WandaVision, the first of Marvel's Disney Plus television series, was a massive success. It captured audiences with its mystery, comedy, emotion, nostalgia, and unique storytelling. The sitcom set up made WandaVision different from any MCU project seen before.
The weekly roll-out of the episodes allowed viewers to really take in each episode, and provided space for a massive amount of theorizing, clue-hunting, and speculation. While not all of these theories panned out, it still was a fun viewing experience. The showrunners were very intentional in their choices; leaving hints, including Easter eggs, and making use of meaningful references and foreshadowing.
WandaVision featured six "commercial breaks" over the course of the series, each suited to the decade of sitcom that was being satirized in the episode. These commercials were fun, but not meaningless, and were unpacked and analyzed by fans both as they aired and as the series went on. By the end of the series, the first four commercials seemed fairly understandable, but the final two have been harder to figure out.
Commercials 1 To 4
The first commercial, during the 1950's episode, is for the "Toastmate 2000" by Stark Industries. The toaster beeps ominously, sounding reminiscent of a bomb. When Wanda and her brother Pietro were children, a Stark Industries bomb killed their parents. The twins were trapped in their destroyed home for two days while a second bomb ticked ominously, fortunately never going off. It was revealed in WandaVision episode eight that the family had been watching a Dick Van Dyke episode just before the bomb hit, hence why this reference took place during the first 1950's themed episode of the show. The second episode's commercial is for the "Strucker Watch," which features HYDRA logos on the face. Wanda and Pietro were experimented on by Baron Von Strucker and HYDRA, which they believed gave them their powers. It was another traumatic experience in the twins' lives.
The third episode features an ad for a bath soap titled "Hydra Soak," for "when you want to get away but you don't want to go anywhere." Wanda uses her powers, which were enhanced by HYDRA, in order to take over Westview and "escape" to a world of her own where she can be happy with Vision. Additionally, the soap's tagline is "find the goddess within," and Wanda uses almost god-like levels of power in order to create her sitcom universe and family. The fourth commercial is for Lagos Paper Towels, branded as "for when you make a mess you didn't mean to." In the opening scene of Captain America: Civil War, Wanda accidentally destroys a building in the city of Lagos while trying to capture a criminal, a disaster which is--partially--a catalyst for the events of the rest of the film. In Lagos she hurt people unintentionally. In Westview she is also doing so, although in a very different way.
Commercial 5: "Yo-Magic"
The fifth commercial is one of the darkest in the series. It features fun 1990's style animation of a boy stranded alone and hungry on an island. A talking shark surfs up to him and says, "Hungry? I remember hungry." "What did you do?" the boy asks. "Snacked on Yo-Magic bro," the shark says, holding up a yogurt, "now I have time to hang fin." He gives the yogurt to the boy and surfs away. The boy is unable to open the yogurt container and so is shown slowly decaying and dying. The tagline is ironically "Yo-Magic: the snack for survivors."
The meaning of this commercial is less clear than that of the previous four, even after having the entire series to reflect upon. The commercial could reference Agatha Harkness, the witch who drained her coven of magic and who is sabotaging Wanda in Westview. It could also be a reference to how Wanda had an inherent talent for magic and it was that which enabled her to survive Strucker's experiments. The experiments enhanced her latent powers rather than bestowing powers upon her. While Wanda's magic is very powerful, she is untrained and not entirely aware of how to use it or what she's doing, which is dangerous and not sustainable in the long run. She has the magic, but is unable to unlock it to its full potential, and in the end, is also unable to save Vision or Billy and Tommy with it.
Commercial 6: "Nexus."
Seen in episode seven, the sixth and final commercial in the series is for an anti-depressant called "Nexus." The ad says that if you are depressed or feel like the world is going on without you, you should ask your doctor about Nexus which "works to anchor you back to your reality, or the reality of your choice." The commercial lists side effects for the pill, including "feeling your feelings, confronting your truth, seizing your destiny, and possibly more depression." The final tagline is "Nexus: because the world doesn't revolve around you. Or does it?"
In the Marvel comics, Wanda is a Nexus Being, a keystone of the multiverse who has the universe's mystical energy tied to her. As a Nexus Being she has the power to alter the flow of the universal time stream, and to impact probability and the future. When this commercial was aired, fans familiar with the comics thought it foreshadowed that Wanda would be confirmed as a Nexus Being in WandaVision, but the show ended without Nexus ever being mentioned outside this commercial.
However, it could be foreshadowing Wanda's role in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, where her status as a Nexus Being could be confirmed. On top of that, in hindsight the "side-effects" listed for Nexus seem to reflect what happens to Wanda in the final two episodes of WandaVision. Wanda feels her feelings and confronts her truth as she remembers her past losses and traumas and fully accepts the truth of what she is doing in Westview. She seizes her destiny by taking on the name of the Scarlet Witch, and she begins to take full control and mastery of her powers. Finally, "more depression" could refer to Wanda losing the twins and Vision when she takes down the hex and sets Westview free.
None of the stars or showrunners of WandaVision have confirmed the meaning of the final two commercials in the series. It's possible that there is pay-off coming for one or both of them in future MCU projects, and the showrunners don't want to spoil that. It is also possible that they like allowing fans to attach their own meanings and interpretations to the commercials. Regardless, for now, these two strange commercials open up a world of possibilities and speculation.
WandaVision is now streaming on Disney Plus.