WARNING: The following contains spoilers for WandaVision Episode 8, "Previously On," streaming now on Disney+.
WandaVision director Matt Shakman has weighed in Vision's much-discussed line from Episode 8: "What is grief, if not love persevering?"
In an interview with Collider, Shakman said he had noticed the strong online reaction to the line. "It doesn't surprise me, I'm surprised in general by the positive response to the show, which is great and humbling, but that line really is sort of the center point of the show -- that exchange, I should say, because I think it's both lines. I think it's both [Vision's] response, but also [Wanda's] line before it, about what loss feels like," he noted. "It really is what the show is about. And I'm glad to be able to pull back the curtain in Episode 8 so that people realize, when they watch Episodes 1, 2, and 3, that this idea -- this meditation on how you come back from loss -- is really what the show is all about. It's about love."
The majority of WandaVision Episode 8 was devoted to exploring the traumatic events from Wanda's past that led to her creating the sitcom reality in Westview, NJ, including the deaths of not only her parents but also her sibling Pietro and, eventually, Vision. "Wanda has suffered more loss than anybody in the MCU," Shakman pointed out. "She’s gone through so much and that was always the emotional core of WandaVision, exploring loss and how we come back from [it]."
In addition to exploring Wanda's past, WandaVision Episode 8 set the stage for Wanda and Agatha Harkness to face-off in the Season 1 finale, with Agatha holding Wanda and Vision's twin sons hostage. However, their showdown may not play out the way some viewers are expecting, with Shakman teasing "I think both Agatha and Wanda can learn from each other." What's more, Shakman cautioned the finale may or may not confirm some of the more popular WandaVision fan theories. "[I] know there will be a lot of disappointed people with some theories and some who will feel very smart, but you can’t please everybody, obviously. But I hope folks enjoy the ride," he added.
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+.
Source: Collider