01x03 - Scarlet Witch

[bunniefuu]

I'm the youngest of four kids.

And we had a ladder that
went up to this attic.

The attic was the playroom.

That's where all the imagination came
in, all the make-believe stories.

(GIGGLING)

I would want to play with
my sisters and my brother.

But I never had a speaking part.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER, LAUGHTER)

So I would therefore be
the pet of the family.

(CAT MEOWS)

But I had so much emotion

and wanting to be
heard as the youngest.

When I was seven or eight, I started
doing these camps with my friends.

And we did three
musicals a summer.

And that, like,
sealed it for me.

I just loved having a
space to be seen and heard.

So much mugging, and
so much being a ham.

And it was like, I
could do it for my job.

It was amazing.

(CROWD CHEERING)

I'm unstoppable

I'm a Porsche with no brakes

I'm invincible, yeah,
I win every single game

I'm so powerful, I don't
need batteries to play

I'm so confident, yeah,
I'm unstoppable today

Unstoppable today,
unstoppable today

Unstoppable today

I'm unstoppable today

KAT DENNINGS: Most superheroes
start from something very traumatic.

Wanda Maximoff,

orphaned at ten when a shell
collapsed their apartment building.

Something that they'd
use and overcome.

And become a hero
version of themselves.

But they're always
still vulnerable.

NATE MOORE: There's a notion
that vulnerability is not heroic.

But Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch,
is such a troubled and tragic heroine,

and yet still manages to be an
incredibly powerful character.

TRINH TRAN: Wanda in
the Marvel Universe...

- (expl*si*n)
- (SCREAMS)

is one of the strongest
superheroes ever.

Her vulnerability and her emotional
life is when she's at her most powerful.

JAC SCHAEFFER: We get to
see that feelings are okay.

You took everything from me.

SCHAEFFER: And sometimes,
life is not easy.

It can be very turbulent.

(SOBBING)

But you have everything
you need inside of you.

We are the source of our own
power. Trauma happens to all of us.

That's just part of life.

We can't reverse death, no
matter how sad it makes us.

But we can get through it.

MONICA: I lost the person
closest to me, too.

There are extreme issues that
these characters are dealing with.

I can't control this pain anymore.
And I don't think I want to.

PARRIS: But we can
take their motivations

and bring it into our own
lives, and it empowers us.

VICTORIA ALONSO: I think there's
something about the power of "I can"

that somehow rings a bell.

And your superheroness
shows up at that door.

(DENNINGS CHUCKLING)
Who is Wanda Maximoff?

Very complicated answer.

I think at the most
simple, it's...

Wanda came from an immensely
traumatic childhood.

She was radicalized and was given
the power of the Mind Stone.

Wanda Maximoff is from a made-up
Eastern European country called Sokovia,

who lost both her parents at
a young age from a Stark b*mb.

(expl*si*n)

So she thinks that Tony Stark, Iron Man,
is one of the worst people on Earth,

and volunteers for a program
that could do experiments on her

to potentially avenge her
parents' death with her brother.

When we first meet Wanda in the
movies, she's part of Hydra, um,

and she's being experimented upon
in their facility with her brother.

And she's framed as
this kind of creepy,

uber-powerful goth girl
with telekinetic powers.

(SCREAMS, WHIMPERS)

But once she realizes that she's being
somewhat manipulated by Ultron...

You said we would destroy the
Avengers, make a better world.

It will be better.

When everyone is dead?

She changes her tune
and, and joins our heroes

and, and becomes a
part of the Avengers.

SCHAEFFER: She
loses her brother,

who's her everything.

He was her last remaining
tie to her humanity.

OLSEN: And so the Avengers becomes
a surrogate family for her.

So she's now processing
a lot of grief and trauma

that she has dealt with
as a displaced person.

But she's able to sort
of keep moving forward

but not really at a
full version of herself.

