What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

This is the first episode where the main character becomes a superhero, but their origin story is changed. Doctor Strange still becomes Doctor Strange but in a different way. He loses the person he loves most instead of losing his hands in the accident. 

He relives the night Christine died and tries to save her, but every attempt ends in her death. Christine is supposed to die because it is an Absolute Point in the timeline. I believe Absolute Point is a term we will hear more about going forward in the MCU. Events like Natasha’s death are considered Absolute Points and cannot be reversed because they are pivotal to the stability of the timeline. 

Overwhelmed by the loss of Christine, Doctor Strange seeks answers in the mystic arts. After defeating Dormammu and becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, he wants to reverse her death by seeking out the book of Cagliostro. 

Another thing that will be important to remember as the MCU continues to explore the multiverse is that it is possible to split a timeline. Ancient One split Doctor Strange. The version of him that followed the path of darkness ultimately was the reason for the universe’s demise because only one Doctor Strange can exist in one timeline, so he was forced to battle himself. He successfully brought back Christine, but at the cost of the universe. 

This reminds me of Madoka Magica. What is so important to you that you are willing to give up your soul to obtain it? Doctor Strange gave up everything to bring back Christine, and it wasn’t even worth it. 

Wanda Maximoff and Peter Parker need to think twice before trying to change or alter reality. Wanda wanted Vision back and (accidentally) created an entire alternate reality to obtain that. She may still be searching for ways (i.e., the WandaVision finale end credit scene). Peter wants everyone to forget that he is Spiderman. But these things may be considered to be Absolute Points in the timeline and are irreversible.

And finally….. what is up with the recurring tentacles?

I am officially a Sylive stan.

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The TVA Cannot Be Trusted.

They took Sylive as a prisoner as a child because she created a nexus event. What kind of nexus event is caused by an innocent child? After they erased her reality and she escaped from the TVA, Sylive created nexus events everywhere she went. This is because she is technically not supposed to exist.

Hunter C-20 was Killed.

Ravonna made it seem like her mental state was so bad that she went insane and committed suicide. But she was really saying “it was real” because Sylive could access memories with her powers. My theory is that all of the TVA employees are variants, and a different version of them exists within the sacred timeline. Instead of being killed, their memories are whipped, and either false memories are implanted, or they are brainwashed into obeying the TVA.

The Nexus Event on Lamentis 

I know this is a polarizing topic, but from how I am reading this and interpreting the theory of alternate realities and timelines, Loki and Sylive are the same beings. Hence, I think that the nexus event was the two of them kind of falling for one another. They connected right before their imminent doom on Lamentis.

The TVA uses the Infinity Stones as paperweights, and it makes me sick.

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“After stealing the Tesseract in “Avengers: Endgame,” Loki lands before the Time Variance Authority.”- Summary from Disney+

The Sacred Timeline

The scared timeline is the main timeline. There was a battle for supremacy, but ultimately the timekeepers blended all of them into one. Variants are people that stray away from the timeline, and a Nexus Event occurs when the timeline is messed up due to a variant doing something they weren’t supposed to do.

What The Avengers Did in Endgame was Supposed to Happen

They did everything right and restored the timeline, but Loki was not supposed to pick up the tesseract hence why he is being captured as a time offender. I was surprised that he knew the Avengers time traveled from 2023.

Agent Mobius

You will only understand why I freaked out about his name if you know anything about the Mobius strip and pre-debut LOONA lore.

Control

Loki has a hard time accepting that he is not and never was in control of his choices. He was following the path that he was made to follow by the timekeepers. He believes that almost every living thing (except him) has to make choices that determine their destiny, and they never choose the right one.

Watch Loki on Disney+

I don’t know how to describe it, but The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) feels very different than any other piece of MCU content, and I love it. I had the same feeling after watching the first episode of WandaVision. TFATWS is a nice change of pace.

As always, this is not a full review.

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New World Order

“Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes realize that their futures are anything but normal.”– Summary from Disney+

The statues behind Sam during the Smithsonian conference.

This one may be a reach. I noticed the statue of Cleopatra, and I have seen this statue in person at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Cleopatra is contemplating suicide, and I think this can be connected to The Blip. Some people may have contemplated suicide because they were so depressed in the five years that their loved ones were gone. They didn’t see any point in going on with life.

I think I took two too many theory courses in college.

Sam, Sarah, and the Loan

Sara wants to keep the memory of their parents alive as much as she can by herself, but she needs help. She doesn’t want to sell the boat for some much-needed money because it holds many memories, so Sam offers to help her get a loan.

I have not read the comics, but from my understanding, their father, Paul Wilson, was an important figure in the civil rights movement. More on how this connects to the loan later.

