'Agatha All Along' Season 1 Episode 5 Spoiler-Free Review

Marvel

Oct 10

Agatha All Along continued to follow the leaf-covered path forward with its fifth episode, titled “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power”, premiering the evening of October 9th. “Darkest Hour” is chock-full of spoilers in a fairly short run time, so this review must avoid many specifics about this episode.

After last week’s heavy focus on music, family, and further unraveling the backstory for most of its characters, “Darkest Hour” takes a different approach and focuses on overt horror tropes while centering its focus on Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha.

Once again, picking up moments after last week’s episodes, an immediate and fast-approaching danger drives the witches of Agatha’s coven to pick up the pace, rushing headlong into the third trial. While their recent experience bonding around the fire and learning about each other might have suggested a greater understanding, the trial shatters that unity and divides the group. Agatha, in particular, is riven from her “sisters”, and some of that witchy intensity we have always gotten hints of in the show comes into full force. Meanwhile, Joe Locke’s Teen desperately watches from the sidelines, unable to affect the outcome.

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The episode’s dive into Agatha’s backstory is largely the reason for this intensity. However, exploring Agatha further also underlines some unchanging elements of the character despite strict trial rules and the opinions of her fellow witches. The end of the episode, though, ends with a serious bang connected to Agatha that almost certainly shifts the way the rest of the season will progress.

Turning to other show elements, the set designs and costume work for this new trial deserve to be praised as always. The 80s slasher/horror flick outfits each character rocks are fun and fitting, while the setting for the trial appears as a cabin in the woods, in line with the media this episode draws on. The environment is also richly decorated, and the cinematography helps make the room appear larger than it is, resulting in more of a house than a cabin in scope. The music is also to be praised, helping increase the tension at several key moments while others delicately highlight the tragedy. Two pieces chosen for the end of the episode in particular serve to highlight the events and reveals taking place, one a piece of music internal to the MCU, and the other, a pop song with a pounding beat and lyrics that perfectly match the on-screen events.

The last element to be praised is the acting. Everyone gives an exemplary performance full of fear, fantastic lines, and potent animosity. Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal, in particular, shines through, showing the character’s slight instability in spades but also showing her strong beliefs during the trial, refusing to fully drop from Agatha’s side despite their fraught history together. Patti LuPone, meanwhile, plays Lilia much the same as ever, full of complaints about modern views on witches. However, she also plays a more haunted Lilia, her constant string of visions and spoken warnings while navigating the Road beginning to take their toll.

In conclusion, Agatha All Along maintains a steady pace, and the show remains full of mysteries to keep fans coming back. Going forward, though, the coven has a long way to go to reach the end of this particular yellow brick road.

Rating: 9/10

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