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Agatha All Along’s finale makes it the best MCU series yet

Isabella Smith
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Agatha All Along’s finale makes it the best MCU series yet


The following contains spoilers for Agatha All Along, Episode 8, “Follow Me My Friend/To Glory at the End” and Episode 9, “Maiden, Mother, Crone,” now streaming on Disney+.

Lovers of Agatha throughout who hoped the final two-part episodes would have answers to their most burning questions probably strayed from the eighth and ninth episodes of the miniseries – “Follow Me My Friend/To Glory at the End” and “Maiden, Mother , Crone”, respectively — happy. The theories turned out to be true and the series connected to WandaVision more directly than some expected. Without revealing everything yet, There is a future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for Billy Maximoff and Agatha Harkness. Oh, and once again, Mephisto does not show up.



Despite adopting a “cards down” storytelling approach common in other Marvel series, series creator Jac Schaeffer and her writers carefully crafted Agatha’s solo show. They made sure it was a truly compelling drama and mystery, not an overlong teaser for other MCU projects. Nowhere is this clearer than the fact that, with last week’s episode and these last two, it turns out the answers have been right in front of viewers’ eyes this whole time. Viewers also learned about Nicholas Scratch, Agatha’s son, and a little more about his give and take with Death. In truth, Agatha throughout the final two episodes could work as a standalone finale or as a stepping stone to a sequel.


Agatha All Along Episode 8 and 9 gives Agatha Harkness her deepest characterization yet

The episodes revealed a lot about the series’ titular villain


Perhaps the greatest revelation of Agatha throughout The finale was that the Witch Road itself was a spell cast by Billy. Like his mother’s sitcom version of Westview, it was an instinctive creation. Unlike Wanda, he didn’t realize he had control, but Agatha did. As Billy figures this out, the episode helpfully revisits the moments fans have already discovered, particularly those where Agatha implied he was responsible for Road’s creation. She knew it from the beginning because, before Billy, the Witches’ Route was her creation following the death of his son.

“Maiden, Mother, Crone” opens with Agatha giving birth to her son, and the episode implies that her deal with Lady Death bought her time. She and her son convince some kind-hearted witches to take them in, and Agatha steals their power and kills them. It’s unclear whether this was done as an offering to Rio or, more likely, it’s just the way Agatha operates. The two wrote the ballad’s lyrics together, and Agatha continued the scam even after her death.


“The Ballad was the thing. It was just a scam to attract other gullible witches. The song doesn’t mean anything. It never meant anything.” – The ghost of Agatha Harkness to Billy Maximoff.

Billy, Lilia and Agatha in Agatha All Along

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This explains why Agatha was known to be the only witch to “survive the road”. It was all part of the hustle and bustle. For centuries, she convinced witches to attack her after the song of the Ballad failed to open a door and steal their power. Yet after surviving Billy’s route, something changed in Agatha.Wiccan was the first person to willingly give their magic to Agatha. As if to repay her true generosity, she chose to die in Billy’s place so that he could live. Maybe she wanted him to find his brother, or Agatha just knew he was a good person who would help others instead of killing them? Whatever the truth, this is the most complex characterization of Agatha in her entire tenure in the MCU, and it was a big emotional payoff for her solo series.


Episodes 8 and 9 of Agatha All Along emphasize the overall theme of the series, motherhood.

Episode themes connect the series to WandaVision

Agatha throughout the finale opens approximately 60 years after Agatha’s original clan and her mother attempted to kill her. Her conversation with Death showed that their relationship was already underway, and instead of sparing her son, she gave Agatha “special treatment”. This meant that Agatha had had a loving son long enough that she had something to miss. The episode also implies that, like Tommy and Billy inside the Hex, Nicholas was created from pure magic.


Whether Agatha traveled the land killing witches to avoid Death’s pursuit or simply because that’s how she operated doesn’t matter. Nicholas was a pure-hearted boy who didn’t like what his mother did and instead wanted them to join one of these clans “and survive with them”. Earlier in the series, some thought Teen was Agatha’s lost son, but she knew that wasn’t the case. Billy’s kind heart, his desire to work with others, and his almost unwavering faith in her reminded Agatha of Nicholas, but they were not related by blood. If anything, he was just a constant reminder of Nicolas.

“I didn’t say any spell. I didn’t say any incantation. You? You, I did it from scratch.” Agatha to baby Nicolas.

Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness as Agnes in Black and White during the first episode of Agatha All Along.

