumped seeing Peters’ body bleeding from bullet wounds. The illusion drops, and Wanda sees an alive Pietro again. Still, he looks awfully sick when the camera gets close. Bad makeup? Maybe. But it could be something more.
The three plot lines converge at episode’s end, as Vision attempts to break through the barrier to help the residents trapped within. S.W.O.R.D. agents sit and watch as he collapses in pain, his body literally being pulled apart as the Hex tries to suck him back in. Billy, his father’s son, senses trouble, and his powers awaken. He runs to Wanda and tells her Vision is surrounded by soldiers who think he’s dying.
Her eyes glow red, and the residents suddenly freeze. The Hex itself begins to grow and transform the landscape to fit the ’90s theme, engulfing a handcuffed Darcy along with nearly every S.W.O.R.D. soldier. The only escapees are Hayward, his driver, and presumably Monica and Agent Woo. Wanda stops, and the credits roll.
Episode Awards
MVP: Wanda Maximoff. Elizabeth Olsen has been fantastic throughout this series, and some of her best work was done here. Her facial expressions bring Wanda to life, and her ability to capture the evolution of the sitcom wife through every era is incredible. Also, credit to Wanda the TV producer. The late ’90s, early ’00s stuff was masterful.
Best Twin: Right from birth, I knew that Billy was the better twin, and he continues to prove me right. Not only are his powers way cooler than Tommy’s, but he also is a more fun dude. Tommy grew from 0 to 10 in like two days. Where does he get off thinking he’s above the magic of the holidays? Credit to actors Julian Hilliard and Jett Klyne for bringing both of these characters to life. They did a really nice job!
Greatest Darcy Contribution: I’m hoping we get Darcy Unleashed next episode now that she’s been sucked into Westview, but she made the most of her limited camera time this week. Her award winning moment came in her first scene, when Acting Director Hayward asked if she was working for him. Her “I actually don’t know” was laugh out loud funny, the little weight shift and head tilt selling how genuine she was.
One more Darcy note: She must be the greatest astrophysicist/hacker on the planet. I’m glad WandaVision doesn’t waste our time with scenes of her struggling to crack code, but every scientific roadblock has taken her literally two seconds to solve. I don’t want the science to be actual astrophysics, but there’s gotta be a happy medium between that and every problem being easier than basic arithmetic.
Most Disappointed Children on Christmas Morning: Tommy and Billy Maximoff. Unless this sitcom takes place in 1995, there is no excuse for Tommy and Billy being stuck with a crappy PS1 instead of an N64. None! When those kids grow up, they’re going to be the losers who say “I grew up with Crash Team Racing” instead of Mario Kart. It’s not right, and I have to question the parenting.
