*This Review Contains Full Spoilers*

On this week’s episode of WandaVision, We Interrupt This Program, we get a BIG peek behind the curtain of what SWORD really is as we’re introduced to some old friends and events of the MCU.

The series finally takes us out of Westview to let us in on what the hell is happening and provides an incredibly strong opening that connects this series to Endgame in a big way while formally introducing Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). Where Spider-Man: Far From Home introduced the event of people returning called The Blip, whose name I still hate, in a comedic fashion, this episode showcases it in a much darker, more grounded setting. Not only is Monica faced with the panic and chaos of suddenly reawakening in a hospital that’s over capacitated, a sight that hits even harder with this pandemic, but she is given the news that her mother Maria, who we all know from Captain Marvel, has died years prior. Along with the restructuring of SWORD, which was started by Maria, grounding Monica and making her miss out on a big promotion, the effects of the world returning can really be felt here. It’s always interesting to see the aftermath of “the snap” on civilian life and it’s great to see this series continuing to build on a post-Endgame world. We’re truly in Phase 4 now.

Although she’s grounded and stuck doing terrestrial missions, Monica ends up going on a mission that ends up reintroducing two MCU comic reliefs – Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings). The last time we saw Woo was when he was keeping Scott Lang under house arrest in Ant-Man and the Wasp and since then, well, he’s perfected his card handling with how smooth he hands his business card to Monica. He’s still a joke within the FBI and ends up going to Westview to check out a missing persons case that’s much more than he thought. Discovering that the locals don’t remember a Westview and that the ghost town has some kind of force field around it that sucks Monica in forcing Woo to call in help where Darcy makes a return since her last appearance in Thor: Dark World – I think. Honestly, it’s been so long since she’s appeared that she’s actually quite refreshing here. Dennings still creates some solidly funny moments, a little better than Park’s forced hit or miss jokes, and it’s interesting to see her outside of Thor movies. With her and Woo being outsiders it’ll be interesting to see them be the underdog team working together.

Outside of some Phase 4 world-building, enjoyable reunions with MCU alum, and a great performance from Parris, there’s not a whole lot of new territory covered. This episode is essentially a filler episode that shows what’s been happening behind the scenes and how other big events came to be. While it was interesting to see Monica be in a non-speaking role in the first episode and what the weird beekeeper actually was, the episode as a whole just feels underwhelming and still leaves so many questions unanswered. Sure, we find out that most of the civilians are missing New Jersians, except for Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) who is still a big question mark, but the whole thing as a whole is just a big old mystery and the one big answer, we get is good and all, but not unexpected.

After we get an extended sequence of Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) throwing Monica out of Westview, we see Monica come to the same realization that we’ve been coming to – Wanda is in control of all of this. Her vision of Vision (Paul Bettany) being a walking corpse and nearly bursting with frustration after sending Monica flying shows that Wanda is not okay and really reeling from Vision’s death. It’s a great direction for the series since it’s much more personal and offers a lot of character growth for Wanda that could be awesome to see. It’s especially a great direction for the future of the MCU as it deals with the aftermath of Endgame and sets up a way for viewers and characters alike to move forward. In the moment, it’s not that surprising, but it sets up a lot of potential for this series to be even greater than it already is.

What this week’s episode lacks in shocking intrigue in pulling back the curtain on SWORD and the events that have been unfolding, it makes up for in reuniting fans with classic characters, showing a more grounded view of a post-Endgame world, and an excellent formal introduction for Parris’ Monica Rambeau. We’re truly on the cusp of something great, now it’s time for the series to deliver on the great potential it’s set up.

Watch the Trailer Here: