WANDAVISION Showrunner Says She Never Intended To Let Scarlet Witch "Off The Hook" - SPOILERS

WANDAVISION Showrunner Says She Never Intended To Let Scarlet Witch "Off The Hook" - SPOILERS

In "The Series Finale" of WandaVision, the Scarlet Witch was forced to come to terms with her actions, and head writer Jac Schaeffer says it was never her intention to let the character "off the hook."

By MarkCassidy - Mar 10, 2021 07:03 PM EST
Filed Under: WandaVision

In last week's season finale of WandaVision, the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) was forced to give up her "family" in order to release the residents of Westview from The Hex and return them to their normal lives.

While the character clearly knew what she did was wrong and seemed to feel remorse, she didn't really face any consequences for basically enslaving and torturing an entire town, and some felt that Monica Rambeau's "they'll never know what you sacrificed for them" line was an attempt to put a more heroic spin on Wanda's actions.

During an interview with THR, head writer/showrunner Jac Schaeffer was asked about the conclusion of the episode, and explained that she never intended to make it seem like the character was being excused or let "off the hook" for what she did.

"We wanted it to be really visceral and painful for Wanda. And also necessary," said Schaeffer of Wanda's 'walk of shame.' "She did a terrible, terrible thing. You can argue in the beginning that she didn't know what she was doing, but once she truly knew what she was doing on a conscious level, she continued to perpetuate it for days."

"You can't entirely forgive her for that," she continued. "But our goal with the show was to understand Wanda and Vision in a complete way. So I feel we have a complete picture of why she did what she did. That does not justify it; that does not make it okay. But we have empathy for her, and we were with her on the journey. So I don't think that she's off the hook, and it wasn't my intention to write it in a way that seemed like we could just forgive all of those sins. But I do think that the empathy for her as a character is still very present at the end of the show."

What do you make of Schaeffer's comments? Do you think Wanda got off too lightly? Be sure to share your thoughts in the usual place.

WANDAVISION Head Writer Confirms Reports That Marvel Studios Scrapped The Show's Tenth Episode
Related:

WANDAVISION Head Writer Confirms Reports That Marvel Studios Scrapped The Show's Tenth Episode

WANDAVISION Star Elizabeth Olsen Reveals Why She Keeps Returning To The Marvel Cinematic Universe
Recommended For You:

WANDAVISION Star Elizabeth Olsen Reveals Why She Keeps Returning To The Marvel Cinematic Universe

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2 3 4 5
dracula
dracula - 3/10/2021, 7:30 PM
Wonder if this will play into how they introduce Scarlet Witch into Doctor Strange Into The Multiverse Of Madness. For the most part Wanda doesn't seem like she is looking for anyone to teach her.

Maybe Strange will go to her, try to get the darkhold and if needed contain her. She is dangerous. Then he needs her help against the big bad, then at the end he begins training her. Like im not surehow training Scarlet Witch could play into a plot about the multiverse, seems better to have it begin near the end of one film and for at least some of it to take place in between films
ShellHead
ShellHead - 3/10/2021, 7:32 PM
She definitely messed up and I think there will be consequences. But we can't judge her too harshly. If you've lost a spouse or close relative, you know what she meant by "endless nothingness."

In real life, people don't have the power to bring their loved ones back. But that feeling she had, the desperate will to make it happen, is absolutely real.
BroskiTroski
BroskiTroski - 3/10/2021, 9:01 PM
@ShellHead - I can safely say I would not hold a town hostage, put them through mental torture and take away their free will for days, put their children in comas, and antagonize their rescuers to deal with grief. I will judge her very harshly, especially when she runs from consequences and gets a “they don’t understand you” pat on the back.
kitheka
kitheka - 3/10/2021, 11:06 PM
@BroskiTroski - agreed, she's a monster.
Battabing
Battabing - 3/11/2021, 12:34 AM
@ShellHead - Uh, yeah, you can judge her harshly. There's really no excuse for what she did.
Origame
Origame - 3/11/2021, 1:46 AM
@ShellHead - what she did was literally mind control to force a town into slavery. And that's an oversimplification that actually makes her actions better. While I can UNDERSTAND her reasons for doing what she did, that isn't to the extent where you can't judge her too harshly.
SummersEssex
SummersEssex - 3/10/2021, 7:32 PM
omg, let it go, dude. You went on and on about this in your garbage butthurt review. Her consequences are that she is alone and very much a fugitive. Rambeau’s line wasn’t to convince us it was justified, it was to convince Wanda, to put her on the path of forgiving herself. Are you really that hellbent on them making her the MCU’s next big bad? Yes, she did a bad thing, but that doesn’t mean she’s just going to say “welp, guess I’m a villain now.” She’s not a villain. Let it go.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/10/2021, 7:37 PM
@SummersEssex - Yeah I guess you're right... I really shouldn't have pretended to be the showrunner of WandaVision and called THR to conduct this interview to further my agenda.
RIPSTEPHEN
RIPSTEPHEN - 3/10/2021, 7:43 PM
@RorMachine - I think he's criticizing you interjecting your own opinions about the events of the finale in this article, not what the show-runner is saying.
lordSTALE
lordSTALE - 3/10/2021, 7:56 PM
@SummersEssex - It reminds me of how people were upset that Age of Ultron ended with Steve and Tony joking and being friendly, instead of angry at each other to set up Civil War 😂
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/10/2021, 7:58 PM
@RIPSTEPHEN - but I didn't do that? She's responding to a direct question about Wanda's perceived lack of consequences from THR. I simply provided some context.
contrast
contrast - 3/10/2021, 7:34 PM
These articles are interesting and all, but why the hell has nobody asked them who Woo's missing person was? That was the only plot thread I felt was left dangling that needed to be addressed. Not because I expect it to be some sweeping revelation or anything, but just because it was a question the show never answered despite the answer itself likely being very simple. Like, a quick shot of one of the Westview citizens on tv and Woo going "oh, that's my guy." Would have cleared it up.
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 3/10/2021, 7:38 PM
The finale muddles a couple things narratively, but this was one thing they handled with surprising levels of clarity

Wanda was the "villain", and even with her awful loss of her family (for like the 3rd or 4th time in her life) she was still not absolved of the greater crime she committed or the pain she inflicted. The town (and likely the world) will still hate her even more for this, let alone the fact she appears to also be on the run from the law. That's not getting let off easy by any stretch of the imagination, even if it's ultimately less than she deserves

My big question from a long game perspective is how do people like Sam and Clint respond to her, assuming the MCU gives them a chance to. I'm sure Strange will have words for her but they don't have a relationship, much like
She and Monica didn't. It'd be interesting for her and Clint to have a heart to heart because Clint is probably the only person left besides Steve who she actually feels accountability to. Would be nice for them to have that moment, especially given the dark path Clint went on after the Snap
1 2 3 4 5
View Recorder