This review contains spoilers for Infinity War, Endgame and WandaVision. For my spoiler free review of WandaVision, click here.

It’s no secret, to anyone who knows me, that I love Marvel. I’m always trying to get new people into the movies. I’ve spent countless conversations ranting about how much I like the MCU. But since WandaVision came out, my obsession has gone to a whole new level. I suspect that WandaVision may be the only reason why I’m still paying for Disney+.

So I decided that you should all know why I love the show.

A More Multi-faceted Portrayal of Women and Diverse Characters

Women are hugely under-represented in superhero shows and movies. We are rarely seen as anything more than love interests and sexy villains. Even within the MCU, women have been under-represented. It’s only now, with the growing importance of Wanda Maximoff, Darcy Lewis and Captain Marvel along with the introduction of Monica Rambeau and Agatha Harkness that we are starting to see a balance. Not to mention an increase in diversity.

Most of us probably didn’t notice Jimmy Woo as anything more than an irritation and yet now, he’s everyone’s favourite character. There’s even talk of a spin-off (about him) being pitched. This is substantially better than Phase 1 of Marvel which had one black character in the main cast and one female avenger. We are making progress and I am here for it.

Of course, there are people who are upset at the increase of representation but do their voices really matter? Do we really need to waste time catering to misogynistic and racist little boys who want to gatekeep their favourite superhero show? Nah. It’s 2021, we’re long past that.

Diversity is not a bad thing. Diversity makes people feel seen and understood. Plus, women are half the population, we deserve to be seen in the shows we watch. Marvel understands this. They know that their gaining profit depends on them representing us correctly. Gone are the days where we have to settle for being represented as calculating and evil or naive and desirable. Our value does not arise from men desiring us. We are human first and we deserve to be acknowledged as such.

WandaVision has moved on from token diversity. It allows its non white and female characters to be 3 dimensional.

A Beautiful Exploration of Grief and PTSD In Women

While grief is a popular topic in film and television, it’s not always executed correctly. Especially when talking about women feeling grief. I’ve seen countless shows where, rather than exploring the impact of grief on a woman, the writer simply uses a time skip. It’s a lazy way of creating a character with a tragic backstory without actually exploring the impact of said tragedy.

I am glad that Marvel is continuing to explore the impact that Infinity War and Endgame had on the MCU. Many of us (Marvel fans) grew up with the characters of Phases 1 – 3. But Endgame saw us losing most of them. That had an impact and I’m glad that Marvel respects its fans enough to not skip over it.

What’s this? Men Can Also Be The Love Interest That Dies To Create Character Development For The Woman?

Superhero shows often kill off love interests in order to explore the impact of grief and PTSD. That’s not what’s special about this show. What’s special about this show is that instead of killing off a woman, they kill off a man. This is among a handful of mainstream shows that use the death of a male love interest in order to create character development within a woman (without having her growth revolve around her moving onto a new man).

It’s so common for male characters to use their grief as an excuse for reckless and harmful behaviour and yet the same cannot be said for women. At most, women are allowed to sink into depression. It is a rare writer (in mainstream media) who allows a woman to grieve by creating destruction and pain for others. Wanda is an uncommonly free character (for being a woman). She is not merely a love interest. She is a fully fleshed out human being who experiences a full range of emotions.

We Love Wanda Because We Can Relate To Her

If you’re wondering why so many Marvel fans love Wanda despite the destruction she causes, you haven’t paid enough attention to her story. Her entire life has been driven by grief. The death of her parents leads her to fall prey to Hydra, the death of her brother leaves her vulnerable to the Avengers’ (or at least Iron Man’s) exploitation of her powers and the destruction of her soulmate’s body causes her to lose control of her own actions. Wanda is a victim of a world that doesn’t care about her. She has no control over what happens to her and to make matters worse, people around her use her powers as a reason for dehumanising her.

We love Wanda because we can relate to her. I, myself, suffer from Major Depressive Disorder and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I’m lucky enough to have access to therapy and a group of people who love and support me, Wanda isn’t. So while her actions are morally corrupt, her intentions are pure. She is a good person who lost control of herself because of her grief. That’s something I can personally relate to.

When you are a victim of trauma, self control is the hardest thing in the world. Once something triggers your trauma, the littlest thing is enough to set you off. You go into a state of hypervigilance and hypersensitivity and it feels like everyone and everything is working against you. So yes, I can understand why seeing her mutilated soulmate’s body might be enough to cloud her judgement. That doesn’t make her a bad person.

Wanda is a character I can relate to on a level that mainstream media rarely allows. While I love Natasha Romanoff, Wanda’s character arc is infinitely better. She is fully fleshed out and allowed to be a multifaceted character. She is not a slave to a man’s expectations or wants but rather her own person.

Acting, Costumes, Sets and More

The acting and writing is so good, I feel abused by Marvel. I have half a mind to go find Josh Stamberg (Hayward) and yell at him. I want to hug Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda) and ask her if she’s okay. I want to date Paul Bettany (Vision) because if Vision isn’t the perfect man, I don’t know who is. And worst of all, I want Kathryn Hahn (Agatha Harkness) to love me. I know she’s evil in the show but damn she’s just … wow. I dunno. I just finished watching the finale and my brain cells are dead.

The costumes are amazing and also very intimidating for a baby cosplayer. I don’t know if I’ll ever have enough money to even just go through all of Wanda’s costumes. The sets are out of this world. The CGI is on a whole new level.

Marvel has really stepped up its game. WandaVision pulled my brain into a chokehold and didn’t let go until I was fully obsessed. I don’t know what I’m going to do now that it’s over. I don’t even want to write fanfiction about this show. Nothing I write will measure up to what Marvel just did.

I have no more thoughts. It’s a good show and you absolutely should watch it. If you really can’t stand the sitcom, skip to episode 4. Episode 4 onwards still has a sitcom format but it also explores the outside world. You won’t have the pleasure of being tortured by anticipation but it will at least satisfy your impatience. And whatever you do, don’t skip this show.

It’s a good show and if you’re a Marvel fan, it’s worth your time. Even if you aren’t a Marvel fan, it’s still worth your time.

If there are errors within this review, I apologize. As I said before, I just finished watching the finale and my brain is a bit dead. It’s also 11 o’clock at night.

If you’ve already seen it, leave your thoughts in the comments. I look forward to hearing your reactions.