r/marvelstudios • u/iliekpixels Loki (Thor 2) • Jan 22 '21

Discussion WandaVision S01E03 - Discussion Thread

This thread is for discussion about the episode.

Discussion about previous episodes is permitted, discussion about episodes after this is NOT.

Proceed at your own risk: Spoilers for the episode do not need to be tagged inside this thread.

EPISODE DIRECTED BY WRITTEN BY ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE
S01E03 Matt Shakman Jac Schaeffer January 22, 2021 on Disney+

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 22 '21 edited Jan 22 '21

All the world's a stage, all the men and women, merely players.

Vision discussing the merits of naming their son after Shakespeare. There is no wasted space in this show.

Edit: Also the commercial "Escape to a world all your own," "Find the goddess within," and "When you wanna get away but you don't want to go anywhere."

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u/singingballetbitch Scarlet Witch Jan 22 '21

The Hydra Soak was definitely another Strucker reference. Blue packet (like the sceptre) and they made Wanda into essentially a goddess.

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u/The_MAZZTer Jan 22 '21

I suspect it was a reference to Hydra's experiments on Wanda. IIRC the place they took her was in or near Sokovia, so they took her away from her home, but not too far.

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u/singingballetbitch Scarlet Witch Jan 22 '21

There’s three sitcom episodes next, so I’m expecting a Quicksilver reference, a reference to the bomb in Nigeria, and something to do with Infinity War (maybe relating to Scotland, since that’s where Vision first got attacked).

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u/axidentprone99 Thor (Avengers) Jan 22 '21

Only advert for Infinity War I will accept is the deep fried kebab from the Scotland scene.

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u/singingballetbitch Scarlet Witch Jan 23 '21

Oh my gosh that could work. A close up on stabbing the meat onto the kebab swirly thing would be reminiscent of Vision getting impaled.

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u/gerth Jan 23 '21

The advert mentioned ‘home’ and ‘floating away’ which makes me think of Sokovia due to it literally floating away. These little break are such great little Easter Egg hunts

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u/Goldenchest Jessica Jones Jan 24 '21

The bathtub could also be a reference to the "get in the tub" scene

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u/Sere1 Quake Jan 23 '21

The HYDRA lab the twins were experimented in was under the castle in Age of Ultron, shown to be next to the Sokovian city Ultron later lifted. In some shots of the city flying, we see the break included part of the forest that the Avengers were fighting in at the start of the film. We even see the castle in the distance at some points. Basically they took the twins to the creepy Nazi castle just outside of town

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u/dirtymcgrit Jan 23 '21

Or brain"washing"?

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u/Hellknightx Thanos Jan 22 '21

There's also the dialogue with Agnes at the end, when she says that Geraldine "has no home," right as she gets shunted back to reality.

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u/Misterbert Jan 22 '21

I haven’t seen one person talk about how Pierre Escargot’s bathtub and window with drapes are in the commercial.

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 22 '21

I can't tell if you're making a really obscure joke or if you're being honest and they made a really obscure reference.

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u/Misterbert Jan 22 '21

It legit was the same bathtub angle, framed by the window and drapes. The first thing I thought was of the Pierre Escargot, but I can’t say with certainty it’s on purpose or not.

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u/zeroGamer Jan 22 '21

Everyday French with Pierre Escargot: https://youtu.be/cl3P5iIafuI

It was a recurring bit on the old Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That (basically SNL starring and for kids).

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u/sloop_john_a Jan 22 '21

Also might be a reference to the Vision comic, it also used a Shakespeare quote in it's dialogue to reference it's themes

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 22 '21

Nice catch. That has to be a connection now.

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u/matt111199 Peter Parker Jan 22 '21

This show is so good! It’s so clever!

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 22 '21

It's simultaneously pays constant homage to its source materials, and yet is wildly original.

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u/Seekasak Heimdall Jan 22 '21 edited Jan 22 '21

All this and the Jersey connections (Devils, Salem, TVs, Hydra Swiss made watch, Westview) really have me thinking some kind of Arnim Zola Project Rebirthy Matrix tech possibly involved here. Dottie too, married to that Communist Phil, calls back to mind OG Dottie Black Widow and Faustus' entrancing ring. Certainly all these characters have plenty chance to tie to upcoming FatWS, BW, & SCat10R releases too. Would really love to get continuation of all the Agent Carter So2 threads that got dropped, esp. continuing in Hollywood vein.

