Is Wanda the villain in WandaVision?

That little helicopter? A transformed drone. The mysterious radio transmission? An attempted contact from Randall Park’s FBI Agent Jimmy Woo. The beekeeper? An agent in a HAZMAT suit transformed into something more era-appropriate (as we predicted previously – just saying).

But perhaps the biggest revelation of all is that despite hints of Marvel villains like the Grim Reaper or Mephisto, the true villain of WandaVision may be closer to home – Wanda herself.

You see, in episode four it’s strongly suggested (as many fans had already theorised) that Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) is in control of Westview, with the former Avenger clearly more aware of her surroundings than previously suggested and taking active, slightly violent steps to maintain its status quo.

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To begin with, in the outside world (which we’re introduced to in depth for the first time this week) Dr Darcy (Kat Dennings) and Agent Woo notice something odd about the already-rather-odd TV broadcasts coming from the transformed town – sometimes, bits are missing.

In episode two, the scene between Wanda and Dottie (Emma Caulfield) skips a beat, while Wanda and Monica’s (Teyonah Parris) clash in episode three is cut from the “broadcast” entirely.

“Someone is censoring the broadcast,” Darcy notes – and as we return to Wanda and Vision’s home for an alternate look at last week’s ending, it’s heavily suggested that Wanda is that person, with Olsen’s Avenger seemingly determined to get rid of anything that threatens the picture-perfect world she’s built.

“You’re not my neighbour, and you’re definitely not my friend,” Wanda tells Monica/Geraldine when the latter tries to explain her Ultron comment from last week.

“Right now you’re trespassing here… and I want you to leave.”

And with that, Wanda throws Monica through several walls and out of Westview, before using her powers to quickly fix the “set” and talk to Vision (Paul Bettany) – though even he’s not all he seems. While many have pondered how Vision could have returned from the dead after Avengers: Infinity War it’s possible he didn’t actually get properly resurrected at all, with Wanda briefly seeing him in his colourless, head-crushed form (as seen after he was killed by Thanos) before he snaps back to his usual self.

“We don’t have to stay here, we can go wherever we want,” Vision tells her.

“No, this is our home,” Wanda replies, with a very creepy vibe that even Vision seems a bit discomfited by.

Of course, it’s possible that Wanda isn’t behind everything – often, she still seems confused to hear communication or information from the outside world, and it could be that someone else created the world she and Vision are in even if she is maintaining it. Certainly, she seemed briefly surprised by her actions after expelling Monica, and there’s a possibility she’s not fully in control of what’s happening.

But we also have to look at the facts here. So far, the only person we’ve seen with control over Westview has been Wanda, and she’s also the only on-screen figure who seems to have a vested interest in keeping the simulation going. Plus, her knowledge of Vision’s death – and desire to protect him from information about the outside world – hint that she’s at least partially aware of what’s going on, and could actually have planned this whole sitcom illusion herself as a way to deal with her grief.

And if this is true, it’s unclear how far Wanda could go. So far, she’s already kidnapped a town full of people and violently expelled outsiders – if SWORD and the FBI keep trying to stop her, who knows what she could do next, especially if she’s not entirely in her right mind? In the comics, an unstable and angry Wanda re-moulded reality itself multiple times, murdering Avengers and recreating the world in a new image, so it’s possible that this little sitcom diversion is just the start of what Wanda’s getting up to.

Perhaps going forward, we’ll learn that there’s a shadowy figure pulling Wanda’s strings, and that her apparent actions aren’t all they seem – certainly, the series has to go somewhere in the next four episodes, and it seems unlikely WandaVision will have given up all its twists just yet.

But for now, we’re pegging Wanda – or rather, the Scarlet Witch – as the Big Bad to watch. She’s the star of the show, after all…

Want more WandaVision content? Check out our latest WandaVision review, our guide to the WandaVision cast, the WandaVision release schedule, Agatha Harkness and the creepy WandaVision commercials. Plus, we ask: is Wanda pregnant? When is WandaVision set and how did Vision survive?

WandaVision releases new episodes on Disney+ on Fridays. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £5.99 a month or £59.99 a year.

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