So, About Those Commercials On ‘Wandavision’

Those fake commercial breaks in Wandavision have basically become the Zapruder film to the nerdy Kevin Costner that is the internet. Since the show began, fans have scoured the phony ads for clues, prompting a lot of different opinions. One of the most prevalent theories is that each commercial represents a different Infinity Stone; like the "Hydra Soak" soap, which comes in a blue cube, not unlike the Tesseract. 

They also seem to reference specific traumas in Wanda's past, including the death of her parents, her imprisonment, and "Lagos," the country where she accidentally blew up part of an office building full of innocent people.

The commercial seen in this week's episode is somehow even grimmer. The stop-motion, early 2000s-style spot features a boy stranded on a desert island. He's seemingly saved by a sunglasses-clad shark who tosses him a package of "Yo-Magic" yogurt, which he struggles to open as his body eventually dies and rots in front of our eyes -- and all from the same streaming service that gives us Muppet Babies. 

Some people think that the boy's skeletal fate is a reference to Red Skull, who is forced to watch over the Soul Stone like an interplanetary jewelry store security guard. But it could also be referencing one of Wanda's traumas -- just one that hasn't happened yet. This ad could be a manifestation of Wanda's fears for her children who were seemingly created by magic, which despite what some fundamentalist school health classes might teach, isn't actually how babies are made. This is not entirely dissimilar from the comics, although we have yet to learn that Wanda made Billy and Tommy with pieces of the goddamn devil. It's as if the commercial is telling Wanda that her powers ("Yo-Magic") won't be able to save the twins.

This also makes sense within the larger metaphor of the show -- if Wanda is escaping the real world through a TV fantasyland, historically commercials are what puncture the illusion of television storytelling. One minute you're chilling in Hawaii with Magnum P.I., the next Jeremy Renner is attempting to use his mid-life crisis to sell you a Jeep. So it makes sense that these intrusions on Wanda's contrived reality are couched in commercials, which are the real evil of the show. (Although sneaky product placements for brands like Microsoft and Lay's are apparently cool as well).

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Top Image: Disney