Agatha All Along – Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power review S1 E5

April 6, 2025 Jeffrey Lyles Agatha All Along, Ali Ahn, Aubrey Plaza, Debra Jo Rupp, Joe Locke, Kathryn Hahn, Patti LuPone, Sasheer Zamata

Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power largely ditched the slapstick and overly comic-tinged dramatics for a far more serious slant. One that seemingly confirmed broader suspicions of Agatha Harkness and her reliability as an ally, let alone a friend.

The Salem 7 is still hunting Agatha as they emerge through the portal in a nicely done creepy opening sequence. They have an advantage of being able to transform into other swiftly moving forms like snakes, foxes and crows. To counter their speed, Agatha and her crew need an advantage. Teen suggests brooms.

The witches’ reaction is pretty funny with Lilia going off about how brooms have been commercialized and they’re a sign of female domesticity. Jennifer more succinctly says “And they’re basic,” which was a hilarious cap to Lilia’s rant.

Agatha, Rio, Jennifer, Lilia, Alice and Teen start ripping off thick tree branches for their mode of transportation leading to a fun ET/Bewitched homage as they take to the skies against a deep red blood moon. Despite their earlier apprehension, the witches actually kinda enjoy flying by broom…until The Witches Road forces them back down as it’s time for them to take the next trial.

For Darkest Hour, the now familiar house down the trail transformers into a campy 1980s chic. The crew are decked out like they’re ready to be the latest victims in a slasher flick. That blood moon out in the distance? That was a clue that this time it’s Agatha’s trial. This was an unexpected twist as it seemed like Agatha would face her trial last.

But how will they discover what they’ve got to do for this Darkest Hour trial? Simple. Onto the Ouija board!

Not long after they start, “Mrs. Hart” takes over Agatha, but Rio spoils Agatha’s fun by telling the other she’s just pretending. Agatha’s disappointment that Rio saw through her impression was another genuinely funny moment.

Now that they’re really ready to get answers from the Ouija board, it’s Agatha who’s not ready for any games. The message tells them to ‘punish Agatha.’ Understandably, Agatha is not down for these instructions, but it doesn’t matter as she gets possessed for real this time. And it’s from someone who knows Agatha intimately. No, not Rio although that’s a solid guess, but her mother, Evanora (Kate Forbes).

Evanora is a ghost and just like the Ouija board said, she wants them to punish Agatha. And for her, the worst punishment is to leave her behind with Evanora. Rio was happy to punish Agatha but is wholeheartedly against the notion of leaving her in Evanora’s hands. It’s interesting how the showrunners have decided to slow burn the full scope of Agatha and Rio’s relationship. Maybe a full flashback episode later in the season? We don’t get much in Darkest Hour.

Alice uses her magic powers to drive Evanora back out of Agatha, but she’s met with an unintended side effect — Agatha starts stealing her life force. Just like Agatha did with the original Salem 7. Teen comes up with the solution with a little help from the Ouija board and says ‘Nicholas Scratch,’ which is good enough to end the trial and free Agatha from Evanora’s bonds.

For Alice? It did prove to be her Darkest Hour as she’s left desiccated — yet another victim of Agatha Harkness.

Teen is furious with Agatha, who doesn’t offer up much of a defense for her actions before reverting to her default and going on the offensive. She taunts Teen by saying he’s so much like his mother, who Rio confirmed last week is not Agatha. Not that he knows that for sure.

As they head back onto the trail, Jennifer and Lilia toss Agatha into quicksand. Their blue eyes clearly confirm they’re being possessed. Teen’s powers continue to manifest as he sends them into the quicksand as well. The episode ends with his crown nearly formed around his forehead. Just like his momma.

Darkest Hour largely ditched the sillier era-specific sendups for a more sinister episode with real dangers and the loss of another member of the party. At this rate, Agatha is going to run out of allies before she can complete her quest.