‘WandaVision’ Recap: ‘All-New Halloween Spooktacular!’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Six of ‘WandaVision’.
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Thus far, the Disney+ series, WandaVision, has done a phenomenal job of providing its audience with a unique viewing experience. Something that it has accomplished by thumbing its nose at just about every superhero and television trope in existence. For not only has the plot has moved at a leisurely place in a storytelling world where wowing us is the norm, but it has also done little to address what’s really happening in Westview, New Jersey. Which should of course bore us and motivate us to tune out. But the strange clues present in this story, combined with some incredibly stunning moments, have kept us coming back for more, so that we can enjoy what will likely be a grand payoff for our patience. 
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But despite the fact that this series has provided us with one of the most original superhero stories to hit the market in years, there comes a point where certain tropes from the genre and television in general are unavoidable. Such as big moments where the stakes are raised and of course… everyone loves an incredible cliffhanger and oddly enough, that’s precisely what this week’s episode sent our way. But before we break down how ‘All-New Halloween Spooktacular!’ accomplished these particular feats, we do need to take a moment and acknowledge the fact that this episode did a wonderful job of lightening the mood before the serious stuff came into play. Because all the comedy here really did leave us chuckling quite hard, and a fair majority of it came courtesy of Quicksilver and his mischievous ways.  

However, while it was a delight to have a little fun for a change, the heavier stuff is what will keep us talking for days about this particular tale and what brought those moments forth… was curiosity. Because both Wanda and Vision found themselves wondering more about what was going on Westview and what created this strange environment and that allowed for Wanda to drop the first real bombshell of the night. In that, she’s nothing more than a pawn after all. Because she reinforced the fact, during an honest and frank conversation with her brother, that she hasn’t a clue how she is doing this or how she got here and that double confirmation, means that someone else is indeed pulling the strings and using her power for some other purpose that still remains a secret and the wonder of curiosity, didn’t end there.

Because Vision’s journey of discovery in this tale, took him to the outskirts of the Hex. Wherein he came to learn that Wanda’s power was struggling to keep hold and leaving the city’s citizens in a broken place mentally, to the point where even Agnes found herself fighting for freedom. But more importantly, being at the edge prompted Vision to breach the barrier and see what lie beyond and that brought about the raised stakes in question. Because once Vision broke through, he was immediately under duress. For the power this place has over him is strong and not being attached to it, began to rip his body to shreds and rather than help… S.W.O.R.D. simply looked on. And once Wanda came to realize that her love was in danger once again, she dug deep into her powers and extended the Hex, allowing for it to consume everyone and everything but Monica and Jimmy Woo. If anything, it is obvious that this particular tale was designed to set the stage for what should be a powerhouse finale and well… it is mission accomplished when it comes to that.

Because now we know that someone quite powerful is behind all of this and they’ve opted to use a hero to cover their tracks and take the fall for some reason. And of course, thanks to Hayward’s outright incompetence and secret machinations… he’s made it damn near impossible to reach Wanda and potentially get her to stand down. Since she will clearly go to incredible lengths to protect her family if she remotely feels as though they are in danger and she certainly feels that now, and well, this really was another incredible episode when all is said and done. One that really did put us on the edge of our seats by way of some big moments and one epic cliffhanger. The kind that will undoubtedly have all of us counting down the minutes until next week’s new tale.   

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