Here’s the True Villain of WandaVision

Let’s face it, Nosy Neighbor Agnes a.k.a. Agatha Harkness is pretty rotten. She kills her own coven, including her mother. She spends days manipulating Wanda in an attempt to absorb her powers. And only someone truly despicable would have us convinced that mutants were joining the MCU!

So, catchy theme song aside, Agatha is clearly a villain. But is she the only one in WandaVision? And no, we’re not talking about Hayward, who we hope, as Darcy put it, is enjoying prison.

The true villain of Marvel’s first streaming series is none other than the star of the show herself: Wanda Maximoff a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch.

The past few years in the MCU have not been kind to Wanda. After losing her parents to Sokovian violence, her twin brother died protecting their home from Ultron. While fighting Thanos, she’s forced to destroy her lover Vision, only for the mad titan to bring Vision back and kill him brutally while she watches. After she finds Vision’s body horribly dismantled and disfigured by S.W.O.R.D, it seems natural, understandable—obvious, really—that Wanda is headed for an emotional breakdown.

Grief is tricky, and it can affect people in profound ways. Some lash out in terror or pain. Some refocus their lives. Some take cross country road trips on a whim or cut their own bangs. But when Wanda experiences overwhelming grief, she turns reality into a sitcom.

On the surface, that doesn’t sound so bad. Who hasn’t, on a tiring day, imagined themselves the center of attention, surrounded by friends, with all their problems neatly solved by a heartwarming conversation or a hilarious miscommunication? The only problem is that, in order to reshape her reality, Wanda has to mentally enslave the entire town of Westview.

And Wanda’s enchantment isn’t all laugh tracks and nostalgic sets. When Vision uses his abilities to free his fellow officeworker Norm, the latter describes the experience as torture and begs for help. Later, when Wanda begins to lose control of her powers, many of the newly-aware Westview residents beg for death.

It’s pretty dark, especially when compared to the cinematic universe’s usual fare, i.e., witty banter leading up to an action sequence with explosions and maybe one good supporting character death.

The series creators go out of their way to show that most of what Wanda does in Westview is unintentional, something she has control over but doesn’t completely understand. But just because her initial reaction is unintentional doesn’t make Wanda any less culpable.

Well, maybe a little.

Still, the residents of Westview are screwed. Going through the barrier fundamentally rewrote Monica Rambeau’s DNA. Who knows what exposure for over a week did to the Westview residents? And though she doesn’t blame Wanda, Monica reiterates that her mind control is not only painful but deeply violating.

And let’s not forget the woman on the outskirts of town, forever caught in the act of trying to hang a sheet ghost. Or the S.W.O.R.D. Agent turned BeeKeeper, who was just following orders before he was rewinded into non-existence? And those children trapped in an endless sleep with Wanda’s worst nightmares? Therapy is going to be the least of their problems.

At the end of “The Series Finale,” as Wanda walks toward Monica, the newly freed residents of Westview shoot her filthy looks. The S.W.O.R.D. agent offers Wanda a few comforting words: “They’ll never understand what you sacrificed for them.”

No, they probably won’t. Wanda’s choice to give up everything she’s always wanted is heartbreaking. It’s fair to assume that most of us in Wanda’s position might be unable to make that kind of sacrifice.

But giving up Vision—for the third time!—and the twins doesn’t acquit her of mentally torturing an entire town. Just because a bank robber might be struggling financially doesn’t mean he won’t stand trial for holding people hostage at gunpoint.

Wanda’s grief is relatable and gut-wrenching, but it doesn’t mean that her actions are excusable. It certainly makes her more compelling. Definitely more empathetic. But then, most of our favorite villains are just that.

The best villains are the ones you’re rooting for.