WARNING: Contains major spoilers for the entirety of Agatha All Along
If there's one thing Marvel loves, it's a final battle. According to the MCU handbook, the epic culmination of a hero's journey must end with a big CGI-fuelled spectacle where good and evil clash via pew-pew laser hands before justice is won and the end credits roll. But Agatha Harkness isn't one to play by the rules, and that was especially true of her solo series, which consistently defied expectation — don't say it — all along. WandaVision sequel Agatha All Along followed its predecessor with some big swings that played with the Marvel formula, conjuring key elements into something new and, dare we say, even magical.
Yet the full extent of this didn’t become clear until the two-part finale that turned the show on its head faster than Lilia Calderu flipping those cards and reversing the tower. Because as it turns out, everything we thought we knew about Billy Maximoff, the Witches’ Road, and – yes – Agatha herself, was a big lie. You could even say showrunner Jac Schaeffer was tricking us all along… After taking audiences down, down, down the road, the Agatha All Along finale veered off onto an unexpected path that reframed the entire show – while also reimagining what the MCU formula is capable of, and teeing up future stories too.
The CGI boss fights of MCU stories past aren't the only road to take.
The biggest reveal in the finale is one that few saw coming: the Witches’ Road isn’t real. It never was. Just like how his mother unknowingly created the sitcom world of Westview, Billy too did the same, subconsciously transforming reality in a desperate bid to find his brother – as revealed when he returned to his bedroom, only to find so many items there (from the Nancy Myers beach house to the Ouija board and the fairy tale castle) bearing a more-than-passing resemblance to the Road’s trials. Lilia wasn't kidding when she read the cards that said Billy has enormous potential to turn his goals into reality. As Wiccan, he literally has that power.
This mind-blowing twist proved transformative in more ways than one – it’s the kind that makes you want to immediately rewatch Agatha All Along with brand new eyes. Looking back, the clues were there all along. “It’s exactly how I pictured it,” said Billy when he first laid eyes on the road – that's because he did picture it like this and manifested it into reality. It’s why the Road looks so fake, why the trees on the walls are painted on. There shouldn't even be walls there. And that's why Rio could cut her way through said walls to leave. Such artifice cleverly hinted at the truth from day one, while also lending the show a tangible feel with practical effects that have been largely absent from other Marvel shows. And Agatha knew – wait for it! – all along. Because of course she did. As soon as the entrance to the Witches' Road magically appeared, Agatha could tell this was Billy's doing, as she hinted many times throughout. “You're so much like your mother,” indeed.
Before the big Billy twist, the penultimate episode unfolded in somewhat usual MCU fashion – with a face-off between Agatha, Rio, and Billy (now decked out in the full Wiccan costume that we’d glimpsed in Halloween form, back when little Billy wore it in WandaVision). But even the typical power-based battle was upended – yes, a few energy blasts were tossed around in ways reminiscent of WandaVision's finale, but here, the conflict didn’t end with fisticuffs. Instead, it ended with a kiss, a kiss of death that also turns out to be a kiss of life, not just for Billy, but also Marvel. In one of the show’s most striking images, Harkness strode over to Death and kissed her passionately on the mouth – the kiss we've, frankly, been waiting all season for. But it came at a cost. By giving in to Rio, Agatha gave in to death, sacrificing herself so that Billy could live. It came as proof that the CGI boss fights of MCU stories past aren't the only road to take – that love (of all kinds) can be the way forward.
The finale continued in that emotive fashion – this wasn’t a climax of action and spectacle, but of pure emotional resolution, pulling us back to the 1750s where we met a much younger Agatha giving birth to her son, Nicholas. "You were made from scratch," Agatha lovingly tells him, hinting that he may be the product of supernatural means or even a previous communion with Death (like Mother Aniseya, who magically procreated Osha and Mae single handedly in The Acolyte). If we were conspiracy nuts, we might even suggest that the devilish Mephisto could have played a hand here, as he did in the conception of Wanda's children in the comics…
Wherever Billy appears next, expect Wiccan's power to send waves through the MCU.
Marvel TV has never attempted a finale like this before, one so grounded in emotion that prioritises storytelling over battles and wider MCU connections. It's devastating to realise that every time Agatha performs ‘The Witches’ Road’ – a ditty she and her son originally devised as ‘The Winding Road’ – she's forced to remember the loss of her child, taken by Death after Rio granted them a few short years together. In fact, the entire reason Agatha is motivated to kill other witches and extend her own life – using her son’s song in the process – is so that she won't be forced to face him in death. New meaning can be found in the lyrics too: “I stray not from the path, I hold death's hand in mine” refers not just to Rio, but how Agatha made up the song with Nicholas in hand even as death loomed over his short life. That’s the real reason why Agatha argued one line read “coven two”, when Jen insisted it was “coven true”. Because it was just her and Nicholas on the road, before Death took him away for good. We're not crying, you're crying!
It was those emotional revelations that hit hardest – but in more typical Marvel style, the Agatha finale created tantalising teases of what’s coming next. Just because the Witches’ Road wasn’t real, doesn’t mean that the rules weren’t – and all the survivors got something at the end of the journey. In the final trial, Agatha helped Billy find the wayward soul of his brother Tommy, pushing it into the body of a soon-to-be-dead drowning youngster, the victim of a devastating swimming pool prank. The season closed with a new mission: the search for Tommy. Billy won't have to do it alone, either. Despite dying in Rio's embrace, Agatha is now back as a ghost, complete with her signature comic book grey hair. It's always been clear that showrunner Jac Schaeffer drew inspiration from the Scarlet Witch's journey on The Witches' Road in the James Robinson’s 2015 comics run, where Agatha’s spirit served as Wanda’s guide – now the circle is complete, with the MCU's Agatha set to provide similar guidance for Billy, on a quest to find his brother.
Quite where Tommy will appear remains to be seen. There could be more Agatha on the cards, or perhaps we’re due a Wiccan-centric show. Or perhaps Tommy's return could take place in Paul Bettany's upcoming Vision Quest series, the next chapter of the Westview saga. Whenever he arises, it's almost certain he'll possess the same speedster powers that his uncle, Pietro Maximoff, exhibited in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, just like the comics. Billy and Tommy will also likely play a role in the Young Avengers team that Kamala Khan and Hawkeye protege Kate Bishop began forming at the end of 2023's The Marvels. In the comics, the twins play a crucial role in that line-up, and it's only a matter of time before they follow in the footsteps of their parents to become full-fledged superheroes.
Wherever Billy appears next, expect Wiccan's power to send waves through the MCU. Someone operating on Wanda's scale will surely be a major player moving forward. And the fact that Agatha’s sarcastic spirit will join him only makes that return all the more exciting. A gay Avenger-in-the-making teaming up with a villain-turned-ghost? This is not the same MCU fans were first introduced to all the way back in 2008, but it's safe to say that Marvel's much better off for it. The comics have long been inclusive – and endlessly creative with lore – and it's time that the films and shows catch up. Dare we say it: they should have been like this… all along.
Agatha All Along is streaming now on Disney+