The Westview Talent Show Leads to a Big Surprise

The second episode of WandaVision continues the fifties sitcom comedy as the couple participates in the neighborhood talent show. Their magic act does not go as planned. Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) begins to notice strange occurrences throughout her day. A moment of pure happiness is interrupted by a frightening stranger. Wanda’s true control of their seemingly blissful suburban reality is revealed.

Episode Two begins in black and white with the classic 4:3 aspect ratio. Wanda and Vision (Paul Bettany), in two separate beds, are asleep. “What was that?” Wanda wakes up after hearing a loud noise. She hears it again, then turns a lamp on and off. Vision, wearing a sleeping mask, gets up. He goes to the bedroom window and looks outside. He sees nothing, then leaps back into bed as the loud thud bangs again.

Vision pulls up the covers scared. He’s heard about “ne’er-do-wells” at work that may be vandalizing the neighborhood. The noise strikes a third time. Wanda uses her power to pull their beds together. The banging continues. An anxious Vision bites his sheets. “I’m going to take a look!” Wanda exclaims. She telekinetically opens the curtains. The odd sound is a branch hitting the window. “Wanda darling, get the light,” Vision coos in a sultry tone. They disappear under the sheets as the laugh track howls.

There’s a new animated opening sequence very similar to Bewitched. The credits show the town is called Westview. All of the supporting characters make an appearance together at the end. The next day, Vision is dressed as a magician, “Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the Cabinet of Mysteries.” He waves a wand, but nothing happens. He reminds Wanda that’s her cue. She rolls in a huge cabinet.

“Darling, do all of the acts at the talent show have such elaborate props?” Vision asks. She tells him that Fred and Linda are building a moat. She gets inside the cabinet for the disappearing trick. Vision does his spell, opens the cabinet, and she’s gone. Wanda appears again. It has a secret door at the back. Vision wonders if the audience will see through their “charade.” Wanda replies, “That’s the point. The talent show fundraiser is the biggest event of the season. It’s our chance to look as normal as possible.” She wants them to fit in. Vision presents her a sequined, one-piece, assistant’s costume. She looks at her watch. Wanda has to leave to attend the planners meeting. Vision decides to drop in on the neighborhood watch meeting at the library.

Wanda hears another thud outside. She walks to the front yard. She finds a bright red colorized toy helicopter in the rose bushes. It has the symbol of a sword going through a circle. Wanda picks it up, then looks back at their bedroom window. Eerie music builds to a crescendo, but she’s startled by Agnes (Kathryn Hahn). Her neighbor has brought her pet rabbit for their magic act. It played “Baby Jesus” in last year’s Christmas pageant. Wanda takes the critter inside, while Agnes checks out Dennis (Amos Glick) the mailman’s derriere.

Agnes and Wanda walk down the street to Dottie’s (Emma Caulfield Ford) house, “The Queen of the Cul-De-Sac.” Agnes gives her a warning and advice. Dottie is the “key to everything in this town, country club, parties, and school admission.” Wanda replies, “Maybe I can just be myself.” Agnes looks at her incredulously, then laughs off Wanda’s naive statement.

Dottie leads a contingent of local housewives to the Westview club pool. Wanda mimics her polished manners. The other women wince under Dottie’s sharp criticism. Wanda meets Geraldine (Teyonah Parris), who praises her “peachy keen” pants. Wanda was worried because all of the other wives wore dresses. Dottie snaps at them for talking. The talent show is the only fundraiser for the local children. “Those little boys and girls are counting on us,” Dottie states. Everyone replies “for the children” in unison.

Dottie runs through the event etiquette. Geraldine admits she’s terrified of Dottie, who tells the group when to clap. “How can anyone do this sober?” Agnes whispers. At the library, Vision approaches the husbands at the neighborhood watch meeting. Norm (Asif Ali) didn’t expect him, “This is a members only meeting.” Vision sits down anyway and starts to ask multiple questions about neighborhood security. Norm informs him that “new business means another round of danish.” Jones (David Lengel) politely offers Vision a raspberry dessert. Vision mistakenly says he “doesn’t eat food.”

The husbands gossip about the other neighbors. Vision throws in that “Norm is a communist.” The table is stunned by the comment, then explodes into laughter. Vision awkwardly tries to fit in. He takes a stick of gum from Herb (David Payton), starts to chew, then accidentally swallows it when clapped on the back. An animation shows the gum jamming the gears of his android belly.

