This week's episode of Agatha All Along was so spooky it could be a Halloween Day event in September. I swear there were so many thrilling moments that I regularly caught myself gasping and being caught off-guard. I absolutely loved that vibe from this week, and I can only imagine what's in store for the season finale that airs on Halloween Eve.
There is so much to chat about regarding this week's episode of the witchy Marvel/Disney+ series, but most importantly there is that name-drop. The name we've been whispering about, theorizing about, and obsessing over since the premiere of WandaVision three years ago. While we were let down at that time, the writers and creators of Agatha All Along are making up for it ten-fold by simply having a character mention that name. More on that in a bit!
Last week, we left our interesting coven of witches at the cusp of beginning their trek down the Witches Road. It was a wild and musical ride to that point, but they made it, with Teen (Joe Locke) and Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp) in tow.
This week, we witness the first trial for the coven+2, and it is absolutely everything we want from a show like this. So with that in mind, let's get to the biggest moments of "Through Many Miles of Tricks and Trials." MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
The coven faces its first trial
There is something about this assembly of witches that just clicks, and that becomes more evident in the season's third episode. They shouldn't make sense but they do, and now that they are a witches' version of a team, this episode allows them to go full-force into the chaos ahead.
The first trial for the witches presents itself very quickly and immediately the episode toes the line between horror, thrill, suspense, and comedy. It is an odd yet imperfectly perfect combination and I'm here for it.
At the heart of the trial is one of show's many mysteries: who the heck is Teen? The coven (and us!) are dying to know, but despite Teen sharing that information openly, a sigil prevents his voice from carrying out so others can hear. We saw this sigil in the season premiere but Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) did not address it at the time, and she continues to stay mum about it here. It appears that not even Teen knows this is happening. Peculiar, isn't it?
I think the popular theories point to Teen being the Scarlet Witch's kid, but after this episode's name drop, there are even more speculations. Again, I'll get to that in a little bit.
As they make their way down the Witches Road, Jen (Sasheer Zamata) notices a house in the distance, and upon the witches entering it, everyone turns into what can be described as characters from Big Little Lies, or as they say it in this episode, Huge Tiny Lies.
There isn't much time to obsess over the why of it all as a riddle presents itself through an envelope that reads, “My age has value. I’m no fun alone. I mess with your mind. My tricks are well-known.” Is anyone feeling Loki vibes?
As the riddle is read out loud, there is a bottle of wine and glasses to go with it that emerge, ready for consumption. Teen is ready to get the party started (sorry, you're underage, buddy!) so Jen follows him and the two have a very interesting conversation.
It has been clear from the premiere that Teen idolizes Agatha. There isn't really a rhyme or reason, but there is a connection there. This bond is alluding to something big, and in this episode, Jen may have given us some clues
Jen reveals to Teen that Agatha opted to give away her child in exchange for getting the Darkhold. This revelation rattles Teen, but it is what Jen says next that rattles us: she mentions that Agatha may not even know or recognize her own son if he showed up (could it be Teen?!). Nothing is known about this child, according to Jen, including if he is alive or if perhaps he has become...“ an agent of Mephisto.”
THAT NAME! THAT NAME DROP! If you have been watching from the start of Marvel's Disney+ shows, this was a big moment. It was just a few words uttered, but the number of hours spent theorizing about Mephisto and flies and how he may appear in WandaVision but didn't came to fruition. We heard the name, and I hope it is not the last time.
What is the witches' first trial?
After that heart-pounding name drop, the witches go on to drink the wine (except Teen who isn't old enough to drink yet and Agatha who just decides she's not going to). Whatever was in this wine causes everyone who drinks it to have frightening, vivid hallucinations of people they once knew. Like This was a frightening few minutes and certainly freaked me out. I had a few jump scares, to say the least.
Consuming the wine not only brings on hallucinations but also allergic reactions (puffy face, puffy lips, etc.). Jen realizes the only way out was to create an antidote made of witchy ingredients that had to be found through everyday things (like Vaseline). It's a fun few moments of these guys trying to find the ingredients while also trying to fight off the overwhelmingly scary hallucinations.
After all the bits and pieces are gathered, however, Jen creates the potion in the sink, only to realize it needs to be warmed up and would now require Teen's clutch suggestion of using a sous vide. Once all that comes together, plus one final ingredient (the blood of an un-poisoned individual, aka Teen), the potion comes to life and the witches lived to see another day.
However, Mrs. Hart, or rather Sharon Davis, barely gets the potion after fainting following a hallucination that causes her to yell out Wanda's name (I'm loving these name drops!). We seemingly feel all is well when the witches make their way out of the house (which begins to flood and somehow ends up underwater) through the oven. Everyone makes it out unscathed, or so we think...
Arriving back on the Witches Road following their first trial, there is much to celebrate. However, it is all short-lived because Sharon is...dead?
Agatha All Along, why do you have to take away Sharon like that? This better be another hallucination!
I'm loving this show so much, folks, and I would gander a guess that you all do too. This is a complete throwback to the hype and excitement during WandaVision where we would be on the edge of our seats wondering what will happen next or if a name would be mentioned or a character show up. This is what Marvel has always thrived at, and I'm really hoping this series gives them a chance to get back to it.
This series is doing magnificently so far, and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead on the Witches Road!
Catch new episodes of Agatha All Along every Wednesday on Disney+ at 6 PM PST.
Grade: A
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