Compassion and Control in WandaVision Episode 5

This article is part 5 of a series of reflections on WandaVision. This article reflects on episode 5, titled On a Very Special Episode. Spoilers ensue. You have been warned.

The walls Wanda Maximoff has created around her reality are starting to crack. Episode five of WandaVision was emotional for me to watch because I can’t help relating to how desperately Wanda is struggling to maintain control of the world she created for herself, a projected world giving Wanda the life she’s always wanted.

“Kids. You can’t control them. No matter how hard you try,” Wanda’s neighbor Agnes says. She may be talking about the way Wanda and Vision’s children aged from infants to 5-year-olds in the blink of an eye, but that applies to all of us, as well. I know so many of us in our grief would love to have Wanda’s ability to create our own reality with the loved ones we have lost. Unchecked grief is something that can lead to a life that can not only be harmful to ourselves, but to others around us. That’s why I can’t find it in my heart to categorically label Wanda as the villain in this story. 

I need to be clear that just because I am sympathetic to Wanda and I can see myself in her doesn’t mean I condone the things she has been doing. Controlling people, taking them away from their loved ones, and inflicting pain on them is never okay. Wanda has justified to herself that because she’s hurting, it’s okay to hurt others, too. But that’s wrong, and she needs to face the consequences of her actions. 

However, I also believe it’s important to withhold judgment and reach out to hurting people, and that’s why I really appreciated Captain Monica Rambeau’s willingness to advocate for Wanda and reach out to her through compassion and understanding. It’s easy to label Wanda as “crazy” or “evil” and to write her off as a lost cause. But I can relate to her motivations, especially as a woman. I relate to her desire to have all of the things she wants in life, especially considering women are sometimes expected to be or act a certain way.

Despite it all, Wanda is still dealing with her grief in an unhealthy and destructive way, and she needs someone like Monica to reach out to her to help her see that what she’s doing is wrong. Jesus showed so many people compassion who deserved nothing but judgment and death, and it changed their lives in amazing ways. The Apostle Paul used to be a man named Saul who, seeking power and control, persecuted and killed innocent people for being Christians. But one intervention from Jesus softened his heart and transformed him into a humble man who gave up his power and surrendered his control to Him and became His disciple. 

This is what Wanda needs to do. She needs to accept the help Monica is offering her and let go of her desire for control. She needs to realize that hurting others because she’s hurting is cruel and wrong. She also needs help managing her grief. I identify with her not wanting to face the reality that someone she loved so much is truly gone. I am currently in a relationship with a man whom I can’t bare the thought of losing someday, despite knowing that death happens to us all. But I know that I will have Jesus and my family and friends to lean on should that day come. 

Wanda may not be in a place yet to accept her reality and begin to change, but just like Paul, her eyes can be opened. I would love to see Wanda accept Monica’s help and work toward righting the wrongs she created and work towards healing from her grief. 

No matter how hard we try, we cannot control the cracks from forming in the walls we try to build in our reality. When it happens, it’s important to accept help from our family and friends, and seek peace from faith, if that’s something you have. It is also important to show love and compassion for people who are hurting, despite our instinct to judge them first. The change may not happen overnight but you never know the difference you can make in someone’s reality if you never try.