This post contains spoiler to “Agatha All Along” and Marvel comic books.
When Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) is introduced as a serious noir detective in the first episode of “Agatha All Along,” it is Teen (Joe Locke) who helps her realize something is wrong. The presence of this teenager, whose identity has been framed as a mystery since his first appearance in Westview, leads to some intriguing adjustments in Agatha's perspective as she embarks on the Witch's Road with a hastily assembled coven. Yes, Agatha is still able to manipulate events to her advantage and instinctively seeks power like a drug (often at the expense of others), but Teen's presence brings out a more affectionate and maternal side as the journey through Road becomes more and more dangerous. .
However, old habits die hard, and people are often shaped by their painful pasts and seek out the same cycles of destruction that shaped them, which is a feeling that permeates episode 5, aptly titled “Darkest Hour.” Wake Thy Power.” ONE very happens here, with Agatha finally getting the powers she desperately wanted at a horrible cost, incurring the wrath of an angry teenager, whose identity is revealed with a musical cue that's the opposite of subtle but perfect nonetheless. His hands glow with electrical energy as he takes control of the minds of Jen (Sasheer Zamata) and Lilia (Patti Lupone), who submerge a shocked Agatha in quicksand-like mud, before meeting the same fate. As the camera reveals Teen's face, he is seen wearing a crown, which is very, very similar to that of someone who once wielded immense power: Scarlet Witch.
Anyone familiar with Marvel Comics will not be surprised by the revelation that Joe Locke's teenager is none other than Billy Kaplan/Maximoff, Wanda Maximoff's son. Also known as a Wiccan, Billy appears to have broken the secrecy placed upon him, whether triggered by his legitimate anger over Alice's (Ali Ahn) death or Agatha's taunt that he is just like his mother. But who exactly is Billy Kaplan according to the comics, and what could his presence mean for the series?
A glimpse into the history of Billy Kaplan/Wiccan comics
You may remember Wanda and Vision's twin sons, Billy and Tommy, from “WandaVision,” and how the deaths of these children in the chaos-magic-fueled reality of Westview directly influenced the events of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” The twins are not real in the traditional sense of the term, but exist because of Wanda's reality-altering power – a truth Agatha realizes in 1989's “Avengers West Coast #51”, where she notices how the twins disappear whenever Wanda no. Don't actively think about them. Some time later, in the Marvel Comics timeline, the twins are kidnapped and taken to Hell by Master Pandemonium, a servant of – wait for it – Mephisto, who claimed that the soul fragments used to create the twins became originated from him, leading him to (supposedly) eliminate the twins from existence.
There are conflicting versions of what happened next, with “Avengers Disassembled” and “Avengers: The Children's Crusade” offering different explanations for the twins' existence in the first place, but one aspect is clear: the soul of Billy (named William in the comics). . is reborn in the form of Billy Kaplan, while Tommy (Thomas in the comics) is reincarnated as Tommy Shepherd. Somehow, the twins managed to persevere due to the complicated nature of Wanda's magic, allowing the lost children of Vision and Wanda Maximoff to chart their own path when it comes to proving their worth as superheroes to a new generation.
Billy, or Wiccan, has a series of impressive powers, his main ability being the manipulation of reality (just like Wanda), which earned him the nickname “bringer of chaos”. He is also adept at elemental manipulation, manifesting primarily as electrokinetic powers, which episode 5 of “Agatha All Along” references when he performs mind control and attacks the other witches. Throughout his appearances in the comics, Billy/Wiccan has been seen using ice and fire generation, hydrokinesis, and light-focusing powers, while he also has mastery over flight, healing, astral projection, and power manipulation (which he uses in the episode to influence and control others). In terms of raw power scale, Wiccan's abilities are considered S-tier, shaping his valuable (and often reality-altering) contributions to the Young Avengers and, eventually, the New Avengers.
What do Billy's heritage and motivations mean for Agatha All Along?
'Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power' raises the stakes quite unexpectedly, as the one-trial-per-episode narrative pattern is abruptly broken with a shocking death and character reveal. The trial – Agatha's trial – still takes place, where the goal is to establish that Teen is no Nicholas Scratch, Agatha's son, and underlines that the titular witch's hunger for power stems from the perspective of her mother, who shaped her need to use cruelty as a defense mechanism. Agatha is still an antagonistic figure who caused the deaths of innocent people with her inherent selfishness, but the episode helps us understand why she is programmed that way. “You were born evil,” declares her late mother, and it is no surprise that Agatha absorbed this belief and embodied it, seeking refuge in cruelty and the addictive thrill of taking what is not hers.
Once Agatha inadvertently causes Alice's death and realizes that Teen cannot be her son (as Nicholas screams during his power trip, begging her to stop), it is not difficult for her to discover Teen's identity. Teen is devastated by Alice's death and repulsed by Agatha's indifference, which is compounded when Lilia and Jen also treat the tragedy as a side effect of walking the path of witchcraft. By revealing his true identity, Billy sets himself apart from them, punishing the three for their insensitivity, which adds an intriguing tone to their motivations.
Is it possible that Billy placed a sigil on himself to hide his true motivations, or was it someone else? What could his ultimate goal be in terms of the Witch's Road, and does he secretly harbor ill intentions towards Agatha because of her history with Wanda? The episode's title may be a hint as to why Billy chose this moment to reveal his identity: the death of the clan's most protective member, which is met with apathy by his own clan, has broken something in Billy, in turn breaking the secrecy and awakening your true abilities. Or he could have been making fools of them all all along.
New episodes of “Agatha All Along” debut Wednesdays on Disney+.
