Why Wanda Decided To Keep Agatha Harkness Alive
In WandaVision’s revealing seventh episode, Agnes proved many fans’ theory right: she was actually the powerful sorceress Agatha Harkness (introduced as a grandma-like figure with evil magic in the comics). But, after how much she’s tried to ruin Wanda’s utopia, the Scarlet Witch didn’t decide to kill the villain once and for all: instead, all she did was reassign her to her nosy neighbor role in the sitcom and permanently ground her in Westview.
Wanda’s last words to Agatha: Why they matter
Right before Wanda tapped Agatha back into the nosy neighbor role, she said some very important words that could answer the purpose of this article by themselves: “I’ll be back if I need more training,” she tells her helpless opponent. Wanda, have some common sense! Why even bother with more training from an obviously wicked witch?
Well, Wanda isn’t wrong in saying this at all! As we saw in the culminating battle, she only won by the skin of her teeth by using the trick that Agatha taught her in Episode 7: “Only the witch who cast the runes can use her magic.” And honestly, without that lesson, Wanda would have stayed dead with her Chaos Magic completely sucked out of her body. To continue to stay alive in future magic battles, she has to have some additional training from a much more experienced witch – right now, Wanda’s pretty much a baby witch with some really untamed powers.
What does the MCU – and Wanda – have in store for Agatha next?
Now that Agatha is stuck being a nosy neighbor and the constant comic relief, what could be next? What a boring story if such a prominent antagonist got to stay being this way for the rest of her life! However, it’s most likely that this won’t happen, much to us WandaVision fans’ relief. Even Kathryn Hahn herself has stated that she would love to play the insidious, perfidious Agatha again and that her character is merely “resting”.
Remember that WandaVision is confirmed to be tied to the upcoming film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so the finale’s apexing events would be the ones building the bridge. This includes Agatha! Since Wanda did promise the witch that she would be back if she needed more teaching, the time would be in Doctor Strange 2 since we suspect Wanda’s the one unleashing the madness in this multiverse. (Read our article WandaVision: The Connection To Doctor Strange 2 & Captain Marvel 2 for more info!) Despite having extreme powers, Wanda doesn’t know all the tips and tricks as Agatha does.
Similar to Sam and Bucky’s freeing of Baron Zemo, Wanda may return to Westview (possibly in disguise so as not to have her grief triggered by the residents) to find Agnes, temporarily free her from the spell, and only let her go for information and help. Who knows, maybe she’ll even meet up with Doctor Strange in the sequel! Anything can happen in the MCU…
