Spoiler alert: This story describes major plot developments in Season 1, Episode 5 of “Agatha All Long,” currently streaming on Disney+.
Ever since news broke that Heartstopper’s Joe Locke would be joining the cast of Agatha All Along, Marvel fans have been gleefully speculating who Locke’s character will be. At the end of Wednesday night’s episode, “Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power,” the show revealed that Locke, who most fans agreed was the most likely candidate, was actually a Wiccan. was virtually confirmed.
Big things happen in a shockingly short amount of time before the identity is revealed. During a witchcraft trial reminiscent of a 1980s teen horror movie, Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) is haunted by the ghost of her mother, Evanora (Kate Forbes). When Alice (Ari Ann), newly freed from her family’s curse, uses magic to free Agatha from possession, Agatha begins to drain all of Alice’s powers. The only thing that stops Agatha is when Locke’s character (still referred to as “Teen” in the credits) screams the name of Agatha’s dead child, Nicholas Scratch, and she hears the child’s voice saying, “Mommy. !” I heard him say. Stop! ”
It’s too late for poor Alice, alas, Agatha has drained her to death. The teen is devastated and lashes out at Agatha, who seemingly sincerely protests her failure to control Alice’s ability to drain her powers. The teen isn’t convinced.
“You wanted her power,” he says. “That’s what it’s always been like for you, hasn’t it?”
Before Agatha could reply, Jennifer (Sasheer Zamata) answered for her: That’s what this whole thing is about for all of us. ”
“Is that what you mean by witches?” the teen retorts to Agatha. “Do you kill people to achieve your own ends? No, I don’t.”
Teen Justice changes Agatha’s entire attitude. She seemed to look at the teen with new understanding, and smiled wickedly to herself before leaning into him.
“You look a lot like your mother,” she said accusingly.
As Marvel fans and astute viewers have probably guessed at this point, Agatha is referring to Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch. He magically created his sons Billy and Tommy just for them in WandaVision. Vanishes from existence when Wanda has to give up her fantasy world. Agatha clearly concludes that Billy, who showed magical talent like her mother in her childhood, has somehow returned.
Unfortunately for Agatha, she’s right. The teen’s hand begins to glow with pale blue magic and orders Jennifer and Lilia (Patti LuPone) to grab Agatha and throw her into the mud just outside the Witch’s Path. Agatha is quickly sucked underneath. In a fit of rage, the teen also pushes Jennifer and Lilia into the mud. The final shot of the episode shows the teen looking on with a mysterious expression on his face, as his head suddenly appears with a crown that bears a striking resemblance to the one Wanda wore as Scarlet Witch.
Provided by Marvel Studios
So the teen is actually Billy, who has the superhero nickname Wiccan in Marvel Comics. But while Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power solves the show’s biggest mysteries, it also raises a slew of new and fascinating questions.
Until this moment, Teen/Billy had acted as if he had no innate magical abilities at all. Was this just a ruse? Or did Agatha awaken something within him by evoking Wanda? Was it Billy who placed the seal that prevented the other witches from finding out his true identity? If not, who did it? Billy wonders who his mother really is. Did Billy already know what was going on, or was this revelation a surprise to his (now sunken) church as well? How did Billy come back from nothing? Is Billy’s brother Tommy back too? Do Billy’s parents, Jeff and Rebecca Kaplan (Paul Adelstein and Maria Dizia), know who Billy really is? Also, where on earth is Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza)?
“Agatha All Long” will likely answer many of these questions in its final four episodes. In the comics, Billy’s origins are intricately intertwined with some very strange magical metaphysics. When Wanda created him, she may or may not! — Accidentally used the soul fragment of Mephisto, Marvel’s version of the devil. After Billy’s body disappeared into oblivion, whether it was Mephisto’s doing or not, his soul basically became attached to another random kid. However, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never dabbled in anything this complicated, and 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introduces a different version of Billy. Because of this, the show may instead choose a more nuanced explanation for Billy’s return.
But where Billy came from seems far less important than the fact that he’s back. Even a quick search of social media shows that even though most hardcore fans already know the true identity of the teen, they’re still excited to have it validated by the show. The MCU has started to embrace authentic LGBTQ representation in recent years, but Billy is new. A queer superhero who is central to their project and integral to the ongoing MCU storyline (unlike Phastos from The Eternals or Korg from Thor: Love and Thunder); His sexuality isn’t just a conduit for irreverent comedy (unlike Deadpool). And its LGBTQ identity is vaguely mentioned, almost non-existent (unlike America in Multiverse of Madness or Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok).
In other words, Billy is a powerful and influential Marvel character, but he’s also undeniably gay. And there’s much more to his story left to tell.
