I realised how much I’d been hoping Vision was somehow still alive when he forced his way into the real world – then began disintegrating.
In other words, the theory that Wanda created her own reality to have an alive version of Vision in it – and therefore manage her grief – is true.
The power of a woman’s grief is undeniable. A small reference to my Classics degree here – darn it, I knew it’d be good for something!
Back in archaic and classical Greece, the symbols of female mourning were well known. In fact, when someone died, the women alone had the role of performing the ritual.
The lamentations performed involved such actions as pulling on the hair, tearing at the clothes and cheeks, and singing funeral songs – called dirges.
Why was this job left to the women? Because it was perceived that women were more likely to express emotion than their male counterparts.
Therefore, they could take on the mourning for both of them.
The power of female grief, therefore, can take on a whole new dimension when your name is Wanda Maximoff and you’re an Avenger.
Quite literally. Another dimension. I mean, the raw power we see at the end of this episode – where she moves the entire town of Westview over a bit in order to save Vision from disintegration is quite something.
While it’s undoubtedly evil that Wanda is holding an entire town hostage – including children now, apparently, judging by the crowd of little tykes running around during Halloween – you can’t deny the human-ness of her emotion.
If Wanda had been born in antiquity, there’s no doubt she would have been the greatest funeral mourner of them all.
As this series progresses, though, there are some disturbing elements to it. For example – we know Norm is in pain due to Wanda holding him mentally hostage.
Does this mean the children who have spawned on Planet Westview are also in pain? If so, that’s incredibly messed up.
Also, I want to know how Wanda is conjuring up the identities of both Pietro and Vision. Are they actually alive, or are they figments of her imagination?
Presumably she knows them both so well, she could create a pretty convincing personality for them both.
Alternatively, if she did genuinely bring them both back to life – albeit in a sort of half reality where people are trapped – can’t she finish the job and put in a bit more effort to make them both properly alive?
Oh, and free the town of Westview in the process?
I don’t know. These are just some of the things I’m thinking about.
Apart from wanting to know how Darcey and the SWORD team look in Wanda’s reality, that is.
