Major Spoilers of Doctor Strange – Be Advised

I finally made time to see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This film had elements of horror in it which I loved. It felt like a different film than other Marvel films which I thought made the film stand out. Instead of writing a typical movie review, I wanted to focus on Scarlet Witch and the direction the film took the character. There’s no way to do this without revealing spoilers, so please be advised.

The last time we saw Scarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff (played by Elizabeth Olson) was in WandaVision. She seemed to accept her role in Westview and how she let everyone go. It seemed she was going to confront her grief. I wanted this for her! Wanda has been through so much and deserves happiness. There was an after-credit sequence that showed Wanda discovering a magic book hinting that something more sinister was going to happen. Despite the after-credit sequence, I wanted to see her become a real ally.

With the first few scenes of Doctor Strange, I was quickly made aware that I was wrong. Scarlet Witch was using the Darkhold to send monsters after America Chavez (played by Xochitl Gomez) to steal her power and live with her children in another universe. Wanda has absolutely no problem with killing America to gather her power because Wanda feels that she has earned the right to be with her children.

As a side note, Elizabeth Olson’s acting was superb! She conveyed real emotion and while I rooted for her in WandaVision, I wanted to see her be defeated in Doctor Strange. Elizabeth Olson is talented.

I’m sad that the film took Wanda in this direction. As mentioned above, I wanted to see her evolve and grow as a character. Instead, it seemed that she completely retreated from the growth seen in WandaVision. I was surprised that none of the other characters thought to ask Wanda, “what would Vision think of you doing this?” While Wanda is motivated by seeing her children, there is no way Vision would support any of what Wanda was doing. I’m surprised that Stephen or Wong never brought this up. It may not have stopped Wanda’s actions, but I hoped it would at least force Wanda to confront her grief. It seemed that Doctor Strange left WandaVision in the dust which is so sad! WandaVision is easily one of my favorite Marvel series on Disney+

While I may not have agreed with Doctor Strange and Wanda’s direction, I didn’t let this impede on how I enjoyed the film. The horror elements along with the guest appearances were enough to create a fun experience seeing this film in theaters. The next Marvel film to be released is Thor Love and Thunder in July and I’m excited to see how Natalie Portman is re-introduced into the Marvel cinematic universe.