After the first two episodes of Agatha all the time, I noted that I was “cautiously optimistic” about the direction of this show. I enjoyed the sense of humor and the references to WandaVision, but I could see it going either way. I’m happy to report that episode 3 was pretty good, with some funny bits, some scary bits, and one pretty shocking death.

ForbesReview of the premiere of the two-part series “Agatha All Along”: I am cautiously optimisticFrom Eric Kain

Our heroes found themselves on the witches’ road at the end of Episode 2, and in this week’s adventure, they face their first test in the form of a giant house. When they enter, their previous clothes (and hairstyles) are replaced by the kind of upper-middle-class country club attire you see in the image above. “Bury me in that kitchen!” exclaims Mrs. Hart as she marvels at all the finery. Only later do we realize this is foreshadowing. Poor Sharon – the only non-witch in the coven – doesn’t make it out alive. “Who’s Sharon?” asks Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha just before the credits roll. Has she really forgotten, or is Agatha just Agatha – a witch the rest of the coven despises?

As soon as they enter the house and change into their WASPY outfits, Teen discovers a map (what a beautiful box, Sharon notices) with a riddle on it:

My age has value.

Alone I’m no fun.

I’m confusing you.

My tricks are well known.

I love puzzles! Unfortunately, the show doesn’t give us enough time to solve this puzzle (I should have paused it) and while the rest of the coven is stumped, it’s Sharon who accidentally stumbles upon the answer. She turns around, sees a bottle of red wine and some glasses on the table and calls out happily, “Wine!” And sure enough, that’s the answer. A timer ticks. 30 minutes are running out.

They know they must drink the wine, and they are fairly certain it is poisoned or cursed. They drink anyway – all except Teen, who is not part of the coven and is underage, and Agatha, who throws her wine into a plant. It will later reappear in her glass. When she tries to smash the glass on the ground, the wine comes back in another one. Everyone must drink.

The symptoms are funny. First, everyone’s faces swell up into hideous plastic surgeries gone horribly wrong. “I kind of like that,” says Lilia, the only member of the group who remains unimpressed by the transformation.

The second symptom is worse, although by this point the pharmacist Jen has already figured out what kind of poison it is. Sharon is knocked unconscious during this stage and the others rush through the house looking for ingredients for an antidote that Jen is preparing in the sink. As they wander through the house, the hallucinations begin. Each of these, we discover, is a glimpse into each witch’s haunting backstory.

Jen sees a man wearing a white apron standing in the kitchen. He attacks her, accusing her of being a hindrance, and dunks her head in the water as she slashes at him. Lilia follows a creepy girl in a dress through the house, only to be stared at by creepy undead witches. Alice sees her mother, who tells her that her grandmother died across the world and her killer is now after her too. Agatha, who we learn abandoned her child for the Darkhold, hears a baby crying and goes to the crib, only to find the spell book under the sheets.

It seems we’re meant to believe that Teen – who has been sealed to hide his identity from witches – is Agatha’s long-lost child. I’m not sure if that’s true, given Agatha’s age, but it’s possible. I’m inclined to think that’s a red herring, though.

Anyway, the potion is brewed with the help of some handy and very fancy kitchen equipment, but something is missing. Agatha gives Jen a pep talk (albeit one in which she hears the phrase “I’ve always hated you”) and she remembers: they need the blood of the unpoisoned for it to work. Thankfully, Teen abstained. He tried to drink when Agatha didn’t want to, and that’s the only thing that made her finally drink. Almost a maternal instinct, you could say.

The antidote works – mostly – and the furnace opens just as seawater starts pouring into the building. Given the length of the episode, they could have had the 30-minute timer running in real time, but I checked and it’s about ten minutes late. Oh well. They escape through the furnace, knocking the unconscious Mrs. Hart with them despite Agatha’s protests. Outside, they slide down a muddy ditch back into the woods, though it looks like the blue leaves are now red. Teen reveals that Sharon didn’t make it, and we have our first – though maybe not last – death of the season.

I found this to be another surprisingly entertaining episode. Since this is about witches, people will certainly draw parallels to films like Hocus pocus, but I get a decided The Goonies atmosphere – but with middle-aged women and not with a group of children. If not The Goonies, then certainly the spirit of the old-school adventure films from the 80s and 90s. Maybe a touch of The film is based on the same name. Riddles, puzzles, scary things happening to our heroes, lots of bickering and showing off. It’s actually a lot of fun and I’ve changed my barometer from “cautiously optimistic” to “really looking forward to next week’s episode.”

Check out my review of the first two episodes here.

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