Scarlet Witch Isn't the Villain in WandaVision: She's the Biggest Victim

If there's one thing that Marvel's WandaVision has already perfected in four short episodes, it's confusing the hell out of its viewers. Every installment adds another theory to our pot while debunking three others, and yet the answer to the biggest question of them all has only been hinted at. In episode four, appropriately titled "We Interrupt This Program," viewers finally get to see what's been going on in the real world during the first three episodes and learn how Monica came to be in Westview. When she returns from a harsh ejection courtesy of the new mother with magical abilities, Monica says one thing, "It's all Wanda."

That phrase, combined with all the events we've witnessed since the series began, seems to allude to Wanda being the sole culprit behind trapping the town of Westview and warping it into the sitcom we (and everyone watching from S.W.O.R.D.'s camp) see. While it's true that Wanda has shown that she has some control over her surroundings — she's able to cast people out and "rewind" events — there are too many instances where it's clear that something or someone else is also at play. And it would be all too easy for Marvel to give us the answer to the biggest mystery of the whole show in such plain sight!

Sure, Wanda is actively working to keep her perfect life from being destroyed, but that doesn't mean she's fully aware of what's happening, and it doesn't necessarily make her a villain. What it does mean is that Wanda is aware that she's somehow fallen upon this version of life where she has her great love back and is able to create the family she never thought possible. Wanda isn't going to let people take that away from her, especially people she sees as a threat. Considering how traumatized she's been since we met her in Avengers: Age of Ultron, it isn't shocking that she finds this escape as a sanctuary. And it seems like there's more working to keep her content with the many mysteries surrounding her new home. Wanda has a lot to work through, and if anything, is being prevented from doing so with this setup.

Though many believe Wanda created Westview, the MCU version of Wanda has never shown the ability to warp reality. The only power she's displayed that's similar is using her telepathy to create images inside people's heads as she did to the Avengers in Age of Ultron. It could be a latent power that she hasn't tapped into yet, but it would be remiss of Marvel to keep that from viewers until this series since it's the only thing holding the theory of her being the villain together.

So, if Wanda isn't capable of creating a pocket universe yet, how did she create the sitcom Westview? And if she did it, how did she also reanimate Vision, wipe her memories, and force the residents to play along with her charade? The same residents who ask if she and Vision are there to help them in a teaser? Her confusion from the first few episodes seems authentic, especially when trying to answer questions from Agnes. There's no doubt that Wanda's powers are at play in a big way, but there are too many holes that the idea of her being the big puppet master behind it all doesn't fill.

If anything, all signs point to Wanda being used, possibly for her telepathic abilities or her magical children, and only having as much power as she needs to keep her bubble secure. She and Vision become more aware with every episode, which is another sign that Wanda isn't the one behind his being "alive." If his reanimation was all her doing, would he be gaining so much sentience and asking so many questions?

There's no doubt that once Wanda becomes fully aware that things aren't right and realizes that she can't hide in her false reality anymore, she'll need to work through what that means for herself. Vision could still be dead, her children lost to her, and the real Big Bad left to be dealt with. While many factors are pushing her to become a villain, I highly doubt that'll be the path Wanda is walking down — especially since she has some work to do in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. No, Scarlet Witch won't be going dark at the end of WandaVision; if anything, she'll be uncovering the true culprit and, as she and Vision say in another one of Marvel's many teasers for the series, "Fight for it."

But if Marvel is setting Wanda up to be the villian of her own story, even I have to admit it would be one of the most deliciously tragic twists we've seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.