WandaVision Episode 1×07 Review: “Breaking The Fourth Wall”

WandaVision’s seventh episode, ‘Breaking The Fourth Wall’, brings new heroes and new villains to light!

Much to my surprise, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to watch the new episode when it dropped on Disney Plus, because the whole streaming service got overloaded by people trying to catch the best part of the week: WandaVision. After mashing my ‘refresh’ button for a good ten minutes, I finally got through my own personal “Hex” and settled in to watch the seventh episode of WandaVision, ‘Breaking The Fourth Wall’, and wow! This episode did not disappoint!

‘Breaking The Fourth Wall’ takes inspiration from Modern Family and The Office, two popular television series that ran during the 2000s. This is the new era that WandaVision has decided to zero in on, following last week’s jump into a Malcolm In The Middle-inspired Halloween episode. This new era brings us closer to the characters inside of the show, as they’re able to speak directly to the audience via breaking the fourth wall—hence the title of this week’s episode.

The episode starts the morning after the events of episode 6, wherein Vision crawls out of the “hex” and “dies”, forcing Wanda to expand the borders of her false reality. She decides that it’s time for her to take a much-needed day of relaxation, electing to sleep in, enjoy some breakfast, and let Agnes babysit Billy and Tommy. However, Wanda’s day of relaxation is frequently interrupted by the reality around her constantly glitching. Ever so often, various set pieces from her home (curtains, wallpaper, and electronics) flicker and switch their era of identity. 

This was a really cool way to show that Wanda is literally losing grip on her “reality”, even though it’s not real. Her powers seem to malfunction and the stress from the past few episodes seem to disturb her ability to keep things under control. However, I thought it was interesting that Wanda, herself, doesn’t even seem to be able to figure out why her powers are malfunctioning. In a “confessional” portion of the episode, Wanda notes she can’t seem to fix anything. This is obviously talking about the fact that none of what Wanda has been able to achieve will remain permanent once the “hex” officially falls. Sooner or later, Wanda must face the real version of the world. 

Speaking of the real world, there are now two different S.W.O.R.D camps. One camp is led by Director Hayward, who is still adamant about stopping Wanda. In fact, since most of his team got swallowed up by Wanda’s hex expansion, turning them into clowns and circus folk, Hayward is even more set on destroying the hex. He thinks of Wanda as the villain and doesn’t seem as though he wants to actually simply arrest her. He looks like he will try to kill her if he’s given the chance. 

However, there is the second S.W.O.R.D camp that has opened up operation right outside of the hex, in a different location as to not tip off Hayward and his crew. Agent Jimmy Woo and Monica Rambeau have decided they’re not going to quit meddling with the situation, even after Hayward fired them. The two of them are more sympathetic with Wanda’s situation, though. This is good, because they don’t want to kill her and destroy the hex. They want to find a way to get back inside, rescue the townspeople of Westview, and help Wanda work through her grief in a much less villainous way. 

Monica enlists the help of an aerospace engineer, who she mentioned a few episodes back, and has been the star of a lot of speculation. For the past week, people have been speculating as to who this mysterious aerospace engineer could be. Some have speculated that we’d see the arrival of Blue Marvel, who is Monica’s boyfriend in the comics. There was also speculation that Rhodey (War Machine) would be Monica’s contact since Rhodey is also an aerospace engineer. But the most popular speculation that has made its rounds on the internet, was the hope that we’d see the introduction of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), played by John Krasinski. 

However, the mysterious aerospace engineer was yet to be introduced in episode seven, ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’. Instead, we meet somebody named “Goodner”, who doesn’t appear to be from the comics. She and her team join Monica and lend her access to an advanced space rover, which they want to use as means to drive through the hex’s border into Wanda’s reality. Now, it’s possible that this “Goodner” was the aerospace engineer that people have been speculating about, but considering the fact the character was totally random, it just doesn’t fit with the hype. I’m thinking we are yet to officially meet this special character. 

And yes, I’m personally hoping that it will be Reed Richards played by John Krasinski. Or maybe even Hank McCoy (Beast from the X-Men franchise) before his powers manifest. 

Back inside of the hex, Vision wakes up at the newly established circus in Westview, which is actually the old S.W.O.R.D facility that got swallowed up in the last episode. He meets Darcy Lewis, who is now taking on the persona of an escape artist that works for the circus. However, Vision quickly jolts her memory and the two of them flee the fairgrounds in search of Wanda and the rest of the neighborhood. The only problem is that Wanda doesn’t seem to want to let Vision come home. 

