Agatha all the time featured an unusual ending that almost didn’t happen, but new commentary revealed how Marvel approved the controversial structure, and I’m glad it did. Agatha all the time ran for nine episodes between September 18 and October 30 and helped humanize the titular villain-turned-antihero throughout the series. A series of new MCU characters also debuted, one of the most important being the personification of Death himself.
Death has become an all-encompassing motif in Agatha all the timeespecially with regard to its inevitability and necessity in the grand scheme of the universe. After several deaths inside Agatha all the timeone in particular stood out as the most poignant, which occurred Agatha all the time episode 9, which was almost an epilogue to the show. The episode was released simultaneously with episode 8, which is a first for the MCU – and showrunner Jac Schaeffer recently explained how she managed to pull off the atypical ending.
Agatha All Along’s Showrunner Perfect Explained Why Episode 9 Isn’t a “Traditional” MCU Finale
Episode 9 Depicted events that occurred hundreds of years ago
THE Agatha all the time the ending was almost entirely an Agatha-focused flashback episode, similar to how Agatha all the time episode 6 delved into co-star Billy Maximoff. Unusually, it took place after Agatha’s death, while investigating the mystery surrounding her son, Nicholas Scratch, and the circumstances of his death. Jac Schaeffer spoke about the epilogue-tinged episode recently with The direct and revealed how she escaped the unusual structure by setting it up with a line in episode 8. His full quote is as follows:
“And also, one of the other problems we had… it was a little difficult to keep Episode 9 in its form, because it’s kind of a ‘non-traditional ending’ ending. And my way of reinforcing that, sort of supporting that inside Marvel, to help them understand my vision, was to have Billy say at that moment, ‘Is that how Nicky died?’ I was like, that’s the question for our next episode. I always want a question in an episode that you answer, so we’re putting this piece in here because it’s successful in making it stop, but it also propels us into the next one. episode. The defense rests.”
Agatha all the time episode 8 certainly felt more like a finale than episode 9. The final confrontation with Death and the full reveal of Wiccan was similar to any climactic boss fight in the MCU and typically precedes just a few extra minutes of wrapping up events. Instead, Schaeffer managed to ensure that episode 9’s flashback sequence was appropriately necessary due to the question asked by Billy moments before Agatha accepted her fate.
Why I think the Agatha All Along episode 9 decision was right for the show
Placing the events of episode 9 before episode 8 would have lessened its impact
Ultimately, I think this was another stroke of genius by Schaeffer that contributed to Agatha all the time feeling like a breath of fresh air. Episode 9 was a moving conclusion that finally answered the question that had been hanging over the entire seriesonly to be voiced by Billy in episode 8. The flashback felt like a compliment to Agatha and her motives, and I found myself rooting for the character more than ever because of it, despite her villainous antics.
It’s hard to imagine watching episode 9 before episode 8, even if it might be structurally viable. Billy’s question would have seemed strange, on the one hand, but being able to re-examine Agatha’s relationship with Rio in Agatha all the time feels more impactful after his death. As it stands, however, I think Jac Schaeffer made the right decision – and it’s a decision I’d love to see replicated in the future, with future MCU installments on Disney+ shaking up the standard formula.