5 theories about what's really going on at the end of the latest episode of 'WandaVision'

Kirsten AcunaFeb 9, 2021, 03:21 IST

Wanda gets an unexpected visit on episode five of "WandaVision."Marvel Studios

Warning: There are major spoilers for the fifth episode of "WandaVision" ahead.
Evan Peters' X-Men character showed up on the fifth episode much to fans' delight (and confusion).
Peters' could be reprising his role as Quicksilver or he may be another character, tricking Wanda.

"WandaVision" caused a huge stir when it introduced an X-Men character on its latest episode.

At the end of episode five, Pietro Maximoff showed up at Wanda and Vision's house, but it wasn't Aaron Taylor-Johnson's version of the character from "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Instead, Evan Peters' version of the character from the "X-Men" movies, who goes by Quicksilver, greeted a stunned Wanda.

If you're confused by the reveal's significance, you can catch up here. It's a big deal because it's the first time since Disney acquired Fox's movie and TV assets in 2019 that we've seen one of their Marvel characters appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But what does it mean and how did he get there? Is it really even Quicksilver that we're looking at? Are we going to start seeing even more X-Men appear in the MCU?

Let's run through a few of the most likely scenarios and whether or not they hold water.

THEORY #1: Wanda conjured up a version of her brother.

Did Wanda bring Pietro to Westview? If so, she seems genuinely surprised. Marvel Studios

This is the simplest explanation as we're currently led to believe that Wanda is the architect of the entire "Westview anomaly," as S.W.O.R.D. refers to it.

This theory doesn't feel completely right, though. If Wanda could bring back Pietro, wouldn't she bring back a version of her brother as she knew him? This new Pietro seems a bit of a demanding jerk.

Wanda already brought Vision "back" from the dead and didn't recast him. Why would she recast her own brother (other than to satisfy a fun sitcom trope)?

Wanda looked genuinely shocked to see Pietro at her door. It was as if she had nothing to do with his appearance, especially since she "ended" the day's episode by rolling the credits as she and Vision argued. Pietro came to the door afterwards.

This is the simplest explanation as we're currently led to believe that Wanda is the architect of the entire Westview anomaly, as S.W.O.R.D. refers to it.

This theory doesn't feel completely right, though. If Wanda could bring back Pietro, wouldn't she bring back a version of her brother as she knew him? This new Pietro seems a bit of a demanding jerk.

Wanda already brought Vision back from the dead and didn't recast him. Why would she recast her own brother (other than to satisfy a fun sitcom trope)?

Wanda looked genuinely shocked to see Pietro at her door. It was as if she had nothing to do with his appearance, especially since she ended the day's episode by rolling the credits as she and Vision argued. Pietro came to the door afterwards.

THEORY #2: Someone else brought Pietro back, but it's a different version of him.

Did Agnes do this? Marvel Studios

Wanda looked extremely surprised to see Pietro in her doorway. Could it be possible that someone else brought him into her reality?

One thought going around is that Agnes is behind Pietro's appearance. Why? Agnes is present when one of the twins tells Wanda she can fix anything, including the dead.

Agnes asks if she can do that and Wanda simply never responds. Wanda says, "We can't reverse death. No matter how sad it makes us."

Perhaps Agnes, aware that Wanda had a brother, tried to bring him back. But, since you can't truly revive the dead (Vision is an AI after all), maybe the next best thing was finding a version of Pietro from another parallel universe to play the part of her brother.

Many, including us, have already theorized that Agnes may be the MCU's version of Agatha Harkness, a powerful witch and mentor to Wanda. We know Agnes seems a little too self-aware of the Westview anomaly.

On episode five, Agnes messes up a cue and asks Wanda if they should take the scene from the top. Moments later, she's not phased when the kids age from babies to 5-year-olds right in front of her eyes. It's like she knows she's trapped in a sitcom and has just accepted it for the time being. Why? Our best guess is that she's trying to placate Wanda because of her powers.

If Wanda gets upset, it may put everyone in Westview in jeopardy.

Wanda looked extremely surprised to see Pietro in her doorway. Could it be possible that someone else brought him into her reality?

One thought going around is that Agnes is behind Pietro's appearance. Why? Agnes is present when one of the twins tells Wanda she can fix anything, including the dead.

Agnes asks if she can do that and Wanda simply never responds. Wanda says, We can't reverse death. No matter how sad it makes us.

If Wanda gets upset, it may put everyone in Westview in jeopardy.

THEORY #3: Quicksilver from the X-Men movies somehow jumped into the MCU on his own and got trapped in Wanda's sitcom.

Maybe we are looking at Quicksilver, but his memory is scrambled as part of the hex. 20th Century Fox

Bear with us here. Maybe something terrible is happening in the X-Men universe (think "Days of Future Past" when Wolverine was sent back in time to fix everything).

Maybe Quicksilver was sent to a parallel universe to get help. But when he made it to the MCU, he got sucked into Wanda's alternate reality, forgot his purpose for being there, and now is trapped alongside everyone else in this fantasy world.

If he's under a spell, like everyone else in Westview, then he could really believe he is Wanda's brother, Pietro. If Vision awakens him as he did Norm, it will be interesting to see whether or not he acts as Quicksilver from Fox's X-Men movies.

If so, his time here may simply be a cameo. He'll likely need to be put back into his own parallel universe with the other X-Men.

Bear with us here. Maybe something terrible is happening in the X-Men universe (think Days of Future Past when Wolverine was sent back in time to fix everything).

If so, his time here may simply be a cameo. He'll likely need to be put back into his own parallel universe with the other X-Men.

THEORY #4: It's not Pietro or Quicksilver. It's someone else toying with Wanda.

Do those tinges of red on Pietro suggest that he's not real? Marvel Studios

Because Wanda looked so perplexed at Pietro's appearance, a big theory that's swirling around is that someone else named Mephisto is pulling some of the strings in Westview behind the scenes.

Who's Mephisto? He's the MCU's version of the devil. Some people think there have been little clues throughout the series hinting at his appearance, including the use of the six-sided hexagons on episodes.

Agnes' jokes about her mystery husband Ralph — someone she claims looks better in the dark — may even be about him. (Mephisto's a scarier-looking character.)

This would be the most heartbreaking reveal of all the possibilities. Hasn't Wanda suffered through enough trauma in her life?

There's just one thing that doesn't add up. Why show Pietro as the X-Men version of the character instead of the way Wanda remembers her brother?

Because Wanda looked so perplexed at Pietro's appearance, a big theory that's swirling around is that someone else named Mephisto is pulling some of the strings in Westview behind the scenes.

Agnes' jokes about her mystery husband Ralph — someone she claims looks better in the dark — may even be about him. (Mephisto's a scarier-looking character.)

This would be the most heartbreaking reveal of all the possibilities. Hasn't Wanda suffered through enough trauma in her life?

There's just one thing that doesn't add up. Why show Pietro as the X-Men version of the character instead of the way Wanda remembers her brother?

THEORY #5: He's just some random resident of Westview who happens to be played by Evan Peters.

That would be extremely meta. We hope this isn't the case. Marvel Studios

It's possible Peters' cameo could just be a nod to "X-Men" fans and not have any larger ties or meaning to the MCU at large.

This would be a bit of a letdown after building up a sense of hype at the end of episode five.

It's possible Peters' cameo could just be a nod to X-Men fans and not have any larger ties or meaning to the MCU at large.