What an episode. In only 30 minutes, Marvel has completely undone everything fans think they know about Agatha All Along. The third trial has come and not so clearly gone, the coven is in shambles and the big reveal everyone has been waiting for has happened – all in the halfway point of the series. Where the rest of the show goes from here is unclear, although it has proven that this is not a ride you’re going to want off of.

You Can See Me in a Crown

For everyone’s sanity, we’re starting at the end of the episode which featured the big reveal. As many assumed from the start, Teen is, in fact, Billy Maximoff/Kaplan, one of Wanda’s twin sons. The first part of the two-part reveal began with Agatha sharing that Billy is just like his mother. Of course, it didn’t take a big guess to figure out who she was referring to and it seems Agatha either figured it out on her own or might have already known but was just far too hopeful he still could be her son. Billy being able to say Nicholas’ name could have been the final straw for Agatha in confirming who he is instead. If the first line wasn’t obvious enough, it was doubled down when Billy did the most Wanda Maximoff thing ever: used mind control to do his bidding. Unveiling his powers for the first time, Billy uses mind control on Jennifer and Lilia to force them to throw Agatha off the Road and into the quicksand/mud. His anger with the coven didn’t end there, as he then used his magic to throw Jennifer and Lilia off the Road to meet the same fate. Then the cherry on top revealed the crown on his head, a reference to his mother’s look-a-like crown.

Yet the reveal itself isn’t the most critical part of what fans learned. Instead, fans saw that Billy not only has his power, with no issue using it but he doesn’t appear to need more. As we have been theorizing the past few episodes, Billy is a lot more in tune with himself than he has led the others to believe and has his own reasons for being on the Road beyond what he has shared. The innocent act might have worked on the others, but the gloves are now off, making it important to discuss what his true need for the Road is. This show has had such a heavy reference to the Scarlet Witch that it would be remiss to not theorize that she is the reason he needed to walk the Road. Whether he truly needs more power just to bring her back or can simply ask the Road at the end for her return is unclear, but it’s obvious he’s been playing a game from the start. That isn’t to say he is inherently bad, but it’s unlikely he ever had much love for Agatha specifically, considering she did kidnap him when he was a kid and was a foe to his mother. The other option could be the search for his brother, although, with rumors of a Tommy-focused show similar to this one, it feels like Billy trying to bring his mother back could have more weight to it. Not to mention, rumors of her return have been circling in regard to projects like Avengers: Doomsday, and a witchy show like this one could be a perfect way to bring her back.

Agatha’s Trial aka Trial 3

Regardless of the results, the trial itself revealed to be Agatha’s, and for her, it was shockingly docile. The most prominent aspect was the ghost of Agatha’s mother making an appearance, trying to convince the coven to dispose of Agatha, and also letting Agatha know she still has no love for her. The glimpse into Agatha’s relationship with her mother, along with Rio’s reactions to a past she clearly knows quite a bit about was actually a hard watch. No child, no matter who they are, wants to hear that their mother wished she had killed them when they were first born. The worst of it seemingly comes down to the fact Agatha has a rare type of magic that to others likely appears evil, as no witch that can take another witch’s power seems like someone you want in a coven or is a good person. Her mother’s belief she was evil due to the power she held likely only enforced in Agatha that she should be evil and is what led her down her dark path.

Agatha’s mother shared the spotlight, though only briefly with Agatha’s son, Nicholas. It was at this moment that it was confirmed that Nicholas is truly dead and that he seemingly died when he was a toddler. The details of his death are still unclear but he did appear and had they stuck around, he might have actually materialized into a ghost form. His small cameo did prove one thing: Agatha shares deep regret or guilt over whatever happened to him and the role she played in it. This storyline is not over, but it does throw away some of our previous predictions that Nicholas will be the main antagonist in the show.

