Through Many Miles/Of Tricks and Trials

I thought Episode 3 of "Agatha All Along" was fantastic! It really captivated me with its clever mix of humor and mystery. The episode focused on Agatha Harkness and her coven, adding intriguing layers to the story. I loved the witty dialogue and playful references to classic sitcoms, which gave it that nostalgic charm while still feeling modern. The dynamic within the coven created a gripping tension that kept me on the edge of my seat. Plus, the stunning visuals and creative storytelling showcased the show's unique style, making it a standout episode that left me excited for what's next with the remaining episodes.

For the first two episodes, the show was suffering from a lack of a clear direction. While it was told that they would be travelling down the Witches' Road for something, it was never really clear why or what was going to make that travel interesting. However, they decided to waste no time in actually bringing people onboard with the story and introducing them to these tasks that our heroes will be facing, and in this episode, it was done with a pretty amazing set. This is definitely the show's best episode yet, as it interestingly pulls back the curtains for what's actually going on.

The coven is definitely an integral part of the show, and while they saw the foundation in the previous episode, this really highlighted how they're going to get through this together. They are not a perfectly matched band, and that's totally great, because it adds to the dynamic between them all, and the episode forces them to work together amidst screams and arguments, and puts pieces in motion for some great character development. And this episode actually had some amazing development for Agatha, who is clearly hiding some dark secrets and has a lot of regrets that she will be facing on the road. And that's where the development of the plot comes in as well, because while Agatha's motives were pretty clear at the first, there are other things that could come into play there. And obviously, it had a certain shoutout that's going to make fans happy, but also continue a horde of expectations that have been haunting the Marvel show since the inception of their Disney+ era. The ending was very unexpected, but also shows that this is not afraid to take some big swings and take a piece of the puzzle away if it feels like it's necessary. However, there are certain aspects of the show's pacing that still needs a bit of work, and the mystery surrounding Joe Locke's "Teen" is still not interesting enough for me to actually care, despite the show's really desperate attempts to make me. Maybe it'll work sooner or later, but for now, not really.

"Through Many Miles / Of Tricks and Trials" seems to be laying some interesting groundwork for the future and puts real stakes into this magical journey. The episode is still fun and full of fantastical elements, but it's not afraid to go dark and does a good job of developing the characters and the overall storyline.

I was a little bit worried that they wouldn't do enough with the premise they set up in the first two episodes. I was luckily mistaken. I love what they're setting up here. The costumes, set design, and story are so incredible, and the camaraderie that the characters have with each other is very enjoyable. I love when shows have a large number of main characters, but still manage to handle each one of them with respect towards their backstories and relationships with other characters. These trials are going to be so interesting to watch, especially since every episode has its own theme. I've been loving this show so far, and I can't wait to keep loving it.

The witches are on the road. Suddenly their dream house appears as the witches turn to the Real Housewives of Oz.

It is not going to be plain sailing despite Sharon finding her dream kitchen in the house.

There is even some classy wine to drink. Agatha knows it is a trick. The rest end up with horribly contorted faces.

To get back to normal they need to make an antidote. Before that Agatha needs to gluck some wine.

In essence this was an escape room scenario. With digs at some of the Hollywood executives, those who like their plastic surgery.

It was fun yet at times laborious. I also think that you cannot have a trial as the episode of the week for the rest of the series. It will get tedious.

I like Marvel phases I-III and used to collect comic books, so obviously this show isn't for me, but it has a stamp of "Marvel" on it, so here we are... By this point the anticipation that Kathryn's charm may appear has run its course, and we're mostly left with an episode consisting of explanations of world rules and stale Marvel humor- "So THAT just happened" kind of jokes. It's likely fun for some people.

Ep3 is probably my least favorite so far. The dialogue and acting are better than previous episodes, but this one really feels like a low-budget comedy/drama series on Netflix/Amazon like "The Good Place" or "Upload". The music also stuck out in Ep3 for sounding particularly generic. "Can I get some more staccato violin plucks?"

The other thing that annoys me about the writing is that whenever they go off on a tangent about "My witch powers XYZ takes your ABC powers because of EFG" it reminds me of a child learning to talk, explaining their action figures to me- I understand enough of the words to nod my head and go along with it, but I have no idea what they're talking about or where it's going or why; and that's effectively my reaction to the show.

Agatha All Along, Ep3: So that just happened.