WANDAVISION (EPISODE 5): THE HIERARCHY OF CHAOS: WHO THE HELL IS IN CHARGE HERE? MUTANTS OR MAGIC?

Episode 5 of WandaVision was saturated with super-intelligent clues and an aggressive direction betrayed by abrupt interruptions that had me asking, “Who the hell is in charge here?!?”. Anticipating the entrance of Evan Peters into the show, I pre-empted discussions with my short term theory that not only was Kathryn Hahn’s character, Agnes” in the know” and untrustworthy, but that her phantom husband (Ralph) and Jimmy Woo’s missing informant could be one in the same. Those shorter strings seemed to tie in to my longer string theory that an arch-villain to the whole MCU by the name of Mephisto is actually the orchestrator of all the chaos we’ve witnessed thus far. After watching this last episode, I can say that I feel many of my theories have been given a boost. However, a couple of questionable clues I’ve noticed have opened up a whole different line of thought. Please understand that this is a speculative piece and I DO NOT THINK THIS TO BE TRUE, but it is interesting. Could Magneto be behind this whole Westview anomaly? And if not him, could a mutant be the one controlling Wanda and/or Westview for another top tier villain like my prime suspect, Mephisto?

There is no question that the star of the show is Wanda Maximoff. Everything revolves around her; including Vision, the twins, Agnes, SWORD and the whole town of Westview, NJ. However, from the opening scene we are shown that Wanda’s influence and powers are still limited. The house windows are now decorated with stained glass that immediately reminds me of a would-be Mephisto in a more elaborate craftsmanship from the Loki series trailer. The slapstick humor is laced with easter eggs.

• The episode begins with the twins crying. Trying to calm the babies down, Vision mentions that he tried to read Charles Darwin’s The Descent Of Man to Billy but it made the baby cry harder. The book in question (fully titled, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex) is infamous for the author’s theory about natural selection, choice of sexual partners in different species and evolution. This was an obvious easter egg alluding to Billy’s “mutant” future, homosexuality, the bullying he would have to endure, as well as his evolution into the entity know as The Demiurge.
• Still unable to calm the boys down, Wanda tricks Vision to leave the room as to use her powers to make them go to sleep. Wanda’s powers are rendered useless against the boys showing us that there is a greater power involved here, or one that cancels her powers out.

• On cue from Wanda suggesting that they need some help, Agnes barges in the front door. Vision jumps to change from his android appearance to a human one exhibiting the same discretion from the first episode. Agnes is uncaring & showing an even weaker sense of boundaries than in prior episodes. She alludes to knowing she is needed to watch the boys but Vision unexpectedly makes the outcome uncomfortable & unlikely. Agnes shows an incredible sense of self-awareness asking if Wanda ‘wants to start the scene over’. This tells me Agnes is aware she’s in a TV show and Wanda is the star & director; but who’s the showrunner?
• Vision continues to show awareness of Agnes’ unscripted reaction, but is dissuaded by Wanda and distracted by Agnes’ ancient attempts to calm the babies. Agnes’ use & mention of lavender & dark liquor to calm the twins are signs that she may be a witch from the 11th century or prior. In the comics, her suspected original character, Agatha Harkness is thought to be old enough to have seen the sinking of Atlantis.
• To everyone’s surprise (except Agnes), the twins stop crying, disappear & reappear aged to 5 yr old versions of themselves! Agnes makes a quick remark about not being able to control kids and the reality is accepted. (Note: There is a subtle reddish hue present. It is similar to the hue you would see on a 3D image without the glasses.)

This first scene has already answered & debunked the notion that Wanda is in complete control; she’s not. Accepting this at face value, helps to look at the following scenes more practically if we are to get the most out the story.

• Continuing outside the Hex bubble. Monica is getting an x-ray & recounting her debriefing with Director Hayward: “What’s the first thing you do remember?”. Monica replies, “Pain” cutting to her being pulled into the energy field. No one & nothing else has been seen being pulled in or pushed out of the hex besides Monica. Rambeau then states that she heard Wanda in her head. There’s no telling the timeframe or sequence of these events. It’s when she says there was a ‘hopeless feeling keeping her down’ that my eyebrow raised. We know the exact series of events that lead to Monica being pulled in to the Hex. We don’t know for sure how or whether they coincide with Wanda & Vis’ bedroom scene in the beginning of Episode 2. if they do, Wanda could have pulled Monica in when she pulls the separate beds together. Up until this point I have only considered Mephisto (who I still believe to be the mastermind leading us into Doctor Strange 2) & Nightmare to be the true villains, but now another character comes to mind which opens up my Magneto theory for discussion: Mesmero! Be patient with me here. I know it’s crazy but let’s have some fun since you’re already reading this.

