Agatha All Along episode 5 review and recap: "Kooky, camp comedy makes way for more generic Marvel-esque antics"

2024-10-10

GamesRadar+ VerdictAgatha All Along’s latest episode races the plot along to usher in the show’s inevitably darker second half. It’s thrilling but feels rushed, as its earlier camp comedy makes way for more stereotypical superhero anticsPros+Kathryn Hahn’s excellent Debra Jo Rupp impersonation+Fun, witchy visuals+Joe Locke’s switch from sweet to sinister following Teen’s revealCons-Too fast-paced-Lacks the creativity of previous episodes-Certain decisions surrounding the reveal feel cheesy

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Agatha All Along’s latest episode races the plot along to usher in the show’s inevitably darker second half. It’s thrilling but feels rushed, as its earlier camp comedy makes way for more stereotypical superhero antics

Pros+Kathryn Hahn’s excellent Debra Jo Rupp impersonation+Fun, witchy visuals+Joe Locke’s switch from sweet to sinister following Teen’s reveal

Kathryn Hahn’s excellent Debra Jo Rupp impersonation

Fun, witchy visuals

Joe Locke’s switch from sweet to sinister following Teen’s reveal

Cons-Too fast-paced-Lacks the creativity of previous episodes-Certain decisions surrounding the reveal feel cheesy

Too fast-paced

Lacks the creativity of previous episodes

Certain decisions surrounding the reveal feel cheesy

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Warning! This review contains major spoilers for Agatha All Along episode 5.

Despite its inevitable links to WandaVision,Agatha All Along’s first four episodes felt refreshingly separate from the MCU, as Kathryn Hahn’s titular anti-hero pulled together a coven and set off down theWitches' Road. But this is a Marvel project after all, and it’d be naïve of us to think that it could’ve been all camp comedy and show tunes…

Episode 5, titled ‘Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power’, is the most disappointing, generically genre chapter so far, as it moves the plot along at breakneck speed and culminates in a reveal many saw coming – though it still has its merits.

The flying sequence is fun, as the series leans into Agatha All Along’s specific, Halloweeny iconography – one gorgeous shot glimpses the coven’s silhouette against a glowing red blood moon – even if the CGI is a little ropey, but we’re not given enough time to really enjoy it. Almost as soon as they’re in the air, Agatha and co encounter a hovering member of the Salem Seven, which causes them to crash land and make a run for the nearest shelter. Inside, they realize the next trial is kicking off – and this time, it’s Agatha’s.

Chaos magic

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Agatha with her broom on the Witches' Road in Agatha All Along

Donned in ’80s-style slumber party get-ups, more stunning, eye-catching work from costume designer Daniel Selon, the gang work out that they’ll have to commune with the dead this time around, thanks to a ouija board not-so-subtly flinging itself out from the cabin’s games corner. The séance takes a swift turn, though, when they disobey the rulebook and remove their hands from the planchette mid-chat; Agatha gets possessed, her late mother Evanora returns as a hateful ghost, Alice dies trying to protect Agatha from a spirit, and Hahn flexes her stellar Debra Jo Rupp impersonation. It’s thrilling and amusing as the writers and production designers pay homage to horrors like Poltergeist and The Exorcist, albeit a little chaotic.

FAST FACTSRelease date:October 10, 2024Available on:Disney PlusShowrunner:Jac SchaefferRuntime:32 minutes

FAST FACTS

Release date:October 10, 2024Available on:Disney PlusShowrunner:Jac SchaefferRuntime:32 minutes

With that, ‘Teen’ uses his secret powers to take control of Jen and Lilia, who then grab Agatha and throw her into a mud pit. She sinks out of sight, right before Teen, who we can assume is Wanda Maximoff’s son Billy from the comics at this point, blasts Jen and Lilia into the same ditch. With the camera panned back onto Teen, a magical crown, similar to the one the Scarlet Witch wears, starts forming around his forehead, confirming who he is.

Follow me, my friend… or foe?

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Joe Locke as Wican in Agatha All Along

It’s one heck of a dramatic cliffhanger, after being kept in the dark on Teen’s backstory in previous episodes, and Locke skillfully switches between sweet and sinister. That said, it’s all a bit cheesy – that on-the-nose Billie Eilish needledrop? – and hardly a shocker given how widely it was rumored that that’s who the Heartstopper actor was playing. Not that the series itself can necessarily be blamed for how perceptive Marvel fans are, mind, and besides, perhaps its predictability is the point? Indulge in a quick search of the Agatha All Along hashtag on Twitter and you’ll find a cauldron-full of fans suggesting that the whole episode was actually a vision of clairvoyant crone Lilia. It checks out, admittedly, when you consider that the installment opens with her waking up from a premonition and how, later on, she tells Teen: “I read people, I read time”. It would be quite impressive (and looking back on WandaVision, unsurprising) if it turned out showrunner Jac Schaeffer and the others behind the show are deliberately toying with the audience’s loudest theories.

It’s one heck of a dramatic cliffhanger, after being kept in the dark on Teen’s backstory in previous episodes, and Locke skillfully switches between sweet and sinister.

For now, it looks like Billy will be the baddie going forward, which could pave the way for Agatha to take on a more sympathetic, complex role, like former MCU villains Bucky Barnes or Loki. Episode 5 certainly hinted at Agatha being a product of her tragic past, with her mother claiming she was “born evil” and saying she “ought to have killed [her] the moment [she] left [her] body”. Later, when Jen and the rest go to ditch her, Agatha whimpers, “I can be good”. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if that’s true…

In short (and it really is short at just 25 minutes), while it’s far from perfect, ‘Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power’ is a serviceable episode that bridges the gap between Agatha All Along’s kooky first half and its second, which looks set to be more serious and emotionally charged, which much higher stakes. These characters are such a delight to be around that a slight dip in quality can’t knock us off course that easily.

Agatha All Along episodes 1 to 5 are streaming now. Ensure you don’t miss a thing with ourAgatha All Along release schedule.

For more on the wider MCU, check out our guide to all of theupcoming Marvel movies and showsor get up to speed with our breakdown of theMarvel timeline.

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GamesRadar+ Verdict

Chaos magic

Follow me, my friend… or foe?

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