The largest question regarding the third trial is: is it over? Many fans speculate that the witches did not follow the rules of the Ouija board, which could signify they didn’t truly finish the trial. Additionally, the trial didn’t seem to have a real ending to it. In Jennifer’s, they knew they finished because they didn’t die from the poison and the door opened. For Alice, they all watched her curse be defeated and not kill them, thus causing the door to open. However, this trial didn’t seemingly have a resolution, as Alice’s death seems unlikely to have been what the Road needed to consider the trial passed. Many eagle-eyed fans also noticed that although the song always preaches to go down, down, down the Road, this trial is the only one the witches seemingly left by going up. The behavior of all the witches came across that they might have been possessed by ghosts while inside the trial, all but Billy, who was the only one who actually did say goodbye to the spirits at the end. The rules of the Road are unclear, so it’s possible if the witches were possessed, the Road may have considered it a failure on the witches who were actually walking the Road. In fact, Billy’s actions at the very end might end up being what is needed to reset the trial or Road after the failure.

The Downfall of the Coven

If the coven isn’t possessed, then any team bonding they seemingly had in the previous episode has been thrown out the window. Doing a quick status check of the coven, we first have the death of Alice at the hands of Agatha herself. The second character to die in this show, Alice’s death not only taught the audience a few important things but also is what set off Billy in the final few moments as talked about above. Alice tried to save Agatha from her mother’s spirit, which did work until Agatha’s siphon powers came on, sucking Alice dry of her own power and subsequently her life force. While the others don’t seemingly believe it, this once again proves that Agatha doesn’t actually have control over her abilities, as at no point did it seem she was purposefully trying to one, be blasted and two, kill Alice. Like other heroes with chaotic powers, such as Rogue’s lethal touch, Agatha unfortunately gets a power boost that possibly feels good to her but it makes it impossible for her to stop. The scene of Alice’s death also proved that Lilia’s visions that she couldn’t remember having were of her trying to tell Alice not to save Agatha, as she saw that it would lead to her demise.

Following this, all hell just about breaks loose as everyone turns on Agatha, except for Rio, whose absence towards the end of the episode will be addressed momentarily. Jennifer and Lilia had already seemed willing to sacrifice Agatha during the trial (or again, they could’ve been possessed) but then after Alice’s death, felt empowered by the fact they believed Agatha just proved their point. All of this leads to Billy throwing them all to what appears to be their deaths, leaving the coven torn to shreds. The witches will need to continue on the Road and will need each other to complete the final few trials, making how they all come back and make up one of the bigger mysteries of the episode. If our theory from above holds true and they failed in this trial, a reset might undo a number of the things we saw in Episode 5, including the coven blowing up and even Alice’s death.

Where We Go From Here

The final question remains: where does the show go from here? Starting with what we know, Lilia and Rio both have trials that still need to be seen and the trailers have proven that we do at least see Lilia’s. This being said, it means all the witches, at least one more time, make their return for her trial. How the coven amends itself seems unclear, although this is where Rio might come in. It has been theorized that Rio’s true identity may be that of Death, personified. If that is true, her absence during the end of the episode would make sense, as she could have been taking care of Alice’s body. She may also be the reason the other 3 witches live. If she does embody Death, she could easily resurrect all three of them if they die in the quicksand/mud. Or to simplify, the quicksand just simply doesn’t kill them for whatever reason. Either way, the only two still moving on the Road at the very end are Rio and Billy.

As for the relationships and the camaraderie of the coven, that seems unclear right now. Even when the witches do return, it seems pretty obvious they will not have been big fans of being put out for death, having someone mind control them, and being lied to all by a teenager who acted as if he meant no harm. The dynamic will clearly be changing unless their resurrection in some way means they won’t remember what happened or, going back to our possessed theory, they were under the influence of a spirit when all this happened, technically making it so Billy saved them. This is that moment when I can only say we will have to wait once again for more answers, although we are hoping to see Rio address what Billy just did at the end of the episode before all the other witches make their returns.

Image: “Agatha All Along Episode 5”, Lewis Glazebrook, Screenrant