Looking Back at WandaVision Episode 3 and the Early Monica Rambeau Theories

This is a look back at our reaction to WandaVision's third episode, which aired in January 2021. The theories below are the guesses we made at the time, before the rest of the season played out. The verdict then was that the show had to raise the stakes in episode three, and it did: "for me they had to do something big by episode three in order to keep me hooked and they have." The concern going in was that the series could not keep the same slow pace for long.

WandaVision moved into the 1970s with a Brady Bunch feel

The episode opened with a brief debate over whether the picture had always been widescreen. After some back and forth, the conclusion was that it had been widescreen before. Either way, the show was clearly keeping in step with each era. This one felt totally 70s, very Brady Bunch and also very Partridge Family. There had been a guess that the show might lean on something like Charlie's Angels for the decade, but The Brady Bunch felt much more fitting.

The Hydra Soak commercial stood out, with its promise to "escape to a world all your own" and "the goddess within." The clue seemed to be in the commercial.

Geraldine's mention of Pietro turned the episode

Once Wanda gave birth to Tommy and Billy, the episode turned when Geraldine brought up Wanda's brother and Ultron. Wanda forced her out, Vision returned to find Geraldine gone, and the episode closed on what was called "such a cliffhanger." It was definitely getting weirder.

One early thought at the time was that the fence and apparent force field outside might mark a containment area where Wanda was being held. That idea was immediately doubted, though it was allowed that it was possible. The stronger read was that Wanda had an illusion she wanted to keep, which was why she kicked Geraldine out. Geraldine was imagined as some kind of agent who had infiltrated to try to rescue Wanda.

A possible SWORD link pointed to Monica Rambeau

There was a feeling that the symbol was not the same as Hydra's. Without having seen Agents of SHIELD, a quick search turned up SWORD, an agency that dealt with extraterrestrial threats. The symbolism looked similar, which raised a possible connection.

IMDb then listed the character as Monica Rambeau, even though the episode itself never used that name. The discussion worked out that Monica had appeared as a little girl in Captain Marvel, played by a different actress, and the theory was that she had grown up and was trying to save Wanda.

The theory that Wanda was holding on to her dream

The theory that came together was that Wanda was deliberately staying locked in this dream because she got to hold on to Vision, be married, have a family and live the sweet life she never had. It felt like it was all going to come crashing down, because the more she suppressed, the more kept surfacing. Having the babies seemed to bring back memories of her brother.

A scene with Vision alone raised a puzzle. If it were only Wanda in a coma, why would that happen? One guess was that both of their consciousnesses were involved, with his perhaps saved in the Stone, though that was offered with "I don't know." The idea that he was her split personality was considered, though the response was "I don't think so."

We saw the episode ahead of its Disney+ arrival through a screener, so at the time episode four was still around two weeks away. That made the wait tough, and the episode left me definitely excited to watch episode four.