For me, most of the issues of the last episode stem from the fact that it was the last episode singular: there was too much being crammed in to too little time. Too much plot (Agatha v Wanda; Vision v Vision; Monica v Peter; Monica finding her powers; Woo and Darcy vs Hayward) and too much character-led story (the people of Westview speaking out; Wanda’s final struggle to accept the price of restoring Westview; Vision’s acceptance of his fate; Agatha’s motivations; Wanda’s facing of consequences). In the time available, something - or several things - had to give.
The fault of this is really episode 8. “It Was Agatha All Along” was such a high point - a partial explanation and reframing of what we’d seen so far, new depths to a character, a challenge to Wanda, questions to be answered and an acceleration into a final conflict. But episode 8 - while covering vital ground - spent way too long filling in the backstory and not enough following through - it ends in almost the same place it started.
Episode’s 8 reframing of MCU backstory from Wanda’s point of view was really valuable! I’ve watched this whole series with my family (wife, 12yo, 8yo). We all really liked it. None of us with any background comics knowledge. I had gleaned some stuff from the speculation here but hadn’t shared it. I’ve seen all the movies. One child has seen all the movies several times over. One has seen all of a few and bits of pieces of some. My wife has seen and entirely forgotten a handful. Episode 8 got us all on the same page and shaded in the depths of Wanda’s grief and trauma. But the show needed more time to move on from there.
So some bits worked excellently. The central thematic story of Wanda coming to acceptance that she couldn’t continue living in a fantasy at such a price was really moving; Olsen and Bettany really sold both the farewell to the kids and their own parting. Olsen’s portrayal of Wanda shattered by grief was fantastic and had various people on the sofa sniffling. The pay-off of Wanda using the runes on Agatha and showing she could learn to use her powers intelligently was great. Vision’s Ship of Theseus conversation with Vision was a good smart way to solve a problem that demonstrated his own burgeoning understanding of who he was and where he came from (Episode 1 callback). The final defeat of Agatha I though was really interesting although I’m not sure if it’s good. It was cruel and Wanda had just been told how cruel. She did smirk as she wiped Agatha’s memories. This felt authentically like Wanda but it’s obviously morally dubious to say the least. I didn’t get the sense that the show understood that or had any judgement of what Wanda was doing (compared to how it clearly judges mind-wiping the innocent Westviewers. I can’t recall but was Vision there at that point? Because I cannot see Vision permitting more mind-wiping.
Others parts were way too rushed or underwritten. Agatha was in the end just a generic “MOAR POWER” villain which was disappointing because she clearly had real insight in Wanda’s psyche and motivations, but that wasn’t in service of anything equally complex on her end. All of Monica’s scenes were rushed - we never saw how Peter got her into the man-cave; her initial exploration of her powers had no space for wonder, excitement, awe, or any other emotion - they just appeared to move the plot forward with no comment from Monica or anyone else. The cute kids vs military bit was over in seconds and yes, superspeed, but there was no satisfaction in it. Kat Dennings must have been unable to get to set that day because her one scene was clearly filmed solo and cut in - no one’s fault, I’m sure but it just added to the feeling of certain things being ticked off. There was a lot of time spent on the CGI colour-coded beams battle and I wish there hadn’t been because I’ve seen too many of those and they don’t mean anything. An actual witches battle of illusion and manipulation might have been fascinating and there were hints of that when Agatha somehow took control of Wanda’s illusion but then it went all big shooty lights.
The most disappointing bit was - as others have said - the total lack of a reckoning between Wanda and the people of Westview. Yes, she did the right thing. But even in the confrontation scene where they were literally begging her to kill them rather than keeping them trapped in this hell I never got the sense that Wanda understood - or perhaps rather felt - the enormity of what she’d done. As @Left_Hand_of_Dorkness said, Monica’s absolution of her was glib. @Miller suggested that tehre could be no justice with no plausible punishment. I disagree. Punishment is not the only form of justice. Restitution plays a part. Even a Truth and Reconciliation approach where Wanda publicly owned up to how she had hurt people and allowed them to explain the depth and cruelty of that hurt would have been some measure of justice for the people of Westview. But she couldn’t be bothered to stick around and do that because she had to go and be alone with her pain. This is really bad! The point was meant to be that she started by privileging her pain over everyone else’s but has now learned a lesson about how that is wrong. But here, in a lesser way, she is being just as selfish. The hurt of the people of Westview once again pales into insignificance compared to the unique, ineffable, immeasurable pain of Wanda.
I’m OK with it not being clear at the end whether Wanda is hero or villian. I’m OK seeing her as someone very powerful and very traumatised who could go either way. But some awareness on her part of the fact that she is on a moral tightrope would add a lot and I did not feel that.