This show is surprisingly fun

After the first two episodes of Agatha all the time, I noted that I was “cautiously optimistic” about how this show was going. I enjoyed the sense of humor and the innuendos WandaVision, but I could see it going both ways. I’m happy to report that episode 3 was pretty good, with some funny parts, some scary parts, and a pretty shocking death.

ForbesReview of the premiere of the two-part series “Agatha All Along”: I’m cautiously optimisticFrom Erik Cain

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

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

My age has value.

I’m no fun alone.

I’m messing with your mind.

My tricks are well known.

I love puzzles! Unfortunately, the show doesn’t give us enough time to think about this (I should have paused), 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 a few glasses on the table and cheerfully shouts, “Wine!” Sure enough, that’s the answer. A timer clicks. 30 minute countdown.

They know they have to drink the wine and are pretty sure it is poisoned or cursed. They drink anyway – everyone except Teen, who is not in the circle and is underage, and Agatha, who throws her drink into a plant. It will reappear in your jar later. As she tries to smash the glass on the floor, the wine returns in another. Everyone has to drink.

The symptoms are funny. First, everyone’s faces balloon into hideous monstrosities where plastic surgery has gone horribly wrong. “I kind of like it,” says Lilia, the only member of the group who is unimpressed by the transformation.

The second symptom is worse, although by this point the pharmacist, Jen, has already figured out what type of poison it is. Sharon falls unconscious during this phase, and the rest rush through the house looking for ingredients for an antidote, which Jen tries to mix up in the sink. As they wander through the property, the hallucinations begin. We discover that each one offers a glimpse into each witch’s haunting backstory.

Jen sees a man standing in the kitchen wearing a white apron. He attacks her, accuses her of being an obstacle, and dunks her head in the water as she beats him. Lilia follows a creepy girl in a dress through the house, only to find creepy undead witches leering at her. Alice sees her mother, who tells her that her grandmother has died all over the world and that her murderer is now after her too. Agatha, who we learn has abandoned her child because of the darkness, hears the crying of an infant and goes to the crib only to find the magic book under the sheets.

It seems we’re supposed to believe that Teen – who has been placed under a seal to hide his identity from witches – is Agatha’s long-lost child. I’m not sure if that’s the case considering how old Agatha is, but it’s possible. However, I tend to think this is a red herring.

In any case, the potion is brewed with the help of practical and very stylish kitchen equipment, but something is missing. Agatha gives Jen a pep talk (albeit with the phrase “I’ve always hated you”) and she remembers: They need the blood of the unpoisoned to make it work. Luckily, Teen abstained. He tried to drink when Agatha wouldn’t, and that was 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 rushes into the building. Given the length of the episode, the 30 minute timer could have been made to work in real time, but I checked and found that the time span was about ten minutes. Well, yes. They escape through the oven, pushing the unconscious Mrs. Hart with them, despite Agatha’s protests. Outside, they slide down a muddy ditch into the forest, although it looks like the blue leaves are now red. Teen reveals that Sharon didn’t make it, and we have our first – though perhaps not our last – death of the season.

I found this to be another surprisingly entertaining episode. The obvious parallels that people will certainly draw, since this is about witches, are to films like hocus pocus, but I’m definitely getting one Idiots Atmosphere – but with middle-aged women and not a group of children. Unless Goonies, then certainly the spirit of the old school adventure films from the 80s and 90s. Maybe a touch of Jumanji. Riddles, puzzles, scary things coming to our heroes’ minds, lots of bickering and showboating. It’s really fun and I’ve moved my barometer from “cautiously optimistic” to “really excited for next week’s episode.”

Check out my review of the first two episodes here.

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