Agatha All Along episode 9 recap and ending explained: Are [SPOILER] really dead?

The season finale of Agatha All Along featured some stunning, shocking, and heartbreaking moments. But is it the end for one character?

Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) in Marvel Television's AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL.
Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) in Marvel Television's AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL.

Well, we made it; the Agatha All Along finale has arrived. It's been quite the journey over the course of these past seven weeks, walking the Witches' Road with the most dysfunctional coven TV may have ever seen, but the Disney Plus series has been nothing short of delightful from start through finish. A little terrifying here and there, but delightful nonetheless.

The events of the shocking eighth episode brought the main crux of the story to a close as Agatha Harkness and Rio Vidal, a.k.a. Death squared off. And with Agatha having fully obtained her powers again, it was quite a showdown to behold. However it resulted in some unexpected twists and turns that left fans feeling a certain kind of way. But what does it all mean for the future of the MCU?

Well that's what the season finale is for, as Agatha All Along showcases an emotional rollercoaster in its final episode that is sure to have fans feeling all the emotions.

Be warned, this article contains SPOILERS for the season finale of Agatha All Along. Don't read on if you would prefer it wasn't spoiled for you.

Is Agatha Harkness really dead?

The season finale of Agatha All Along took us back to the beginning of Agatha Harkness' story before it could eventually take us to the end. By that, we mean that it featured a trip down memory lane, as we saw the birth of Agatha's son Nicholas. When Rio, a.k.a. Death, came to take his soul, however, Agatha begged her love not to do it. All Rio could do was give him more time instead. And that's what she got; six more years before he died in his sleep and Rio took him to the afterlife.

It was an emotional moment, as in just a few minutes we got to see how much Agatha loved her son. From singing The Ballad of the Witches' Road to each other to working together on various schemes, they shared a wonderful bond. Nicholas made Agatha want to be better, so when she lost him, she descended into darkness.

Throughout the centuries, we learn that The Ballad of the Witches' Road was simply a rouse that Agatha created so that she turn on her covens (much like she did in episode 2). It always resulted in her fellow witches blasting her, allowing her to take their power and kill them. As we saw in that second episode, singing it with her current coven did make the door appear. And it was at that point that Agatha learned that Billy really did create the Road, much like how his mother Wanda Maximoff created the Hex.

AGATHA ALL ALONG finale
(L-R): Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), Mrs. Hart/Sharon Davis (Debra Jo Rupp), and Ali Ahn (Alice Wu-Gulliver) in Marvel Television's AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL.

Flash forward to the present and Agatha greets Billy as a ghost. She now has fully grey hair much like her comic book counterpart. As the two converse, she confirms that she knew it was him all along, and that even though Sharon Davis (a.k.a. Mrs. Hart), Alice Wu Gulliver, and Lilia Calderu all died on The Road, he ended up giving Jennifer Kale a new chance at life (as she now had her powers back).

Billy is shocked at what he has seemingly done, heartbroken that his friends are dead because of their trip on the Road. As a result, he returns to Westview and makes his way into Agatha's cellar to perform a ritual over the door to the Road.

Billy tries to banish Agatha but when the witch reveals that she can't face her son, he stops. From there, the two decide to form an alliance, quoting the ballad "spirit as a guide". Before leaving, Billy closes the door for good with his magic and leaves behind an engraving for Sharon, Alice, and Lilia. And with that, Agatha and Billy set out to find Tommy.

AGATHA ALL ALONG
(L-R) Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke) in Marvel Television's AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Television. © 2024 MARVEL.

This is undoubtedly one of the most bittersweet endings to an episode of Agatha All Along because, yes, it means that Agatha is technically dead, but it also means that Kathryn Hahn can stick around to play her (sporting a more comic-accurate look now). She's Billy's guide, and she's going to help him find Tommy. That's pretty cool considering she was their former babysitter, right?

All in all, I'm a little sad that Agatha met her end in this way as the character had such potential. But the idea of her sticking around as a ghost to guide Wiccan to become a true witch and find his brother? That feels like a fulfilling conclusion to her arc.