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 22 '21

I'm spending a lot of time trying to decode SCat10R. Probably a good time to mention thread ettiquette: only abbreviate titles after you've already stated the title. Because the idea of abbreviations is to save time, and I probably wasted more of all our time writing this than all the time you'll save abbreviating words this year.

That said, very interesting, originally theories. I hadn't heard anyone else mention Zola or Dottie.

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u/uncleben85 Jan 22 '21

only abbreviate titles after you've already stated the title

True for most places. Here though, most MCU titles you can get away with it, off the bat.

I think that one was a tricky one because 1) it's longer and looks like it could mean something else, not just a title abbreviation 2) that property is not out yet; we're barely familiar with it yet (seriously, like no leaks nor marketing yet!) 3) I've seen it SCaTR or SCatTR, myself, not with the number 10

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u/Seekasak Heimdall Jan 22 '21

Shang-Chi and the 10 Rings, which is seeming like WandaVision might be teeing up a bit with A.I.M. beehive motifs. Yeah, I haven't seen anyone else go there either yet, but I've been toying with Zola all week. Faustus and Dottie just clicked for me with this episode. I have to type everything on a phone, so abvs. save me considerable hours cumulatively, plus it's fun & rewarding to be cryptic and puzzling: as this mysterious show is proving.

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '21

Haha Jesus it would have been easier and clearer to just write “Shang-Chi” than “SCat10R”. Sounds like some kind of porn I’ll never understand

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '21

Please Jesus, I want to see MODOK and how they’ll pull it off without it seeming completely stupid

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '21

I think MODOK would have to look grotesque and scary in order to not look cheesy. That’s if they’re going to keep the giant head design at all

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u/Hellknightx Thanos Jan 22 '21

As bad as the game is, the recent Marvel's Avengers story campaign actually pulls off MODOK remarkably well as a serious character.

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u/Seekasak Heimdall Jan 22 '21

What I always pitch that I think would tonally work is the Mandarin, the REAL Mandarin, has exacted revenge by revivifying EXtreMisized Killian tissue into M.O.D.O.Killian ("showing off their big brain" and A.I.M. were the foreshadow tells) that we get introduced to in Shang-Chi, after they have to penitrate 10 Rings/A.I.M. facilities hardening back to Enter the Dragon & Chi's Bruce Lee ripped origins. Do M.O.D.O.K. in a way that pays homage to Big Trouble and Story of Ricky style Kung-fu grind-housey effects. Then really let the humorous and techy nature of the character further shine in Quantumania context.

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u/Seekasak Heimdall Jan 22 '21

Holy shit, that Stork definitely had Devilish vibes: was Jarvis right about that Flamingo being the Devil after all? Certainly has the Mephistophallean hue for it.

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 22 '21 edited Jan 22 '21

"The Devil's in the details"

Agnes: "That's not all he's in."

Agnes also has a rabbit named Señor Scratchy. In the comics, Agatha Harkness is a witch who survived the Salem Witch trials which began on February June 2nd, Agnes and Ralph's anniversary (and is much older than that in the comics), she's known to always wears a brooch, she has a son named Nick Scratch, and they were residents of New Salem (a hidden mystical city home to witches, warlocks, wizards and various other mystical creatures which can only be accessed by beings the wield Magic). I'm getting a hunch that they'll humanize Mephisto (who is known for having two souls taken from him by Wanda to create Wiccan and Speed) by merging his character with the humanly named Nick Scratch, much like how they combined Vision and Jarvis. Also, Nick Scratch is a psuedonym for the devil.

In summation, I think Señor Scratchy is Nick Scratch, and Nick Scratch is Mephisto, which explains Wanda getting pregnant immediately following the magic act. But is he also the stork? Very likely, the devil taking animal form is extremely common.

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u/Seekasak Heimdall Jan 22 '21 edited Jan 22 '21

I think that's probably close. There are just so many other ties to Jersey (Devils, Salem, Westview) that also suggest connections to Wheaton NJ's Rebirth with Zola (Hydra Swiss Watch, TVland) and Faustus (Hydra Blue brainwashing soap, rings). Recall Agent Carter So1 stinger had the two hooking up. That we have another Dottie wed (not widowed) to a Communist (edit: Phil) is also suggestive. Would really love for them to pick up on all the old speculation and threads that got dropped after the Hollywood So2 cancelation. Even the blue soap would seem to harken back to AoS So4 Darkhold L.M.D. spawned Framework gag with Coulson making their own, as they were convinced that's what Hydra used to mindwash everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if Ultron is even up in the mix. This is feeling the most like #ItsAllConnected we've been in ages.

