Jac Schaeffer's 'Agatha All Along' Finale Was Deliciously Dark

Spoilers!

Is there a way to discuss this finale without spoilers? I don’t think so. This show exploded. I never expected the dark twists and turns at the end of the witches' road. Such a clever nod to Wandavision with how they connected Wanda’s power set and mental health journey with that of her own son. And the dark realization that the road was created by Billy, who, just like his mother, created a reality—one that killed several witches who were searching for a new life. Thinking of Rio taking Alice from Billy’s mind, while Alice realizes it’s over, begging to continue, not ready to face the end. How dark this show went and how well it stuck the landing was mind-boggling.

The song of Agatha, created with her then-living son on a cheerful walk, only to become what lured witches to their trap for centuries. Her son Nicholas Scratch, slightly evil, walking with that creepy goat—given who his mother is, I thought, “Yeah, that tracks.” But I kept going back to what his mother put him through, even though she was trying to save him all along. Why couldn’t she face him, or she couldn’t face someone else in the end? Where did he come from in the first place? There’s more to this incredible journey.

The road appeared because of Billy, and Agatha, aware from the beginning that he was Wanda’s son, was fully responsible for its creation. Her idea was to collect the powers of those in the basement, her gathered coven, which she picked carefully with Billy, who insisted on finding the road in the first place. While performing the song, Agatha was ready to take their powers and kill them like a cold-blooded snake, but then Lilia, who found her purpose on Billy Maximoff’s road, stopped them from blasting Agatha, understanding the trap, being the Divination Witch that she became/is/was. Her kookiness was all along what carried the road, because the plan of Agatha was killing all of them much earlier.

Everyone except Sharon found power, destiny, or purpose on the road. Sharon who? I loved this ongoing joke; I laughed out loud when Agatha couldn’t remember her in the last episode. Was Sharon something else, or was she a human swept into another Maximoff tornado, only to meet her tragic end? Wanda couldn’t end her, so her son came back to finish the job. Brilliantly dark. Was her death the ultimate price? She never left the road like the others, nor did we see Rio take her. Could she be a Mephisto? There’s something there. The entire series was meticulously crafted; nothing was coincidental.

Jac Schaeffer nailed it—and killed Agatha. Like in the comics, Agatha became an advisory ghost, but in the MCU, the twist is that she advises Wiccan now, not Wanda. This new adventure, looking for Tommy, who I believe is somewhere with Mephisto, just began with a bang. The red vision when they tried to find him was definitely a nod to Mephisto’s appearance in the comics. And Jennifer mentioning him at the beginning—no coincidence, as I said. This show was so well-realised it felt like a ritual spun out over weeks. Who else thinks the shot of Jennifer leaving Westview alive with her powers was beautiful? She flew away to become the future. Before reclaiming her long-lost powers, she realized Agatha was actually the witch who bound her magic, leaving her powerless for 100 years. Agatha is wicked, and yet, I sympathized with her because of the pain Kathryn Hahn brought to the role. When Agatha and her son walked the road, the muse for the song, there was a beautiful shot of Agatha looking back at her son in the sunlight, so mesmerizing I installed the app on my phonw just to screenshot it, but Disney didn’t allow it!

Billy Maximoff, whose mind was visited numerous times by Death, callain him an abomination, served her many casualties with Agatha. These two characters became so twisted and fascinating that this corner of the MCU finally got me back on the Marvel train. TU TU! Agatha looked enchanting as a ghost, just like her mother—a repetition of history in the mind of the powerful telepath Billy, who conjured so much throughout the show. In the comics, Wanda searches for answers and a killer on the witches on the road. Here, Agatha bounced from her magic only to be absorbed by her son’s magic. How powerful must they be to capture Agatha, who had absorbed so much power from centuries of witch killings, yet still couldn’t escape her destiny?

The road led to Rio. Death was coming for Agatha and her newly formed coven all along. The way she kissed Rio at the end, becoming what she was naturally meant to be, was another darkly beautiful moment. Jac Schaeffer deserves all the flowers. And I love Charmed, Buffy, The Craft, etc., but no show has had the structure, budget, or technology to achieve what this one did. To stick the landing and make mama Wandavision proud was extraordinary. So much to discuss, but for now, I’ll end here. Don’t be such a boomer; let’s discuss together!

— Iliya Badev