We see her almost as a young, fragile
girl who's encouraged to seize her power.

BARTON: Doesn't matter what
you did or what you were.

If you step out that
door, you are an Avenger.

It's a character that
has a huge evolution.

And Elizabeth was the
perfect person to play this

because she has such depth
and complexity as an actress,

and such vulnerability.

But to see where the character's gone,
I honestly never could've imagined.

She's a magical gal
in a small-town locale

He's a hubby who's part machine

How will this duo
fit in and fulfill...

SCHAEFFER: With WandaVision it
was this gorgeous opportunity

to see so many
other sides of her.

Wanda WandaVision

(DISTORTED LAUGHTER)

- Is that...
- Yeah, it looks like her.

You move at...

In WandaVision, we get to
see her be funny, and silly,

and sweet, and charming,
and effervescent.

Yes! Yes!

Such a strange sensation.
It's kind of fluttery.

Jeez Louise, did you
have to learn to walk?

I finally got to be
funny. (LAUGHING)

- (LAUGHING)
- WandaVision.

You're welcome to draw
your own conclusions,

but that's just where
I'm at. (CHUCKLES)

Wanda's literally trying to escape her
grief through television. (CHUCKLES)

This dream world where she doesn't
have to face any of her sadness.

Zip. Zero. Zilch.

She has an entire town c*ptive,
living in a sitcom space.

- What are we lookin' at here?
- It's a sitcom.

SCHAEFFER: The comfort for her are
these TV shows that she loved as a kid.

And because she happens to be an
enormously powerful psychic individual,

she can literally physicalize
that comfort for herself.

Well, we're just tickled pink.

It's the most ambitious
possible concept.

It's over decades, it's through
sitcoms, it's just unbelievable.

WandaVision!

(WANDA EXHALES)

What are they?

What the stone was
warning me about.

These superhero movies become
the highest stakes every time.

(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)

OLSEN: The world's ending or
computers are taking over.

(GRUNTS)

There's something so massive.

(SCREAMS)

(GRUNTS)

OLSEN: But the really human
experience of falling in love

and finding a partnership
and a comfort...

- We should've stayed in bed.
- (BOTH CHUCKLE)

is such a basic desire and need.

So that is the element that
we took from these movies

and blew up for WandaVision,

and made it the central
relationship to root for.

So as opposed to
saving a planet,

it became trying to
save this relationship.

We wanted to bring a little bit more
of that personal journey for her

and how it can be
developed with Vision.

Thank you for humoring me and
wearing this ridiculous getup.

I know you have a secret
thing for Mexican wrestlers.

- Oh! (CHUCKLES)
- (GROWLS)

MOORE: In the comic books,
Wanda Maximoff was a mutant.

She was born with the power
to manipulate probability,

which is a crazy power,

and so was always a bit on the
fringes of people not trusting her,

people not understanding
how she could be heroic

when she didn't punch the hardest
or sh**t bolts out of her hands.

And then later, in the Avengers,
people not quite understanding

her relationship with the Vision,
because he was a synthezoid.

TRAN: In the comics, Wanda
and Vision's relationship

is a big part of the story that
we wanted to bring forward.

OLSEN: So it was exciting to me that
that's where I ended up with WandaVision

and we were able to
honor the comics.

(BELL DINGING)

FINN: I loved seeing
Wanda Maximoff

in this flourishing, loving
relationship with Vision.

- WANDA: Aw.
- (BABY COOS)

I loved seeing her as a mother.

We get to live in a bubble
with her for a little while

that she never got to live out.

Wanda Maximoff gets her own space
in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

And we get to see what an ideal life for
Wanda and Vision actually looks like.

Through Vision, she
has found comfort...

All I feel is
excitement, happiness.

After the loss of her
parents and her brother.

And so this idea of family
being this ultimate need for her

is the "why" for WandaVision.

I remember whenever I
watched those movies...

I haven't actually ever
eaten anything before, so...

