“Agatha All Along” Season 1, Episode 5 Review

(*This article contains major spoilers. Read at your own discretion.*)

Last Wednesday the 9th, that episode for “Agatha All Along” aired. The “Wandavision” spin-off’s episode involved the iconic reveal of Teen’s true identity and the tragic death of one of the coven members.

The last episode revolved around Alice Wu-Gulliver, played by the wonderful Ali Ahn, overcoming a generational curse that had been put on her family. The episode saw the arrival of Aubrey Plaza’s unhinged Rio Vidal and the near-death of Teen, who made a full recovery thanks to the coven.

Episode 5, titled “Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power,” took the audience on an absolute whirlwind of a ride. Remember the absolutely creepy Salem Seven that showed up in the first episode? Not to worry, those creepy ladies make their appearance towards the show’s beginning.

The terrifying shape-shifting demons cause the coven (and Teen) to fly away on broomsticks until the Road forces them back for their next trial: a 90s sleepover theme. Fortunately, the Salem Seven can’t enter the trial house, so the coven’s in the clear for a bit.

In the trial, the witches have to follow a few simple Ouija board rules or everything will go south. Unsurprisingly, the coven almost immediately breaks the rules which results in complete chaos.

The episode opens with a flashback of Agatha being burnt at the stake by her own mother. So, when the Ouija board summons Agatha’s mother, Evanora, the audience knows things are about to get sticky.

And, things do get sticky. Agatha’s ghostly mother reveals that Agatha “was born evil,” and says a few things that makes it quite clear why Agatha has mommy issues. When Evanora says the group must sacrifice Agatha, Alice attempts to fight her, but Agatha absorbs her powers and kills Alice. Teen is able to snap Agatha back to reality when he calls out the name “Nicholas Scratch” after the Ouija board told him to.

This is where things turn confusingly chaotic.

Surprisingly, Agatha shows more remorse than usual, until Joe Locke’s Teen questions her and she spits out the harsh line, “You’re just like your mother.” Blue magic spurs out of Teen’s hands as Wanda’s crown forms on his head.

Psychic witch Lilia Calderu, played by Patti LuPone, and Sasheer Zamata’s sassy Jen Kale become possessed by Teen’s magic and throw Agatha into muddy quicksand, where she is fully engulfed before they too are thrown into the quicksand to drown by Teen. Rio Vidal, who is rumored to be Death, is nowhere to be seen.

Remember Wanda’s two twin boys in “Wandavision?” Yeah? Well, Teen is actually one of them: Billy Maximoff. In the comics, Billy transforms into Wiccan, a Marvel superhero, but his Wiccan identity has not been confirmed in “Agatha All Along” quite yet.

While this episode clears up a lot of questions surrounding Teen’s true identity, it certainly creates even more. While Teen’s identity has been confirmed, his twin brother, Tommy, nicknamed Speed, has not made an appearance or a mention in the show as of yet.

Marvel has been quickly introducing the Young Avengers, and both Wiccan and Speed are important to the Young Avengers storyline, meaning that it is likely that Tommy will return to the narrative at some point, possibly even soon.

While Teen has been confirmed as Billy, Tommy has not been mentioned. Fortunately, there are still four more episodes for Tommy to make a special appearance.

While this episode threw its audience under the bus, the next episode will hopefully allow them to gain some footing. The acting and special effects for the Disney+ miniseries will hopefully make the next episode just as iconic.

Episode 6 of “Agatha All Along” will air on Disney on Wednesday, October 16th, 2024, with an episode premiering weekly. The final two episodes will be released on October 30th, fitting for the spooky show.

Rating: 4/5

Sarah Taylor is a second-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact her, email smt6314@psu.edu.