“Hurt people hurt people.” The story of Wandavision, the smash Marvel Studios series streaming on Disney+, underscores this poignant quote. Dealing with grief is something we all have to go through, but knowing that doesn’t seem to make it any easier. Wandavision is all about how Wanda, the main character, deals with the grief of losing all the people she has ever felt close to.
Wanda’s story before WandaVision is woven throughout Marvel Cinematic Universe films and is riddled with grief. At a young age, she loses her parents in a terrorist attack that she initially blames on Tony Stark (Iron Man). Later, out of grief and anger, she and her brother, Pietro, become part of an “anti-freedom terror organization” that fights against Stark. While with this organization, Wanda is subjected to brutal experiments and comes to realize her tremendous, reality-warping power. Wanda and Pietro later switch allegiances and join the Avengers with righteous intentions, but Pietro then sacrifices himself for another hero. Alone, without her family, Wanda meets Vision and begins to confide in him. Vision consoles her, and the two fall in love.
In a series flashback, we see a significant moment of Vision supporting Wanda when she is at one of her lowest points. Vision tells Wanda that he doesn’t know what she’s feeling, but he is there to listen if she is ready to talk about losing her brother. She lets him know that talking won’t bring her comfort; only seeing Pietro again can do that. Wanda explains her depression by stating, “I’m so tired. It’s like this wave washing over me, again and again. It knocks me down, and when I try to stand up, it just comes for me again. … It’s just gonna drown me.” This moment becomes the greatest example of what this show has to teach us about grief, as Vision says, “No, no, it won’t, … because it can’t all be sorrow, can it? … But what is grief, if not love persevering?” Cue the tears.
The show displays that, in grief, love and loss exist together. In Romans 12:15, Paul says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” This is how we love each other. Vision exemplifies the nature of the body of Christ and how to be there for one another in moments of grief. WandaVision reveals the importance of community. Though the show itself doesn’t focus solely on the benefit of having a community that mourns with you, it does show what could happen when one doesn’t have that community. In Wanda’s hurt she unintentionally hurts others. When she has a community around her that mourns with her, though, we see her become able to deal with grief in a healthier way. Let’s learn from Wanda and, when we grieve, seek a community that can be the body of Christ for us. Let’s be that community for each other.
About the Author
LeMarr Seandre Jackson’s mission is to raise the bar for student and Christian leadership. He is the director of youth ministry at Madison Square Church in Grand Rapids, Mich.
