Agatha All Along Episodic Coverage: “Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power”

The Third Trial Throws Out Basically All The Rules

“Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power” made me give up. Not on watching Agatha All Along, but on understanding the rules of the trials. This episode starts with rules. There’s a clear set of them. But then they get broken, and stuff goes out of control, and Teen kind of just runs over to the Ouija board at some point and handles it.

And the worst part is that I see the vision of how this trial might work. The solution was someone saying a specific name. I think the trial intended for Agatha to be punished until she said that name. For her to face down her family history, and maybe admit something. I’m further guessing that, if they hadn’t done that in time, Agatha’s mom would’ve eventually killed everyone, Agatha included, with Agatha’s body.  

And that’s horrifying, obviously—and also supports my working theory that The Road gives each person what they want through the challenges. Somehow, that part remained intact despite this show having barely any internal logic.

This Episode Has A Lot Of Intense Story Moments

And it’s because of one shocking moment: Alice used magic. Lots of it. And it seems like it’s because she finished her trial, broke her curse, and probably unlocked a whole lot of potential that she could cast a spell like that. But, because of how Agatha’s powers work—which she may or may not have a choice over—now Agatha has gotten her “prize” from The Road at the culmination of her trial. She’s drained a witch. Maybe she’s not gained enough power—but she’s got some of what she wanted. It hadn’t occurred to me that The Road might kill someone to appease another person’s “wish,” but it’s not like The Road minds killing people.

But it’s the big ending of “Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power” that really caught me off guard, that redeemed it from the fate of being a confusing half-story with one pivotal scene. And much like a surprising amount of this show, it’s about Teen. Teen’s switch to attacking Agatha was effectively foreshadowed, and then dramatically clicked into action by Teen’s anger. I’m not even that shocked he’s likely The Scarlet Witch’s son. With the original character gone in Multiverse of Madness, and a focus on “the next generation” of superheroes hinted at in The Marvels, it’s not shocking that we need some future villains, too. But I was surprised when Teen also—however unlikely it’s not just a cliffhanger trick—“killed” two of the others. One of them hasn’t even gotten her trail yet. She hasn’t even gotten to pay off all of the little future moments she’s been experiencing. If any of the non-Alice deaths remain in effect, the writers are completely messing with the structure of the series—and they do seem willing to do that. Agatha obviously has to live through her whole thing—and our green witch is unaccounted for by the end of “Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power”—but those are the only guarantees.

And though I don’t know if I’ll like the results of those plot choices, I do have to say that I liked this episode overall. As a wrap-up, as a summation, “Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power” wanted to be memorable, it wanted to be shocking, and it achieved that. It’s certainly flawed in its windup. I would love for the magic to have more defined rules. For Agatha to maybe take life-or-death scenarios a little more seriously and not joke around. But it’s a fun series to watch weekly. It’s got a lot of good Halloween energy. This upcoming Wednesday now feels too far away.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fiction: Snowfall In The Living Room
• “It Came From The Archives” Doctor Who Special Reviews: The Church on Ruby Road
• Review: Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer by M. Rickert
• Friday Fiction: Frozen Army
• Foundations: The 5 Best Artifact Cards