'WandaVision' finale: What happened, and what happens next? (SPOILERS)

*** This article contains many, many spoilers for the final episode of WandaVision on Disney+ ***

Watch: Introducing the MCU characters appearing in WandaVision

So that's it. After nine weeks of excellent television, labyrinthine online theorising and some elite-level trolling from Paul Bettany, WandaVision has played its last card and delivered its spectacular series finale. It's fair to say that there's plenty to talk about.

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WandaVision has provoked plenty of fan discussion online throughout its run, with the weekly rollout of episodes providing time for Marvel experts and avid fans to attempt to divine the direction of the show. Social media was digging its fingers into Kevin Feige's brain in order to try to extract the clues that would lead to the MCU's future, with even the man himself hinting people might be disappointed.

Thankfully for Marvel, people were on the whole very impressed...

What happened in the WandaVision finale?

We picked up right where we left off last week, with Agatha Harkness holding Wanda's children hostage. She soon revealed her goal, urging Wanda to allow her to absorb the Scarlet Witch magic in exchange for allowing Wanda, Vision and their sons to live in Westview together. Agatha showed Wanda the pain she was causing the Westview residents and she almost removed the Hex, before realising that would destroy her family.

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Wanda ultimately defeated Agatha by duping her, secretly casting runes — as hinted in last week's episode and, frustratingly, in the "previously on" recap ahead of the finale — so that the villain couldn't use Wanda's magic within Westview, but Wanda could. After her victory, though, Wanda realised she had to set Westview free and was left, once again, grieving the loss of her loved ones.

Meanwhile, Vision fought with his white analogue, programmed by corrupt SWORD boss Hayward. Rather than try to best his opposite number in combat, Vision brought up the "Ship of Theseus" thought experiment in order to question which of them was truly the real Vision. By the end of the discussion, the white Vision declared "I am Vision" and flew away to parts unknown. He was not seen again in the episode.

The fake version of Pietro, played by Evan Peters, who caused so much frenzied discussion about X-Men and multiverses turned out to simply be Westview resident Ralph Bohner — cheap phallic joke very much intended. After all of the excitement, he was just Agnes's unseen husband. He was very easily bested by the newly super-powered Monica Rambeau, who subsequently fought SWORD soldiers alongside Wanda's children. That was not the end of her story though...

Was there a post-credits scene?

Long-term Marvel fans will know never to turn off one of its movies or TV shows without watching the credits, for there is so often a nugget of excitement waiting at the end. WandaVision eschewed these teasers for its early episodes, but has used them in the most recent instalments — with two waiting at the end of the finale.

In the first scene, Randall Park's Jimmy Woo and Monica are dealing with the aftermath of Wanda's departure when a mysterious woman asks Monica to join her in the town's theatre. She then reveals herself to be a Skrull, who was "sent by an old friend of your mother's", who wanted to meet her in space. This is a clear nod to Monica being part of the upcoming Captain Marvel 2, where she will no doubt become fully established as Proton, Pulsar, Spectrum or whichever of her many superhero monikers she wishes to use in the MCU.

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The final scene, at the very end of the credits, sees Wanda holed up in a secluded cottage. At first, we see her in casual clothes, before the camera pans to a back room in which she is floating in the air in her Scarlet Witch attire. She is thumbing through the magical tome seen earlier, the Darkhold — or "Book of the Damned" — evidently looking for something that will help her bring her family back.

Indeed, the scene ends with Wanda hearing the scream of one of her boys. Given that Billy and Tommy are both key members of the Young Avengers in the comics, alongside Monica, it seems a safe bet to say we'll see them again.

What does this mean for the future of the MCU?

Well, for starters, Vision is still out there somewhere. It remains to be seen whether the new, white Vision will play a role in Wanda's immediate future within the MCU or not, but it's certainly an intriguing piece left on the table for Feige and his creative team to explore.

More urgently, Wanda is meddling with dark magic in an attempt to find a solution to her grief. Last time she did this, she imprisoned an entire town for several weeks. And now, she knows she is the Scarlet Witch — a magical figure who, in the words of Agatha, is "more powerful than the Sorcerer Supreme". If those two words ring a bell, it's because the Sorcerer Supreme is none other than Doctor Strange.

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We know that Elizabeth Olsen will appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is currently scheduled for a March 2022 release — although filming is on hold due to the lockdown in England. The sight of Wanda sat, floating, as she seemingly explores the multiverse is reminiscent of Doctor Strange shuffling through multiple realities to hunt for a way of beating Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.

Fans had tipped Benedict Cumberbatch's magical hero for a cameo in WandaVision and, although that didn't occur, the groundwork has certainly been set for Wanda's appearance in that film, whether she'll be in the Sorcerer Supreme's good books or not. Multiverse meddling is serious business.

Add to that the fact that the Loki series — arriving on Disney+ in June — is set to feature the sort of time-hopping from the God of Mischief that could really shake up the multiverse. There's also the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is bringing in characters from previous Spider-Man eras and will feature a Doctor Strange appearance of some sort.

For those disappointed that Evan Peters's Pietro proved to be a multiverse red herring — as far as we know — there's definitely plenty of reality-bending excitement on the way.

Will there be a WandaVision season two?

This seems unlikely. WandaVision was very much a contained story about the "Westview Anomaly" and Wanda's grief after the loss of Vision during the war with Thanos. Notably, this week's episode of the show was called Series Finale, which is — at least in US TV terms — a phrase suggesting finality, as opposed to a "season finale".

Director Matt Shakman said a few weeks ago that there are "no plans for WandaVision season two at all", but did follow that up with a non-committal suggestion that this "could change". Meanwhile, Feige told a Television Critics' Association event that he "hoped" a second season would happen, adding: “Lizzy Olsen will go from WandaVision to the Doctor Strange film. We hope there’s a part two and a part three but we’re focusing on part one.”

So the door is seemingly slightly ajar on the Marvel side, but it's difficult to see how such a self-contained story could have a follow-up. That's not to say that Wanda or Vision won't get to lead a series or a movie again. With the Scarlet Witch, especially, framed as a key lynchpin of the MCU going forward, she'll almost certainly get another run in the spotlight.

Watch: Mid-season trailer for WandaVision