• The description of feelings Monica had and the loss of memory coincide with Mesmero’s mutant powers. He’s historically been a powerful mutant with the power of hyper-hypnosis, memory manipulation, illusions & group mind control. He has taken down some of the most powerful teams, including telepaths, all by himself. He has been known to keep mind control over people for months at a time. Above all else, in his origins he is a blind follower of Magneto. The first volume of X-Men books used to be some of my favorites growing up & collecting. They were also some of the most chaotic in continuity. From what I remembered, Magneto was presumed dead . His disciple, Mesmero used a machine called The Psyche Generator to boost his powers & summon all “latent mutants” to his hidden mutant city. That’s right! An option to explain where the majority of mutants (besides The Snap and The Multiverse) may have presented itself. In his origin story (Uncanny X-Men #49, 1968), Mesmero had the maniacal plan to summon all latent mutants (humans with the latent mutant gene) in order to find one specific mutant, Lorna Dane. All subjects came from far & near in a conscious but hypnotic trance; much like the subjects in Westview. Mesmero’s plan was to awaken the powers in Lorna (which he did) & find the Goddess within (see Ep. 3’s Hydra Soak commercial for the pun.) He crowned Lorna the “Queen of Mutants” based on her father being Magneto. As out there as it is, I thought it was too good of an idea not to showcase this motive & method to bring mutants into The MCU, based on an obscure (and even overturned) plot from the original X-Men run.

• Moving along, as the tech finishes the x-ray I see the number “3” on the x-ray tube & what looks like the same symbol from the now infamous toaster commercial (which made me think of Magneto in the first place) on the tech’s wrist: the coil! In case you don’t know, x-rays are created by manipulating electrons in an electromagnetic cloud, aiming the invisible light generated through an object to a receiver or film that can process and discriminate the shapes & shades of grey to create an image. As Monica is greeted by Jimmy & introduced to Darcy we see that Monica’s x-ray was unreadable. This is a natural happenstance with equipment but not in this scene. I think Monica Rambeau was shown to be an enhanced in this shot; maybe even a mutant. Her destined powers are the ability to manipulate any combination of energy based on the electromagnetic spectrum; including x-rays. It would make total sense that x-rays wouldn’t work on her if her powers were developing. What if Westview is hiding mutants? What if that is why Monica was pulled in but Jimmy wasn’t? What if Marvel has decided to make Monica Rambeau a mutant and her powers were awakened when she was exposed to the high levels of CMBR in Westview? Don’t be mad at me I’m just saying. LOL

• In the same way I thought of Magneto before moving on to think of Mephisto & Project Pegasus, I do so now. I’m so upset with myself for tracking that train of thought but I have to be fair & share my insights as I process the show. I repeat, I don’t subscribe to this Magneto theory but if you do, have at it.
• Entering the next briefing, Monica recognizes Hayward’s “goon” & doesn’t look pleased at his presence. Hayward proceeds to twist the information from Monica’s experience in Westview & Jimmy’s dossier to paint Wanda in a bad light; she kind of made this easy for him to do though. We see a deviation from Wanda & Pietro’s comic book origin with “parents” being name Irina & Oleg Maximoff. As Monica pushes back that she does not believe Wanda’s a terrorist and explains she put up her own quarantine with her hex powers. Hayward shows his “trump card” (I couldn’t resist).

• Director Hayward produces footage (that he claims he was given authorization to show) of Wanda breaking into SWORD Headquarters, interrupting what looks like a complete surgical experiment being performed on Vision’s body. He colors it an unprovoked kidnapping & resurrection of the synthezoid’s corpse on Wanda’s part. (Again, who the hell is in charge here?) Appropriately, the footage is black & white; nothing but grey area here. This shot appears inspired by the clip in West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #44 where Wanda finds Vis’ body desecrated by scientists wiping his memory (No, It wasn’t Wanda that did that to Vision in the comics). Someone here was violating The Accords & Vision’s own Living Will. I think it was Hayward & SWORD, but why? What were they searching for & what were they trying to create? Does Jocasta come into the picture here?
• As Hayward’s meeting is dismissed, Jimmy & Darcy throw the ball around as to how Wanda could’ve become even more powerful within the last month since The Blip. Darcy says an interesting phrase when she states, “the world’s only vibranium synthezoid is playing Father Knows Best in Surburbia’ which the furthest from what Vis is doing because he is the one being kept in the dark! Could this have been another clue for Magneto? He’s been known to be a father that thinks he knows best. (I should create a cashapp account for all you Magneto lovers to send me thank you money right now. LOL) The easier road to travel is the path that leads us to believe this was reference to a show that influenced WandaVision’s creation; simple as that. There have been many double entendres in this show nonetheless.