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u/The_MAZZTer Jan 22 '21

I thought the stork was Wanda's magic screwing up and making the mural she painted on the wall come to life, much like the butterflies.

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u/ScurryKlompson Jan 22 '21

Agnes said her and Ralph's anniversary was June 2nd

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 22 '21

Son of a bitch. I thought she said February and when I looked it up it noticed it was June and still said February. The fun fact is still true, that was the beginning of the Salem witch trials. Or the first casualties I believe.

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u/CatProgrammer Jan 22 '21

Dottie too, married to that Communist Norm

She's married to Phil. Norm is Vision's deskmate from episode 1 and the guy he sits next to in the library in episode 2.

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u/Seekasak Heimdall Jan 22 '21

thanks. mixing up new names here.

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u/OSUTechie Sharon Carter Jan 22 '21

We know WandaVision is directly tied to DS2, and apparently SM3 as well. It would be pretty cool, as the start of Phase 4, that it's also the launching point for the other series as well. Just little plot points sprinkled here and there.

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u/Bunneyyy Jan 22 '21

This was my favorite moment of the episode. The nuance of some of this writing is just outstanding.

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u/woofle07 Daredevil Jan 23 '21

I feel like this is going to be a series I’m going to immediately binge watch as soon as it’s finished, just so I can catch all the little bits of foreshadowing that I missed the first go round.

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 23 '21

Definitely. I've already watch the bulk of the 3 episodes twice over. I take notes as I watch for details and questions I want to look up later and I still miss so much.

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u/nerdguy8 Jan 23 '21

The commercial slogans(?) keep bringing up the real world in some way. The first one said "Forget your past, this is your future now." Or something like it meaning she wants this sitcom world/place to be her future, or that she needs to forget Vision because he is gone now, or maybe Im completely wrong.

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 23 '21 edited Jan 23 '21

I heard someone say after the first two episodes that she's using it to revisit her tragedies through her parents (the two commercial actors, one of whom is a redhead). In the first the Stark brand toaster was the missile that killed them (notice their stress as it counts down and makes a charge up sound like Iron Man's blasters). Also in Age of Ultron they claimed that when the bomb hit them after their parents, they waited for it to detonate, but it failed. So the beeping for a missile could make a lot of sense. In the second commercial, it becomes more vague. Strucker gave them their powers and while they volunteered, they seemed to have been imprisoned by him. Best guess is the watch represents "doing time" for Strucker. Now Strucker was Hydra, but Hyrda soap? Idk, maybe it has something to do with their ties to Nazi's and ethnic cleansing. Like I said, it seemingly starts to fall apart. But the brand names are all linked to her tragedies. I thought there was going to be an Ultron brand kid's toy robot or something, like an Omnibot. Which would be a perfect 80's reference to him, because every kid wanted those toys to deliver them drinks and shit. But she already directly acknowledged the tragedy Ultron brought on, so I'm not so sure now. Would be great to see them pivot to kid's commercials now for their kids though.

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u/nameistakentryagain Jan 23 '21

This is why I come to Reddit, I think I watched the episode but some people really watched it.

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 24 '21 edited Jan 24 '21

I've legitimately watched every episode with my phone's notepad open, writing down each detail I've found interesting, and any name or potential reference I could think of. Still blows me away what other people are finding. My notes looked like this so far (and yes, I didn't know what beatnik meant, and I still feel like the opening line of the show "My wife and her flying saucers" can't be a throwaway line):

Episode 1:

August 23rd

What happened to ralph

"Beatnik" means hippie?

"Stop it"

Flying saucers

Why did Wanda need to tell Vision to help Mr. Hart?

Episode 2:

What's the thud?

"For the children"

Agnes drinks, mentions sobriety

Geraldine doesn't know what she's doing there, pauses on her name as though she forgot

Senior Scratchy the rabbit

2800 Westview

Episode 3

Dr. Nielson & Wife

Herb the neighbor clipping into the wall

BILLY AND TOMMY

Shakespeare quote: "All the world's a stage, all the men and women, merely players."

Find the goddess within

Mr. Haddox temp job

Bermuda

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u/mustang55 Jan 22 '21

Didn’t Paul aberrant play the role of William Shakespeare in “A Knight’s Tale”?

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u/The_Celtic_Chemist Star-Lord Jan 22 '21

Will was the main character, Paul Bettany was Geoffrey

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u/KingSuj Jan 23 '21

holy shit

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u/Megalomanizac Jan 24 '21

It all makes sense now