Wow, wow, wow! What an episode, what a reveal, and what a backstory! After all the theorizing that took place during WandaVision's run, we are finally getting some answers.
We all remember that strange anomaly with the Hex when Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) was shutting down the town of Westview, right? Well, this week we get a crossover-esque moment as we learn more about Teen/William Kaplan/Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke).
Last week's episode ended in the reveal that Teen is indeed Billy Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch's son. In the final moments of the episode, we see him embrace his power, and what a moment it was. Billie Eilish's “You Should See Me in a Crown" played in the background as his identity was revealed, and Agatha All Along continued to live up to the hype.
It was quite a moment, but what about this week's episode, "Familiar By Thy Side"? Read our review and recap below, and remember, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
Who really is William Kaplan, and how did he become Billy Maximoff?
"Familiar By Thy Side" starts off on a note that we don't see coming: William Kaplan wearing a yarmulke celebrating his bar mitzvah. It will all make sense by the end.
During his bar mitzvah, William goes for a palm reading at his after-party where he meets none other than...Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone). As a viewer, you might be scratching your head wondering how does this all come together? I was certainly doing that at this point. Patience, please.
During his palm reading, Lilia tells William that his "lifeline is broken in two." Of course, we know what that means, but William is at a loss for words. Before frantically running away, Lilia passes on wise words to William, telling him to enjoy the now before sketching out a sigil on a piece of wood and surreptitiously putting it into the pocket of his coat that he left in her tent. This is that same sigil that later appears on his mouth later every time he tries to reveal who he is.
As Lilia makes her exit, she hands over the coat to someone who totally looks like it could be Agatha (Kathryn Hahn), but that is unclear. Lilia is just hoping the coat makes it to William who will potentially need his identity protected.
This moment is soon followed by a hustle and bustle out of the party as it is revealed that the anomaly at Westview is collapsing. (Hello there, WandaVision!) William and his family drive out of there in a frenzy only to run their car into a tree as we ever so casually hear Wanda's voice on the radio.
While William's parents survive the crash, he clearly doesn't. He is for all intent and purposes dead...until he isn't.
As the hex is shrinking, we go back to that moment in WandaVision where Wanda is watching Vision and her two sons disappear into thin air as the illusion of them she created goes away. That moment coincides with the death of Wiliam Kaplan, and just like that, Billy Maximoff's soul enters William's body, finding a new vessel.
William, or rather Billy Maximoff, awakens to find himself in a new body with two adults claiming to be his parents. The funny thing is, Billy doesn't have any recollection of William's past, but doesn't remember anything from his time within the Hex either.
Curiouser and curiouser...
Three years later...
After a rough return "home" and the realization that he can read minds, Billy finds that he has to play the role of William Kaplan, like it or not. Three years go by, and we see Billy cozying up with a potential boyfriend, Eddie (Miles Gutierrez-Riley).
Of course, Billy can read all his boyfriend's thoughts, and luckily the one he hears is his boyfriend preparing to say "I love you" to him. It's a sweet moment but Billy does have a moment of hesitation because he knows that he comes with a lot of baggage. Billy fills Eddie in on everything that happened three years ago, and even takes him up to his room to show all the intel he has been gathering to make sense of the memories he no longer has.
There is a guy that Billy found on the internet with the handle @bohnerific69 who he is hoping to get more information from. He and Eddie go to meet up this guy in a parking garage where the guy shows up in a trenchcoat trying to be as secretive and suspicious as possible.
So who is this mystery guy? None other than Ralph Bohner (Evan Peters)! I mean, the handle gave it away, didn't it? If you have forgotten about good 'ol Ralph, he was Wanda's fake brother, Pietro, from the time in the Hex. While he may have been Wanda's "brother" during that time, he is not happy to hear her name muttered from BIlly's mouth.
What is more interesting, however, are the thoughts that Ralph is having. Ralph didn't want to be asked about Agatha, so naturally, Billy hones in on that and asks about her. Ralph shares insight into all the awful things Agatha did to him in the Hex, including how he treated Wanda's kids, Billy and Tommy. Ding, ding, ding, now we are getting somewhere!
When Billy inquires about what happened to Wanda, Vision, and the kids, Ralph shared that Wanda died, Vision was dismantled for his parts, and the kids just *disappeared*. Oh, and Agatha still lives in Westview.
Of course, at this point, Billy does not remember and/or understand the lengths to which Agatha will go when it comes to being evil. This does not, as we know, stop him from seeking her out anyway.
Billy Maximoff meets Agatha Harkness
After meeting with Ralph, Billy dives headfirst into researching Wanda and her family, hoping to learn anything he can about the Maximoffs. Of course, he is doing this while listening to Lorna Wu's "Ballad of the Witches Road," because what else would one listen to during this investigation?
He's able to find a picture of Agatha through Google as is reminded that she still lives in Westview. Side note: He gets a text from Eddie with a black heart; is this the umpteenth reference to black heart? Mephisto, where are you?
Things come together quite quickly for Billy as he reads about discovering something that is missing and remembers that Tommy Maximoff is missing. Bingo! Bazinga! He's been looking for his brother this whole time; Tommy may or may not be alive depending on where his soul went when the Hex collapsed.
Billy realizes that in order to learn anything he will have to do a release spell on Agatha, which requires him to have one of her personal items. Operation Break Into Agatha's House commences. This takes us back to the the start of the series when Agatha discovers someone breaking into her house, someone we now know to be Billy.
After a chase and run, Agatha brings Billy back into her house where he reveals that he is trying to release her from a spell. At this point, Agatha is not the Agatha we know, and is still under a spell where she believes she is a detective.
Ending of Agatha All Along Season 1, Episode 6 explained
We cut back to the present after learning about Billy and his journey, just as Agatha is crawling out of the mud that Billy banished her into at the end of the last episode.
Of course, Billy is interested in knowing how long Agatha has known his identity. Apparently, he and his mom have a tell, but Agatha wasn't sure until Billy summoned all that magical power last week.
Billy feels that he can continue down the Witches' Road without Agatha, and when he realizes he can't use his powers, she gives him her classic Agatha laugh. She begins asking what is it that he even wants from the Witches' Road, reminding him that his own mother thought the town of Westview was more important his existence. She also says that he didn't do anything wrong by taking over William's body as one must do what they must to survive. Wise words from Agatha Harkess, huh?
It dawns on Agatha that Billy is looking for "Toby" as she says; he corrects her and says, "Tommy." He feels that his brother is out there somewhere, in some form. What form exactly? We're all eager to know!
The two decide to continue down the Witches' Road and look for the next trial, sans any of the other witches. Are they alive?! They have to be right? Or are we losing the witches one by one?
It's clear that Billy does not trust Agatha, he says as much, but he wants to find his brother, and he wants to be reunited with possibly the only family he has left. (Isn't Vision getting a Disney+ show, though?) It'll be intriguing to see where this journey takes Agatha and Billy next, with all the revelations out there now, it is only the Witches' Road that lies ahead. And maybe, just maybe, a Scarlet Witch cameo? We can keep hoping, can't we?
Catch new episodes ofAgatha All Along every Wednesday on Disney+ at 6:00 p.m. PST.
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