Today we review and recap the two-episode finale of Agatha All Along and give our final thoughts on the series.
‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 8 & 9: A Pleasing Conclusion
Where we last left off, the remaining coven members made their way to the Air trial but they weren’t together. Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) and Billy (Joe Locke) were above the surface while Lilia (Patti LuPone) and Jennifer (Sasheer Zamata) found themselves below in the road, in underground tunnels. The episode was out of sequence to represent how Lilia’s life is as a divination witch and ultimately ends with her sacrifice to save her coven and defeat the Salem Seven. The true identity of Rio was also revealed as Death.
Episode 8 felt like a complete episode that worked to answer many of our questions as well as conclude the struggles that some of the characters endured.
The episode focused on the famed Earth Trial, one that I personally have been speculating on for most of the series’ duration. While the trial didn’t play out exactly as I had hoped and it being noticeably short I was still pretty happy with it. The trial acted as the “wish granting” portion of the road as Agatha helps fulfil the wishes of Jennifer and Billy though I can understand that some may question why this wasn’t done earlier in the series.
Once complete Agatha is left alone once more, mirroring her “covenless witch” title, fortunately she figures out how to complete the trial and finally completes the road. There she meets Rio for the final battle which had some good moments at the start, seeing how Agatha has learnt from her experiences on the road and her coven was an absolute joy.
Agatha powering up was my most anticipated moment and it was done in a very exciting way but the battle felt short, limited to a few magic blasts before Agatha and Billy are forced to accept defeat. I loved their first interaction during the final battle, it gave me hope for a healthy relationship between the two however it quickly descends to iron out the point that Agatha is and will always be evil, it’s only when she’s reminded of her son that’s she has a change of heart.
The WandaVision parallels were also a joy to witness, from the Westview residents witnessing the sky turning green to the looks they gave Billy as he left. It was very nostalgic for me and satisfying seeing those connections. Finally, the biggest surprise for me was the truth about the road. It was one that I truly didn’t see coming and looking back at earlier episodes feels so fulfilling once you connect the dots.
Episode 9 was for the most part a very heartwarming experience that really lets the series earn its name. We get to witness Agatha in her early days with Nicholas Scratch after making a deal with Death to keep him for an unknown amount of time.
The episode really helped to flesh out Agatha’s backstory and add more context to the events of both WandaVision and Agatha All Along. We also get to see the good in Agatha that’s been teased twice in this series through her interactions with her son. Of course she’s still killing witches but it becomes more reasonable rather than being evil for evil’s sake.
Every interaction between Nicholas and Agatha brought absolute joy to my heart, seeing the two create the ballad together was wonderful. Of course, we get that drastic desperation in Agatha when Nicky passes and experiencing the myth of the Witches Road evolve in real time was a sight to behold.
Additionally, the costumes that we witnessed throughout the different eras were to die for. I loved that aspect in the different episodes of WandaVision and seeing the concept carry over twice for this series was amazing. Having this catchy song play while countless witches were drained of their power was definitely an emotional shift because I couldn’t decide between rocking out to the ballad or being shocked by Agatha’s crimes.
Finally, we end the episode with Billy still having some anger towards Agatha and attempting to banish her but the two reconcile and decide to team up making me the happiest person alive as my one and only hope for the series after episode 5 was the two becoming a team.
The only issue I found with this episode was how far of a flashback we experienced. Agatha and Rio were already established to have fallen in love and had a relationship but what I really wanted to learn more about was their first encounter with each other. The lack of a post credit scene was also a shock however with Marvel’s recent track record of introducing characters that fail to appear within a short period of time it was a good idea in the long term to not set expectations too high.
‘Agatha All Along’ Series Review
Agatha All Along is absolutely mesmerising, giving us a cast that I’ve grown to adore on the same level as the cast of Loki Season 2. The series feels like a true successor to WandaVision, utilising the same twists, turns, and concepts from the series while still being able to keep viewers on their toes.
The series features a song that instantly hooks viewers with its catchy nature and the performances that come along with it are fascinating. I eagerly look forward to seeing how the cast return in the wider scale of the universe and which old and new characters they interact with.
What Happens In Episode 8?
The episode opens to Alice laying down on the floor of the Spirit Trial in episode 5, a hand brushes over her face and she awakens. Rio / Death appears and says “it’s time to go”, Alice responds “Where?” and is directed to her body. She’s disappointed with her death, Rio expresses that she’s seen this exact situation multiple times. Eventually Alice accepts her fate and goes to the great beyond.
The episode then shows Jennifer trying to get back into the Air trial to save Lilia, we then cut to Agatha back on the road both afraid and running for her life. She encounters Rio, she reveals that Agatha made a deal with her to gather bodies. Rio reveals that Billy is an abomination, disrupting the sacred balance of life and death by taking over William’s body and having a second life. Rio talks about the “special treatment” she gave Agatha, Agatha disagrees with her and the two talk about Nicholas Scratch, fondly known as Nicky. We cut back to Billy and Jen who talk about Lilia and Rio.
Agatha and Rio discuss Billy’s wish, revealing that Tommy isn’t out there yet and should Billy succeed it will further disrupt the balance. Rio is unable to take Billy’s soul by herself, he must give up his life instead. Agatha and Rio strike a deal, Agatha will bring Billy to Rio in exchange for her freedom and to stop Rio from following her. Rio leaves by causing a tear in the road, revealing that everyone may not be what it seems.
