‘WandaVision’: Who’s Pulling the Strings on Wanda and Vision’s Life?

WandaVision is the first thing to come out of Marvel since 2019 and it is blowing fans’ minds already. There are so many theories — more than normal — because there is so much that fans just don’t know. 

While Wanda is powerful, she doesn’t know the extent of her powers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But in the comics, she has the ability to alter the very fabric of reality. In addition to a ton of other magic that the movies (and now series) haven’t explored. 

So there are a lot of avenues and routes the MCU could go when it comes to “What’s going on?” Where is WandaVision taking place and who is pulling the strings? Are they in Wanda’s mind? Or is she being manipulated by something more sinister? [Spoiler alert: Spoilers ahead for WandaVision Episodes 1 and 2].

The S.W.O.R.D. symbol is everywhere, but are they in control?

Something that a lot of fans noticed was the S.W.O.R.D. symbol. It appeared on the notebook of someone watching WandaVision at the end of Episode 1, on a beekeeper’s uniform in Episode 2, and on a helicopter toy in the second episode as well. 

S.W.O.R.D. is like S.H.I.E.L.D. but for space, protecting Earth from intergalactic threats. Is it possible that Wanda’s grief is creating a threat to reality, and they’re monitoring her, hence the agent with the notebook? Or are they trying to reach her through a reality she created to escape the grief she’s feeling after Vision’s death?

Reddit user u/KyussJones posted a comment, noting that it sounds like Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and the Wasp asking “Wanda, who’s doing this to you?” on the radio. He’s also listed on the IMDb. The user also notes that they believe it’s Darcy (Kat Dennings) watching the TV at the end, with the S.W.O.R.D. notebook. They also think Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau/Geraldine was sent in to help or investigate. 

So why are all these S.W.O.R.D./S.H.I.E.L.D. agents intervening?

“There are multiple forces at play. Someone or something is trying to manipulate Wanda and others are trying to help her,” the user guessed. “Still not sure if Vision is real or an extension of Wanda’s broken psyche.”

Agnes might be tampering with Wanda more than the audience knows 

In the comics, as stated above, Wanda has the ability to create and fluctuate reality. She can play with quantum physics, basically, which the MCU has talked about a bit with more recent films. When Wanda’s twins were stolen in the comics, her grief was so great that she nearly destroyed everything, however, Agatha Harkness wiped her memory so she didn’t do that. 

There are theories now that Agnes, played by Kathryn Hahn, is a version of Agatha Harkness. Agatha was a hundreds-year-old sorceress who was also one of the original witches of Salem. She also took care of Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s kids at one point. 

Wiping someone’s mind without their consent is iffy on the “goodness” front, but it must have seemed like the only option. Agatha Harkness also mentored Wanda before all of this, since Scarlet Witch also descended from sorceresses/witches and needed to harness those powers as well. 

With that history in mind, could WandaVision’s Agnes be playing with Wanda’s mind currently too? If Wanda’s grief can set off worldly collapse, maybe S.W.O.R.D. called her in to help somehow? While possible, there are too many instances that seem like Wanda’s in control of her reality. And if Agnes was in control, wouldn’t she just… wipe all memories of Vision from Wanda’s mind instead of creating this false reality? 

The most probable theory is that Wanda is in control of this fake reality 

So, again, this all leads to the fact that Wanda is in her own world which she created to cope with the loss of her beloved Vision. He’s not real — most likely? But you never know with these things — but he acts like Vision would in this particular setup: a sitcom. 

 As Reddit user u/BatmansBurnerAccount wrote, the scene where Wanda and Vision are at dinner with the Harts is probably the best example of Wanda’s control over her own world. Even when it doesn’t seem like she has any. 

Even the show makes it seem like she’s as clueless as everyone else — she and Vision don’t know where they moved from or how they got here — it does seem like she starts Mr. Hart’s choking when he’s asking too many questions. Too many personal questions that would make her remember her past life, the one where Vision’s dead. And then she makes Vision stop Mr. Hart from choking, but it’s all very hesitant. Which would be strange for two superheroes, except for the fact that Wanda choked him to begin with to shut him up. 

Then, in the second episode, when Wanda said, “No,” when the narrative wasn’t fitting her reality — the beekeeper invaded just as she got pregnant — she rewound their story right before that happened. 

Of course, these are all guesses and no one but Wanda knows what’s going on. If she even knows, that is.