Agatha All Along episode 3 drops a couple of huge MCU reveals as Agatha Harkness, her new coven of witches, and Teen venture into the Witches' Road. Agatha All Along episode 1 saw Agatha Harkness convince three powerful witches and WandaVision's Mrs. Hart to accompany her and Joe Locke's mysterious Teen character on their journey to reach the end of the Witches' Road. However, the Witches' Road proves to be a bigger challenge than they thought in the reference-filled Agatha All Along episode 3, as the Road's first trial confronts them with their biggest fears and one important character's death.
Custom image by Nicolas Ayala
As Teen deduces, the house that spawns in front of Agatha's coven presents a water-themed first trial in the Witches' Road. Despite the fact that Mrs. Hart correctly solves the trial's first riddle and the coven follows the rules, the Witches' Road forces everyone to go through some fleeting yet horrific experiences like swelling and hallucination. During Agatha All Along episode 3's ending, Agatha's coven manages to escape a painful death by drowning, but not without making some sacrifices along the way.
Teen Has A Sigil Spell That Conceals His Identity
Teen Is Magically Forbidden From Revealing His Identity To Witches
The first reveal in Agatha All Along episode 3 is the reason why no one can learn Teen's name and identity. When Jennifer Kale asks Teen who he is, the coven realizes that a spell is preventing them from hearing his name or reading his lips. Lilia Calderu is quick to point out that "someone's put a sigil on that boy," to which Agatha responds, "sigils are beneath me." Alice Wu-Gulliver explains to Teen that "a sigil is a redaction spell that hides something" — specifically from witches, in Teen's case.
The sigil spell was laid directly upon Teen, possibly by a magic user who understands his full magical potential
It originally seemed like only Agatha Harkness was unable to learn Teen's real identity in Agatha All Along episodes 1 and 2, but Agatha All Along episode 3 confirms that the spell isn't working exclusively on her. Instead, the sigil spell was laid directly upon Teen, possibly by a magic user who understands his full magical potential. Agatha Harkness' dismissal of the sigil spell suggests that it doesn't require much knowledge to perform it, meaning that whoever cast it on Teen could be as obscure as any off-screen witch or as powerful as Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange.
Agatha Traded Her Own Child For The Darkhold
Agatha Harkness Seems To Have Sacrificed Nicholas Scratch To Acquire The Book Of The Damned
Inside the Witches's Road's house, Jennifer Kale makes sure to warn Teen about Agatha Harkness. Since Teen disregards Jennifer's warning, she resorts to informing her about Agatha's biggest secret. Jennifer tells Teen, "did you know she traded her own child for the Book of the Damned?". While this bold claim remains unconfirmed by the end of Agatha All Along episode 3, the fact that the magical wine shows Agatha a crib with the Darkhold inside suggests that it's true.
In the source material, Agatha Harkness' son Nicholas Scratch grows up to be a powerful villain in New Salem, fathering the Salem Seven and punishing Agatha for leaving her hometown. Along with Jennifer Kale's claim in episode 3, Agatha All Along episode 1 supports the idea that the MCU's Nicholas Scratch died as a young boy, as Agatha seems regretful when she visits what seems to be a Nicholas Scratch's empty room in her own house.
Mephisto Is Finally Mentioned By Name In The MCU
Jennifer Kale Suggests Agatha Harkness' Son Became An Agent Of Mephisto
There's also the possibility that the MCU's Nicholas Scratch "might be a demon," as Jennifer Kale mentions to Teen. Jennifer Kale initially hesitates to say it, but she reveals to Teen that Agatha's son may have become "an agent of Mephisto". Jennifer doubts Agatha would "even recognize her own son if he showed up at her doorstep", suggesting that Teen could be Agatha's reincarnated son. This would be a major departure from the comics, where it's Wanda Maximoff's son Billy who possesses magical abilities and reunites with his mother after being killed by Mephisto.
Nicholas Scratch also worked directly for Mephisto in the source material
In the comics, the magical energy Wanda Maximoff uses to conceive her twin sons Billy and Tommy comes from the demon Mephisto, who erases the twins from existence when he reabsorbs their energy. For this reason, Mephisto had been theorized to make his MCU debut since WandaVision, though it took more than three years for an MCU show to finally acknowledge his existence. However, it's important to note that Nicholas Scratch also worked directly for Mephisto in the source material.
The Witches' Road Will Test Everyone's Fears And Knowledge
The Witches' Road Knows Each Of The Witches' Biggest Strengths And Weaknesses
As soon as Agatha Harkness' coven starts their journey down the Witches' Road, they realize that the Road is tailored specifically to them. What the coven wasn't expecting was that the Road knows their deepest fears and weaknesses as well. The effects of the magical wine they have to drink cause them to experience hallucinations based on their most painful memories and regrets. For instance, Alice Wu-Gulliver fails to save her mother again, and Agatha Harkness is haunted by the Darkhold and what seems to be her son's sacrifice.
