The Fantasy Review’s review of Agatha All Along Episode 3 Review – Through Many Miles / Of Tricks and Trials.
Spoiler-Filled Review of Agatha All Along Episode 3
The recap for episode 1 and episode 2 was trash, but I promise, they were great episode of TV and the best thing Marvel (on Disney Plus) has done (for TV shows) since Ms. Marvel.
I can’t, however, promise that this review of Agatha All Along, episode 3, is 100% positive.
No Phone Signal Down the Witches’ Road
Agatha All Along episode 3 starts where episode 2 ended, on the Witches’ Road. Mrs. Hart/Sharon is a little concerned that she’s been kidnapped, but she’s got no phone signal, so she’s just going to go along with it for now.
The comedy in this show is so silly and fun and I love it.
Everyone else, however, is concerned about what chased them down into the Witches’ Road, and they should be. The slightly confusing part of this opening scene is everyone is worried about what they have gotten themselves in for, but surely they should have had this conversation before singing the ballad?
The dialogue is a bit contrived, sure, and a little boring. Let’s get on with it!
A Sparkly Little Mystery
We get a little more exposition. So, the Trials will test every type of magic, whatever that means. Sounds cool, though. And “Teen” is revealed to have a sigil put on him, which is a spell that hides something.
Now that we have all that out of the way, can we get on with it? It’s unfortunate that the dialogue feels very unnatural, but the performances are great, and the setting and tone are good too. I just want some actual plot now please.
Here We Go
So, Mrs. Hart/Sharon runs off, looking for a way out. It’s pretty dark, actually, what’s happening to her. She’s been kidnapped and is now trapped somewhere that will most likely kill her.
Or steal her handbag.
“This came from Talbots. You can’t have it!”
Oh, she’s a joy!
The first trial is introduced along the Witches’ Road, and it’s a house in a nice, sunny spot. Sharon rings the bell and Agatha leads them all inside.
Costume Change!
They all get a makeover inside the house and the door handle disappears. So far, Agatha All Along episode 3 is full of jokes and not much else. But now we have the mystery of this first trial.
Teen finds an invitation from the Witches’ Road to the coven for the first trial. They are presented with a riddle:
MY AGE HAS VALUE.
I’M NO FUN ALONE.
I MESS WITH YOUR MIND.
MY TRICKS ARE WELL-KNOWN
A witch show without a riddle would be a travesty. And a show for wine-lovers would be nothing without a lot of wine drinking! Not against it – let’s get the corkscrew.
So, Jennifer and Teen go to find the corkscrew and have a little chat. Kale warns Teen not to trust Agatha, telling him that she traded her own son for a magic book, or something. She then goes on to say a bunch of stuff that really makes the audience think that this Teen might just be Agatha’s son.
I’m not sure if the answer will be that obvious, considering this is Agatha All Along episode 3, and if you are going to have a mystery box, it needs to be good and not obvious.
Mrs. Hart Parties HARD
No one wants to take the first sip of wine- no, wait, Mrs. Hart/Sharon has finished her glass now. Let’s all watch her and see if she explodes or something.
This sets off a countdown of 30 minutes and some dramatic music.
It’s an intriguing mystery but I’m wondering if we’re going to get more than a casual lunch date with the girlies and their one gay friend?
Teen tries to strike a conversation with Alice, but it goes nowhere. No, literally, that’s what she says. Then she decides to be nice and give us some of her history, about her relationship with her mum.
This is the kind of thing I was waiting for – some real characterisation so we might care what happens to these people as the season goes on. I am now more invested in Alice finding out what happened to her mum, because she told us a little of what their relationship was like.
Agatha doesn’t drink her wine and kills a plant with it instead.
You need a New Plastic Surgeon
We can expect a lot of this in Agatha All Along and the history of witches in Europe and America is fascinating. But before we can get any of that, Mrs. Hart instead says “I would drink the blood of a virgin” to get rid of her wrinkles and her face… erm… well, it looks like her plastic surgery has gone very very wrong.
So, everyone’s face is now swollen, and they now need to see what happens to Mrs. Hart/Sharon as she was the first to drink. This scene is so funny, but some of the prosthetics look better than others…
So, Jennifer Kale, who was brought on as the poisons expert, sees everyone’s faces go back to normal and, according to her, everything is very much “not yay.” This poison is “Alewife’s Revenge” which sounds like the name given to a wife of a drunkard.
Peer Pressure
Agatha is forced to drink some of the poisoned wine, because that poison is the point of this first trial, and by not drinking it she would fail. I think.
I will be honest – not a lot of this makes any sense right now, but hopefully it will by the end. I’m finding it mildly entertaining, but we have only had one moment of sincerity, and that was the conversation between Teen and Alice. We need more of that, otherwise we’re not going to care about these people.
Also, when Agatha suggests to Kale that she brews an antidote, she looks confused? Why? That is why you are there.
Some more humor comes along – they have to find a bunch of stuff for the potion and crack a few jokes while they are at it. An intriguing addition to all the mysteries we have been given is Lilia Calderu’s outburst, “Try to Save Agatha!”
Eye of Newt!
Everyone starts hallucinating and it’s creepy as hell. This show might crack a lot of jokes, but the cinematography and music make for some brilliant suspense. It borders on horror and I am here for it!
The only hallucination that had any emotional resonance was Alice’s, as we have had a little of her backstory. However, Lilia Calderu’s was the creepiest. And she’s Sicillian?
Who is Teen in Agatha All Along?
While the witches recover from their hallucinations, and only have three minutes left on the clock to make the potion, I want to mention how weird Teen is acting. His interaction with Kale earlier was strange, where the dialogue was obviously aimed to make the audience think he might be Agatha’s son.
However, that would be too obvious, right?
But, then he talks to Alice and asks after her tattoo, which just happens to be linked to her mother? Perhaps he knows more than he is letting on?
And finally, while everyone is in shock after their hallucinations, Teen is just chill, and keeps saying “I’ve got the frankincense” in a tone that is very “why is everyone being weird?”
All of that leads me to think Teen might know more and be shiftier than we first suspected, and might have even cast the sigil spell himself. I mean, he was the one to release Agatha from Wanda’s spell, and that must have taken a lot of skill.
Why does someone like that need to go down the Witches’ Road?
Agatha’s Hallucination
Adding some more information about Agatha’s past, her hallucination comes on at this point and she hears a baby crying. In the very old cot, she pulls back the covers to reveal the darkhold (I think).
So, it is true she exchanged her son for the darkhold?
Agatha has an intense emotional reaction to seeing this hallucination, and it is the kind of scene I have been waiting for. In a sea of insincerity, we finally have a moment of emotional connection that viewers can latch onto, building that connection/rapport with the character.
The Blood of the Unpoisoned
That was convenient, but to be honest, did we really think any of them were going to die? The look in Agatha’s eyes as she reached for that knife and went over to Teen was priceless. Kathryn Hahn was born for this role!
When the timer goes off, the oven opens. Then the windows smash in and water pours in. Time to jump into the oven, ladies!
On the Road Again
They passed the first test, but Mrs. Hart/Sharon is dead. Now, because that information came from Teen, who I now deeply mistrust, I don’t quite believe him. Or, he had something to do with it, rather than the poison. He did touch her cup with the antidote, after all.
Also, if she is dead, that’s pretty dark! It’s not something you would expect of a show like this, so fair play to the writers for being brave on that one, if it’s true.
