WARNING: The following contains spoilers for WandaVision Episode 8, "Previously On," now streaming on Disney+.
Up to this point, WandaVision has spent its time in the past. Whether it was going through the sitcoms of yesterday, or seeing how Monica Rambeau got into the town of Westview, the Disney+ series has always had one eye on what happened. And now with the guidance of a new foe, Wanda sees why looking back is so important in "Previously On," the eighth episode of WandaVision.
To start, the familiar Marvel Studios opening credits turn from red to purple at the very end, which we now know represents the magic of the recently-revealed Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn). Indeed, we get taken back to Salem in 1693, where she is taken out to the middle of the woods to face trial from her coven of witches (including her mother) for practicing dark magic. Agnes reasons that the rules "simply bent to my power," but that excuse isn't enough. She's blasted from all sides by the coven, but she's able to turn that around to her benefit. She wipes out the witches and her mother in one swoop, reducing them to husks.
From there, WandaVision returns to the present day, as Agatha is talking with Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) in her basement. The Scarlet Witch asks about her children, but notices that her magic is useless under Agatha's protection runes. Agatha cops to creating "Fietro," (Evan Peters) a facsimile of Wanda's brother, to find out who exactly the Scarlet Witch is. She is mystified by her abilities of mind control and transmutation, and has just one question: "What's your secret, sister?"
When Wanda doesn't know the answer, Agatha rebukes her. Left with no other choice, she decides to force Wanda through the truth, some "real reruns," holding her children hostage. Reluctantly, Wanda and Agnes walk through a door into Cold War-era Sokovia. A young Pietro, along with his parents, are getting ready for TV night. Agnes urges Wanda into the scene, as she becomes a younger version of herself.
As the family gets settled in for their umpteenth Dick van Dyke episode, an explosion suddenly rocks the apartment. Wanda wakes up stunned, now in the cold bleakness of the unforgiving warzone. She and Pietro just miss getting hit by a Stark Industries branded missile. As the bomb ticks down, Wanda looks at the flickering TV, ruminating on how it all ends with the revelation it's just a bad dream.
Suddenly, Wanda is pulled back into her adult form. Agnes interrogates her about whether she used magic to defuse the bomb, which Wanda denies. Another door takes us into H.Y.D.R.A., which the twins joined as teenagers to "save the world." Wanda is placed in front of Loki's scepter and asked to interact with it. Suddenly, the Mind Stone removes itself and hovers in front of her. When she touches it, she is rocked with exploding energy, seeing a silhouette of her Scarlet Witch costume before passing out. As Wanda sits in her bleak cell watching The Brady Bunch, the confused scientists review what just happened.
Another door now brings us to the Avengers compound post-Age of Ultron. As Wanda listlessly watches Malcolm in the Middle, in phases Vision (Paul Bettany). He wordlessly joins her on the bed, offering to comfort her about her recent loss. She speaks about her grief like a non-stop wave keeping her off her feet, worrying she'll eventually drown. But Vision reasons "it can't all be sorrow" and grief is the perseverance of love. Wanda looks as the synthezoid with new eyes, kindling what would eventually become a full-fledged romance.
Agnes attempts to walk Wanda to an epiphany about her current situation. Vision was gone, and she wanted him back. That takes us to S.W.O.R.D. HQ, where we see Wanda plead to see Vision's body after coming back post-Blip. She meets Director Hayward (Josh Stamberg), who takes her to the lab where the synthezoid is being disassembled as part of the organization's "legal and ethical obligation." He refuses to let her give three billion dollars of vibranium a burial, telling Wanda, "He isn't yours."
With that, Wanda charges into the lab. She morosely realizes she can't feel his presence, confirming he's gone. She walks back to her car, only to find a mysterious letter. She then drives through the town of Westview, as we see the contemporary counterparts of the sitcom characters we've seen throughout WandaVision. It turns out the envelope contained a deed for a house in town, purchased by Vision "to grow old in." Standing at the foundation of what could have been, Wanda falls to her knees in sadness. She lets out a huge magical burst, as the house we know assembles around her, the town transforms, and Vision is back, welcoming her home.
Suddenly, we're on a soundstage, complete with bright lights and a slow-clapping Agatha in the studio audience. Wanda runs outside and finds Billy and Tommy being choked by Agatha. She speaks of her powers of creation, wielding Chaos Magic to a myth-like level to earn her name: Scarlet Witch. Then, in Episode 8's mid-credits scene, Hayward gets pulled into a lab. Using some magical remnants from the S.W.O.R.D. missile Wanda disposed of previously, a white-eyed Vision gets brought back to life
In a way, "Previously On" was about not just naming Wanda, but also her past, her grief and the origin of WandaVision. And now that we've gone back, it's time to move forward. And with a new big bad, a possibly revived Vision, and only one episode left, anything is possible in WandaVision.
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+.