‘Agatha All Along’ Episode Five Recap: “Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power”

*Warning: The following article contains spoilers for episode five of Agatha All Along*

After four good-to-great episodes, Agatha All Along releases its first misstep with episode five, titled Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power, an unfortunate victim of its ever-shifting runtime that gimps character development and powerful reveals. This has sadly been a symptom for many Disney+ shows, which, by their six-hour-long movie structure, split into either six or nine episodes, have varying degrees of length (and quality) that sink most attempts at goodwill some of the series ever had.

But there’s an even bigger problem occurring at the very top, as Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and her coven, comprised of Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), Alice-Wu Gulliver (Ali Ahn), Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), and Teen (Joe Locke), evade the Salem Seven with makeshift brooms. First off, the episode gives us the idea that the Salem Seven will be one of the show’s primary antagonists, and yet they virtually have nothing to do apart chasing the coven around, even if they get a bit more development this time around by way of an exposition-heavy scene later down the line. But the bigger problem lies in how the episode’s biggest effects-heavy chase sequence is shot and staged.

Instead of authentically doing something that felt as fresh and original as last week’s episode, we have VFX worthy of Sidney J. Furie‘s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, even if director Rachel Goldberg visually recalls Kenny Ortega‘s Hocus Pocus and Steven Spielberg‘s E.T. The Extraterrestrial during what should theoretically be the episode’s bravura shot of the witches flying next to a blood-soaked moon. Perhaps a look like this was intentional, but it feels rather strange when the show posited itself as a creatively malleable entity whose callbacks to horror filmmakers (and films) of the past acted as features, not bugs (alongside nifty practical effects to support this ever-creative approach).

But none of this is found here, even with its central trial, which focuses on the coven communicating with an Ouija board. During the séance, they learn to be in contact with Death, who possesses Agatha when she takes her hand off the board. While the possession scene is arguably impressive to watch from a technical standpoint, relying on practical camerawork and effects instead of filling the screen with garish rear projections that never feel adequately rendered, the emotional impact here is minimal because its blink-and-you’ll-miss-it runtime forces Goldberg to adopt a mile-a-minute pace that never allows us to sit with anyone, or any of its pivotal, emotionally-driven moments.

The show was slowly building its trials towards Agatha, but having the third trial of the Witches Road focused on her feels too soon for its story, especially considering that the fourth episode bonds the protagonists much closer than they were before. Unfortunately, this bond is not even found in the character relationships in this episode, which feel too rushed and never allow us to fully understand the crucial decisions they make regarding Agatha’s fate. We hear in passing that Lilia can see through time. However, Goldberg never renders this supposedly pivotal moment vital because we have to move quickly to the following revealing line of dialogue. But this information becomes essential when she yells “No!” as Alice begins to use her powers on Agatha to free her from the spirit she is possessed by.

We then learn that the spirit is Agatha’s mother, Evanora (Kate Forbes, reprising her role from WandaVision), who tells the coven that she must be punished and die. This is exacerbated by the reveal that she is the one who sent the Salem Seven after her (but who are they? And how are they controlled?). It’s there that Alice uses her power to free Agatha, but, of course, the witch senses them and absorbs Alice’s energy, killing her in the process. While I liked Ahn’s portrayal of Alice, there certainly wasn’t enough of her to make her death feel impactful, just like Sharon Davis in the second episode (Debra Jo Rupp, though she made the most of her limited screen time).

It’s only because the episode lasts a ridiculous 25 minutes without credits that nothing is developed to its fullest potential, which damages any attachment to the protagonists. Alice’s death is thus treated as unimportant, and the episode swiftly moves to its climactic moment, which finally (and clumsily) reveals Teen’s true identity. There could’ve absolutely been ten or fifteen more minutes to slightly develop the relationships further so Alice’s death could be more emotionally investing than it is, and the ultimate (predictable) reveal of Teen’s identity would’ve also been important not only for Agatha’s central story, but for the coven to realize who they are actively dealing with.

One also can say the episode only serves to handhold the audience to as many clues as possible (Rio Vidal is most likely Death as she laughs maniacally once the coven spells out its name), which was a victim of WandaVision‘s eventual failure as one the MCU’s most crushing disappointments. Creator Jac Schaeffer seems so unconfident that audiences can figure out the show’s mysteries on their own that she devotes an entire episode to point them in the right direction in a dull, obvious, and matter-of-fact fashion.

It’s in that vein that Teen’s reveal as an older Billy, AKA Wiccan, is finally unveiled. Although the Billie Eilish needle drop is a fun wink to what he’s currently wearing, the ‘big reveal’ lands with the loudest thud as Wiccan sinks Agatha, Lilia, and Jennifer into a mud trap, which will probably lead into a flashback episode. Of course, we all saw this moment coming, but there are ways to make it feel potent for the viewer, even if they all knew this would happen. Unfortunately, Goldberg chooses the most lazy way for this episode’s conclusion, making the audience go “ok” as they wait for the next episode with little to no difference than before Teen was, well, a nameless teenager.

It’s great that we heard Marvel’s television structure will change with the arrival of Daredevil: Born Again. Unfortunately, we are still suffering from their six-hour film approach, which has unfortunately sunk most of Agatha All Along‘s momentum. Clearly, Marvel has realized that this approach is not working, so they have rebranded their Disney+ titles with the Marvel Television banner (a step in the right direction). However, one can see that this show was not split into an episodic structure like X-Men ’97 and is now finding difficulty in picking itself up in the wake of four decent episodes.

I do remain cautiously optimistic and am honestly hoping they will pick up the pace next week, but as it stands, this fifth episode of Agatha All Along is better left forgotten than discussed.

The fifth episode of Agatha All Along is now available to stream on Disney+.