WARNING: The following contains spoilers for WandaVision Episode 4, "We Interrupt This Program," now streaming on Disney+.
Four episodes in and WandaVision has no small number of puzzles unfolding. "We Interrupt This Program," the latest episode of the series, finally began answering some of the questions regarding what the heck is going on. One thing it revealed was that the citizens of Westview weren't creations of Wanda's staggering powers, but real people whose identities are being re-written. Yet there is one character who is definitely a figment of Wanda's fictional world: Vision.
WandaVision's premiere episodes made clear that something was very wrong with their TV sitcom life. But while Vision questions their lack of memories and his purpose at work, he still believes in their reality. Instead of finding real answers, he eventually just finds quick solutions and moves on. While it puzzles Vision as to why they didn't have wedding rings, he's satisfied with Wanda blinking some into existence.
Wanda, on the other hand, is the first to encounter objects and people in color. She hears S.W.O.R.D. speaking to her on the radio. She's aware enough of her construction that she's able to rewind time to protect Vision from seeing S.W.O.R.D. without him noticing. This latest episode also heavily implies that this reality is a prison of her own making.
Wanda has enough control of the town that she's able to expel Monica from Westview after realizing she's a S.W.O.R.D. agent. She's then able to repair all the damage before Vision even notices. When Vision does return Wanda briefly sees him as he appeared after Thanos ripped the Infinity Stone from his head and killed him.
Vision seems unaware of this, which is meant to imply it's all in Wanda's head. But after the second great loss of her life, it's not inconceivable that she would attempt to hide from reality by building her own. While she hasn't shown power nearly on this scale before in the MCU, the comics show Westview is small potatoes for the Scarlet Witch.
In the comics, Wanda sadly spirals into madness and literally rewrites all of reality, forming the House of M continuity. Then, she subsequently restored the world to its proper history but intentionally de-powered most of the world's mutants. Wanda's grief in the MCU could be so great that she has built herself a new Vision out of her memories of him. S.W.O.R.D. even posits the question itself, with a blackboard featuring the question "Is Vision alive?" in WandaVision's latest episode.
When Wanda questions if her sudden pregnancy is real, Vision assures her it is because that's what Wanda wants. But she may have made her imaginary Vision too well. When he catches two of his neighbors talking about Monica in a strange fashion, Vision finally begins to suspect something is amiss. It will be fascinating to see what happens when this Vision, essentially an aspect of Wanda herself, begins to puncture holes in their fairy tale life.
S.W.O.R.D. is just getting started in its efforts and if this construct of Vision is truly like the original, he would not allow the people of Westview to remain Wanda's prisoners. As he begins to tug at loose threads and Wanda fights to maintain control, they could be heading for tragedy. If Vision is truly still dead and Wanda is forced to end her micro-reality too soon, she may not be ready to face the real world and the results could be catastrophic. If it plays out anything like the comics, then S.W.O.R.D. should be very careful and treat lightly dealing with the Scarlet Witch.
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+.