‘Agatha All Along’ 1×04 review: A musical interlude

The Witches’ Road has fanned the first flames of filler on Disney+’s Agatha All Along. “If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You” felt more like an interlude than a dangerous trial. Whereas the previous trial tested the witches’ skills, the second focused more on character exposition. The fiery power of the curse paled in comparison to the issues of the past. It’s all well and good to get character development, but if the big climax of episode 4 is only a song, it’s clear that there wasn’t much else as a foundation. “If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You” is a stepping-stone episode to get us to the next chapter.

A new member rises

Case in point: the arrival of Rio Vidal. As hard as it was for us all to admit it, we expected Sharon to die. She wasn’t a real witch and didn’t have magical powers to help the coven. The group needed a green witch who can provide earth-focused abilities, so a replacement was necessary. Plus, with Aubrey Plaza (who plays Rio) in the cast, there had to be a way for her to join the coven. The pieces were there since the series premiere to tie those loose ends together.

Agatha and Rio’s history seemed to be very complex and layered. In their few scenes together in the recording booth and the forest, you could feel the layers of tension between them. Rio wants Agatha dead, but they also have plenty of sexual tension between them. Rio wants to claim the witches’ lives while helping Agatha on the road. Once Rio alludes to Agatha being “her scar,” it poses the theory that something terrible tore them apart. Could this have something to do with Agatha’s dead son, Nicholas Scratch? Will the Salem 7 come into play here? Rio is unpredictable, making it so much more fun for us to watch everything unfold.

Aubrey Plaza’s Rio has a blast in her first episode as the Green Witch. She is chaotic and mischievous while giving us the feeling of her having a sinister wink and smile with everything she did. Rio seems like she would equally slaughter the entire coven without a second thought, while also caring about what happens to Agatha. Her sarcastic deadpan humor balances the energies from the rest of the coven. I can’t wait to see what else she does during the rest of the trials.

Fire and flames in the harmonies

The trial for “If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You” ties itself closer to Alice’s challenge. Between her family’s curse and the musical connection to her mother, it’s clear that this is Alice’s story. Lorna’s death affected Alice her entire life, so much so that it hurt her just as much as the family curse. Alice’s hallucination during the earlier cottage chaos gave us a deeper look into the pain she carried. “If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You” was the culmination of that heartbreak and Alice overcoming the generational trauma from her family/Lorna’s death.

From a pacing standpoint, it would’ve been better had the demon been defeated after a few attempts before the song. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the coven performing Lorna’s version of the Witches’ Road balled. The group has plenty of talent, and the ‘70s influences infuse themselves throughout every beat of the song and episode. Agatha All Along has made some catchy bops! However, a 3–4-minute song moved by too quickly.

The demon should’ve done more hauntings and inner flames before the group turned to the music. After the first few attacks, the tension was starting to ramp up, but it subsided too quickly when the music started. For instance, Lilia and Jennifer catching on fire showed that the demon was ready to attack at any moment. And when Teen got thrown through the glass window, the demon became more powerful in the episode. A few more fire attacks or a telepathic attack on the group would’ve helped to raise the stakes. Even Teen’s collapse from the stabbing was rushed through.

The harsh truth in moonlight

Speaking of Teen, the odds of his near death were low. Agatha All Along is on Episode 4 — Teen isn’t dying on Episode 4. We still have the mystery about the sigil and his real identity; he’s not going away until the end of the miniseries. What was fascinating was his growing connection to Agatha. Do you think she truly cares for him? She tried to protect him during the two trials, and she begged Jennifer to save his life from the bleeding. She might have grown fond of him as an emotional replacement for her dead son.

Or, could she have thought he was Nicholas Scratch all along? Maybe a part of her thought her son was alive in Teen? Rio revealing the truth that Teen wasn’t Nicholas — both as a sobering truth and a fact —was meant as a harsh reality for Agatha. She couldn’t replace Teen with Nicholas. We’ll have to see if her behavior towards Teen changes with this news. (And especially if he does turn out to be the MCU’s version of Wiccan from Marvel.)

Another mystery that popped up again on Agatha All Along was Lilia’s visions. Her connection to the future comes up in short one-liners and strange expressions, warning that something is coming up. “If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You” fulfilled one of those prophecies: Lilia’s line about loving everyone at the cottage was tied to her heartfelt words at the campfire. From what we heard, she warned Alice about not doing something dangerous. Could she be the next death on Agatha All Along? Her curse has been lifted and she’s made peace with Lorna’s death. That’s not a good sign for her future in a horror series.

“If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You” was a fine yet filler beat in the song of Agatha All Along. The miniseries took a step forward by introducing Rio and solving Alice’s family curse. And the group provided us with yet another catchy musical banger. The recording studio trial looked interesting with the ‘70s costumes and set design flair. However, the trial’s weight paled compared to the previous three episodes. It’s ultimately a stepping-stone episode for Agatha All Along.

Agatha All Along airs Wednesdays on Disney+.

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Images courtesy of Disney+