WandaVision wasn't initially scheduled to be Marvel Studios' first Disney+ series, but it ended up being the perfect way to bring the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the world of prestige television. Creator Jac Schaeffer and director Matt Shakman made two secondary Avengers, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and The Vision, into the stars of a retro sitcom sci-fi/horror mystery box with heavy, relevant themes about loss and mental health at the center. The resulting program was one of the year's most talked-about and critically acclaimed TV series, nominated for 23 Emmys and winning three of them.

Though the miniseries has its flaws, WandaVision doesn't truly have a bad episode, and at its best, it managed to live up to or arguably even surpass the hype. Here is our ranking of the show's nine episodes by both quality and personal taste.

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9. Now in Color

WandaVision Episode 3

The first three episodes of WandaVision are more or less on an even playing field; even the show's worst episodes are still very good at what they're doing. They're all entertaining, well-designed sitcom homages with just a touch of uncanniness, offering hints of a bigger story while keeping said story shrouded in mystery. By the Brady Bunch-inspired Episode 3, "Now in Color," one could argue the show had spent too much time on teases, though the episode's ending served as a definitive promise that this was going to change soon.

8. Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience

wandavision episode 1 opening wedding

Ranking Episode 1, "Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience," over Episode 3 is mainly out of respect for its audacity. Launching what ended up being Marvel Studios' first show for Disney+ with a black-and-white 1950s sitcom actually filmed with a studio audience is the sort of unique idea that turned out just weird enough to work. Enjoyable enough on its own, WandaVision's series premiere is packed with foreshadowing and earned one of the series' three Emmy awards for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

7. Don't Touch That Dial

WandaVision Episode 2 Opening

Episode 2, "Don't Touch That Dial," ranks highest of the three early sitcom episodes because it's the funniest of the bunch and has the most effective mystery/horror elements. WandaVision's premise is particularly well-suited to the style of '60s fantasy-comedies like Bewitched, and the talent show shenanigans are genuinely funny. Meanwhile, the introduction of objects (and eventually the whole world) in color, eerie radio messages and erasing the beekeeper from the sitcom reality are all effective bits of intrigue.

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6. The Series Finale

WandaVision Scarlet Witch costume finale

For better or worse, Episode 9, "The Series Finale" is the point where WandaVision becomes a more typical MCU production. The action is fun and the character work is strong, with Vision's confrontation with White Vision and his final goodbye to Wanda being particularly well-written scenes. While it has many MCU strengths, however, it also falls victim to some of its common weaknesses -- specifically, letting heroes off the hook from the consequences of their mistakes and withholding resolution for the sake of sequel hooks.

5. Breaking the Fourth Wall

agatha drinking on wanda's lawn during agatha all along

"It was Agatha all along!" Any recollection of WandaVision Episode 7, "Breaking the Fourth Wall," is inevitably going to be dominated by discussion of the Agatha Harkness reveal and its infectiously catchy, Emmy-winning theme song. The rest of the episode leading up to that, utilizing the mockumentary stylings of Modern Family to demonstrate Wanda's struggling mental state and featuring the start of Monica Rambeau's transformation into the superhero Photon, is very good too, but ultimately this is Agatha's episode to dominate.

4. We Interrupt This Program

WandaVision - Monica Rambeau and Jimmy Woo

The opening scene of WandaVision Episode 4, "We Interrupt This Program," is one of the most intense sequences in all of the MCU, revealing just how horrifying the Avengers' chosen method of undoing the Snap was. From there, the episode reveals what's really been happening outside of Wanda's sitcom illusions and establishes how Monica Rambeau, Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis are working with S.W.O.R.D. to solve the mysteries. This episode ups the dramatic stakes while offering analytical viewers some highly relatable characters.

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3. On a Very Special Episode...

Wanda and Vision in Episode 5 of WandaVision

The fact that Episode 5, "On a Very Special Episode...," has WandaVision's highest user rating on IMDb is probably due in large part to the fan speculation that its "recasting" of "Pietro" inspired, a plot thread which ultimately proved to be a red herring. Even ignoring that extra bit of nerd trolling, however, this is a great episode. The Full House-style sitcom plot gives a strong introduction to Wanda and Vision's kids, Tommy and Billy, and intercutting this with the S.W.O.R.D. team's reactions gives the episode more drama than the first three. Also, bonus points for Baby Vision.

2. All-New Halloween Spooktacular!

WandaVision Episode 6

Episode 6, "All-New Halloween Spooktacular!" is WandaVision's most successful blending of sitcom pastiche with narrative development and surreal horror. The Malcolm in the Middle homage is spot-on, and this style of comedy is at the sweet spot of old enough to be nostalgic while still effective for contemporary sensibilities. Vision gets more proactive in investigating Westview's mysteries himself, while the fake Pietro makes a strong addition to the family dynamic. The series' best fake commercial, the creepiness of the far side of town and the expansion of the Hex all contribute to a standout episode, also Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

1. Previously On

WandaVision Episode 8

If Episode 8, "Previously On," didn't work, WandaVision as a whole wouldn't work. Fortunately, the miniseries' penultimate episode (also nominated for the Writing Emmy) is an outright spectacular piece of television. The answers to most of the story's mysteries were pretty easy to predict, but finally dramatizing the full trauma, grief and desire for escapism that led Wanda to this place elevates WandaVision to new levels of emotional power, without forgoing the humor and spectacle that made the show entertaining up to this point. And it might have been memed to death by now, but Vision's "What is grief if not love persevering?" is still a killer line.

WandaVision is streaming in full on Disney+.

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