As Vision and Darcy hit the road, Darcy explains to him everything she knows from the real world. She tells Vision that Wanda previously killed him to get rid of the mind stone, but that Thanos rewound time and killed Vision for a second time. What really stuck out to me during this whole exchange is that Vision doesn’t seem angry. In the last few episodes, Vision became increasingly bitter about his relationship with Wanda due to the fact she was keeping him in the dark. However, upon finding out the truth, Vision seems like he doesn’t care about all the lies and reality-manipulation. He just wants to get back to being with Wanda. 

“Confessionals” become the new normal in ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’, falling in sync with the theme of Modern Family and The Office. When we finally get to sit down with Vision, we get an explanation behind all of the barriers put between him and getting home. All through the journey on the road with Darcy, things keep halting their progress. It begins to rain, they keep hitting red lights, construction work begins, and a random crossing guard decides she needs to let a whole bunch of children cross the road. Vision speculates it’s actually Wanda using her powers to make everything happen, though he doesn’t know why.

This is interesting because I would think that Wanda would want to get Vision back to make sure that everything is okay following the events from the episode we got last week. However, Wanda seems to be avoiding everything this episode. She doesn’t want to get out of bed, she doesn’t even want to deal with the issues that Billy and Tommy are having, and she doesn’t seem in a hurry to reunite with Vision. It’s possible she’s mad at Vision for trying to escape Westview, but it’s also possible she fears Vision being upset with her. Unfortunately, we don’t get their reunion this episode, so we’re going to have to wait a whole other week to see what happens. 

Billy and Tommy get to spend time with their fun neighbor “Agnes” in this episode as she babysits them. However, we’re treated to even more hints at Agnes’ true identity. At one point, Agnes complains about a strange mole she has on her back—which was known as a “witches’ mark” during the Salem Witch Trials and was used as evidence against those being prosecuted for witchcraft. We also get to meet Agnes’ pet rabbit named “Scratchy” which is clearly meant to be a nod towards Agatha Harkness’ son in the comics, Nicholas Scratch. 

At one point during the babysitting, Billy remarks that Agnes is quiet. Although, he’s talking about her thoughts. In the last episode, Billy could hear Vision’s dying thoughts and at the beginning of this episode, he complains about the voices in his head being too loud. However, when he tries to read Agnes’ mind, he can’t get anything. Agnes obviously downplays this and Billy seems to completely forget about it a few seconds later, but boy was it a big hint at things to come. 

On-trend with the previous WandaVision episodes, we get an obligatory “commercial break”. However, this episode’s “commercial” is undoubtedly the most important. In the style of one of those medicinal commercials, we get introduced to “Nexus”, a pill that is meant to help with depression. This is meant to go along with the fact that Wanda is experiencing obvious symptoms of depression throughout the episode. She keeps saying she’s fine, she wants to stay in bed, and she doesn’t want to deal with her very real feelings of grief. But of course, nothing is to be taken at face value when it comes to these commercial breaks. “Nexus” goes much deeper than anti-depression pills. 

In the comics, “The Nexus” essentially refers to the doorway to all realities, this includes alternate realities and alternate timelines. This is important because we know that WandaVision will effectively tie-in with Doctor Strange 2: The Multiverse of Madness, wherein we’ll be introduced to Marvel’s multiverse. This would also lend an explanation as to why we have Evan Peters playing Pietro in WandaVision. He could technically be the “Pietro” from FOX’s X-Men movie universe, who has been brought forward from an alternate universe. 

Additionally, Scarlet Witch is a “Nexus Being” in the comics, meaning she possesses the incredibly powerful and incredibly dangerous ability to affect probability, which disrupts the natural order of the universe’s time stream. This makes Wanda an even more important character for the future of the MCU. Her importance and her power will have everything to do with the new phase of Marvel movies. In fact, it’s even possible to say that Billy may be equally as important, considering he is the son of Scarlet Witch and possesses her power set. 

Back in the real world, Monica attempts to enter the hex via her new space rover, but things go haywire. The space rover isn’t powerful enough to withstand Wanda’s powers, so Monica has to abort the mission. Though, just when it seems like her plans have failed, Monica decides she’s going to enter the hex by herself. At this point, she pushes through the static and fights her way into Westview. We’re treated to various points of Monica’s memory, some of which come from scenes in Captain Marvel. Just when it seems as though Monica isn’t going to be able to successfully make it, her eyes glow blue and she breaks through. 

