WandaVision: What’s hidden in plain sight in Episode 4
By Mike McNulty
With WandaVision’s latest episode showing what’s been happening outside Wanda’s magically created sitcom, more clues begin to emerge.
Only four episodes into WandaVision, and it seems audiences got some much-needed answers from the Disney Plus show. Who was watching the premiere broadcast at the end of the first episode? Astrophysicist Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), who we last met eight years ago in Thor: The Dark World (2013). Who was the sinister-looking beekeeper from episode 2? Poor, unfortunate agent Franklin (Zac Henry) of S.W.O.R.D. The red helicopter? A transformed S.W.O.R.D. drone. And how did Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) “crash the set” as Geraldine? By accident.
Not only did the fourth episode take us outside of Westview (which seemingly doesn’t exist), but also back towards the end of Avengers: Endgame (2019) and the moment the “blipped” (still hate that name) returned to the world. You would think then finding hidden clues and Easter Eggs without the series’ show within a show would be somewhat difficult. But as it so happens, there were still plenty of juicy nuggets to feast on, which may also hint towards what’s really happening in WandaVision. And of course, there are still SPOILERS!
What does S.W.O.R.D. actually do in WandaVision?
As part of this being a flashback episode, we also learn some essential background information about the formation of S.W.O.R.D. Appropriately enough, it was founded by the now-late Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), no doubt as a result of Earth getting caught up in the Kree-Skrull conflict during Captain Marvel (2019). And, like in the original comics, in seems their original mission statement was safeguarding Earth from potential extra-terrestrial threats.
So then what does any of that have to do with research into robotics, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence? And why would acting director Tyler Hayward (Josh Stamberg) send Monica (Teyonah Parris) on a supposedly crap assignment to assist FBI agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) to find a missing witness?
Well, the key might actually be in what S.W.O.R.D. actually stands for: “Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division.” What can be a more “Sentient Weapon” than artificial intelligence? And who do we know that’s an artificial intelligence? That’s right, Vision. Put a pin in this, though, because we’ll get back to it in a moment.