The WandaVision trilogy has come to an end, and after that supersized finale, you probably have questions – that's where our VisionQuest episode 8 ending explained comes in.
VisionQuest sees the MCU Synthezoid reunite with his son Tommy, become a kind of son to murder bot Ultron, and uncover his connection to the very origins of artificial life in the MCU. Not bad going for eight episodes! We get into all that below, and answer all your burning questions about a packed hour of TV.
We'll be getting into granular detail about the VisionQuest finale below so, needless to say, spoilers for VisionQuest episode 8 follow. Already seen the final episode? Then dive right in. Once you're done, you can also check out our deep dive into the VisionQuest post-credits scene.
VisionQuest episode 8 ending recap
After the mysterious individual with Ultron's face reveals himself to be Virgil Horton – the grandson of J.I.M. Hammond creator Phineas Horton – Virgil details his whole backstory during the most awkward family dinner since The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Resentful that his mother, Victoria, died penniless, and that his grandfather had to sell their family home to fund his vision (no pun intended), Virgil dedicated his life to reclaiming his birthright. Together with Jo Carrington, it was Virgil who created artificial general intelligence at Markridge Biotech.
Virgil and Jo were also lovers, and when Jo suddenly died of a brain tumor, Virgil came up with a plan. Taking a classified job at S.W.O.R.D., it was Virgil who put Vision's original body back together during the events of WandaVision. At the same time, he siphoned off resources to make Jocasta's artificial body and deleted himself from her memory after she reacted violently to being resurrected against her will.
Virgil now wants to put his own consciousness in Vision's body, so he can live out his days with Jocasta, and use the nest nanobots to create 'tranquility and obedience' worldwide by turning humanity into robotic slaves.
All seems lost until Tommy saves the day by super-speeding onto the scene and destroying the remote keeping Vision, Jocasta and Ultron in check. Jocasta is shot with Adamantium bullets in the fray, seemingly killing her. Ultron breaks containment and is able to reform his body using the nanobots, violently crushing Virgil to death.
Vision and Ultron fight, but knowing he can't win, Vision tries a different approach – trapping Ultron inside a WandaVision-style sitcom called UltraVision. Ultron soon seizes control of UltraVision, and try as Vision might, his most sincere pleas don't appear to break through. However, Vision isn't simply appealing to Ultron's better self; the UltraVision scenario only exists because both Ultron and Vision's cores are powering it, and rapidly burning out. Facing oblivion either way, Ultron hits the nano killswitch and deletes himself from Vision's memory banks.
Back in the real world, Billy portals in (finally!) just in time to help Tommy bring their father back online, while the nanobots are knocked offline just before they reach London. In the aftermath, Vision's makeshift family team up with Paladin to become bounty givers, not bounty hunters, taking a private jet to Jersey to meet up with Billy.
Bidding farewell to the Mindspace he called home, Vision acknowledges that it "stands to reason" that they might say hello to Wanda again given their history of deaths and resurrections. And just as he's leaving home for good, the phone suddenly rings. It's Ultron, who survived by hiding out in some unaccounted-for nanobots. He plans to visit art galleries, or burn them to the ground. "A coin flip," as he says. But whatever he does, he doesn't want to "do it alone", thanks to Vision.
Who dies in VisionQuest episode 8?
There are two main deaths in the VisionQuest finale: Virgil Horton is crushed to death by Ultron, and Jocasta is shot with an Adamantium bullet, and seemingly killed. However, as the post-credits scene reveals, Ultron is in possession of Jocasta's source code, so the reformed murder-bot may yet find a way to bring Jocasta back.
Do Billy and Wanda appear in VisionQuest episode 8?
Yes and no. Billy Maximoff, aka Wiccan, does appear in the VisionQuest finale. Initially, Tommy and Billy meet on the astral plane through 'dream-binding', though they can't talk for long as Tommy must be actively drowned to enter this space. Later, Billy is finally able to portal across from Jersey to England, and together with Tommy, he helps reboot Vision. At the end of the episode, Vision, Tommy and Billy are planning to meet up in Jersey for dinner, and presumably to start their new lives together.
