Doctor Strange’s Wanda Problem

Anyone else feel like we need a WandaVision season two? Or a movie to explain how the Wanda we saw at the end of WandaVision became the Wanda in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse.

That credit scene at the end of the show was not enough. I get she’s reading through the Darkhold, and her fight with Agatha unleashed the Scarlet Witch. Is that enough to open up Doctor Strange with her as a completely different person?

The need for a villain and a foil for Doctor Strange seems to have been more important than allowing a character you’ve made into a fan favorite have a fitting end. The descent of Wanda into the folds of the Darkhold and the Scarlet Witch happening off-screen was a mistake. Having our Wanda be Strange’s villain was a mistake. Wanda, more than any other character, has been through the wringer. Where was her “I am Iron Man” moment?

Yes, her contract is up with Marvel, so this was the end of the road one way or another. There were other choices. An alternate Wanda could have provided the villainy as the multiverse is a thing. Just saying.

But no, that was not to be. Our Wanda has been sacrificed to underscore further how wonderful Doctor Strange’s vain, egocentric, and emotionally stunted and repressed character is.

It’s not surprising that Wanda and Strange are used as foils for one another. They both have tragic origin stories. They both struggle against their losses to find ways back. Personally, Strange’s misfortunes were of his own making and not on the same level as what Wanda has been put through. As a side note, if there’s anything positive to be said about this movie, he finally starts to move past his selfishness.

For anyone who has their knickers in a knot over Turning Red being an inappropriate period movie, I would not recommend taking a long look at Wanda in this movie. Or maybe you should. Of the two films, Wanda in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse would be the inappropriate visualization of periods and the conception of women’s emotions.

Hysterical.

We have the Greeks to thank for this lovely nugget. From the root meaning “of the uterus” or “of the womb,” the term “hysteria” was used to diagnose mental health issues specifically for women. Because, from a man’s point of view, obviously, the uterus is to blame.

And as much as I hate, hate, hate this word, it encapsulates the treatment of Wanda in this movie.

I’m not talking about Wanda being motivated to get Billy and Tommy back. Ok, that’s part of it. Not the wanting her children so much as the over-the-top obsession. Her willingness to burn this universe and all others to get what she desires sits too close to the raging beast comparisons for women on their period. We’ve dealt with those lovely nuggets from about 12 years old; they’re not funny anymore.

Approps that this happens in a Doctor Strange movie, seeing as he’s a doctor. From the outset of the film, Doctor Strange doesn’t help the hysterical situation. He goes to Wanda for help, asking for a huge favor. And what does he bring with him? Gaslighting.

I know the character didn’t start with a great bedside manner, but you don’t walk up to someone who’s been through what she has and discard the validity and reality of her children. But, the doctor knows best.

Rolls eyes.

Wanda deserved better than to be just another cog in the wheel of raising up men through the destruction of women.