- May I?
- Please.

Seeing those little
moments between them,

and just feeling so much for them
in the middle of all this chaos.

- What is it?
- (PANTS)

The irony is not lost on me

that the most human of the
Avengers happens to be the android.

I'm sorry.

His purity and
vulnerability is so tender.

So I was very excited to
be a part of something

that took those little
moments and drew them out.

MOORE: The arc of Wanda and Vision
in the movies and in the show

is the love story of people
who find this commonality

in being different
than everyone else.

(GASPS)

So, when the Vision is taken from
her at the end of Infinity w*r...

(GROANS)

you also understand the psychology
that thrust her into WandaVision.

No!

It was the ultimate loss
that she could have.

SCHAEFFER: After the loss of
her parents and her brother,

then for Vision, who helped her find
her footing, to be ripped from her.

Really at that point,
she truly had nothing.

We always knew that WandaVision would
be the story of Wanda's grief...

What is grief, if
not love persevering?

And that we wanted to see
her become the Scarlet Witch.

And so to do that,

we aligned the episodes
according to the stages of grief.

It's a special day!

- Perhaps an evening...
- Of great significance...

- To us both!
- Naturally.

You really are very dashing.

Mmm. Thank you, darling.

- It stopped.
- Yes.

The first three episodes really
are in the denial space...

Have a good day, dear!

Especially the first
episode in the 1950s.

I mean, that's post-w*r optimism and
it's peak sort of appearances only,

where Wanda didn't have to plum
any of her own depths at all.

And looking at shows like
The d*ck van d*ke Show,

and Bewitched,

there's this real sort of frothy,
sexy innocence to those couples.

And to see Wanda and Vision be
loose and in love and unencumbered.

- You were tremendous, Glamour.
- As were you, Illusion.

There is an element
of denial in there.

I have everything under control.

(WANDA SINGING)

SARAH TRULY BEERS: Wanda
creates a safe place

where she can try to live out the
life she thought she was owed.

Welcome home.

Shall we stay in tonight?

If I could create my own world
and be happy for a short time,

wouldn't we all do that?

We wanted to pay Wanda the respect of
taking her mental health seriously.

(MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

And so we had a grief counselor come
and speak to the writers of the show,

which was really helpful making
the story of Wanda's pain...

a black dress.

Have all of those layers.

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

It's so helpful when you know
that the people behind the scenes

identify with your character.

Teyonah's character, Monica
Rambeau, of course, loses her mom.

(GASPS)

When we first meet Monica,
she's trying to process

what it's like to lose her mom.

- Dr. Highland!
- I can't believe it.

Where's my mom?

Your mom, she died, honey.

- What?
- The cancer came back.

Okay, stop, stop. No, you're...
My mom is Maria Rambeau.

I have a really, really close
relationship with my mom,

and she's pretty
much my best friend.

I cannot imagine going through life and
some of the things I've been through

without her support and love.

But how Monica feels
with the loss of her mom

is she just wants
to get back to work.

Monica Rambeau, S.W.O.R.D.

She doesn't want to deal with
falling too deeply into the loss.

She is really
compartmentalizing,

and says, "You know what?

"That will be dealt with, but right
now there's other things to do."

Maximoff located.

Well done.

She's also processing her grief
by trying to help Wanda...

This is Captain Monica
Rambeau. Can you hear me?

By just being a voice
of reason for her.

I just wanna talk. That's it.

MEGAN MCDONNELL: Both
of them are in denial,

trying to not address
what they really need.

And I think that's a big part of the
show, is like, figuring out what you need.

(BREATH TREMBLING) Who are you?

Wanda's really good at anger.

(BABY CRYING)

At the end of Episode Three,

Wanda sees Monica
as being a threat.

OLSEN: Wanda feels threatened at
the moment she becomes a mother.

MONICA: Wanda...

And so mama bear
really kicks in.

