The following article contains heavy spoilers for the first seven episodes of WandaVision. If you haven’t seen them yet, and want to avoid being spoiled, come back once you’ve gotten past episode 7. If you’ve already seen up to that point, or simply don’t mind spoilers, then feel free to enjoy the article.
It’s been quite a ride, but today WandaVision comes to an end. While we may be sad to see such an incredible show end, now is the perfect time to look back at it and recap one of its greatest additions – opening intros. Each of WandaVision’s six intros – and one bonus song – are all based on iconic sitcoms throughout the decades.
Below, we’ve taken the time to break down the inspirations behind each of them and give a little explanation of their significance. Keep in mind that episode 4 and episode 8 do not have an intro, so there is nothing noteworthy to mention about each.
Now, with all that said, let’s recap all six openings intros in WandaVision.
Episode 1 – Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience
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The first episode, titled “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience,” is based on the iconic black and white sitcom, I Love Lucy.
I Love Lucy follows the story of husband and wife, Ricky and Lucy Ricardo, showing their day-to-day exploits and interactions as a couple. To this day, they are remembered as one of the most iconic duos in all of television.
It should come as no surprise that a woman trying to cope with the loss of her partner would choose to harken back to a show all about a happy couple. Lucy and Ricky also often found themselves getting into some crazy antics, not unlike Wanda and Vision.
The lyrics don’t reveal too much of the WandaVision’s deeper plots, but is still quite fun!
Episode 2 – Don’t Touch That Dial
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Episode 2, still in black and white, features an animated intro that is clearly based on the 60s sitcom, Bewitched. The intro has a similar art style, fonts, and core themes as the witch-themed show.
It’s the perfect introduction to the magical world of WandaVision, as the show now leans more into the chaos of Wanda’s magic and the hex world than it did in the first episode.
There aren’t really any lyrics to review other than the word “WandaVision” which is said a few times, but hey, at least the music is catchy.
Episode 3 – Now In Colour
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As the title dictates episode 3 welcomes viewers to the 1970s, where TV shows were in full color and everyone wore tweed.
Inspired by family sitcom classic, The Brady Bunch, episode 3’s intro follows Wanda and Vision as they prepare for the birth of the their child –or rather, children.
The lyrics play on the pregnancy plot with lyrics like “We’ve got something cooking”. It even teases at the twin reveal with the “sudden surprises” line –though that wasn’t really a surprise at all for those aware of the Wanda comics.
Episode 5 – On a Very Special Episode
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We’ve made it to the 1980s and the family is finally complete now that Wanda has given birth to her twin boys, Tommy and Billy.
While most sitcoms from the 80s have similar intros, there are three noteworthy inspirations in episode 5’s opening.
The intro starts off with a black and white drawing of the WandaVision family that is then filled in with the touch of a paintbrush. The same can be seen in the opening theme for Family Ties as a paintbrush is used to fill in a photo of the Keaton family.
Next we see some baby photos of Wanda, Vision, Tommy, and Billy –a concept taken that can also be seen in the intro for Growing Pains.
Finally, the opening ends with a family picnic at the park –the exact same ending seen in Full Houses’ iconic intro.
This is also where the lyrics really start to tease the chaos to come with lines like “Forces may try to pull us apart, but nothing can phase me if you’re in my heart” hinting at the forces trying to keep Wanda and Vision apart, mainly S.W.O.R.D.
Episode 6 – All-New Halloween Spooktacular!
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Of all of the openings in WandaVision, this one might be the most obvious to a lot of viewers. Malcolm in the Middle is far more recent and popular than most of the shows that the intro’s draw inspiration from, outside of maybe the one that follows this.
Malcolm in the Middle stars Franke Munez as a kid named Malcolm growing up in a dysfunctional family. It’s the perfect introduction to the chaos that will ensue now that Tommy and Billy are pre-teens – especially now that their “uncle” Pietro is in town.
This is where the lines of the decades get a little bit blurred. Malcolm in the Middle technically aired in 2000 – though it was at very the top of year on January 9. If you’ve been following the decades so far then this should really be the 90s, but considering the very 90s aesthetic of the show’s intro, we’ll let this one slide.
The lines were also already blurred a little bit in the last episode. Both Growing Pains and Full House started in the 80s, but ended in the 90s – so there is a bit of 90s officially in here!
Lyrically this opening is by far the heaviest plot-wise, with lines like “Don’t try to fight the chaos”, “Don’t question what you’ve done”, and “But if it’s all illusion” all directly referencing the fact that Wanda created the “hex.”
This opening also reflects her character’s mental state, as she is struggling to accepting the fact that this world isn’t real at this point in WandaVision.
Episode 7 – Breaking the Fourth Wall
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You don’t have to see this one to recognize the fact that it’s parodying the Office’s iconic theme song, with the two sounding identical. If you did see it, though, any fan of the Scranton sitcom would also recognize the visual comparisons between the two just as easily.
There isn’t much to say about this one since it has no lyrics and all of the visuals shown in the intro are just the word “Wanda” written in different spaces. Still it is quite fun and even ends in a hilarious title card; “WandaVision – Created by Wanda Maximoff”
The episode itself also takes inspiration from other shows like Modern Family, which is all about the emotional distress of juggling raising a family and maintaining your sanity simultaneously. This makes complete sense, as Wanda is at the point of a mental breakdown by this episode.
Bonus Song – Agatha All Along
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While Episode 7’s opening didn’t have any lyrics to explore, there was another song included a little later in the episode.
It is finally revealed who has been messing with Wanda this whole time, and who would have thought it was Agatha all along.
This cheeky little number reveals that Wanda’s wacky neighbor, Agnes, is really Agatha Harkness – a powerful but somewhat evil witch that fans of the comics know all too well.
The song parodies shows like The Addams Family and The Munsters with its cheery melody playing over spooky aesthetics, revealing all of the times Agatha has messed with Wanda since the start of the show.
