WARNING: The following contains spoilers for WandaVision Episode 7, "Breaking the Fourth Wall," now streaming on Disney+.
Even before WandaVision aired, people suspected Wanda's nosy neighbor Agnes was really Agatha Harkness, a powerful witch and Wanda's mentor in Marvel's comic books. The clues only continued to pile up once the show began, with Agnes' necklace, wedding date and Halloween costume all pointing to her being more than just another unassuming citizen of Westview under Wanda's control. This week's episode, "Breaking the Fourth Wall," finally confirmed Agnes and Agatha are one and the same, but as transparent as the reveal might've been it was also highly satisfying.
Twists are never easy; they can't be too predictable, yet have to build on plot points that've been firmly established. Still, as unsurprising as the Agatha/Agnes reveal may be for WandaVision's comic book-savvy viewers, it would've been disappointing if all those hints the series kept dropping had turned out to be red herrings. Those unfamiliar with the Agatha Harkness character were no doubt suspicious of Agnes by this point too, if only because of the screen time she's gotten and the way she's constantly inserted herself into Wanda and Vision's lives. However, because of all those hints, this twist feels earned, as opposed to coming out of the blue. Making Agnes and Agatha the same person also validates those who guessed ahead of time while leaving those unfamiliar with Agatha intrigued to learn more.
As fun as shocking reveals are, the obvious answer is rewarding when a show gets it right and then presents it with style. WandaVision delivered the goods in that respect, allowing Agatha to show the truth about her schemes through a montage set to a catchy theme song titled "Agatha All Along." Kathryn Hahn has been consistently great in the role of Agnes so far, which made it all the more rewarding to watch her bring out yet another side of the character as Agatha, complete with an evil cackle that the Wicked Witch of the West would admire. The reveal works even better when you remember Jack Kirby allegedly based Agatha on Agnes Moorhead, who played Samantha's troublesome mother Endora on Bewitched -- once again allowing WandaVision to tip its hat to classic sitcoms of the 20th century.
WandaVision's creatives also made the right call in saving this reveal for "Breaking the Fourth Wall." Had it come earlier, it would've felt rushed and distracted from Wanda's growing realization that she can't escape her grief, no matter how much she tries to shield herself from it by using the WandaVision reality as a glorified band-aid to cover up her emotional wounds. It was equally important to have Vision confront Wanda about her complicity in keeping the charade that is Westview going, while at the same time suggesting there may be some darker force pulling her strings without Wanda knowing. By doing this, the show has given Wanda agency and set the stage for her arc in the final two episodes, along with her upcoming role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Better yet, WandaVision has even more tricks up its sleeves after this. Paul Bettany confirmed the mysterious guest star he alluded to is not Evan Peters, which means the show's "Luke Skywalker moment" has yet to happen. Speaking of Peters, we now know Pietro/Quicksilver is under Agatha's control, yet it remains unclear if he's just a regular person from the Marvel Cinematic Universe or really is from another universe. The cat might be out of the bag with Agatha, but the series' big finish has only begun.
Written by Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman, WandaVision stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as Vision, Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Kathryn Hahn as Agnes. New episodes air Fridays on Disney+.