'Agatha All Along' Season 1 Episode 3 Spoiler-Free Review
Image Source: Marvel
The newest series for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Agatha All Along, premiered last week on Disney+, and we’re here today to offer our review of Episode 3, titled “Through Many Miles / Of Tricks and Trials,” which premiered the evening of September 25th.
After last week’s two-part series opener, Episode 3 picks up immediately with the group on the move, though slowly and with some uncertainty. Friction continues to spark between the characters as this uncertainty and false statements lead to questions without an immediate answer. However, Patti LuPone’s Lila Calderu warns them of the danger they face ahead, which is also likely to play out in the coming episodes of the series.
After a moment of more immediate danger for Debra Jo Rupp’s Sharon (or Mrs. Hart, as Agatha and others repeatedly erroneously state), a new path opens. The group is next entangled in a puzzle that forces a bit of bonding time while also being on a half-hour timer (a seeming meta-commentary on the episode’s approximate length). Despite this moment of slight levity, Joe Locke’s Teen receives a warning from Sasheer Zamata’s Jennifer to watch his back around Agatha, with a seeming undeniable hint toward the character’s identity also dropped.
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The fruits of this warning will likely bear out in future episodes, right alongside more information about the coven Agatha has surrounded herself with, as a series of diverse visions and panicked statements shed a lot of incomplete light on each new character’s background. The episode ends with a snap back to where the group’s voyage began at the start of the episode, though they are one step forward, despite a serious problem looming in the final moments of the episode.
Image Source: IGN
Much like the genre-bending of Episode 1, Episode 3 featured a significant change in pace and visuals for the characters, with well-realized costumes to fit the upper-class modern beach house aesthetic this part of the coven’s journey took them on. Each character’s brief flashes of their past also offered a glance at four different strands of horror, from the visceral tragedy of mental health struggles to a period horror piece set decades in the past. These visions, all taking place in the same upscale location, also serve as an exploration of the drama genre despite the horror aesthetic. Each character is hiding something or suffering in some way, without elaborating on it to others in the group, like the sort of characters seen in any number of more conventional TV dramas.
The show’s acting and writing continue to be strong across the board. The reactions of every character to their situation feel authentic to them, and the bickering that breaks out, alongside the agreements that follow, also makes sense, given the vastly different personalities at play. Agatha continues to be selfish and rude, but we also see the same vulnerability from the season premiere. Teen’s early near-worship of her also begins to wane in this episode, with the warning from Jennifer quite potent as the group starts to accept him more, and he maybe begins to understand the realities of being a witch. Unfortunately, the other characters cannot be discussed in detail without spoiling the episode, so we will move on.
Finally, the easter eggs for Marvel fans are quite direct in this episode, with a particular mention sure to start plenty of fan speculation about where this series could be going. If this mention is hinting at things to come, Agatha All Along will likely end up with quite a lot of attention, with Episode 3 a superb entry into the series so far.
Rating: 5/5
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