‘Agatha All Along’ Finale: The Truth About Billy, Agatha, Nicholas Scratch and the Witches’ Road Sets Up a Magical Future

As a seasoned spectator of the enchanting world of WandaVision, I must say that Agatha Harkness has certainly left her mark, not only on our television screens but also within the depths of our hearts. Her life’s journey, fraught with loss and loneliness, is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, even when faced with adversity beyond comprehension.

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD: The narrative that follows discloses crucial elements from Episodes 8 and 9 of the series “Agatha All Along,” now available for streaming on Disney+.

In the climactic two-part episode of “Agatha All Along,” Agatha Harkness, a solitary witch without a coven, and Billy Maximoff, son of the Scarlet Witch, arrived at the conclusion of the Witches’ Path. However, things were far from what they initially appeared to be.

The episodes titled “Follow Me My Friend / To Glory at the End” and “Maiden Mother Crone” unveiled the true origins of the Witches’ Road, the identity of the author who summoned it through the Ballad, and the fate of Agatha’s son Nicholas Scratch. In these episodes, Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) assisted Billy (Joe Locke) in finding his long-lost brother Tommy, Jennifer (Sasheer Zamata) learned about the century-long restriction on her powers, and Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), also known as Lady Death, managed to gather most of the bodies she desired.

However, it didn’t turn out as expected. It seems that the Witches’ Road doesn’t exist in reality, the ballad lacks significance, Tommy’s location is still a mystery, Jennifer was mistaken about the culprit who bound her, and Nicholas’ sad end wasn’t related to the Darkhold or Mephisto (or so it appears. Further details will be discussed later.)

In a clever manner, the secrets unveiled in these episodes seemed almost magical, like a spellbinding storytelling, making us anticipate the truth hidden beneath the layers of our assumptions. If you’re one who enjoys exploring fan theories online or coming up with your own, chances are you may have already guessed some, if not all, of the plot twists in these final episodes. However, the way “Agatha All Along” presented these twists was so smart and thoughtful that it felt satisfying rather than anticlimactic to confirm that the theories were indeed correct.

Additionally, the outcomes of this tale raise a number of thought-provoking queries concerning what lies ahead for Billy, Agatha, Jennifer, and Rio. Here’s a summary of the key points:

Jennifer discovers that Agatha bound her

In the final test, Jennifer discovers that it was not a wicked Boston doctor but Agatha who had bound her, unintentionally as Agatha happened to be in the city at the time. Enraged by this revelation, Jennifer hastily grabs a strand of Agatha’s hair and performs an untying spell. This ritual primarily involves Jennifer repeatedly saying “You have no power over me” to Agatha’s face. Upon regaining her powers, Jennifer vanishes; the next scene shows her emerging from the ground near Westview and flying away towards uncharted territories.

The future of her character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) remains unclear, as she only interacts significantly with Doctor Strange in the comics, but not many other notable MCU characters except for the 2022 Disney+ special “Werewolf by Night.” However, given her attachment to Billy and a seemingly cosmic bond with Agatha, it’s possible that we might see Jennifer reappear soon.

Billy created the Witches’ Road

Similar to how Wanda unintentionally crafted the TV series “WandaVision” as a means to evade her sorrow, it was discovered that Billy, longing to reunite with his brother Tommy, inadvertently conjured up the entirety of the Witches’ Road himself. All the specifics – such as the Nancy Meyers-style beach house, the spooky Ouija board mansion, and the fairy tale castle – were drawn from pop-culture elements scattered throughout Billy’s meticulously organized room. To Billy’s dismay, this also implies that he was responsible for the lethal aspects of the trials, which resulted in the deaths of Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp), Alice (Ali Ahn), and Lilia (Patti LuPone).

This situation offers some intriguing complexities regarding Billy’s path within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It appears he possesses equal power and potential danger as his mother, and the guilt stemming from the deaths of his coven (despite Agatha clarifying that she was responsible for Alice’s death, and Lilia chose to end her own life) may heavily influence how Billy wields his magic in the future.

Agatha wrote the Ballad with her son

As a passionate film buff, I found “Maiden Mother Crone” deeply captivating, particularly the central narrative focusing on Agatha and her son, Nicholas, set in the 1750s. A pivotal moment occurs when Rio enters during Agatha’s labor, prompting her to plead for Nicholas’ life. Rio offers only a prolonged existence, but no guarantees of its duration. For the subsequent six years, Agatha exploits Nicholas in her schemes to drain the vitality from other witches, and they compose a song about their journey along “the winding road,” which eventually transforms into “the witches’ road,” gaining legendary status. Tragically, Rio claims Nicholas’ life under the cover of night, using an unnamed illness (by the film’s end, he appears sickly with a foreboding cough). Heartbroken and driven by her grief, Agatha becomes increasingly manipulative in her pursuit of other witches, using their shared ballad as bait. This poignant portrayal underscores the deceptive nature of “magic” and its tricks, as beautifully encapsulated in the film “Agatha All Along.

There are, however, still some unanswered questions about Nicholas. When he’s born, Agatha remarks about how she made him “from scratch” rather than via a spell or incantation — but who fathered Nicholas, if he was fathered at all, remains unknown. Similarly, it’s unclear whether Rio acts on her own accord or from directives by a more powerful force, like, say, Mephisto — the Marvel comics villain who seems to perpetually haunt the Maximoff family. Speaking of haunting…

Agatha gives her life to protect Billy — and to haunt him, too

In the climactic encounter against Rio, Billy sacrifices his own life for Agatha’s safety, and Agatha readily agrees, until Billy queries her telepathically if this is how Nicholas perished. This recollection prompts Agatha to understand that she can redeem Billy, something she couldn’t do for Nicholas because Rio took him away in the dead of night, leaving no chance for a farewell. Agatha then kisses Rio and collapses, succumbing to death.

However, she appears as a ghost on Halloween, continuing to be stuck in this world rather than moving on to confront Nicholas. Instead, she reappears to Billy, who serves not just as the child she never birthed, but also the magical collaborator she was unable to maintain a partnership with.

Tommy is alive — but in a terrible life

In the story “Follow Me My Friend / To Glory at the End,” Agatha assists Billy in reaching out to Tommy’s spirit and transferring him into a new body. However, unlike Billy, Tommy’s new existence is filled with hardships: The body he occupies met an unfortunate end by drowning in a heartless swimming pool prank. In a state of alarm, Billy laments that “there’s no one to care for him! He has nobody!” (In the comics, it’s true that Tommy — reborn as Tommy Shepherd — faces a life full of adversity before he meets up with Billy once more.)

Towards the conclusion of the series, the spectral duo of Agatha and Billy embark on a journey to locate Tommy, a character who may be further explored in the upcoming Vision series featuring Paul Bettany, or perhaps in the timeframe between now and the next two Avengers movies. Since Tommy, also known as Speed, plays a crucial role in the Young Avengers comic books, it is likely that his story will continue to unfold in some capacity.

2024-10-31 10:17