Overview
"Breaking the Fourth Wall" is the seventh episode of the American television miniseries WandaVision, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It follows the couple inside the town of Westview, New Jersey, as their idyllic suburban life begins to unravel. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Cameron Squires and directed by Matt Shakman.
Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their respective roles as Wanda Maximoff and Vision from the film series, with Teyonah Parris, Evan Peters, Randall Park, Debra Jo Rupp, Kat Dennings, and Kathryn Hahn also starring. Development began by October 2018, and Shakman joined in August 2019. The episode pays homage to sitcoms of the mid-to-late 2000s and 2010s such as Modern Family, and reveals that Hahn's character is Agatha Harkness with the end theme song "Agatha All Along" by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Filming took place in the Atlanta metropolitan area in Atlanta, Georgia, including at Pinewood Atlanta Studios, and in Los Angeles.
"Breaking the Fourth Wall" was released on the streaming service Disney+ on February 19, 2021. Highlights for critics included Olsen's performance, the character development of Monica Rambeau, Hahn's character reveal, and the "Agatha All Along" song, which won a Primetime Emmy Award and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Plot
In a late 2000s setting, Wanda Maximoff decides to have a day to herself. Agnes agrees to babysit Billy and Tommy and takes them to her house. Vision wakes up in a circus run by S.W.O.R.D. agents who are under Maximoff's spell. He finds Darcy Lewis, frees her from the spell, and learns about his death and the events that led to the current situation from her. Maximoff sees various parts of her house constantly reverting to prior iterations from older 'episodes' and is unable to control them. Vision and Lewis's journey back to his house is continuously interrupted at a junction point, leading Vision to assume that Maximoff is preventing him from returning home. However, he also realizes that his wife needs him and flies the rest of the way, leaving Lewis behind.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).