Apparently, the MCU's version of the Witches' Road poses different challenges to Marvel Comics' Witches' Road, as seen in 2015's Scarlet Witch storyline. In the source material, Wanda Maximoff ventures down the Witches' Road alongside Agatha Harkness' disembodied spirit. The first challenge in the original Witches' Road is a mythical beast that Wanda's mother Natalya, the previous Scarlet Witch, defeats by herself. Later on, Wanda faces Dian a.k.a. the Emerald Warlock, who laid a curse upon Ireland eons ago.
The Witches' Road's First Trial Is For The Potions Witch
The Witches' Road's Trials May Be Designed Specifically For Each Witch
Jennifer Kale gets the most time in the spotlight in Agatha All Along episode 3. She's the witch who shows the most interest in Teen's identity and relationship with Agatha Harkness, and she's the one who takes the lead during the Witches' Road's first trial. The Road may have reacted to Jennifer Kale's leadership, or it designed its first trial specifically for her. Either way, the Witches' Road's first trial needs a potion to be completed, and Jennifer Kale's potion expertise allows her to save her fellow witches at the last second.
Jennifer Kale brews a potion in the house's sink. She mixes the guts of a eusocial insect, a corpse that's been decaying for at least 30 million years eye, and frankincense. Teen retrieves a sous vide to boil all the ingredients, and Jennifer orders Teen to stir with his dominant hand counterclockwise before each of the witches, Teen, and Mrs. Hart drop a single hair into the mix. Teen's blood seals the potion, and Jennifer Kale's potion knowledge allows everyone to pass the first trial.
Visions Reveal The Witches' Personal Histories
The Witches' Road Forces Each Witch To Revisit Their Worst Fears
Agatha All Along's Witches Road's first trial is more akin to Scarlet Witch's early telepathic abilities from Avengers: Age of Ultron than to the threats seen in Marvel Comics' original Witches' Road. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, an inexperienced Wanda Maximoff hits each of the Avengers with a spell that forces them to live out their biggest fears. Likewise, the Witches' Road gives each of Agatha All Along's witches a personalized hallucination based on their biggest fear or regret.
|
Agatha All Along Witch |
Fear-Based Hallucination |
|---|---|
|
Alice Wu-Gulliver |
Alice's mother dies in front of her |
|
Jennifer Kale |
Man drowns her in a sink |
|
Lilia Calderu |
Death itself appears in front of her |
|
Agatha Harkness |
The Darkhold appears in a crib |
Agatha All Along episodes 1 and 2 established that Alice Wu-Gulliver has tried to leave her mother's death behind, that a man took Jennifer Kale's magical powers away from her, and that Lilia Calderu is hesitant to use her magic. The first two episodes also teased Agatha's regret over losing her child, Nicholas Scratch. Agatha All Along episode 3 pushes each of the witches' fears to the forefront, with Alice seeing her mother suffer in front of her, Jennifer being drowned by the man who took her magic, and Lilia seeing the personification of death, as well as Agatha seeing the Darkhold in a baby's crib.
Teen Is Important To The Witches' Road Journey
Teen May Have Always Been Destined To Finish The Witches' Road
Teen demonstrates his skills and knowledge thanks to his passion for witchcraft. He's also eager to help Agatha Harkness and Jennfier Kale when they face difficult obstacles, which ends up saving the coven in key moments like Agatha All Along episode 3's climactic ending. However, there may be more to Teen than it seems. Not only does Teen help Jennifer Kale prepare the potion that saves everyone from drowning, but his blood is the last key ingredient in the mix. Without Teen, Jennifer Kale's potion would have been incomplete.
The fact that the Witches' Road's first trial requires Teen's blood to be completed suggests that he was essential for Agatha and the coven's journey from the start. Hence, Teen's efforts to meet Agatha and break her out of Wanda Maximoff's spell may not have come from a mere whim, but instead may have been the result of destiny, magic, or even a curse. Likewise, Teen may be destined to reach the end of the Witches' Road, whether that means he'll be the only one to achieve it or not.
Mrs. Hart Dies After Completing The Witches' Road's First Trial
The Witches' Road Claims His First Victim Earlier Than Expected
Despite her naive personality, Sharon Davis a.k.a. Mrs. Hart proves her worth as a member of Agatha Harkness' coven with her clever solution to the wine riddle in Agatha All Along episode 3. Sharon also remains calm through the negative side effects of the wine, and her hair is as crucial to Jennifer Kale's potion as the rest of the coven's. Unfortunately, Sharon seems to drown at the very last moment while escaping the rapidly flooding house, as she was unconscious during the whole process.
Lilia Calderu's premonition from Agatha All Along episode 1 predicted that Agatha Harkness would recruit Rio Vidal. To avoid contacting Rio, Agatha chose her former Westview neighbor Sharon, who played the Mrs. Hart role in Wanda Maximoff's WandaVision illusions. This decision is already proving to be a mistake, as Rio Vidal would have likely survived the Witches' Road's first trial. Now, Agatha's coven has lost one member, and there are several more trials left ahead of them.
