Culture

People Have Turned Vision’s Moving Speech About Grief In ‘WandaVision’ Into A Very Funny Meme

What is a meme, if not a joke persevering?

by Michelle Rennex  5 March 2021
wandavision vision grief meme

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In last week’s episode of WandaVision, Vision’s speech about grief instantly struck a cord with viewers.

With ‘Previously On…’ taking us on a walk through all of Wanda’s life traumas, it’s really not all that surprising that we were all left in some serious pain. Forced to visit the sites of her biggest points of hurt by Agatha, Wanda had to relive the pain of losing her parents, being unable to bury her lover, and losing her brother, Pietro.

But near the end of her horrific trauma tour, Vision offered Wanda some relief with what’s likely the most beautiful line ever uttered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: “But what is grief, if not love persevering?”

The beautiful line came from Vision seeing Wanda absolutely numb with grief after Pietro’s death, set somewhere between Age Of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. 

When he joins Wanda, who is sitting alone in her bedroom binge-watching Malcolm In The Middle, Vision offers the line as some relief for Wanda as she deals with the weight of immeasurable grief.

“Well, it can’t all be sorrow, can it?” he says. “I’ve always been alone, so I don’t feel the lack. It’s all I’ve ever known, I’ve never experienced loss because I have never had a loved one to lose. But what is grief, if not love persevering?”

And just like that, the internet fell in love with the beauty of those eight words. While some were truly perplexed over how a few words could make so many feel this emotional, it wasn’t that surprising considering everyone experiences grief, at different levels, at least once in their lives.

Look at the pandemic alone, for example, which has brought about different levels of loss — like loss of life, loss of normalcy, loss of employment and security, and loss of experiences — for people around the world over the last year.

But as with all things sweet and sincere, Vision’s speech has surpassed the stage of admiration, and has now been given the meme treatment.

While the line was a beautiful encapsulation of what grief is, people couldn’t help but notice how perfect the screenshot was for meme-ing, just as the I Am Going To Create An Environment That Is So Toxic meme was.

But beyond photoshopping the original WandaVision “grief”screenshot, people have even begun to use the line “what is grief, if not love persevering” to share the other things that persevere.

Look, the whole thing is very dumb, but also very funny, so here are all the best “what is, if not” memes:

Anyway, here’s hoping WandaVision gives us a good few more memes during tonight’s finale.

The WandaVision finale airs tonight at 7pm on Disney+.