‘Agatha All Along’ 1×05 review: Thrills thrive in a cabin in the woods

Talk about a magical twist! Teen’s long-awaited identity was revealed on Disney+’s Agatha All Along. Sure, it was one we all theorized and accepted as fact, but “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power” still made it a dramatic moment. We were left at the edge of our seats as the crown unveiled the truth, albeit in a short timeframe that detracted from the episode’s pacing. But between the twist, the Salem Seven, and the B-horror movie theme, “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power” was a solid episode that packed the spooky fun.

Agatha’s merciful regret

One of Agatha All Along’s persistent villains is the Salem Seven, a group of hive-mind witches intent on killing Agatha. Previously, we only got a hint of the animalistic coven before Agatha and crew descended into the Witches’ Road. From those few clips, the group looked terrifying and eerie. Their debut in the Road on “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power” emphasized how creepy they could be. Every time their bodies twisted and turned, or when they morphed from their animals, it injected a feeling of unease into the scene. Agatha All Along wanted us to know these are eerie villains – it succeeded in that regard.

Now we need to get more backstory and interactions with the Salem Seven. We’re five episodes in out of nine and the threat level needs to pick up the pace. If “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power” had been longer, we could’ve been treated to a flashback or more attack scenes from the group. Lilia merely giving an expositional backstory didn’t give the villains full justice. The show told us how Agatha affected them, but this would’ve been stronger had they shown us. Agatha killing the parents was shown on WandaVision, but the kids could’ve appeared in a new flashback. The Salem Seven needs to feel like a huge threat, not a looming nuisance.

A loss of the flame

Regarding Agatha’s coven, “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power” definitively cemented that these members are only out for their own good. Sure, they protected each other from the poisonous cottage and the musical fire demon, but it was out of self-survival. They want power and they’ll make sure to get their share. In hindsight, the group’s witchy broom ride was a smokescreen for the later cabin chaos. Agatha All Along toyed with the fun Harry Potter-esque wonderment of flying broomsticks and banding together with friends, only to pull the rug with a heavy dose of reality. Scenes like Alice and Teen creating their flying broomsticks together were happy coven memories before the seriousness refocused.

Interestingly, the person who suffered the most was the one who tried to save someone in the coven. Did anyone predict that Alice would die by Agatha’s hand? My heart broke for her (and Teen) because she wanted to protect Agatha from the poltergeist. Agatha using her power-sucking ability to drain Alice’s life force was a betrayal that hurt, even if we all saw it coming. Agatha tried to steal their powers before but so much has changed since they sang the Witches’ Ballad. Alice made an act of heroism and kindness that destroyed her.

I’m not sure if we can fully believe Agatha that she had no control over her ability. There was a moment when Agatha’s face changed after Evanora left her body and she began siphoning the magic. She looked too intent and fixated on draining Alice’s powers. While Teen saying Nicholas Scratch’s name broke the spell, it didn’t seem plausible that Agatha had no control. We’re talking about the witchy villain who manipulated the Scarlet Witch on WandaVision! Agatha is cold and calculating. A part of her knew what she was doing. And the others are blameless in this regard – Lilia, Jennifer, and Rio could’ve stepped in to break the siphoning. They didn’t need magic; they could’ve knocked Agatha out.

Revenge of the spirits

“Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power” focused specifically on Agatha’s trial under the blood moon. Her trial aesthetic took us into the cabin of an ‘80s B-horror movie, akin to something like Evil Dead or Friday the 13^th. Plenty of bold colors, side ponytails, leggings, and loose-fitting shirts heightened the slumber party feel. If we knew it wasn’t Agatha All Along, this could’ve been The Slumber Party Massacre… but with ghosts! Even Teen looked like the cliché horror movie victim, but with a few subtle nods for Marvel fans (we’ll get to this later on!).

Agatha’s trial was a simple one compared to the others, even compared to Alice’s song. This trial didn’t seem like a challenge for her, but it was one for the other witches. If the group had trusted the Ouija Board process, they could’ve gone through the reading and learned the named faster. Evanora Harkness was never going to let Agatha go freely. However, if the witches had looked for another way to save Agatha (minus magic), they all could’ve gotten out alive. Maybe if they had joined Teen with finishing the reading? Mentioning Nicholas’ name stopped the trial. All the group had to do was follow the rules, which seems to be an ongoing issue for them in trials.

The hidden truth

Now, for the big twist of the episode: the reveal of Billy Kaplan/Maximoff…Wiccan! Teen is one of Wanda’s twin sons from WandaVision; all grown up and mysteriously taking the Witches’ Road. Is he trying to revive Wanda and/or his brother? Does he want more power? As mentioned above, we’ve guessed for a while now that Teen would become the MCU’s Wiccan. However, the truth didn’t take away from how amazingly epic the debut was. We needed Teen to be Wiccan and confirm our suspicions; sometimes the obvious answer is the one we need all along.

Using his powers to control the coven and bury them in the mud, while the editing subtly reveals his witch crown, was a shocking moment. Pairing it with Billie Eilish’s “you should see me in a crown” created a breathless needle drop that heightened the power and atmosphere of the ending. Agatha All Along didn’t have to utter the words “Billy” or “Wiccan” to confirm the identity. The use of his ‘80s outfit colors, the name of the needle drop, and the crown all did the work. Agatha All Along did a great job with the subtleties.  

“Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power” served as an episode that overflowed with horror goodness. We were hit with Alice’s sad loss and the coven’s fracturing. The emergence of the Salem Seven and Teen’s true identity posed several new threats that would challenge the witches to come. It’s a shame that the strong foundation and elements of the chapter were hindered by its short run-time. This chapter could’ve been perfect with a little more fleshing out and scenes. However, in the runtime we did get, “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power” was a witchy good time.

Agatha All Along airs Wednesdays on Disney+.

Images courtesy of Marvel Studios/Disney+. You can read more reviews by Justin Carreiro here.