This review contains full spoilers for Agatha All Along Season 1, Episode 5.

Marvel’s Agatha All Around finally answers one of the show’s biggest questions, but only does so at the end of a rushed episode. The series’ fifth chapter, titled “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power,” is the shortest yet, clocking in at just 25 minutes before the end credits, about 10-15 minutes less than previous episodes. That’s a shame, because the many crucial moments could use a lot more breathing space.

In what must be the worst-kept secret in Marvel history, we now know that Joe Locke’s mysterious ‘Teen’ character is Billy Kaplan, son of the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), better known in the comics as Wiccan . The climactic moment when Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) pushes Billy too far and he uses his powers to eliminate the coven is pretty awesome. It was an inspired choice to reveal his identity not through words, but by showing him using Wanda’s signature mind control ability and donning a crown similar to hers – all punctuated by the perfect needle drop, Billie Elish’s’ You Should See Me in a Crown’. That said, it is unclear how exactly Agatha knows his true identity. Much has been written about the mysterious mark placed on Billy that makes his real name unknowable to witches, which makes it a bit confusing that Agatha suddenly knows. I imagine this will be explained in a future episode, but it still raises distracting questions in this episode until the big reveal.

What also takes away from the big moment is that Billy’s character is so underdeveloped for so long. He’s had a lot of screen time, running after Agatha and asking a million questions about how witchcraft works, but aside from the fact that he seems like a genuinely good person who sees the best in people (even one as bad as Agatha), we have only a superficial understanding of him. Again, I’m sure we’ll get to know him better in the inevitable flashback episode where his entire backstory is explained in detail, but it’s hard to feel overwhelmed by the fact that he’s Wanda’s son when there’s there isn’t much reason for it. to still feel invested in him. As a long-time fan of Marvel’s Young Avengers comics and Wiccan in particular, it was a little frustrating to see this all happen.

This speaks to a larger problem that Agatha All along suffers from. With each passing episode, the plot not only moves faster, but becomes thinner and thinner. The story starts to feel like a collection of set pieces strung together by a series of gimmicks and expository lines of dialogue. The trial with Alice (Ali Ahn) in episode four was the first casualty of this growing problem and is now causing problems again.

At the very least, my prayers for a real villain have finally been answered. The Salem Seven follow the coven through the Witches’ Way in their uniquely creepy way. Interestingly enough, we learn that the Salem Seven are the descendants of the witches Agatha killed long ago, which creates a nice tie-in to the flashback we saw in WandaVision. These black-clad witches are still very one-dimensional villains, so I’d like to know more about them, but until that happens (perhaps in another flashback) they do a great job of adding some much-needed danger and excitement. to the procedure.

To my surprise, this episode is about Agatha’s trial. I always assumed hers would be saved for last, being the main character and all, so it’s a nice subversion of expectations. The horror movie’s sleepover setting is quite fun, especially with how the Ouija board leads to an actual possession of Agatha herself. The whole setup results in some classic horror jokes and a lot of hearty laughs as the characters panic and rush to resolve the situation. It’s refreshing to see Jen (Sasheer Zamata) take a stand against Agatha by calling out her BS and suggesting that they abandon her just like she would do to them. Harsh, but not unreasonable, considering Agatha’s track record.

Agatha All The Time Episode 5 Images