by Darcie Thomas
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02 Apr, 2021
With the emergence of Marvels new form of storytelling, I.E through TV shows we not only get a more in-depth view of these characters we have grown to love but it also allows us to see them in a more vulnerable state. Going into WandaVision you don’t anticipate anything more than a comedic sketch, something you can casually dip into, but in usual Marvel style there is a lot more than meets the eye. We are not just plunged into a witty sitcom showing us the ‘What could have been’ between Wanda and Vision, instead we are delving into the depths of Wanda’s mind and the grief which is consuming her. As a counsellor there is one grief model that really stands out, that is Kubler-Ross’ Grief cycle (Otherwise known as the 5 Stages of Grief). I won’t go into too much detail, but the theory is that when we, as individuals, go through a grieving process we often pass through five distinct stages: Denial, Anger, Depression, Bargaining, and Acceptance. In the first episode of the show Wanda and Vision appear in your typical sitcom which would have been common in the 1950’s. Your typical happy, family friendly comedic relief, this time combined with magical elements, mainly because Wanda is a witch and Vision.. well Vision is Vision is the best way to describe him. On the surface they are living the ideal marriage life that was seen in the 50’s, a newly married husband and wife trying to fit into the neighbourhood with the added ‘fiascos’ of hiding who they really are. Every part of their life on the surface can be labelled as perfect, or at least perfect for a normal couple. Little snippets of who they really are fall through the gaps, such as the forgetting what the heart means on the calendar. Vision himself comments that he is incapable of forgetting, so the whole idea of him not knowing goes against who Vision really is, instead he is moulded into the ‘Vision’ that would suit the story. The story Wanda is creating. Emphasised with her powers you can see how deeply she is struggling, at one point Mr Heart begins to choke at the dinner table, again this doesn’t fit into Wanda’s ‘world’ so much that Mrs Heart doesn’t feel concern rather maintains her friendly smiling and asking him to stop in a joking way. In reality you would expect someone to jump to his aid, even Vision despite needing to hide who he is. But he doesn’t instead they all sit there and almost ignore what is happening until Wanda gives the go ahead to help him. Denial is what protects us as humans, when we lose someone, especially unexpectedly and someone we never considered losing, it’s almost like a trauma, in fact it could be considered one. Our minds almost can’t handle the pain that we know is there so our response is to reject that idea, reject the loss itself. Even if it isn’t good for us. The reality is that if possible many people who do what Wanda did, create a life where that person is still there, but everything is perfect, how it should have been, what it could have been. These are all realities which can play on loop in our minds after the loss, and in time we may even be comforted with them. So much that we don’t want to let them go. The stage of Denial is something that continues to be present throughout the show, it isn’t an easy or a quick stage to move through. It is different for each individual, but I personally believe it is necessary to go through. Which is how it is portrayed in the show. As we move to the next episode, we are thrown more into Wanda’s fantasies of what could have been. Moving to a small town where they are unknown, living as an ‘ordinary’ couple, but rather than in a present time they are still very much based in the past. Is it because we often romanticise the past? Shroud it in happiness and how ‘easy it was back then’, how the media we presented with, especially sitcoms show it in such a rose-coloured tint that we can’t help but wish we lived in a time that the biggest issue we faced was trying to fit in with the popular people rather than trauma going on in the real world. Even with the laughing track playing throughout the episodes you get the impression that ‘ALL IS WELL’ and even if something were to go wrong or appear to go against this belief, it can be twisted into something comedic that is easily laughed at and fixed. Because in our dream realities that is the case. We have very brief intervals which try to fight through this fantasy, intervals from the very real world outside of Wanda’s creation, at first, she seems confused almost frightened but near the end you can see her flat out rejecting these unwanted sights to re-create what it ‘should’ be like. As this turned out to be a lot longer than anticipated I will continue this blog post on WandaVision and grief in another post!