Agatha All Along just gave us a Saw-meets-Beaches mashup

And here we go: now that Agatha is out of the Mare by Easttown-inspired spell she was under, founded a coven and successfully landed on Witches' Road, the latest episode of Agatha – All the time In “The 40 Fingers,” our heroes must pass their first “test” – a series of tests that, as we learn, are specifically tailored to the fears and worries of the participants.

After two very different opening episodes, episode three – titled “Through Many Miles of Tricks and Trials” – finally tells us how the series is going to continue. Despite all its pop culture and witchcraft decorations, this seems to be a tribute to the two Escape room Survival horror films from five years ago. We didn't expect that either.

As our episode begins, the larger coven learns that Teen has been cursed to protect his identity from witches. Madame Calderu comments, “It looks like someone put a seal on you…” Although anyone with even the slightest interest in witchcraft knows that a seal is a bespoke symbolic representation of the wizard's desired outcome, it apparently has a very different meaning in the MCU. Teen, a self-taught witchcraft expert and Agatha's biggest fan, asks the group, “A seal is a spell?” Alice replies, “A seal is an editorial magic that hides something.”

Since the word “sigil” comes from the Latin “sigillum,” which means “seal,” I assume that’s where they got the idea from, so let’s just stick with that. As this is happening, Sharon/Mrs. Hart runs away and her Talbots handbag is sucked into a bog. As the lyrics of “The Ballad of the Witches Road” say, “Do not stray from the path,” and Agatha reminds the group that there is no way but forward.

From here, the path leads them to a beach house that looks like it came straight from a coastal grandmother's vision board. A full moon is emblazoned on the front door, suggesting that the tide is about to come in. As they walk inside, the character's outfits suddenly transform into Diane Keaton-inspired ensembles of You have to give somethingcomplete with white turtleneck sweaters and salmon-colored pants. Teen finds a welcome card that confirms that the group is now in the middle of their first trial – and there is a riddle: “My age has value. I'm no fun alone. I'll confuse you. My tricks are well known.”

Sharon/Mrs. Hart decodes this as “wine” and discovers a bottle of red wine surrounded by five glasses – one for each person except the underage teenager. Apparently this ancient occult process still respects 20th century drinking laws.

As they search for a corkscrew, Jennifer warns Kale Teen not to trust Agatha, as she “traded her child for the Book of the Damned” and poor Nicholas Scratch may now be working as an “agent of Mephisto.” Alice also reveals that she has a tattoo that serves as protection against evil, which her rock star mother Lorna had her get. We'll have to wait for another episode to learn more about that, though, because as they drink, the group's faces explode into exaggerated parodies of Botox recipients. All except Agatha's, of course, who didn't drink the wine herself. Jennifer deduces that they've been poisoned by “Alewife's Vengeance” and are doomed unless they find an antidote—which, not coincidentally, happens to be her specialty.

At this point in the episode Escape room/Escape Room: Tournament of Champions Comparisons really start to shine when the coven essentially goes on a scavenger hunt through the house to find the ingredients for their magic potion. Of course Middle school-level science knowledge is important because the seemingly incredible items they need are actually everyday household items.

For the antidote to work, Jennifer needs frankincense, newt eyes, “the intestines of a eusocial insect,” and “the corpse of something that has been decaying for at least 30 million years.” Agatha suggests Vaseline would be a possible candidate for the latter, while “newt eyes” is also known as mustard seed. It is also argued that honey would be a perfectly acceptable alternative for insect intestines, and Teen finds the frankincense, but does not say where or how (perhaps a perfume?).

As the group searches the house, each of them encounters disturbing ghostly entities from their past. Calderu encounters a woman in Regency clothing flanked by the Grim Reaper, Jennifer, a mid-century doctor who calls her an “inconvenient woman” and tries to drown her, and Alice, her own mother, who says “I can't protect you” and possibly tries to set her on fire. Of course, they all escape, as these are hooks for future episodes. Agatha also has a vision of her son crying in his crib, only to find that he has been swapped for the Darkhold like a changeling.

However, the tide has come in and is now breaking through the beach house windows, so the witches must quickly dump all of their potion ingredients into an industrial-sized sink. However, they run into a problem when they realize the water also needs to boil. Teen thinks quickly and spots a sous vide machine, a fancy kitchen appliance for evenly cooking meat. He is instructed to stir the brew counterclockwise, which he must be explained. Finally, everyone must add a lock of hair to the pot. However, the mixture does not turn sky blue, meaning Jennifer has forgotten the last ingredient. It turns out they need the untainted blood of someone who did not drink the poisoned wine, and luckily Teen has her covered.

The group manages to drink the potion just in time, except for Sharon/Mrs. Hart, who succumbs to it – which presumably allows Debra Jo Rupp to fulfill her contractual obligations to The wild 90s. In a nod to Hansel and Gretel, the door to the kitchen oven opens, forming an exit out of the first trial and into the second. They are not quick enough, however, and the seawater ends up shattering the windows of the house, washing the coven through the oven door and down a water slide, in a clear but not very witchy homage to the water slide scene in The Goonies. Despite one member missing, the coven prepares for its next adventure as “Heads Will Roll” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs leads us into the credits.

With all the discussions about witchcraft and witchcraft-related media that the series is supposed to focus on, it seems (if this episode actually confirms where things are going from here) it was all just an excuse to use the tropes of Seen And Dice Franchises with additional comedic tendencies. As a fan of the Seen, Dice, meander, Escape room, etc., in which different characters are forced to work together to solve puzzles while being killed one by one, I'm not disappointed by this development, but it certainly feels like a bait and switch.

The episode’s beach setting, inspired by a romantic comedy, is also confusing, as it is supposed to Desperate Housewives instead of, you know, the Media about the Sea Witch promised. Instead TThe witch who came from the sea or Let's scare Jessica to deathThis latest part is based on Mummy Mia! And MermaidsBut honestly, if the whole series is an indirect justification for Dice-meets-BeachesI really can't be too upset. All in all, I'm excited to see where we end up next week.

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