Agatha All Along Episode 3 Review
The third episode of ‘Agatha All Along’ gives off a hint of the tricky and treacherous nature of The Witches’ Road that spans before them, deceiving them into stopping into a little house by the sea, only to find that this isn’t the idyllic cottage anyone would want to holiday in. Kathryn Hahn once again shines with her theatrical, over-the-top performance of the titular witch, joined by Debra Jo Rupp, who plays Sharon.
First of all, the set design of the episode showed off the strengths of doing a lot with a little, and that costly CGI is unecessary. The Road itself is suitably spooky, largely what audiences would imagine a witches’ road to be like, with overgrown trees, and soil that punishes anyone that steps off the road for more than a second. But it’s the bulk of the episode that takes place inside only a few rooms of a beautiful cottage, something that one would find at the beach, and not in a horror-esque road for witches. It’s something that can easily be done practically, achieving the intended juxtaposition without having to spend millions.
Of course, the practical nature does have some limitations. The potion that’s brewed just looks like water with lights flashing underneath to give it the illusion of a different colour. It doesn’t look any thicker or like something a witch would brew. Apart from this though, the show avoids a cheap look.
Hahn once again shows why she was the perfect choice for this role, continuing with the theatricality of Agatha. She’s given some more background and depth in this episode, showing that she’s willing to trick and trade everyone around her for more power, even her own child. It would seem that the same thing is playing out here, with Agatha unconcerned about anyone else reaching the end of the Road, so long as she gets her power back. It remains to be seen if this devilry continues, or if she’ll stop throwing away everyone for her own gain.
This episode showed that Agatha is still unconcerned with the life of her covern, with the random civilian Sharon Davis she yanked from her garden dying at the first hurdle. It’s a somewhat shocking development, though of course it makes sense the unprepared would die at the first test. Actress Debra Jo Rupp does a great job of screaming her way through, terrified at each new development. It’s also possible Davis will return in some magical form, anything is possible with witchcraft and trickery.
The idyllic cottage also provides an avenue for the series to continue to dip its toe into horror elements, with a genuinely scary sequence where the witches hallucinate horrors after they’re poisoned. The shock is tempered somewhat by the audience knowing beforehand these are hallucinations, but they’re still no joke. Towards the end of the ordeal, the witches find the sea is more vengeful then they’d like, nearly swallowing them in it’s huge waves.
‘Agatha All Along’ continues to deepen the mystery of Joe Locke’s character, simply known as Teen. The episode reveals someone intentionally hid his backstory and identity with a Sigil, not just causing audiences to ask who this teen is, but who put the Sigil on him and why. The idea of Agatha’s son is brought up in the show, this could be the Teen’s identity or a misdirect. ‘Agatha All Along’ continues to take leaves out of ‘WandaVision’s’ mystery playbook when it comes to baiting the audiences with fan theories, to even even name dropping Mephisto.
It’s clear that future episodes will be full of answers for audiences to devour on, both on a narrative and character level. The third episode deepens the confusion audiences must be feeling, which this early on is a good feeling. ‘Agatha All Along’ continues along the pleasant trajectory that the first two episodes set up for it, balancing horror and comedy with continued ostentatious brilliance from Hahn.
