Why White Vision Didn’t Help Wanda

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for WandaVision episode 9, “The Series Finale…”

WandaVision saw White Vision regain his memories, only to fly away to parts unknown — here’s what it means for the future and why he didn’t aid Wanda. Prior to the show, Vision was killed twice while trying to protect the Mind Stone. As a result, a central mystery of WandaVision was how Vision was even alive. By the finale, all those questions were answered. Despite it being reported that Wanda illegally resurrected Vision’s body, she’d merely created an echo in her grief. Meanwhile, S.W.O.R.D. had retained the original, ultimately reviving him as a more easily-controlled sentient weapon.

After attempting to eliminate Wanda, White Vision battled Westview Vision throughout Westview. However, White Vision became more susceptible to reason when the pair fittingly ended up in the Public Library. After White Vision conveyed his principal command to kill the Vision, the Westview iteration evoked the Ship of Theseus thought experiment. As a result, the disparate versions concluded that they were both the true Vision… and that neither was. Still, White Vision was guided towards being the prime version when his databanks (aka his full memories) were unlocked. The moment paid off Westview Vision’s season-long awakening of suppressed identities. Equally, it prompted White Vision to declare, “I Am Vision.” Instead of immediately rushing to help Wanda against Agatha and S.W.O.R.D., though, he simply took flight and wasn’t seen again.

Speculation has been rife as to where he may have gone. Much like Hulk at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, there’s no definitive way of knowing until he resurfaces. Still, a prevailing theory is that he may have left to take his own life. It would make an odd kind of sense since his parameters were to kill the Vision and that being was he. Though he reclaimed his memories, there was nothing to denote the effect it had on him or his new core directives. As demonstrated through Bucky Barnes, regaining one’s memories doesn’t necessarily negate the programming that’s been installed. That goes double for White Vision — since the revived body never contained the added sentience that came from the Mind Stone. As such, his leaving (and potentially decommissioning himself) might not have been abandonment but a heroic gesture before S.W.O.R.D. could regain control.

Equally like Bucky, White Vision was probably overwhelmed by the breadth (and intense, conflicting nature) of his returning memories. After all, they include multiple deaths and, as of the WandaVision finale, an almost-successful attempt on Wanda’s life. In just a few moments, he learned that he’d gone from being a Vision deemed worthy of Mjölnir from the outset to almost killing his most beloved. That could knock even the most hardened sentient weapon. As such, in line with John Byrne’s Vision Quest storyline, he may have left in order to go and find himself — to reconcile his returned memories with his once more burgeoning emotions (or distinct lack of emotional connection to them). It could very well be that his decision to leave was about not wanting to cross paths with Wanda until he’d done this, and once again discovered his worthiness.

Even without reconciling his memories and emotions, he would’ve also regained enough insight to know how powerful Wanda is. As such, he likely calculated that she could prevail without him. Plus, he was aware that he was leaving her back up in the form of Westview Vision. That doesn’t entirely excuse the sense of abandonment but it would somewhat explain it. Whatever the case ultimately may be, Bettany himself once said Vision’s core journey is about learning to be human. That’s as true for White Vision as it was for the original. This would be arguably Vision’s most human moment in his entire MCU run — when he, for whatever reason, and much like Wanda in the early episodes of WandaVision, gave in to his less selfless traits. As for what the future MCU has in store for Vision on the road to further achieving (or regaining) his humanity, however, fans will just have to wait and see.