Agatha All Along Episode 6 "Familiar by Thy Side" Review: A Beautiful And Satisfying Way Of Tying Up Many Loose-Ends

After last week's revelation—which was hardly shocking—that Teen played by Joe Locke is actually Billy Maximoff, son of the Scarlet Witch, this week's episode sought to explain how that could be possible, given that Billy and Tommy vanished into thin air at the conclusion of WandaVision.

"Familiar by Thy Side," the sixth episode, nails it by providing fresh information about Billy's character and his real reasons for acting. The best part is that, unlike the premiere, this episode stays focused on a single character the whole time rather than cutting to other members of the coven.

Because William Kaplan's Jewish identity is so central to the comics, it was wonderful to see his Bar Mitzvah. Lilia (Patti Lupone) had a great moment with him in the party scene when she hinted at his fate and then admitted that she had put the sigil on him.

Why she felt compelled to shield him from witches after seeing his future is unclear. Maybe she felt something else, something unspoken, and she put it there to shield him from what was to come. Assuming she didn't perish in that goo, we should find out why she did what she did in an upcoming episode.

It seemed like a bit of a let-off when Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) simply hauled herself out of the Witches' Road, which was initially portrayed as being extremely dangerous. Why couldn't Lilia and Jen (Sasheer Zamata) do it if she could? Perhaps it was there and we simply failed to notice. In any case, the ease with which one could exit significantly diminished the perception of road danger.

At long last, it was refreshing to see Billy and Agatha communicate openly. Billy isn't the nerdy fanboy he pretended to be; the real him has quite the attitude. How Agatha knew his real identity is something I still don't get. What exactly is the tell that he has about his mother, according to her? Could you tell me what the other indicators were? That most certainly ought to have been clarified for a plot point of this critical importance.

At its heart, it's a fascinating character study that cleverly ties together various plot points from the show.

In spite of all the nitpicky problems that could arise from this episode (which I will indulge in later on), I thought it was a great character study that cleverly tied together a lot of the show's plot points. Billy assuming control of William Kaplan's body just moments after the Hex faded away is a heartbreaking backstory. Watching Billy struggle to adapt to being in another body was incredibly painful, particularly when he would practise saying "I'm William Kaplan" to himself in the mirror. The show felt more cohesive after we learnt about his story and saw how the coven's witches were always a part of it. I got the willies as I watched Billy put the pieces together to Lorna Wu's rendition of the ballad.

Joe Locke proved his acting mettle in a variety of roles, including the reserved William Kaplan, the gloomy Billy Kaplan, and the hilarious roleplaying of The Mare of Easttown with Agatha.

The return of Evan Peters to his role as Ralph Bohner was the episode's biggest unexpected twist. I suppose this scene involving Billy and Eddie (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) makes up for his inconsequential role in WandaVision. The sequence was entertaining because he vacillated between comedy and despair, which is understandable given that he has become a paranoid mess under Wanda and Agatha's control. That he was coerced into killing Sparky came as a real shock, but I'm relieved that the loose end from WandaVision was finally resolved. Rest in peace, Sparky.

Some Closing Thoughts:

Agatha All Along has been riddled with mysteries and unsolved questions from the very beginning, so it's wonderful to finally have everything made clear. Seeing Billy's tragic past in a character-focused episode that gave us a glimpse into his character was fantastic.

So, what did you think of Agatha All Along Episode 6? Whatever you guys think, jump down in the comments section below and let us know your thoughts!

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