• The story shifts over to Tommy & Billy. The reference to Sparky The Dog is right out of the comics. There’s a toy tiger on the table which takes me back to the Darwin reference which was also an easter egg for mutants. Tigers & lions are referenced by Darwin to hypothesize that common traits in species will originate from a common ancestor closer to the point of evolution (i.e., humans & mutants). Basically, the Bengal Tiger grows into a “red-head” like Wanda or a “white head” like Pietro. The common ancestor could be Magneto. Coincidence or clue? Personally, I don’t consider Billy & Tommy to be mutants but they are designated as such in Marvel. There’s also a tongue in cheek phrase that comes to mind, “the eye of the tiger” which takes me back to Mesmero. He sometimes needed to look in one’s eyes for his powers to work. That was just a thought; nothing more.

• In order to keep the dog, the boys age themselves again; this time to 10 yrs old. Agnes seems to always be present when the boys use their powers. (Note that same red 3D hue in this scene again. It’s subtle but you can tell it’s purposely done.) Is Agnes causing the twins to hyper-evolve or is she only around to bear witness? Does that red hue symbolize some kind of magic or mind control?
• Vision’s newspaper reads: “More Dramatic Details About The Lights In The Sky Above Westview“. This accentuates Vision ‘seeing the light’ so to speak. He can anticipate cues in the show now as well. Wanda is going against their agreement about using their powers in public. He senses something is wrong more as time goes on.

• Back to the 35mm movie quality of the SWORD encampment. Monica’s theorizing what metallurgic combinations may be able to penetrate the Hex. In the back I see mathematical equations & graphs. The trigonometry brings me back to 7th grade. I don’t remember it like yesterday but I do recognize a coded easter egg which brings a smile to my face. When is a sin not a sin? When it’s a sine! LOL! The box showing the direction of y represents the measurement for sine (pronounced sign, but also written as sin); “Sin” is the ratio of the length of y in a right triangle. This is a cute mathematical clue & double entendre to Mephisto’s favorite word. SIN.

• The clues flew in quickly. I didn’t get a chance to process one before another would appear. Monica claims she knows an Aerospace Engineer that would be up to design her Hex Tank. Like everyone else, Reed Richards was the first to come to my mind; then Adam Brashear, but I think the engineer will be someone near & dear to Monica’s heart; not of this Earth; originally. Darcy officially establishes the term Hex for Wanda’s Westview anomaly.

• Jimmy thinks the twins are minors cast for the show. Monica clarifies that the twins are Wanda’s & everything in Westview’s real. Darcy rationalizes that Wanda must be wielding an insane amount of power (again). Jimmy basically says that Wanda’s overachieving since she’s never shown this much power before. They go back & forth about who came the closest to singlehandedly defeating Thanos, but when Captain Marvel’s name comes up Monica changes the subject. There will be some unresolved issues between the two Captain Marvels when they reunite! Sublime!
• Theory Confirmation: It seems my theory that people & things are forced to adapt to whatever time period The WandaVision Show is presently in is confirmed. Monica realizes that her fish pants are made from the same kevlar the bulletproof vest she wore entering Westview is. Wanda’s re-writing reality on a permanent level! Captain Rambeau hypothesizes that if she sends a drone into Westview from the same time period the show’s in there will be no change, and the drone should continue to work. She’s correct. This leaves the possibility open that people could have adopted true identities (i.e. Agent Franklin’s Beekeeper Suit & maybe even John Collins becoming Herbert). We don’t have a clear cut explanation yet but there’s obviously something magical occurring.

• Vision finds an email regarding Darcy’s initial radiation findings that’s read aloud by the whole office staff like they’re in a trance. Is this meant to tells us that the people of Westview aren’t actually in a trance, but being programmed? There’s binary code preceding the communique. (Editor Brax Timberlake says it equals the number ’81’.) Vision realizes he can turn the “hex” off & on for machines & people. That red hue is present again. No Agnes or Wanda around this time. He frees Norm for a moment to hear the anguish being caused by ‘Her’. A specific name is not mentioned, leaving an open-ended question: Who’s Her? Wanda, Agnes or Dottie? What’s the heirarchy of this chaos?!? Who the hell is in charge here? The twins question Wanda about Vision’s absence and Pietro. Wanda handles her grief well for her children’s sake.