And any other that feels like a
potential threat to her and her family,

like, just forget about it.

You're definitely not my friend.

SCHAEFFER: And then
we see in Episode Four

that she kicks Monica out of
this hex that she created.

(YELPS, GRUNTS)

(YELLING)

OLSEN: But what
Wanda didn't realize

was Monica Rambeau, the person
that she feared the most...

(GRUNTS)

was the woman who was
her real, honest ally.

But what took over her
judgment was anger.

PARRIS: But Monica keeps going,

trying to be a voice and
an ally, really, for her.

OLSEN: The thing that is always
unspoken is their mutual pain of loss.

And that is something that
really connects Monica and Wanda.

(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)

SCHAEFFER: At the
end of Episode Five,

we see Wanda wants to
keep things as they are.

Our big bargaining moment is
when she storms out of the hex...

Is this yours?

Then interfaces with Hayward.

Stay out of my home.

You don't bother me,
I won't bother you.

I wish it could be that simple.

It's her trying to, you know,
have her cake and eat it, too.

You've taken an
entire town hostage.

Well, I'm not the one
with the g*ns, Director.

MCDONNELL: But this
is not something

where, like, she,
doesn't have a handle.

It's like, no, actually, she is
very much in control of everything.

What could you possibly
have to offer me?

SCHAEFFER: With bargaining...

What do you want?

Monica tries to move in

with the least amount of
impact and destruction.

It's about understanding really
what's going on with people

and trying to untangle things.

I want to help you.

OLSEN: Monica is
coming in, saying,

"Let me help you."

And that's just not the
place that Wanda is in.

- Wanda.
- Stand down.

She's going through grief.

And she didn't want to
accept that this woman

is potentially someone
that could help her.

And so she goes back to
this safe space she created.

WANDA: Look, we've all been
there, right? (CHUCKLES)

Letting our fear and
anger get the best of us,

intentionally expanding the borders
of the false world we created.

(SIGHS IN EXASPERATION)

SCHAEFFER: We had a lot
of fun with Episode Seven,

leaning into the tropes
of depression, you know.

She's in her pajamas,
and her hair's messy,

and she's eating, and
she's watching TV,

all that sort of like
"girl who's been dumped,"

you know, like, "can't
kind of keep it together."

I'd get up, but... (CHUCKLES)
I... just don't want to.

But the subtext is so
much more profound.

(MAN SPEAKING ON TV)

Who hasn't had those moments of
depression, or anxiety, or pain?

It's probably just a case
of the Mondays. (CHUCKLES)

Am I right?

HAHN: And there's something
different on the inside

than they're presenting
to the world.

I mean, it's so human.

(MAN SPEAKS ON TV)

You really can see how vulnerable
she is, how fragile she is.

I'm fine. (CHUCKLES) I'm
fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.

I'm fine.

KHODAI: Everyone
goes through loss...

I'm fine.

And to explore that on
such an intimate level,

I found really, um, cathartic.

My dad died almost seven
years ago of cancer,

and so I knew how difficult
it was to go through that.

You lose a little bit of yourself
and implode a little bit.

OLSEN: We all in
different ways can relate

to a feeling of either
loneliness or abandonment

in different
aspects of our life.

And feeling like there's
no bottom to hold you.

(SOBS)

(ROARING)

SCHAEFFER: Her acceptance
is when Agatha offers her

the opportunity to
live without pain.

The name's Agatha Harkness.
Lovely to finally meet you, dear.

HAHN: What I thought was so
brilliant was that we would see

Agatha first playing a
character called Agnes,

this nosy neighbor trope
that we've seen in sitcoms

throughout the
entirety of sitcoms.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Oh!

Hello, dear.

- (DOORBELL RINGS)
- Hiya, kids.

Hi, Agnes, come on in.

I think it was really fun and
challenging to write Agatha.

That you should stumble when you
walk into a room so he can catch you.

