Our heroes ’ journeyon the Witches ’ Roadcontinuesin episode five of theMarvel Disney+ show , “ Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power . ”
The latest entry begin with a slyboots , crow , snake , and owl prowling the forest storey of the now very blue - hued Witches ’ route . grant important Endor - meet - Dagobah vibraphone , the fauna pass behind trees to cost effectively transform into four - sevenths of the Salem Seven , who , sagely or not , have somehow find a style to pursue the coven into their biography or death visitation . The black - soak figure then strip back their hoods to let on … masks . They do look coolheaded , however , and worm around like ferrets in wood poker chip to whiff out their quarry .
Lilia , having a premonitory dream , awakens the rest of the group to inform us the Salem Seven have indeed arrived through “ a door left undecided ” by last hebdomad ’s summoning charm to invite Rio . It ’s here we learn the Seven are the children of Agatha ’s original slaughtered coven , who became “ a feral , hive - minded ” band of shapeshifters on a cause of vengeance against Agatha . “ The moral of the story is always finish what you started , ” Agatha quips , before tally , “ also , mercifulness is overrate . ”
Photo by Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel
Realizing they ’re surround , Teen hint a “ hexenbesen ” ( a spell that would traditionally metamorphose a broom into an improvised aircraft , but any variety of tree ontogeny will do ) which the rest of the chemical group immediately dismisses as corny . They give in , however , and do a cute ritual where they create and share their own modify Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree roots with one another like a crafting traffic circle , before carry off in a scene reminiscent of the speeder wheel Salmon Portland Chase inReturn of the Jedi . While soaring past a humongous “ lineage moon , ” Teen asks , “ Why have n’t we be doing this all along ? ” in a nod to common ailment about the Great Eagles inThe Lord of the Ringsmovies . As if in answer , the Road steers them back to their next trial — a different location this time — and we ’re transported to a cabin in the woods , eliciting a 1980s - themed summer camp slasher picture .
Each fellow member of the coven , too , is dress as if they ’re quick for a sleepover with the Wakefield sisters , with Teen ’s outfit a nod to his mirthful book inspiration ( keep show … ) . While it ’s unreadable why this test is 1980s - theme ( aside from the playfulness set stuffing , I judge ? ) , Rio deduces it must be one specifically tailored for Agatha , as the giant cerise moon outdoors indicates “ the veil between the support and the dead is at its thinnest ” and “ who well to commune with the numb than someone ’s whose put so many in the grave ? ” Sure , let ’s go with it .
by nature , an Ouija circuit card presents itself , and upon reading the rules , we learn “ a feel will be bring out ” if any participating practitioner removes their workforce from the planchette . So , who plans to commune with Agatha from the other side ? Well , after Agatha does a decent caricature of Debra Jo Rupp ’s late character , Sharon , son of a bitch gets real and “ D - due east - A - T - H ” bidding she be “ phosphorus - U - N - I - S - H [ E five hundred ] . ”
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As the chemical group extremity taper their claws , ponder on the best style to humiliate her , the board on the face of it brings forth a demonic effect and have Agatha . She begins contorting her organic structure , walk on her hands in a backbend like Regan inThe Exorcistbefore seizing Jennifer in a throttlehold . When Lilia turn on the lights , the spirit reveal itself : Evanora Harkness , Agatha ’s own mother ! She tells the coven they must fetch up the Witches Road without Agatha , as she was “ bear wickedness , ” but Rio rejects this . Alice expels Evanora from her host organic structure , but caught in the moment , Agatha instinctually lactate the life effect from her coven - partner , kill her .
Around this time , the Ouija board ’s planchette begins to spell “ N - I - C - heat content - oxygen - cubic decimeter - A - S - S - degree centigrade - radius - A - thyroxine - C - H , ” ostensibly corroborate Agatha ’s son is indeed dead . Having this confirmed is evidently penalization enough , and the third test is completed , just after the ghostly voice of a child severalise Agatha to “ stop ” her post - possessive rampage .
Afterwards , we learn Alice is indeed genuinely , most sincerely dead , and there ’s nothing the witches can do to make for her back to life . teenager is outraged by the ontogenesis , but the rest of the coven appear to take her pass in stride — farmore so than when Sharon snuffed it in episode three , strangely . “ Death come for us all , ” Lilia shrugs , while Jennifer agree each member of the group is equally thirsty for power . The idealistic Teen scoffs , “ So that ’s what it means to be a witch ? Killing the great unwashed to serve up your own agenda ? ” Agatha , doing that thing where she hurt others to protect herself , ask him in an sharply , sexually - coded way , “ Are you sure ? You ’re so much like your mother . ”
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Upon hearing this , Teen snaps , overtakes the judgment of Jennifer and Lilia and has them grab Agatha and toss herinto the clay . As she start out to bury , Teen reveals himself to indeed be Wanda ’s magically created Word , Billy , and the episode ends on a cliffhanger almost absolutely mirror the thirteenth installment ofDoctor Who ’s “ visitation of a Timelord ” time of year , in which Colin Baker ’s Sixth Doctor ispulled into a pit of quicksandas a future , nefarious incarnation of himself stands idly by , watching . We turn out to the credits to the strains of Billie Eilish ’s ever - democratic “ You Should See Me In a Crown . ”
In thelast recap , I opined Alice ’s character would have been better served dying at the end of her own bespoke episode , as the feint with the apparently destined - for - greater thing Teen being gore by a fragment of glass ( resolve in mo ) undermined any actual sense of severity the test present . So much for “ The Ballad of the Witches ’ Road ” being a tribute spell , I venture ? As this isAgatha‘s series , it ’s no secret the other member of the coven are mean to be carom fresh fish and it ’s difficult to imagine that the likes of Alice Gulliver - Wu , Jennifer Kale , or Lilia Calderu will hold up to appear inAvengers : Doomsday . It ’s also strikingly odd how calm the group is about her dying — not only having risked their life in a literal trial by fire on her behalfjust the other day , but also since they jointly lose their shit over the demise of the conscripted Sharon / Mrs. Hall . Then , it was believe they could n’t finish their journeying without a complete coven , but now its anybody ’s game ? Even if the witch are acting on pure self - interest alone , this is perplexing .
On the other paw , it makes sentience for the franchise . WandaVisionwas allegedly a series about get over heartache , but when we next met the Scarlet Witch in theDoctor Strangesequel , she went on a multiversal kill spree before getting squelch by a mountaintop . It does n’t feel as if anything in these MCU show have any lasting outcome on the movies , and frailty - versa , but now that seems to be creeping into this spinoff - of - a - spinoff on a bare episode - by - episode basis . Still , I ’m curious to see how this series resolves , and even more curious to see how it does n’t impact any shaving of the wider MCU incite ahead in the least . That ’s witchery for you .
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There are just four episodes ofAgatha All Alongto go , with the concluding two ventilate back to back on October 30 .
Want more io9 news ? Check out when to expect the latestMarvel , Star Wars , andStar Trekreleases , what ’s next for theDC Universe on film and television , and everything you need to know about the succeeding ofDoctor Who .
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