Agatha All Along season 1 episode 5 “Familiar by Thy Side” really came through with the claims that this was Marvel’s gay show yet. This comes after Marvel has hemmed and hawed for years about committing to having LGBTQ+ characters and not just pushing us back into the closet. In this episode we literally saw that happen to Billy and got to experience his side of the story. And Marvel did it all in a way that proves that Agatha All Along isn’t a throw-away mini-series. It’s a carefully structured show that is fun, layered, and one of the best things I’ve seen since WandaVision came around. Simply put, I want more of this and whatever the writers of this show have cooking next.
What Agatha Told Billy
Out of everything that happened in “Familiar by Thy Side,” Agatha’s speech to Billy was the one that made me tear up. Agatha just got thrown into a tar pit that consumed her on the side of the Witches Road. She also just faced her mother and was reminded of her dead child. And she’s on this crazy adventure with the son of the woman who put her under a spell for 3 years. Nevertheless, Agatha made sure to tell Billy what she had always wished someone told her. She validated his experiences and his powers while telling him to not be ashamed of himself. And it breaks my heart at the thought that no one has ever told Agatha that.
Looking back at episode 5 “Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power,” we got to see the abuse that Agatha went through at the hand of Evanora. Not just that, we also saw how the presence of her mother turned Agatha into a child all over again. Agatha begged Billy not to leave her alone with her mother and that she could be good. This is one of the most powerful witches in the world. And her monster is her mother and the cause of the deep-seated trauma response we saw. So even though Agatha’s on opposite ends of everything with Billy, she’s going to make it a point to let him know that no matter what he has done, to not feel guilty about his talent, how he survived, and how special he is.
MORE: Revisit what we learned about Agatha in episode 5 here.
I’m still very much of the opinion that not all villains need a tragic backstory. But Agatha’s backstory, it made her who she is. And she might regret some things, especially when it comes to her child or her love for Rio. But the power she holds and the person that she is, Agatha isn’t ashamed of that. She’s proud of how far she’s come and how she survived. And she wouldn’t want me as the viewer to make excuses for her current actions because of her past. Because she survived and she’s using the fact that she’s still here to make sure that the next powerful witch she comes face-to-face with gets to hear the thing she wished someone would have told her. And for that, I’m proud of Agatha.
Billy Backstory and the Search for Tommy
For weeks on end everyone’s been speculating on what Billy’s motivations are. And with the reveal of Wiccan in episode 5, speculation has exploded. People thought that Billy had planned this from day one and he’s this big super powered magic user who killed Mrs Hart aka Sharon. But none of that is true. Billy inhabited the body of William Kaplan at the very moment one died and the other ceased to have a body. And it was tragic and heart-wrenching to watch the life of a young man on the cusp of adulthood disappear and be replaced by another. It’s no wonder that Billy was confused after the accident. He just said goodbye to his parents and his brother to wake up in the body of a teenager.
Billy’s hunt for his brother Tommy in Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 6 also makes sense in the grand scheme of things. I’ve seen some chatter online of people being mad that it was mentioned that Wanda is dead and that’s why Billy’s not looking for her. But I don’t believe that. I especially don’t believe that because it’s Wanda Maximoff and Agatha’s comment about every witch with a heartbeat knowing about him now. You think that Wanda aka the Scarlet Witch who hopped dimensions to find her children, isn’t going to feel this? Also, Billy is not as strong as Wanda. So if he thinks that his mother and father are dead, he’s going to go for the one person he feels a connection with but can’t find. He’s going to go after his brother.
But don’t get me wrong here or think that I don’t want Wanda back. I do. And Billy, once he grasps onto his powers and realizes his mother is out there, he’s going to find her. There’s no world where he wouldn’t go and find her, especially because he knows how much Wanda sacrificed for him in Westview. Or I could be completely wrong and he learns about what his mother did after and decides to turn away from her. But I don’t think that’s going to happen based on what he said at the end of this episode. He’s not that nice. And he meant it less “Oh, I’m an edgy teenager” and more “I’ve done things I regret.” So what have you done Billy? Besides, inhabit the body of William.
And Then There’s the Kiss
I’m not even mad that we got to see Billy and Eddie kiss before Agatha and Rio in “Familiar by Thy Side.” The latter will take a little bit longer to get to kissing territory, especially because one of them seems to be responsible for the death of the other one’s child. It’s a little hard to get over that. But the kiss between Billy and Eddie. Let’s talk about that. I love Marvel for a lot of things but I am constantly frustrated with them ignoring the LGBTQ+ community. Too often people like us are not included in the narrative and our kisses are literally deleted. And when we are included, Disney/Marvel acts like it’s the first queer character they’ve ever had. It’s never the first.
MORE: Agatha All Along has disappointed us before when it comes to LGBTQ+ kisses. Find out how here.
But it is the first time in recent memory for me that they actually went for a kiss. Not just a simple peck. We’re talking a kiss that is undeniably romantic and that the camera didn’t pan away from like it’s some big secret. This isn’t a secret. There are gay people in Marvel. And I’m here for all of it. I’m especially here for it because it means that there is a young person somewhere watching the show and seeing themselves for the first time in Marvel. This person is now looking through the comics, getting to know Wiccan, and falling in love with a character just like them, again, maybe for the first time.
Whatever’s going on at Marvel right now when it comes to this LGBTQ+ kiss, I hope they keep going. Give us that Agatha in Rio kiss. Give us kisses and stories about happy wives protecting the world or two dads raising a family at the end of the world. Include us in the stories that we have been watching or reading for decades. And please make it that we’re there for more than two seconds. Because I know that Marvel has been scared for a very long time about negating a certain bigoted part of their fan base. Money talks after Our money is just as green as anyone else’s and you’ve obviously never understood the true power of queer stan culture. For years I’ve watched the power of the Stucky ship. Now imagine if Marvel leaned into that, was intentional, and tapped into that stan power. Baby, you’d be truly unstoppable then.
Agatha All Along releases new episodes each Wednesday on Disney+.
What did you think of Agatha All Along season 1 episode 6? Let us know in the comments below!
Need more? Read our other reviews below:
- Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 1 Review: ‘Seekest Thou The Road’
- Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 2 Review: ‘Circle Sewn with Fate Unlock Thy Hidden Gate’
- Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 3 Review: ‘Through Many Miles and Tricks’
- Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 4 Review: ‘If I Can’t Reach You Let My Song Teach You’
- Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 5 Review: ‘Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power’
- Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 6 Review: ‘Familiar by Thy Side’
- Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 7 Review: ‘Death’s Hand in Mine’
- Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 8 & 9 Review: ‘Follow Me My Friend/To Glory at the End & Maiden Mother Crone’
