This review contains full spoilers for Agatha All Along Season 1, Episode 4.

In episode four of Marvel’s Agatha All Along, Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) and her coven continue down the Witches’ Road to face another deadly magical ordeal, but this time there are a few bumps in the road. Those imperfections make the latest enchanted escape room, focused on Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), a bit of a disappointment. Luckily, the episode is filled to the brim with colorful characters who carry the show with their big personalities, magical mysteries and juicy drama, and so Agatha All Along proves that it can still be a devilishly fun watch even if it’s not firing on all cylinders. turns. .

With the poisonous death of Mrs. Davis in the last episode, the first order of business is to fill her vacant spot with a new Green Witch. The group gets more than they bargained for when they unknowingly summon Agatha’s nemesis, Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal, in the most intense summoning sequence I’ve ever seen (free). Comes from the earth like That certainly reinforces her title as T̸̛͎̹̀͘H̴̢̧̛͇̘̉͛̉͜É̴̢̩̣ ̵̨̡̭̲̑̿̂̀G̷̪̝͌R̵͎̪̻̍̐̕E̷̢̗̖͉̒̅̉E̷̯̍̀̕ ̠ ͇̪N̸͎̲͎̭̿

The show was sorely missing Rio’s unique psycho-sexy antagonism, so it feels good to have her back in the mix and making everyone feel uncomfortable. That said, for a witch who acts so riotous and brandishes a knife while talking about how she’s ready to do some damage, Rio is surprisingly (and disappointingly) well-behaved in this episode. She even helps the gang by playing the drums, without asking any questions. There’s a moment where Agatha tries to turn the group against Rio by broadcasting their conversation, but the clumsy execution has the opposite effect and makes Agatha sound much worse than Rio. Ultimately, Rio is the closest thing this show has to a villain, so it would be more satisfying to see her have a bite to back up her bark.

Before the trial, the coven enters a 1970s recording studio and gets a groovy makeover. Here they must overcome Alice’s family curse by learning the truth behind her mother’s musical career and then face a fiery demon head-on with the power of music. I like the ideas explored here, but not the way they are executed. All the details of the generational curse have been over-explained, but the concept is still a bit confusing. Plus, as I said in my last review, Alice’s character is the most underdeveloped character of the group, so it’s hard to feel invested in her big revelations and personal breakthroughs. It doesn’t help that Agatha takes lead vocals when it’s time to jam. Alice shouldn’t have grabbed the mic, since she did her mother’s song and this test was her process?

As for the song itself, the wonderfully campy take on the new ’70s version of the ballad is great, with some high stakes and plenty of fire to keep things interesting. Part of me is disappointed because the song is just a new version of a tune we’ve already heard, rather than something entirely new, but this version with new story elements for Alice and her mother helps make up for that.

With Ms. Davis gone, Patti LuPone’s Lilia Calderu has quickly become the new scene-stealer. Example: “Well, you know that? Zils!” Hilarious. Not only that, she has a big heart and a sharp mind, so she adds some very welcome emotional weight to the story. This is an episode about carrying the pain of those who came before, and we see how much she carries the burden of what happened to all the women executed during the Salem Witch Trials. I hope her trial is next because I’m eager to find out what’s going on with Lilia as she unknowingly communicates with people from beyond the mortal plane.

Agatha All Around Episode 4 Images