Billy and Jen continue walking down the road, discussing how Agatha and Rio may have met. They meet up with Agatha and the three agree to finish the road. They eventually loop around to the beginning of the road, indicating that the road is a circle with no sign of the Earth trial. Agatha gets enraged and fights with Billy, an upset Billy decides to put his shoes on in an effort to disrespect the road. The screen cuts to black before everyone awakens from body bags in the Earth trial.
In the body bags are personal items related to each member, Agatha gets her brooch, Billy gets a burnt spellbook and Lilia gets a vial. The countdown begins and everyone tries to solve the puzzle. It’s revealed that Agatha is the one who bound Jen, Jen then begins the unbinding spell and she’s successful. Jen gets her magic back and then disappears from the trial. Billy then gets his wish, and Agatha guides Billy on how to find his brother and get him a new body. We see flashes of a kid being bullied and eventually drowning in a swimming pool. They successfully put Tommy’s soul into that body and Billy disappears from the trial.
Agatha is left alone in the trial, in her locket is a dandelion seed which she plants in a patch of soil revealed after Billy completed his wish. The dandelion grows and Agatha completes the Earth trial, the roof begins to fall and Agatha rushes to the staircase where she escapes back to her yard in Westview, Rio congratulates Agatha on completing the road but she’s powerless. Rio tries to get Agatha to surrender herself by causing her immense pain, the Westview residents are in shock as they see the sky turning green thinking it’s another Hex, or to them, a Westview anomaly.
Agatha notices that the moon is in its fire phase, encouraging her to use the protection spell that Alice did in episode 4. It’s unsuccessful and Agatha is further wounded, Rio calls Agatha a coward and she’s reminded of Lilia’s words from episode 7. She tries to heal herself with the healing spell Jen used also in episode 4 but is again unsuccessful.
Agatha is helpless and as Rio approaches her, an explosion occurs. Rio is sent flying by Billy in his Wiccan outfit. Billy offers Agatha his power, she takes enough to power up in her WandaVision outfit. Billy is pushed into the greenhouse, Rio and Agatha begin fighting. Agatha is wounded and admits that the fight is meaningless as they can’t win, Agatha offers to sacrifice herself but Billy offers himself.
To Billy’s surprise, Agatha lets him sacrifice himself until Billy reminds Agatha about Nicky. She then sacrifices herself, kissing Death to absorb her power even though it will kill her. Agatha dies, flowers grow over her corpse. Billy grabs Agatha’s Brooch and Rio lets him leave. The westview citizens watch Billy as he leaves the town, when he returns him his parents reveals that the events of the road lasted for about 24 hours.
When Billy goes to his room, he starts to notice that a lot of his personal possessions were featured in the road, with flashbacks that reference these. Billy is shocked as he realizes that he was responsible for the road, a mysterious voice then laughs behind him scaring him.
What Happens In Episode 9?
The episode opens in 1750 with Agatha running from something, she stops by a nearby tree and it’s revealed that she’s pregnant. After some time, Rio appears to take her child away but she begs for more time which Rio agrees to likely the special treatment referenced in episode 8. Agatha gives birth to Nicholas Scratch noting that he was not made with any spells or incantation. We cut to some time after where Agatha approaches a camp with some forest witches, one of the witches allows her in their camp and Agatha steals their power.
We jump to six years later, Nicholas is seen at a well where he steals a bell from a shopkeeper. He lures a few witches to Agatha’s home so she can steal their power. Some time later Nicholas asks Agatha why she kills witches and her reason being to survive. Some time later we see Nicholas start developing a song that would later be the Ballad of the Witches Road. While the two rest at a makeshift camp, Agatha show’s Nicky her power. She explains that she can do a number of things with her magic except heal and protect Nicky from Rio.
We see a montage of the two developing more lyrics to the Ballad, they eventually come upon a new village where Nicky is performing the complete Ballad. Nicky runs off and Agatha chases after him, we cut to Nicky throwing stones at a nearby river, he apologizes about not allowing Agatha to kill witches indicating that he ran off in order to save some witches. The two fall asleep, Nicky wakes up where he sees Rio ready to take him to the great beyond. He kisses Agatha twice before leaving with Rio. Agatha wakes up realizing that Nicky has passed and we later see her at this grave, she puts a lock of Nicky’s hair in her brooch to remember him by. While singing the Ballad a unsuspecting witch arrives asking Agatha about the Witches Road, she’s surprised by the request and begins her new trap to kill witches and absorb their power.
We see a montage of Agatha throughout the ages absorbing the power from witches, until transitioning back to the present day with her latest coven. We see how surprised Agatha became upon seeing the door appear. We cut to the present day, at the end of episode 8 where Billy meets Agatha as a ghost. Billy, in disbelief, asks Agatha whether he made the road or not which she reveals that he did. Billy feels terrible knowing that he’s responsible for the deaths of Sharon, Alice and Lilia. Agatha also reveals that he saved someone, we cut to Jennifer emerging from the dirt outside Westview, with a sense of relief she flies off.
An angered Billy decides to banish Agatha from this plane of existence, he’s successful until Agatha begs him to stop because she can’t face Nicky after what she’s done. Billy comforts Agatha saying that Nicky will forgive her, she expresses that Billy reminds her of her son. The two agree to team up, and have a moment to bond. Using his power, Billy seals the road permanently and changes it to a tombstone for Sharon, Alice and Lilia. The end of the episode sees Billy and Agatha begin their quest to find Tommy.
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. All episodes are now streaming on Disney+. For episode lengths, consider checking out our article.
If you enjoyed this Agatha All Along recap and our overall Agatha All Along coverage, consider checking out our Marvel section. Thanks for reading!
