Why The Hex In WandaVision Means More Than You Think

WandaVision and its various ever-expanding mysteries are reliably confounding viewers every Friday on Disney+. The oddest duck in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come a great way from Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision's (Paul Bettany) initial harmless-seeming sitcom antics, and Westview's true nature seems to become more horrifying by the week. 

We've known for a while that the show's meticulously crafted, time-shifting sitcom world has extremely dark overtones, since it all takes place inside a reality-twisting "Hex" bubble that nightmarishly locks people in strange roles against their will. But what, exactly, caused the Hex itself to pop into existence? It appears that even Wanda herself has a tough time understanding this, even though she's clearly able to influence this strange force field. In order to make sense of Hex's true nature, Looper reached out to Kati Morton, LMFT, host of the Ask Kati Anything! podcast. As a licensed therapist, Morton was able to clarify a few extremely interesting things about the true nature of Wanda's Hex. Here's why the Hex in WandaVision means more than you think.

As any WandaVision viewer can readily see, Wanda Maximoff isn't one to keep her feelings inside — which shows the world what mental state she's in, whether the world likes it or not. As such, Morton tells us that the Hex is simply a physical manifestation of her grief and denial, brought on by her vast powers. 

"Grief can be such an overwhelming and traumatizing experience," she says. "In order for many of us to get through it, we go through a stage of denial because recognizing the loss is too much to process; this is what is showcased in the Hex in WandaVision. [Wanda] is denying that the death and loss occurred and has created a world where she doesn't have to confront it."

Morton goes on to explain how the denial part of grieving works and how its continued existence could affect Wanda. "During the grieving process, many people will refuse to talk about the loss, get rid of any of their loved one's possessions, and deny that the loss even occurred," she says. "This can allow us to live in a world where the pain didn't happen (like Wanda did), and we can sort of numb out from the upset through our denial. It can work in the short term, as we see in WandaVision, but we will have to recognize it and let ourselves feel the loss. Otherwise, it can lead to other mental health issues like depression or anxiety." 

Some other grief theories about WandaVision have pointed out similar things, so hopefully, Wanda can indeed move past her grief and to a healthier mental place ... especially given the big episode 7 reveal that she's far from the only "magical girl" pulling the strings in Westview.