So, Wandavision?

[Dire Bare]

Yeah the Sokovia Accords were created specifically because of Wanda and in Wanda’s case the Scorcerer Supreme exist for the purpose of policing criminals/threats with Magic powers - like Wanda. There are facilities like the Raft and the hospital seen in New Mutants* designed for Powered Individuals (albeit they tend to be easily escaped)

Allowing for her trauma, Wanda should probably be in a ‘mental’ institution designed with strongly warded magical barriers - I’m sure the scorcerers training Dr Strange could help.

*okay not canon but afaik the only magical prison seen in the Mavel-adjacent properties so far

Wanda, both in the comics and now apparently now in the MCU . . . is an "omega-level threat", cosmically powerful. The Raft isn't going to hold her, Agatha explicitly mentions the Scarlet Witch is more powerful than the Sorcerer Supreme . . . not to mention the ethical questions raised about how the Raft is used, much less the mutant "hospital" from New Mutants.

Even in the real world, we of course have prisons and mental institutions . . . . but they are highly troubled and problematic institutions. To have the writers throw Wanda in magical jail, or a magical mental institution . . . would be highly unsatisfying in a different way than WandaVision's conclusion.

I do think it's a flaw in the series writing that Wanda seemingly gets to fly out of Westview without much in the way of consequences, other than continuing to deal with her own grief, trauma, guilt, and now search for her children . . . but I'm hard-pressed to imagine what a more satisfying conclusion would have been. And it doesn't bother me overly much, as it's very much in genre, both for super-hero stories and magical fantasy stories.

Wanda did bad, somewhat unknowingly, fixed the problem (if not the lasting trauma of her victims), and now has a chance to hopefully earn some redemption for her actions. Depending on how her character is treated going forward, I'm okay with the end of WandaVision. The finale wasn't perfect, and was perhaps the weakest episode . . . . but the weakest episode in an otherwise very strong show.

 

[Eric V]

When the friend of the police has also cited Zemo, Striker and Ross as admirable figures, if anything, the police are the ones who are tainted by association with them.

Quote where I did that. "Admirable figures." Lol.

 

[Eric V]

Even in the real world, we of course have prisons and mental institutions . . . . but they are highly troubled and problematic institutions. To have the writers throw Wanda in magical jail, or a magical mental institution . . . would be highly unsatisfying in a different way than WandaVision's conclusion.

Yeah, I think that's true too. But apparently asking her for accountability wasn't even on the radar...

 

[Davies]

Quote where I did that. "Admirable figures." Lol.

Okay.

*Well, except for the fact that she's far more destructive. William Stryker is looking at this and saying "See?!"

I mean, unless you're an Avenger? Maybe Zemo was right after all.

The Ross support was from tonguez, I can't imagine how I got you two confused.

 

[Dire Bare]

When the friend of the police has also cited Zemo, Striker and Ross as admirable figures, if anything, the police are the ones who are tainted by association with them.

You seem to be doubling-down on the idea that cops are bad people, as are those who associate with them. Still very not cool.

You also seem set on insulting and demeaning @Eric V. Disagree with his point of view, go for it. Make it personal? Not cool. You need to chill.

Zemo and Ross (and maybe some incarnations of Striker?) make good villains because they do actually have a point. They then take that legitimate grievance and take it to extreme and villainous ends, but they aren't wrong in their initial concerns. Wanda and her brother Pietro start off as very similar villains, but end up redeeming themselves and joining the heroes.

 

[Eric V]

Okay.




The Ross support was from tonguez, I can't imagine how I got you two confused.

When I write that, I am writing that if the current view continues (Wanda has no accountability), it adds strength to the arguments of people like Zemo and Stryker.

Which is not a thing that should ethically happen. Hence, my criticism of the writing.

I am sorry you didn't get that. I don't see how you got "admirable" though.

 

[Davies]

You need to chill.

Okay. <leaves thread>

 

[MarkB]

Not at all. I'd say it's damn near guaranteed to never happen, unless things change a lot first.

Why not? With incidents like the Snap and the Hex bringing the extraordinary into everyday life in the MCU, and with the Sokovia accords having already made superheroes effectively intergovernmental agents, the world is having to recognise the existence of these extraordinary beings and powers - and part of that acceptance is finding ways to police them.

Once superpowered - or magically empowered - beings start being arrested and placed on trial, the court system will need people who can provide expert testimony. And who better to do so than someone who is still a respected and qualified medical professional while also being an expert in magic?

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Hey, maybe they'll have Wanda in an episode of She-Hulk, where She-Hulk gets to defend her in a class-action lawsuit from the people of Westview, and we can find out that the town was pretty rough before she got there (remember her arrival scene?) and that she actually did them some good in the end.

Another comment I have on the current discussion: Wanda "freed" the people of Westview (at the cost of her own family) almost as soon as she realized that it was her doing it. Before the confrontation scene in the final episode, we have reason to believe that she didn't have any idea that she was causing them pain.

 

[Rune]

Nah, it doesn't make her heroic. Simply stopping hurting others out of your own self-centredness is not heroic. It's minimum decency.

And no, that's not the thrust of my argument. Sorry if it came off that way. When the episode ended, my kids and I looked at each other like...that's it? I mentioned before that it's that the issue isn't even brought up. Monica just delivers her poor line and Wanda flies away...leaving behind all her victims with no recourse, no justice...nothing. Now they all need therapy because Wanda (for whatever reason) decided not to get any.

Do I think Disney will "grow heroes (in this case, Wanda) into villains?" I am afraid I don't. I think we're expected to just gloss over this...the "punt" Dire Bare mentioned before. After all, Tony faced nothing for Ultron.

As an aside, I am not sure the DCEU has unchanging heroes...Cavill's Kent goes through a lot of changes, and I appreciated his performance as a result.

I didn’t get that at all. My takeaway was that, by showing us Wanda studying the Darkhold immediately after showing her make a heroic sacrifice, WandaVision is sowing the seeds of a redemption arc in our expectations, but that first she actually is going to have to be a villain.

Of course, it would be far better, morally, for her to turn herself in to face the consequences of her actions, but she has a goal (finding her kids’ souls) and that wouldn’t let her achieve it. Hence, the step toward villainy. But then, redemption.

If the audience takeaway were meant to be that empathy (especially from Monica) is a mistake (as I would expect if the redemption arc were not suggested), I would think Hayward (the primary voice for holding Wanda accountable) would have been less unlikeable (and villainous).