Because she is a mentor
and a villain and a friend.

And to kind of set her up as Agnes,
who's like that friend that's there

and always comes in
when she needs help.

Auntie Agnes is here, and I've got
a couple of tricks up my sleeve.

- Why don't we give your mom some me time?
- (GASPS)

But then you see that
she is like a succubus,

constantly on the
prowl for more power.

Agatha Harkness is a
centuries-old witch...

(GASPS)

that has been told
that she was bad.

You have betrayed your coven.

Please...

I can be good.

No, you cannot.

And so what happens
to a being...

(SCREAMS)

that is told that
they are not worthy?

Is that of course it
becomes this person.

I think that's very
relatable to anyone

that, like myself, would consider
themselves a weirdo. (CHUCKLES)

When I was a kid in Cleveland, I
had a lot of feelings of self-doubt.

But I knew I was
gonna be an actor.

I felt the biggest, and
most beautiful and powerful,

and most myself, when
I was performing.

(CROWD CLAPPING)

And to be able to have scale
and have voice and have power

was a really thrilling
thing about this part.

(LAUGHING)

And I think Agatha
considered herself

the most powerful witch
that there ever had been

before this young
hotshot showed up...

(CHUCKLES)

who's created a world and held
hundreds of people c*ptive.

A lot of jealousy and
a lot of also just

trying to figure out
how, and then steal it.

(CHUCKLES)

AGATHA: Wanda, Wanda.

You didn't think you were the only
magical girl in town, did you?

So finally, Agnes shows
herself as Agatha to Wanda.

I need you to tell
me how you did this.

I didn't do anything.

(GRUNTS, GROANS)

OLSEN: From Agatha,

Wanda is given this gift
of knowledge and tools...

You'd rather fall apart
than face your truth.

That help her process her grief.

AGATHA: Parents dead.

Brother dead.

- Vision dead.
- (EXHALES)

What happened when he wasn't there to
pull you back from the darkness, Wanda?

- I can't do this anymore...
- Come on, Wanda.

You are right there.

And one of her tools
is the Darkhold.

Did you know there's an entire chapter
devoted to you in the Darkhold?

That's the Book of the Damned.

OLSEN: And it's something
that Wanda learns from.

AGATHA: Your power exceeds
that of the Sorcerer Supreme.

I'm not a witch. I
don't cast spells.

Oh, really?

She didn't really know
the extent of her powers.

They'd gotten away from her.

And she's forced to look
inward to solve that problem,

once she learns
from the Darkhold

that she's created this bubble so she
didn't have to deal with her grief.

We feel your pain.

- No. No, stop.
- Your grief is poisoning us.

- Please, let us go.
- Please stop.

LIVANOS: Once Wanda realizes that
the reality is of her own making,

she can't un-know.

And we go with her on a
journey of self-discovery.

SCHAEFFER: She has to choose between
this false world she's created

and the safety and happiness
of innocent people.

And Wanda Maximoff is,
in her core, a hero.

I will let you go.
I will. I will.

OLSEN: She owns her
power, quite literally,

and embraces that part of her
that she was running away from.

(PEOPLE GROANING, GASPING)

(GRUNTING, ROARING)

OLSEN: It's her acceptance.

(GRUNTS)

- MAN: Come on, run!
- (PEOPLE CLAMORING)

MOORE: The lesson is, maybe you have
more power than you think you do.

That's Wanda's whole arc.

And it's only by realizing
that the power is inside her...

that she can control her power.

(SCREAMING)

And we see her become
the Scarlet Witch.

MAYES C. RUBEO: We all have to
confront grief sooner or later,

but this makes you stronger.

I have personal
losses in my life.

And I tell you
that it's two ways,

you go down or you go upward.

And she became strong
through acknowledging this,

so she could become
the Scarlet Witch.

And so now having this new
discovery of her own mythology,

of being this witch,

is where we pick up with
her in Doctor Strange.

