WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marvel's WandaVision Episode 3, "Now in Color," now streaming on Disney+.
WandaVision's first two episodes flirted with references to Avengers: Age of Ultron, which is obviously central to Wanda Maximoff and Vision's backstories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As it were, though, neither of the show's previous nods to the film -- namely, Vision using a meat tenderizing hammer and the Strücker watch commercial -- were particularly dramatic or emotional in nature. However, that changed with WandaVision Episode 3, "Now in Color," which included a far more devastating allusion to Age of Ultron and one of the more traumatic incidents in Wanda's past.
Westview's idyllic facade starts cracking shortly after Geraldine/Monica Rambeau visits Wanda to help with her rapidly progressing pregnancy, resulting in her giving birth to twins. Wanda then mentions in a casual, if subtly mournful, way that she once had a twin named Pietro, which leads to Geraldine saying, "He was killed by Ultron, wasn't he?" Naturally, this gets a powerful response from Wanda, who demands to know why Geraldine asked this and the latter doing her best to pretend she doesn't understand, even as Wanda notices her S.W.O.R.D. necklace and begins questioning who she truly is.
Pietro, of course, was the name of Wanda's twin brother who, along with her, was nearly killed by one of Tony Stark's weapons when their home in Sokovia was attacked. They went on to survive Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's experiments with the Mind Stone, which allowed Quicksilver to develop super-human speed and earn the moniker Quicksilver. He was ultimately killed near the end of Age of Ultron while shielding Hawkeye from incoming gunfire, which led to a devastated Wanda showcasing her true power for the first time in the MCU.
Much like how WandaVision's commercials hide Scarlet Witch's mental trauma beneath their pleasant exterior, Wanda giving birth to twins is clearly connected to her memories of her own sibling. It's yet another nod to the idea the show's sitcom-inspired reality was somehow formed out of Wanda's real-life experiences, be it one Wanda created on her own as a coping mechanism or was manipulated into making by the series' secret villain. That also explains why pieces of Wanda's past keep slipping in through the cracks of this world, like when she sings a Sokovian lullaby while remembering Pietro.
Still, as much as Wanda appears to be struggling to keep up this charade, she's not ready to let it go either, as evidenced by her angry reaction to Geraldine's question about Pietro and Ultron. The whole scene is emotionally-charged, with Wanda conveying sorrow and then lashing out when pushed too far. From a character perspective, it builds on the previous scenes in WandaVision where the real world threatened to intrude on Wanda's new reality, prompting her to take control of the situation. She seems to do the same thing here, as the episode ends with Geraldine getting literally kicked out of Westview.
Arguably, a scene like this has been overdue in the MCU. Pietro's death was one of the most painful things to happen to Wanda so far, yet she never got a chance to really acknowledge that loss in the films that followed Age of Ultron. Fortunately, by giving Wanda and Vision the spotlight for the first time, WandaVision has done right by this aspect of Wanda's backstory and treated it with the weightiness it deserves. Question now is, what will happen when Wanda is no longer able to keep her grief buried?
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+.