• Once the drone finds Wanda’s & the boys, Hayward shows his true colors trying to kill Wanda. Needless to say it doesn’t work and Wanda drags the Stark retro-drone out of the Hex and throws it at Hayward’s feet. She clearly knows the director as she calls him by title. Her Sokovian accent is on 100%. Suspicions that she was using her powers to appear more American are made more plausible. Wanda shows signs of defensiveness when she sees Monica; she also hints that Hayward took something from her before; most likely Vision’s body.
• As Wanda turns & walks back through the Hex she makes a flippant gesture turning guns pointed at her back to Director Hayward. This is unremarkably similar to a gesture & move that Michael Fassbender’s Magneto does in the Fox X-Men movie, Dark Phoenix.
• When Wanda opens up the Hex shield to walk back in, it begins to refortify & change into a reflective deep red. There are hints of a yellow, green & purple refraction underneath the red that make me think of Mesmero again.

• The Lagos Paper Towel commercial is a clear confirmation of a theory I’ve seen that the ads are, in part, representations of trauma Wanda has experienced.

• In a well placed scene, Agnes reveals that Sparky has died from eating too many azelea leaves. (a nod to the comics in my opinion; Wundagore Everbloom’s azalea (meaning dry flower) is a potent drug Agatha has fed to pets before.) Wanda stops the boys from hyper-evolving to avoid the sorrow; a great metaphor for parent’s not wanting their children to grow up too quickly. The boys implore Wanda to bring the dog back. Agnes asks if Wanda can do that. We see the first signs of what Wanda’s being manipulated to eventually do. She brought Vision back; why not Sparky? Why not Pietro? Why not The Infinity Stones?

• A deliberate pull back shot from the aforementioned tiger shows two cars: one red, one white on the same plate. This is totally meant to be a reference to Wanda & Pietro; maybe even to Magneto. The Rubik’s Cube is a reference to Quicksilver. Speaking of cube, remember me mentioning the Cosmic Cube/Tesseract in a previous article? Anyway, Vis comes in from apparently burying the dog (He likes to bury things in the backyard. LOL. Comic heads’ll get that one). He confronts Wanda about the ‘Maximoff Anomaly’, Norm’s suppressed personalities & she tries end the conversation by rolling the end credits to the show.

• We now can confirm that Wanda’s in complete directorial control of The WandaVision Show; but not of Vision, who shows more emotion and anger than we’ve ever seen before. This ‘come before the church’ moment is brilliant. Wanda believes she is protecting Vision from the outside world. The obvious absence of other children is finally mentioned by Vision. He has been made more human in this scene by his fear.
• As Wanda continues to lie and run from her reality we see a glimmer of possible truth. She ‘doesn’t know how any of this started in the first place’. We finally have our first statement from her that she didn’t actually start this chaos. So who did?!?
• As Vision presses Wanda about right & wrong, the doorbell rings. I automatically think it’s Agnes back to distract Vision by checking on the twins, but Wanda says she did not do that.

The door opens and we fans get the surprise many of us have been waiting for: Evans Peters as Pietro Maximoff! I am not guessing at his character in this episode either. Evan Peters is listed as a star of this show and his character’s name is Pietro Maximoff! Darcy can’t believe it either as she suggests Wanda has recast her brother instead of bringing him back from the dead. Neither Wanda nor Vision recognize Pietro which leads me to think that this is a trick. That red haze that I noticed throughout the episode is surrounding Pietro as well. Is this Mephisto? Nightmare? What about Mesmero? Is Magneto lurking in shadows? What does Agnes have to do with all of this? And where is Dottie? You guys know what I think but I have more questions after each episode. All I’d like to do right now is talk to whoever the hell is in charge here! LOL!

One of the greatest intro monologues to a modern science fiction production is Patrick Stewart’s Mutation speech in the beginning of the Marvel Legacy’s X-Men film, directed by Bryan Singer. Second only to William Shatner’s Star Trek intro (in my book), it encapsulates the plight of mutants. As Marvel fans hunger for mutants to be announced in the MCU, the excitement has become greater than anything else for Marvel besides the rest of the out-sourced & licensed characters (i.e., Spider-Man & The Hulk) coming back into the fold completely. It would make sense to tease such a return in WandaVision as she and Pietro are two of the earliest mutants the the lore. Just as great as the WandaVision conundrum is the anticipated explanation from Marvel Studios about where the mutants would have been in The MCU during The Infinity Saga to keep Marvel’s almost pristine storytelling continuity. This article should at the very least keep mutant lovers discussing more creative ways to bring our people home. Manchild out.