The Darkhold.

WANDA: You're familiar
with the Darkhold.

I know it's the
Book of the Damned.

The Darkhold only
showed me the truth.

MOORE: Doctor Strange in
the Multiverse of Madness,

that power has grown even more since
she started to study the Darkhold.

WANDA: If you knew there was a
universe where you were happy...

- Chocolate!
- Hey!

Wouldn't you wanna go there?

OLSEN: She wants to
recapture this family nucleus

that she created
from WandaVision.

I'm going to leave this reality,

and go to one where I
can be with my children.

This is where she
uses the most power

that she has yet.

And it's for the
love of her children.

(GRUNTS)

OLSEN: In a negative way,

Wanda Maximoff could be
distilled into female hysteria.

But the way I like
to think of her arc

is through mental health.

We're in this amazing time
of embracing mental health,

and it becoming less
taboo to use the language

of depression, and
panic and anxiety.

And the more we can
tell stories about it,

- then the people having the
experiences, -(DISTANT SCREAMING)

potentially, could
stop feeling shame

or isolation.

And that's a very
important topic for me

because it's everywhere
and we don't see it,

because it's private,

but you need to
communicate with someone.

It shouldn't be an, an
isolated experience.

I am Dr. Janina Scarlet.

I am a clinical psychologist,
author and a full-time-geek.

And my favorite character in
the MCU is Wanda Maximoff,

aka the Scarlet Witch.

When I was a small child, my
family and I lived in Ukraine,

and I was exposed to
Chernobyl radiation.

I spent most of my childhood
in and out of the hospital,

not knowing if I would
make it to adulthood.

When I was 12,

my family and I managed to
immigrate to the United States

as refugees in secret

in order to get
away from violence.

I had experienced health trauma,
I had been subjected to bullying,

antisemitism.

And so I was that
awkward and weird kid

that didn't quite fit in.

I thought I was the
only one going through

PTSD and depression and anxiety,

but I didn't know
any of those terms,

because nobody talked
about mental health.

And so I really became
fascinated with Wanda

when I went to
see Age of Ultron.

Watching the way that she
deals with trauma and grief

really resonated with me.

Like Wanda,

I had to learn that the only way we
heal is by processing our emotions.

And, like Wanda,

it was a really painful
lesson for me to learn,

but it was a life-changing one.

A lot of times,

what I do with my clients is ask
who their favorite superhero is.

And if there was a time that character
went through loss, grief, or trauma

that they can relate to.

Because realizing that there
is at least one other person,

or even a fictional character, that
has gone through something similar

can allow that person
to feel less alone.

And can actually help people understand
that their traumatic experience

is merely an origin story,

but the rest of our life
choices are up to us.

Seeing Wanda become the Scarlet Witch
was a really important reminder for me

that I had my identity change from
the little quiet girl that I was,

to the woman that I am now.

And that I was able to find
what my own superpower is,

so that I can help other people
find their own superpowers, too.

I think most people can find a superhero
that they specifically relate to.

I think that's the power
of, of superheroes.

(GASPS) Oh, no!

HAHN: If watching WandaVision...

Oh, that's better.

And seeing these
women in these roles

had helped anybody
through a tough time,

or helped them to
find their own power,

or to not be afraid to be weird
or not afraid to come out,

not afraid to, like,
be exactly who they are

in their beautiful,
whole selves,

then I'll never forget it, and
I'll hold that to my heart forever.

MCDONNELL: Superheroes
are not always successful,

and they don't always
make right choices.

But to see someone try to
use their power for good

I think is just so important to
internalize and to aspire to.

OLSEN: Playing this character,

it's quite literally been watching
a young woman become a woman,

and have emotional growth...

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

and acceptance and
love for herself.

And I think we all in
different ways in our lives...

I love you.

Can relate to Wanda's journey.

(BOTH GRUNT)

(SCREAMING)