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WandaVision Explained is our ongoing series that keeps tabs on Marvel Studios’ sitcom saga about TV’s happiest tragic couple. In this entry, we turn our channel to WandaVision Episode 9 (“The Series Finale”) and unpack its mid-credit and post-credit stingers. Yes, prepare for SPOILERS.
And there you have it. The Westview borders are open. The mind-slaves of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) are free. Agatha (Kathryn Hahn), the wicked witch, remains shackled to her suburban role while her captor heads to the hills to understand her potential. Happy ending? No, not really. That was never the plan.
For the most part, WandaVision Episode 9 reached its finish line without any last-minute revelations. Mephisto? Sorry gang. No other devil here but Mr. Speculation. Is that Ultron beneath a Director Hayward (Josh Stamberg) mask? No such luck, Scooby. Even Uncle Peter (Evan Peters) proved to be little more than a ruse, living up to his “Fietro” moniker and revealing himself as just another brainwashed Westview citizen (equally impossibly named as Ralph Bohner—schwing!).
Of all the bubbles burst, the multiverse misdirection stings the most. Why cast the X-Men’s Quicksilver in the role of Wanda’s dead brother if you’re not going to pull the trigger on such rich story potential? The same reason you have Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio masquerading as a multiverse hero in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Marvel’s planting seeds and WandaVision‘s final post-credit stinger continues its multiverse suggestion.
Let’s start at the very end, and then we can work our way backward. In a cabin on a lake, tucked away in some unknown wilderness, Wanda pours herself some tea while her astral-self frantically skims through Agatha’s basement tome. In their final no-holds-barred witchy showdown, Agatha namechecked the text as The Darkhold, going so far as to say that it has an entire chapter devoted to “The Scarlet Witch.”
Denied the television fantasy of her own making, Wanda seems determined to learn as much about her abilities as possible. As she told Monica (Teyonah Parris) before she bounced outta Westview, she doesn’t understand her power, but she will. That’s what Agatha ultimately taught Wanda: knowledge is a weapon. The Scarlet Witch we see in the cabin is a person reaching her next evolution.
The Darkhold in WandaVision is not The Darkhold seen in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Runaways. This version is a little more discreet and doesn’t have its name brandished so boldly on its cover. It’s a sinister spellbook containing forbidden information. Something Stephen Strange would no doubt steal from Wong’s library while training under the Ancient One’s tutelage.
In the comics, The Darkhold originated as a set of scrolls rolled from human flesh. Its writer was Chthon, an Elder God banished from our dimension by Atum, the God-Eater. Before he disappeared, Chthon transcribed his greatest hits. The scrolls were translated onto several stone tablets and eventually reproduced as The Darkhold.
The Darkhold also serves as a conduit for Chthon. Whenever he needs to raise a little ruckus on Earth, he can reappear from its pages. During one such occasion, he emerged by the bedside of Wanda’s mother during childbirth. It’s said that Wanda’s abilities manifested after her little infant hand grazed upon Chthon. The demon planned to use Wanda’s body as a container for himself, but the Scarlet Witch was too strong when the time came. He did take over Quicksilver’s person for a spell.
Will the Wanda of the Marvel Cinematic Universe read her way into a confrontation with Chthon? Maybe. We know her next guest-appearance will be within Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Chthon is very much the kind of baddie to tangle in Stephen Strange’s affairs, and he’s canonically rooted to Wanda’s creation and suffering. However, that’s not WandaVision Episode 9’s post-credit focus.
As Wanda’s astral projection scurries through The Darkhold, she hears Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne) screaming for help. They’re alive. Huh. When we saw them last, Wanda and Vision (Paul Bettany) tucked them into their Westview beds before Wanda dropped her Hex. It was assumed that the twins were reabsorbed into Wanda, similar to what happened to her TV Vision.
After she kissed them goodnight, Wanda told her kids, “Thanks for choosing me to be your mom.” These kids came from somewhere. They’re not fabrications. They’re souls.
The Multiverse is a thing. It might not be a thing in Spider-Man: Far From Home or a thing in WandaVision, but it is a thing. It’s in the title of Doctor Strange 2. It might be coming slower than we’d like, but it is coming. The Billy and Tommy crying out for Mom could be Wanda’s kids, or they could be similar versions who had better luck maintaining their molecules in another dimension. Whatever the answer, WandaVision Episode 9’s post-credit stinger clarifies that The Scarlet Witch is going hunting.
She could use some friends to complete such a mission, but that friend won’t be Monica Rambeau, based on the mid-credit stinger. Another adventure awaits her, and its location is star-bound. After offering tremendous empathy and understanding to Wanda on her way out, Monica is called into the Westview theater by an FBI agent (Lori Livingston). The fed reveals herself to be a shape-shifting Skrull and tells Monica that her mom’s friend requires assistance.
The last time we saw this friend, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), he was drifting through space on a star cruiser during Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s stinger. Earth’s protection is no longer landlocked. His eye is glued to the infinite void that surrounds his planet. Fury has a few friends watching our back, but we could always use another Captain Marvel to guard the galaxy.
Monica Rambeau’s time in the Hex, a byproduct of Wanda and, therefore, a byproduct of the Mind Stone, altered her genetics. Even after their destruction, the Infinity Stones continue to shape the MCU’s superheroes. As Wanda attempts to educate herself on her new abilities, so too will Monica. Her adventures could next appear in the Disney+ Secret Invasion series, but she’s definitely a Captain Marvel 2 contender.
While many (myself included) imagined WandaVision as some avenue to other massive MCU announcements —The Fantastic Four! The X-Men! Al Pacino! — the series never strayed from its purpose. Avengers: Endgame did not save the day for many people. Tony Stark’s snap brought back plenty, but Thanos left countless lives destroyed.
WandaVision‘s ultimate purpose was to tackle the immense loss left in the blockbuster’s wake. That’s the beauty of the MCU experiment. After we’re done cheering an Avengers victory, we’re left to contemplate the consequences. The punching is never the climax. There’s always follow-through. There’s always a sequel.
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