WandaVision Episode 8"s Quote About Grief Is Still Profound More Than Two Years Later

Summary

• WandaVision stands out as one of the best MCU TV shows, with innovative storytelling and complex themes on grief.
• The show's unique sitcom format served as Wanda's coping mechanism for her loss of Vision, conveying the power of denial and escapism in grief.
• The line "What is grief, if not love persevering?" became a poignant mantra for people coping with loss, resonating especially during the pandemic.

Though it's been nearly three years since it first aired on Disney+, WandaVision stands out as one of the MCU's best TV shows, both for its innovative storytelling format and its complex themes on grief. WandaVision cleverly pushed the boundaries of Wanda's reality-warping powers by showcasing how she was able to transform an entire town into the idealized sitcom world of her dreams. In doing so, the series took advantage of its format as a TV show and paid homage to decades of television that came before it. However, there was also a powerful metaphor for how denial and escapism can become unhealthy coping mechanisms for grief.
The show's revelation that the unique sitcom format and all of its anomalies were actually Wanda's way of coping with her loss of Vision remains exceptionally powerful. Episode 8 of WandaVision, "Previously On," does an excellent job of conveying that Wanda's spell was the culmination of years of loss and suffering building within her and coming to a breaking point through its vivid flashbacks. In one flashback to when Vision is still alive and Wanda is grieving her brother Pietro, Vision tries to console her and, in doing so, says one of the MCU's best lines.