Sarah is denied a loan becuse she does not have any form of income from the last five years. She was one of the people that disappeared in The Blip. She can’t provide income from the previous five years if she wasn’t physically here. This was a ridiculous reason to deny someone a loan, and there was a hint of racism behind the decision.

Once they left, Sarah said, “Those people don’t even know who Daddy was, and he was a giant.” I assume their father was an icon, but his legacy must have died out due to others’ ignorance, and that is why Sarah is doing everything in her power to keep his legacy alive.

Bucky Is Trying to Make Amends

Bucky’s therapy scene was a very accurate depiction because it shows that therapy is not always about crying, and sometimes you don’t even want to be there. She grilled him and exposed him as a loner whether he wanted to hear it or not. This is a common thing that happens in therapy. You are told things about yourself that you don’t want to know but need to know.

Bucky is also trying to right his wrongs in fascinating ways. As the Winter soldier, he killed an innocent college kid becuse he saw something he shouldn’t have saw. Now that Bucky has his mind back, he is hanging out with the boys’ father to help ease some of the pain and loneliness that comes with losing a child. He feels guilty becue he is the reason why his child never came back from that trip, and he is trying to fix it.

This man has no idea that he is having lunch with the person that murdered his son.

WandaVision is officially my favorite tv show of all time. What they were able to do with this show was a refreshing divergence from the typical MCU content. Never have I witnessed a more accurate depiction of depression, and it disturbed me in the best way. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany were fantastic in this show, and I am so glad their characters finally had their time to shine.

As always, this is not a full review.

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The Series Finale

“The events of WandaVision come to a head, and the destines of all who took part are determined.” – Summary from Disney+

The Darkhold Appears Once Again

If you watched Agents of SHIELD, you would know about the Darkhold and how freaking dangerous it is. There is a whole chapter dedicated to the Scarlet Witch. She is not born; she is forged. She becomes the Scarlet Witch after unfortunate events. It sounds like the path Wanda is heading down.

(Side note. PLEASE watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Yes, it has its flaws, but the second half of season two and the entirety of season three were terrific. If anything, watch those seasons. It makes me sad that people write off the entire show becuse of the flaws and pitfalls of the first season)

Wanda Is Struggling to be the Hero

Wanda is heading down a dark path, and it’s hinted in the scene where all of the Westview residents are freed from Wanda’s spell by Agatha and confront Wanda. The overwhelming emotions caused Wanda to choke them accidentally; then, once she realized what was happening, she opened the Hex to help them leave.
Another instance of this is when Agatha used her magic to lift all of the S.W.O.R.D agents in the air then Wanda used her powers to gently lower them back to the ground. These S.W.O.R.D agents have orders to take her out, yet she still helped them avoid injury and even death by cushioning their fall.

We Need to Talk About The Ship of Theseus

https://andreaateliers.tumblr.com/post/644827222672343040/what-philosophy-mcu-stans-googled-after-watching

I googled it, of course, and the first thing I thought of was Michaelangelo’s Pietá. In 1972 someone attacked the sculpture with a geologist’s hammer and damaged the masterpiece. The Pietá was repaired after a meticulous restoration (Wiki) . I wonder if a part of the restoration process included using pieces of marble that were not apart of the original sculpture. In the case of The ship of Theseus, those new parts would not be Michelangelo’s original work.

I should have majored in Philosophy.

Morals, Ethics & The Multiverse of Madness

Wanda is trying her best to be the good guy, but she harnesses the power of a villain. It is chaos magic. She can create matter out of nothing, which breaks the law of the conservation of mass—an excellent tool for a villain.

She is currently isolating herself in the mountains, and I believe she may discover something in the Darkhold that will negatively influence her. It may be the final push she needed to turn into a complete villain. Doctor Stephen Strange may seek her out in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

I hope you have been streaming Agatha All Along on Spotify. Give the Queen the number one song she deserves.

I had to start this off somewhat funny because this episode gutted me emotionally and made me cry multiple times.

This episode was excellent and officially my favorite piece of MCU content.

(Sorry Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

As always, this is not a full review.

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Previously On

“Wanda embarks on a troubling journey revisiting her past for insight into her present and future”– Summary from Disney+

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Are Wanda’s Children Real?

From what I gathered, Agatha implicitly said that Billy and Tommy are fake. Essentially an illusion that is part of transmutation magic (oh my god, I have a lot of googling to do)

Wanda’s Love for Sitcoms

Her family would watch American sitcoms together, and this was a comfort for Wanda. She has many great memories of watching these shows with her family, and they used this as an opportunity to learn the English language and escape from their lives for a moment. Judging from how her mother reacted to her husband showing up with American DVDs, her father must sell American TV Shows for a living, and it must be illegal.

The Emotions Were Overwhelming

As someone who struggles with Mental health, I understand how traumas define your life. Throughout this episode, Wanda confronted her past traumas. At the end of each trauma, we learn more about her. We understand more about her life and personality. It was hard to watch at times.

She Always Had Powers

The Infinity stone only enhanced her abilities. She always had them because she stopped the Stark Industries bomb from exploding. All these years, we thought it was a defective bomb, and luck was on their side.

Hayward Painted Wanda as the Villain

The surveillance footage Hayward showed a couple of episodes ago was edited to make it look like Wanda stormed into SWORD, stole Visions body, resurrected him, and dragged him into the Hex. In reality, Wanda drove herself to HQ, asked to see Vision, met with Hayward, had an awful conversation with him before seeing Vision in pieces and then leaving. It was a civil meeting. She just wanted to give him a proper funeral as his next of kin. Hayward had other plans.

I Officially Hate Hayward.

During this awful conversation, we learned about Hayward’s true feelings about Vision. He thinks of Vision as a weapon, as metal, not a person, just a three billion dollar machine that should not be put into the ground. He also assumed that Wanda was going to bring him back online.

The Hex was an Accident

Wanda created the Hex out of pure raw emotions. After visiting the plot she and Vision brought together, she broke down. All of the pain and sorrow from losing her parents, her brother, and the love of her life merged together, and though Chaos magic gave birth to the Hex. This was the most emotional moment in the MCU. God, I sobbed so hard.

White Vision

Hayward was intentionally trying to get Wanda angry enough to resurrect Vision because he wants to create the White Vision, but I bet he will use him as a weapon.

“Everything is meaningless” – Wanda Maximoff WandaVision ep 7 (2021)

As always, this is not a full review.

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Breaking the Fourth Wall

“Monica plots her return, Wanda navigates unsettling complications, and Vision forms a new alliance”– Summary from Disney+

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Nexus Commercial

This commercial accurately describes what Wanda needs now. She is depressed and avoiding confronting her truth, and now she realizes everything is falling apart. During the moments where she breaks the fourth wall and talks to the camera, she talks about the Hex and her relationship troubles with Vision.

But why is it called Nexus?

I immediately thought of the WWE faction.

Carol Helped Monica Re-Enter the Hex

After Wanda expanded the Hex, it seemed to have developed a thicker barrier. Getting inside was a harder task. Even though she has winced at the mentions of Carol thus far, her voice gave her the strength to persevere and re-enter the Hex to help Wanda. She knows that Wanda is hurting, and she wants to help her. Even if that means rewriting her DNA again and gave her superpowers…..

Oh, and I think she can totally hold her own against Wanda with these cool powers.

I Don’t Read Theories, so the Agatha Reveal was a HUGE Shock.

Agatha isn’t a prisoner of the Hex; she was controlling everything. Everything comes back to her. She played along so well she fooled Wanda into thinking that she had her under control too. A QUEEN. WE STAN.

The End Credits Scene

Is Pietro working with Agatha? Does he know that he is not the Pietro Wanda grew up with? Was he gathering intel for Agatha?

And the clown music during the credits is so on point. We are Clowns. At least I am because I didn’t see this coming. I trusted Agatha, not gonna lie.

Pietro is a freeloading brother that serves as comic relief, and I love that for him.

As always, this is not a full review.

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All-New Halloween Spooktacular!

“Disturbances on Halloween separate Wanda from Vision, who looks into anomalous activity in Westview”– Summary from Disney+

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Trauma Connection

Pietro said that Wanda suppressed the trauma of a ‘shared’ Halloween memory. But isn’t that Wanda has been doing this entire time? She is hiding the trauma of losing everything that she loved, and instead of confronting her trauma, she is ignoring it to live in this perfect version of Westview.

I Officially Dislike Director Hayward

He showed his true colors in this episode. Bringing up Maria’s death was so low of him. Saying that it’s a good thing Monica wasn’t here when her mother died because she could not handle it is terrible. Monica would do anything to see her mother again. Hayward is just upset that with a flick of Wanda’s wrist, he almost got killed by his agents, and now he wants to take on the most powerful avenger by himself even though he stands no chance against her power.

The Yo Magic Commercial

I didn’t understand it. It reminds me of the commercials I saw as a child, but I still don’t get it. There are probably some dark undertones to the commercial, so I’m just going to bask in my childhood nostalgia before I look up interpretations.

The Multiverse is Here

Wanda quizzed Pietro, and he didn’t know the answers because he is not the same Pietro Wanda knew. He is from a different universe. I am excited to see how they will pull off the multiverse, and I have faith that they will do it in a way that is not confusing and doesn’t retcon itself.