WandaVision: Episode 5’s Commercial Is the Most Devastating of the Series

Marvel fans got used to looking out for the Easter egg-filled commercials in each episode of WandaVision, only to get a little let down by the total absence of an ad in the show’s fourth episode last week. The commercials were designed to mimic the time period of the episode while also referencing something important from Wanda’s past. Since Episode 4 took place completely in the world outside Westview, there wasn’t a commercial. However, the commercial trend returned in Episode 5, and the new advertisement is easily the most devastating of the series to this point.

WARNING: This episode contains spoilers from the latest episode of WandaVision! Continue reading at your own risk…

On the surface, and if you don’t remember the names of some of the cities featured in Marvel movies from five years ago, this WandaVision commercial simply talks about paper towels. It’s a very ’80s, Bounty-style ad about how this brand of paper towel is better than the other leading brands, and it even features a side-by-side clean up. But the name of the paper towels, and the tagline spoken at the end of the commercial, represent one of the moments in Wanda’s life that she has the hardest time accepting.

The name of the paper towel brand in the commercial is Lagos, which is also the name of the largest city in the country of Nigeria. Back in Captain America: Civil War, a team of Avengers — which included Wanda — squared off against Crossbones in Lagos. When he prepared to detonate an explosive and kill Captain America, Wanda tried to send him flying away from Cap and innocent civilians. She accidentally hurled Crossbones into a nearby building and the explosion claimed the lives of several people, 11 of which were Wakandan relief workers. This action helped lead to the introduction of the Sokovia Accords, which put limits on what superheroes could do.

Not only are the paper towels named after the city in which Wanda accidentally killed quite a few innocent people, but the slogan of the product at the end of the commercial puts everything into perspective. “Lagos: For when you make a mess you didn’t mean to.”

Wanda didn’t mean to hurt anyone. She was trying to protect innocent lives from being lost. But she was blamed by a lot of people for the incident, including the folks in the government and some of her fellow Avengers. So this is something that has clearly been sitting with her ever since. Similar to the situations with Stark, Hydra, and Strucker, Lagos brings Wanda quite a bit of pain. But this pain is a bit different. It hits her harder because she blames herself.

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