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Just as WandaVision it was about motherhood, just like Agatha throughout. Agatha didn’t lose a loving family like Wanda and Pietro. This made Nicholas even more important to Agatha. Wanda let her sons go, thinking they would disappear like a dream with the rest of the Hex. Agatha knew that Nicholas had gone to the afterlife to which Rio Vidal (aka Death) was leading his souls. In fact, Agatha became a ghost not to stay with Billy as her “spirit…guide”, but rather because she cannot yet face her son in the next realm. As another reflection on motherhood, Agatha throughout serves as a nice, albeit darker, foil for WandaVision. Or WandaVision showed the excitement of wanting to be a mother, Agatha throughout showed how a monstrous mother could take her family’s love and joy for granted. This makes Agatha more human and sympathetic, but doesn’t completely redeem her – which is for the best in a villain-centric series like this.


Agatha All Along Episode 8 and 9 feature Jennifer Kale

The episodes give Sasheer Zamata his time in the spotlight

Sasheer Zamata as Jennifer Kale watches Agatha Harkness (back on camera) in the no-commitment ritual of Agatha All Along

Agatha throughout the finale opened with Alice Wu-Gulliver and her experience with death. Unlike the benevolent Death seen in Netflix’s adaptation of DC Comics The Sandman,the personification of death in the MCU doesn’t send souls onward with a kind word or a smile. Based on Rio’s attitude in previous episodes, she was having way too much fun driving people away from the realm of the living. However, she puts Alice’s sacrifice into perspective for her. She was a protective witch who died doing her duty, which in Death’s eyes meant she had done “something with [her] life.”


As Billy deals with the deaths of Sharon “Mrs. Hart” Davis, Alice and Lilia Calderu, Agatha points out that her original plan would have killed them all. Ghost Agatha told Billy to look at what he accomplished to “save a life”, especially Jennifer Kale’s.. At the final trial, she learned that Agatha was the witch who had “stopped” her from using magic in the first place. Agatha said she did it for money in the 1920s, without even knowing who Jennifer was. While this twist might seem a bit contrived – especially when put next to Billy “meeting” the clan members before he even learned who Agatha was – it was a nice reveal that deepened the story. Jennifer’s story and highlighted Agatha’s callous brand of villainy.


Patti Lupone as Lilia Calderu in a princess dress and falling crown with a peaceful look on her face in Agatha All Along.

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The unbinding ritual wasn’t exactly subtle, but it was nonetheless a powerful scene, in every sense of the word. Jennifer had to repeat over and over again that Agatha had no power over her, until both witches were affected by it. Jennifer then disappeared from The Road, emerging from the ground just outside of Westview before flying off towards the rising moon. Lilia called her “The High Priestess,” in reference to one of the Major Arcana cards from a Tarot deck, so it’s likely that MCU fans haven’t seen the last of Jennifer. That said, it will be interesting to see if she sees Billy’s unconscious plight as “saving” her life if she ever finds out. After seven episodes, Sasheer Zamata is finally getting his solo episodes, and it’s way more than fans expected. Zamata has always been good on the show, but here she shows Jennifer’s hidden depths and humanity in a way she didn’t before. Hopefully this isn’t the last time the MCU sees Jennifer.


Agatha throughout is worth watching and revisiting

The series works best when the audience knows the ending in advance

Joe Locke as Billy Maximoff and Kathryn Hahn as the ghost Agatha Harkness looking at a bright light off-screen in Agatha ALl Along

Even if a second season is possible, these two episodes will probably constitute the finale of Agatha throughout. He’s a ghost, after all, and the MCU has largely avoided resurrection. Agatha throughout leaves Agatha and Billy as an unlikely team, with the latter using her advice to learn more about magic and find his brother. The Search for Timmy is a story that wouldn’t center on Agatha like Agatha throughout did so, and therefore warrants a title change. It is for this simple reason that Agatha throughout Season 2 may never happen, although Agatha will obviously return. Even though she is now a disembodied ghost, Agatha still has a future in the MCU. It should be noted that Agatha is a “quick study” and was able to pick up and wear her mother’s brooch, in which she kept a haircut of Nicholas’s. Maybe she’ll be able to become fully corporeal the next time MCU fans see her.


Agatha might even appear in a post-credits scene in Fantastic Fouroffering her services to Reed and Sue Richards as nanny. After all, Agathe East a recurring character in the classic Fantastic Four comics. Kathryn Hahn herself has expressed excitement over the potential of Marvel’s First Family crossing over with live-action Agatha. Assuming this is the last time Hahn plays Agatha in her “classic” MCU form, Agatha throughout is a strong series in its own right. The final two episodes are the series’ best yet, which is saying a lot considering the high bar set by last week’s “Death’s Hand In Mine.” In terms of story and execution, Agatha throughout is the best and most creative MCU series yet, and needs a rewatch or two. Watching it a second time while knowing all the hidden secrets could make it a different and more rewarding experience.


Season 1 of Agatha All Along is now streaming on Disney+.

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