Wanda does not appear in VisionQuest episode 8, but she is briefly discussed. In the Mindspace (via an "AR setup") Tommy asks Vision: "Do you think it's possible that with me you and Billy still around that…"
"That we might ever see your mother again?" Vision responds. "Well, we have said goodbye before. So I suppose it stands to reason we might say hello again. But, I promise you, if she were here, she would join me in encouraging you to finish your education."
While this is hardly confirmation that Wanda is still alive after seemingly being crushed under a mountain at the end of Doctor Strange 2, it leaves open the possibility that the Maximoff family could one day be reunited.
Who is Virgil Horton (aka The Client), and why does he share a face with Ultron?
Virgil Horton (played by James Spader) is the grandson of Phineas Horton and the son of Victoria Horton, who Phineas abandoned to create the MCU's first synthezoid, J.I.M. Hammond. Virgil acted to reclaim his birthright after Phineas previously sold their palatial family home. He did this by working with Dr. Josephine Carrington to create artificial general intelligence at Markridge Biotech.
When the company was sold to Stark Tech, and following the death of Carrington, Virgil went undercover at S.W.O.R.D. and rebuilt Vision in the form of White Vision. While doing this, Virgil siphoned off supplies and built an artificial body for Carrington's digital consciousness, Jocasta, deleting himself from her memories when she violently rejected her robotic resurrection.
Virgil's master plan was to put his own consciousness in Vision's body, as he is the "perfect vessel for the artificial mind", and live out his days with Jocasta. As we know, this didn't go to plan and Virgil is squeezed to death by Ultron, who reforms his body using the nest's nanobots.
Why Virgil and Ultron's human avatar share the same face can be answered by the fact that Virgil played a crucial role in developing the same artificial general intelligence that Tony Stark went on to use in the creation of Ultron. So somewhere in Ultron's source code is Virgil's fingerprints, just as Phineas Horton's authorship of J.I.M. Hammond and Vision's source code manifests in them all sharing the same face. Plus, it's just fun to have James Spader playing multiple characters.
Are Billy and Tommy going to form The Young Avengers?
There's no real indication that Maximoff bros are going to form the Young Avengers following the events of VisionQuest, beyond the fact that we know they are traditionally part of the juvenile super-team in the comics. While nothing has been officially confirmed by Marvel Studios, many potential members of the Young Avengers have been introduced to the MCU during the Multiverse Saga, including Tommy and Billy, Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Ms. Marvel, Ironheart and Cassie Lang (well, the suit-wearing Cassie, anyway). So if Marvel wants to launch a Young Avengers team, the pieces are already in place, and two of them are having dinner together in New Jersey.
Is there a VisionQuest post-credits scene?
This is Marvel, so of course there's a VisionQuest post-credits scene! While brief, the VisionQuest post-credits scene does tie up Ultron's story, or could hint at the direction of a potential season 2. In the scene, Ultron, who survived deletion by hiding out in some rogue nanobots, is still living in the Hortons' palatial home. You'd think that resuming his temporarily thwarted plans to genocide humanity would be top of the agenda for Ultron again, but the scene reveals that Ultron has acquired Jocasta's source code. It seems until he's resurrected his robotic love, murdering humanity has been put on the back burner.
Will there be a VisionQuest season 2?
We don't yet know if VisionQuest will return for a second season, but in pre-release interviews, showrunner Terry Matalas suggested they have ideas for future seasons, and in an exclusive chat with GamesRadar+, Paul Bettany also said they have "a lot of ideas" about where they'd like to take their characters next. So VisionQuest season 2 could still happen if Marvel gives the go-ahead.
VisionQuest is streaming now on Disney Plus. For more, here are all the confirmed upcoming Marvel movies and shows in the works.
