Today we review and recap Agatha All Along Episode 5 and predict what we can expect next for the series.
‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 5: Your Classic Slumber Party Possession
Last week on Agatha All Along, the coven took on their second trial which revolved around Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) and the curse that plagued her family. They were successful in getting rid of the curse but not without its consequences as Teen (Joe Locke) was severely injured. Teen survives and Rio (Aubrey Plaza) reveals to Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) that he isn’t her son, Nicholas Scratch.The latest episode sees the return of the series antagonists, The Salem Seven. Their introduction was exciting as we got confirmation that they do have the ability to transform into animals, something that was alluded to in the show’s second episode. I was really surprised by their movements, which while still having a very creepy vibe (with added help from sound effects) to them, each represent their animal very well.
One of my most anticipated scenes from the promotional footage for the series was the coven flying on brooms which we saw in this episode. Lilia’s (Patti LuPone) rants about the stereotypes of witches are always a joy to listen to and it only gets better when the team is forced to fly on the broomsticks.
The third trial was made for Agatha and is themed around slumber parties. As per usual the outfits were great, however I wanted more from the slumber party itself, there was a noticeable lack of activities that you’d typically expect with this sort of event. I would’ve loved a short montage of the coven doing more typical activities such as pillow fights and truth or dare to lighten the mood a bit before shifting back to the series’ more eerie tones.
This doesn’t mean that I didn’t love the Ouija Board sequence, the fake-out return of “Mrs. Hart” was a pleasant surprise even though it felt a bit off. This sequence also made me think more about Agatha as a person, I’ve always seen her as this wicked witch who I adored, but as the trial progresses you’re left asking questions about whether this is truly who Agatha intended to be. She’s painted in a more misunderstood way, her evil being something that she’s forced to live with rather than be.
The final moments of the episode also leave the audience with more questions as Agatha is punished for her crimes by the one she least expects or so we think. It’s something I’ve been patiently awaiting since we’ve first heard about the series and while I was left a bit disappointed I’m positive that the following episode will give me more of what I desire.
What Happens In Episode 5?
The episode opens with the Salem Seven entering the road, we see each member in their animal form then transforming into humans. Lilia wakes up in shock as she sees the Seven in her dreams, the summoning spell they used to bring Rio allowed the Seven to gain access to the road. It’s revealed that the Salem Seven are the children of Evanora Harkness’ coven, Agatha spared them and they decided to exact revenge.
The Seven catch up with Agatha and the others forcing them to use practical magic to create flying brooms. They manage to escape though the Seven are hot on their tail, they manage to fly high above the road but are forced down to complete their trial. They narrowly escape the seven and enter the trial which is themed after a slumber party. Rio reveals that this trial is for Agatha, the spirit witch which is indicated by the blood moon.
The trial’s puzzle, a Ouija board, makes itself known. As soon as Teen picks it up the trial begins. The first spirit they encounter is “Mrs. Hart.” Lilia is forced to remove her hand causing Agatha to be “possessed” by her. The next person they encounter calls themself “Death,” they say they want to punish Agatha. A loud noise radiates throughout the room, the coven gangs up on Agatha, she vanishes and the room goes dark. She’s possessed once again this time by her mother Evanora. Agatha almost kills both Teen and Jennifer (Sasheer Zamata) before Lilia finds the light switch, she vanishes again before the ghost of Evanora Harkness makes an appearance.
Evanora tells the coven to finish the road without Agatha as a means of punishing her. Evanora possesses Agatha again in order to harm the coven. Alice tries saving Agatha but it backfires as her powers are absorbed, Agatha doesn’t stop until she hears the name Nicholas Scratch who asks her to stop. It’s too late for Alice as her powers were absorbed causing her to die. Teen lashes out at Agatha and everyone’s hatred for Agatha grows, she’s the first to exit the trial to avoid the conflict.
Outside the trial we see Agatha using Alice’s powers, it seems to fizzle away after some time. Teen confronts Agatha further accusing her of doing it on purpose, his idea of witches has now been corrupted. Agatha with a smile on her face starts teasing Teen and says “he’s so much like his mother”. Teen is both surprised and sad, something triggers in him allowing him to use magic. He controls Lilia and Jennifer to throw Agatha in the mud pit, he then throws Jennifer and Lilia into the pit. The final scene of the episode shows Teen with a crown similar to the Scarlet Witch’s, confirming what we all suspected. Teen is Billy Maximoff.
Predicting Where We Are Heading Next
With the reveal at the end of the fifth episode, it’s clear that we will have a backstory for Billy catching us up on everything he’s gone through over the last 3 years indicated by his line “A lot happened to me at 13 too” up until his first encounter with Agatha when he broke into her home. It seems like we will experience Billy’s Bar Mitzvah indicated by Ali Ahn mentioning that being her favorite part of the upcoming episode.
To go into more detail we should see Billy get into a car crash during the finale of WandaVision possibly after his Bar Mitzvah. Billy’s boyfriend who we were introduced to in episode 2 under the name “Boyf” could also appear as the actor, Miles Gutierrez-Riley did tease an appearance in a future episode. Also we’ll witness when Billy first learnt about Agatha Harkness as promo footage revealed him researching her.
When it comes to the next trial, the ending indicates that Lilia’s trial is up next. However, with Billy sending everyone into the mud pits I suspect that we may go to the Earth trial instead. We were given a tease of the earth trial which shows Agatha emerging from a body bag, the transition from her meeting her demise in the mud pit to waking up in a body bag would be absolutely fitting. Alternatively episode 6 could be completely focused on Billy, the Earth trial could serve as the opening for Episode 8 as Lilia is seemingly absent from that trial. Additionally Sasheer Zamata, who plays Jennifer Kale, revealed that her favorite part about Episode 7 is Patti LuPone, and what better way to highlight Patti’s skills then an episode dedicated to her.
Agatha All Along stars Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness, Joe Locke as Billy Maximoff, Aubrey Plaza as Rio Vidal, Patti LuPone as Lilia Calderu, and more. The first five episodes are now available on Disney+, with episode six (written by Jason Rostovsky) arriving on October 16th at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET. Find out when all episodes for Agatha All Along are released and episode lengths for future episodes.
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