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Elizabeth Olsen in 'WandaVision'

This Theory About 'WandaVision’s Commercials Will Make Your Head Spin

by Ani Bundel
Marvel

If one were to catalog the sheer number of strange happenings in WandaVision over the first five episodes, it would be a long list. But even with twins who age up at will, an entire town in South Jersey erased, and a sitcom starring two Avengers, the weirdest part is probably the ad breaks. Fans have been going wild trying to figure out what these product spots mean. But the latest theory, which suggests WandaVision's commercials are connected to the Infinity Stones, might actually hold water.

Warning: Spoilers for WandaVision through Episode 5 follow. The most recent two episodes of WandaVision have drawn back the curtain on Westview. Seeing things from outside the bubble (or the TV show trappings) revealed this is a story about Wanda Maximoff's grief. She's stolen Vision's dead body from the S.W.O.R.D. storage unit where it was held and turned this small town in New Jersey into a backdrop of a sitcom where they can live happily ever after.

Viewers assume the only way to a resolution is for Wanda to confront reality. She must accept that Vision is dead and no Infinity Stone can bring him back. That Wanda's loss stems directly from the Infinity Stones is critical. Vision was brought to life by the Mind Stone, making their destruction something Wanda must deal with.

That's why fans are keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of these stones... But it turns out, the series may have been referencing the stones right in front of viewers the whole time.

If fans think the time-hopping sitcom episodes are odd, the commercial breaks are downright bizarre. Two characters who never show up anywhere else suddenly appear and start hawking products. Episode 1 introduces "Stark Industry's brand new toaster," the ToastMate 2000. Episode 2 peddles a "Swiss-made Strücker watch." Episode 3 promotes HydraSoak, "if you want to get away without going anywhere." And Episode 5 advertises "Lagos" paper towels.

On the surface, these seem like a direct commentary on the action at hand. For instance, the synthezoid Vision has been derisively called "a toaster," now he's Wanda's mate. (The "forget the past" tagline is obvious.) Strucker, the scientist who created Wanda's powers with the Swiss-born Zola, comes up in the magic-heavy second episode. HydraSoak references Wanda's trapping Westview's citizens.

The paper towels refer to when Wanda "made a mess" by accidentally destroying a building and killing civilians in Lagos in Captain America: Civil War. (Hence the mopping up red liquid.) Meanwhile, it's becoming clear to Monica, Darcy, and Jimmy Woo that the "Westview Anomaly" is not dangerous; it's just another mess Wanda accidentally made.

But fans think there's more to these ad breaks than even these callbacks. Look again at the commercials. Each of the products also represents an Infinity Stone.

  • The toaster has a yellow blinking light in the center of the knobs and dials, which look like a face, representing the Mind Stone in Vision's forehead.
  • The watch represents the Time Stone, obviously.
  • The blue HydraSoak cube-shaped box is a visual reference to the Tesseract, which held the Space Stone.
  • The red liquid the paper towels soak up is the Aether, the Reality Stone.

If these commercials are Infinity Stone references tormenting Wanda's memories, then there should be two more ad breaks to go. That lines up perfectly with the sitcom eras the series has left to hit, the 1990s and the 2000s. Fans will be watching to see which stone is responsible for the next word from our sponsor.

WandaVision continues Fridays on Disney+.