Monica locates Wanda and attempts to talk to her, however, this doesn’t work out so well. The two face off in the front yard, catching the attention of some of Wanda’s neighbors. We also find out that Monica isn’t human anymore. She has powers. Her eyes can now glow blue, she can see radio waves in the air, and it seems she has superhuman strength. This is so cool because we finally have Photon in the MCU. Even cooler, it seems as though Monica’s time inside of the hex the first time is what gave her her powers. Naturally, I have many questions and many theories, but we’re just going to have to wait and see if Wanda’s hex is granting anybody else any kind of superpowers or if Monica is just a rare case. 

Anyways, Monica tries to calm down Wanda’s anger, which seems to work momentarily. She lets Wanda know that Haywood fully intends to break through the hex and kill her. Monica also appeals to Wanda’s emotions, telling her about how she also lost somebody close to her, Maria (Monica’s mother). This softens Wanda’s stance, but then Agnes interrupts. She inserts herself into the conversation and villainizes Monica, turning Wanda back against her. The fight ends there, with Agnes and Wanda retiring to Agnes’ house, leaving Monica back in the yard, defeated. 

And now, we get to the best part of ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’! 

Inside Agnes’ house, Wanda quickly begins to figure out that something isn’t right. She notices eaten sandwiches on the coffee table and children’s cartoons on the TV, but Billy and Tommy are nowhere to be found. Considering the fact that Agnes was supposed to be babysitting them, Wanda asks where her children are. Agnes tells her they’re probably playing down in the basement, leading Wanda to check things out for herself. As she ventures downstairs, we see that Agnes’ basement is some kind of ancient-looking dungeon, complete with old stone walls and magical-looking antiquities. And yet still, Billy and Tommy are nowhere to be found. 

Surprise, Surprise! Agnes walks downstairs sporting a less put-together appearance, revealing herself to Wanda as Agatha Harkness! The speculation proved true! Although she doesn’t reveal where exactly the twins are being kept, Agatha does reveal she also has magical powers. She takes control of Wanda’s mind and then the episode cuts into a theme song intro reminiscent of “The Munsters”, titled: “Agatha All Along”. We get to see “behind the scenes” of previous episodes, revealing that Agatha has been pulling the strings the whole time. She caused problems with Wanda and Vision’s magic act at the talent show, controlled Herb’s mind, popped “Pietro” into existence, and even killed Sparky, too!

Obviously, this twist was foreseen by a lot of people. The hints were everywhere. However, this will be interesting to see play out, because as far as I know, Agatha isn’t actually a villain in the comics. In fact, she frequently fought back against evil forces and aided Wanda in figuring out how to understand and use her reality-warping abilities. So, this reveal of Agatha being the one behind everything in WandaVision is an interesting step to take. Personally, I’m wondering if we’re being led to the wrong conclusion. 

We have to think about it. Agnes being Agatha was kind of known from the get-go. As I said before, the hints were everywhere. Even her name in the show: Agnes, is made up of parts from the name (Ag)atha Hark(ness). So considering how Agatha’s reveal was basically handed to us on a platter, is it possible she’s being controlled by somebody else? Or perhaps she’s in cahoots with another bigger villain. Personally, I’m happy with Agatha being the villain. I can’t wait to see her face off with Wanda. However, we do have two more episodes left of this show, so there is still time for some more jaw-dropping plot twists. 

Bonus: ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’ features a post-credit scene, unlike the other episodes of WandaVision. We see Monica attempt to break into Agatha’s basement lair, only to get caught by Pietro. Now, we still don’t really know who this Pietro really is. We know he isn’t the MCU’s Pietro. Wanda confirmed that. However, we don’t yet know if he’s the Quicksilver from FOX’s X-Men franchise or if he’s just another character cooked up by Agatha’s magic. Perhaps he’s actually Nicholas Scratch in disguise? 

But what did you guys think about ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’?

Let us know in the comments below!

Author: Rodney

Rodney has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. Aspiring to one day write television shows and novels, he’s an avid slash-shipper and enthusiast for all things gay. Rodney’s especially a lover of magic, mystery, and superheroes—holding Harry Potter, the X-Men, and Scooby-Doo close as his own personal favorites. But when he’s not fantasizing about how cool it would be to have magic, he’s busy writing fanfiction and re-watching old TV shows.

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