Back at the pool, the radio blares while Dottie has Wanda cleaning up after the meeting. Wanda sarcastically thanks Dottie for choosing her for the work. Wanda asks Dottie “if they’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.” Dottie approaches her venomously, “I’ve heard things about you and your husband.” Wanda is taken aback, “I assure you I don’t mean any harm.” Dottie gets in her face, “I don’t believe you.” Suddenly the radio crackles, “Wanda…Wanda..can you read me, who’s doing this to you?” Dottie looks fearful. The radio explodes, causing Dottie to crush her drinking glass. Her palm bleeds bright red against her black and white skin. Wanda hurries to wrap the wound. Dottie makes another snarky remark as she leaves a shaken Wanda behind.

A commercial interlude has a man (Ithamar Enriquez) adjusting his tuxedo bow tie in front of a mirror. A voiceover says, “A man is never fully dressed without two accessories, his special lady and his Strucker.” A woman (Victoria Blade) in dress gloves and an evening gown takes the man’s hand. The camera zooms in on a “Strucker” watch with a Hydra symbol, “He’ll make time for you.”

At the Westview talent show, Jones plays the piano while Geraldine works behind the curtain. Wanda paces nervously in her sequined costume and hat. Vision is late. He stumbles up the stairs in costume, seemingly drunk. “Looks like he’s got a hitch in his giddy-up,” Geraldine comments. Vision belches as he slurs in front of Wanda. The animation shows his stomach gears gummed up.

Wanda tries to explain the strange earlier events, finding the toy chopper and the radio incident with Dottie. Vision continues to be goofy. Dottie introduces Wanda and Vision for the final act. Wanda presents Vision, but he doesn’t come out. Geraldine prompts him to take the stage. Vision fumbles their introduction. He drunkenly drones that “human beings are easily fooled due to their limited understanding of the universe.” Wanda looks embarrassed.

Vision begins to float in the air. The audience gasps. Wanda quickly conjures a pulley system above his head. Norm, Agnes, and the crowd clap in delight. Vision then picks up the piano with one hand. The crowd again is stupefied. Wanda grabs the piano, which is now a cardboard prop. Vision then chooses Herb from the crowd. He tries a card trick, but again drunkenly messes it up. Wanda claps with exasperation.

Vision fumbles the rabbit trick, then makes his top hat phase through his body. Wanda opens the curtain and makes a series of mirrors appear to cover his powers. The crowd laughs. For the grand finale, Wanda brings out the Cabinet of Mysteries. Vision bangs the cabinet repeatedly saying “abracadabra.” Wanda waves her hand and Geraldine appears when she opens the doors. Geraldine bows with them, but doesn’t have a clue how she got there.

Backstage, Wanda asks Vision “what’s going on?” She uses her powers to scan him. His animated gears spin normally as the gum is reassembled and brought up to his mouth. Vision takes it out, “That really gummed up the works.” Wanda is not amused. They’re about to sneak away when Dottie sees them. They are shocked when she gives them the planning committee’s top prize. The neighbors offer robust applause while yelling “for the children.”

Wanda and Vision return home that night. Vision reverts to his android form. They cuddle on the couch while saying “for the children.” Vision stands up. Wanda is noticeably pregnant. They’re about to kiss when another noise comes from the front yard. They go outside with Vision in human guise. In the street, a manhole cover opens. A man in a white beekeeper suit, surrounded by bees, emerges from the hole. He has the sword logo on his back. He looks at them, but his face cannot be seen.

Wanda simply states, “No!” Suddenly, everything rewinds to the moment she became pregnant. The scene has changed. Vision tells her warmly, “Yes my love, this is really happening.” His face is now full color. The entire room sparkles as the room transforms to radiant technicolor. They kiss sweetly as the scene minimizes to “The End.” The radio voice is heard again, “Wanda…Wanda…who’s doing this to you?”

The Geraldine character, played by Teyonah Parris, has already been confirmed as the grown Monica Rambeau from Captain Marvel. The closed caption subtitles show that the radio voice is Agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) from the Ant-Man and the Wasp franchise. The helicopter surveillance and beekeeper, who may be the villain Swarm, had the S.W.O.R.D. logo. Drumroll please, Sentient World Observation and Response Department, is an intelligence agency like SHIELD from the X-Men comics. I would assume that Agent Woo is working with them to figure out what’s happening to Wanda. Westview is her engineered reality. She was able to change what she doesn’t like. I’m still betting on the House of M storyline. The plot does indeed thicken. New WandaVision episodes premieres every Friday on Disney+.

Topics: Disney Plus, Streaming, WandaVision