Episode 3 of Agatha All Along was killer. Literally. Unfortunately for our hapless housewife Sharon, the cure for the poison didn’t reach her in time, and after only one trial, we’re also down a coven mate. This makes for a somber start back down the Witches’ Road. In the aftermath, there’s some trauma bonding among the women who remain (sans Agatha) and everyone starts to open up, including Alice, who reveals that “the road” her mom died on was actually NOT the Witches’ Road. Instead, her mom died in a hotel fire when she was out on the road on a tour.
Trials and tribulations aside, you can see the ties that might bind the group into a bonafide coven forming…until Agatha comes along and ruins the moment with a callous RIP to “Mrs. Hart” and tries to flip it into a positive by saying there’s more power to go around now. The witches ask Agatha how many people finished the road with her, and when she holds up one single finger, it’s clear the rest of the coven is going to have a hard time trusting Agatha “Coven Killer” Harkness in this journey. The argument continues,this time over whether they need all 5 witches in order to even finish. Agatha insists that based on the lyrics to the Witches Road, they only need two, while no one else agrees with her. They finally decide to summon a replacement green witch…but she’s not what anyone expected.
But even Agatha is thrown for a loop when the powers that be send Rio Vidal to fill the vacancy. And it seems pretty evident that they likely had a past that might not be so much in the past. Plaza plays it subtle and absolutely nails her role as who we think may be more than meets the eye- perhaps Lady Death herself, or at least that’s a pet theory. She’s certainly something, or as she puts it “THE green witch.” Vidal is one of the few things that shakes Agatha’s confidence or even outright scares her, and that makes her integral to finding out where this is going. The comic and dramatic tension between Hahn and Plaza is absolutely perfect, and one of my favorite things about the show so far. As horrible and obnoxious as Agatha is, even she can be outdone with her own tricks.
Teen’s taken to following Agatha around and her history with Rio has certainly piqued his curiosity. He asks if she wants to talk about her obvious discomfort with Rio being summoned into the fold, but she declines, and the group moves on down the road, entering the house that is hosting the second trial. This one’s for Alice, and as a set piece, it’s groovy as hell. Everyone’s gone 70’s glam, flower crowns, sequins, sunglasses and all. Hahn’s channeling Cher and Teen’s lookin’ rather Sonny, while Alice is giving Yoko. The Witches’ Road has given the set designers and wardrobe a whole lot of neat things to work with, and they’re absolutely taking advantage of it, as the second house is an homage to all things tacky and 70’s, from stone walls to bead curtains, shag carpet and privacy screens.
This trial is all about Alice, and her mother. Teen proves the unifying voice once again as he gets the gang exploring, but when things really unfold is when Alice finds her mom’s picture and starts to recall the details of her childhood and her mom’s tragic death. As we know from before, Alice’s mother recorded the most popular version of the ballad of the Witches Road. Not only that, her version was different from the “original” and that difference turns out to be the key to everything.As it turns out, Alice’s mom was trying to open the road with her concerts, using the audience/fan base as her coven. While that detail isn’t particularly important, I thought it was an interesting concept and a different spin on the “power of music.” In the midst of this flashback, Lillia jolts out of the moment and into another, suddenly urging Alice “Don’t!” but before Alice can get any answers as to what she means, she’s back and missing all memory of her brief mental departure. It seems like Lillia’s abilities might just include involuntary time jumps, and this seems like it’ll be an important piece of the puzzle down the road.
For now though, the table’s set for the second trial. Teen suggests exploring the place for a riddle or clue to get them started, and everyone goes their own way, with Agatha taking a very pregnant pause with Rio in the soundbooth. At this point their former intimate relationship is more or less confirmed, as well as Rio’s power over Agatha, and the fear she can instill in her. And while Agatha’s usually the one at the controls, this time it’s Rio, broadcasting a warning to the rest of the coven that Agatha isn’t to be trusted - which is already fairly apparent, honestly. Agatha notices and tries to spin the message, but she has no time when the record player starts playing the ballad - backward, and things go bad quickly. Lillia jumps back and forth again, warning that the group is cursed as a metronome starts ticking on its own. Trial begin!
At first, the mood remains semi-giddy, but then Lillia catches fire. As she writes in agony on the floor, Alice jumps to her aid, drawing a circle of protection around her. Before they have much time to recover from that sizzler, another of the group catches fire, this time, Jen. It’s clear they’re going to have to heed Lillia’s jump advice and face the curse to break it. At the same time, the pieces are coming together for Alice - as it turns out, the ballad was for her - a variation of the original that served as a protection spell for Alice.
Not a second later they’re face to face with a demon, and it’s a musical interlude. I’ve got to congratulate a show that can keep the action and tension high while also interjecting with a musical number. It’s a feat. The song’s the thing, it turns out, and though everyone takes a turn to burn, save Rio, who mostly hangs around to read magazines, complain about the lack of murder, and play drums. So, I guess she helped?
Just when everyone’s sighing in relief, they notice Teen’s been gravely injured with a piece of glass to the gut. Back on the road, the coven is scrambling to save him. Agatha is far more invested in helping Teen than she was about saving Sharon, and shares a very loaded glance with Rio who’s lurking in the background observing rather than joining the others in trying to heal him. Agatha’s actually hysterical, breathing heavy and pleading for things to be different. Luckily for all of us who love Teen (who doesn’t?) he pulls through.
While the coven regroups and starts to bond again, Agatha and Teen once again meet up for a chat. They talk about the sigil, and why it was placed. Agatha tells Teen that even the witch who placed the sigil will have no memory of it, and that the sigil will break when it’s no longer needed. So much is revealed and the two seem to be bonding, but when Teen asks about Agatha’s son, the moment’s gone, and so is Agatha.
She’s back to the bonfire with the rest of the crew, and the group shares war stories - more specifically stories of how they got their scars. Rio explains that her scar is a person who she loves that she shouldn’t, but can’t avoid. Before there’s any doubt, reader, it’s Agatha, and the two finally embrace, though there’s still some venom, as Rio tells Agatha ‘the boy isn’t yours.’
Fade to black.
This recap might seem long but there’s a lot to unpack in this week’s episode. Why’d Rio take the place of the green witch? Who exactly is Rio? Who placed the sigil and why? Is Lillia jumping around in time? And what cool theme will next week’s trial house have?
I just started the series in time to take over these recaps and let me tell you, I’m hooked. Same bat time, same bat channel next week, and let’s see what’s on the road ahead.
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