Why it's so much better that Billy's looking for SPOILER in Agatha All Along

Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead for Episode 6 of Agatha All Along.

The newest episode of Agatha All Along finally delved into the backstory of William Kaplan/Billy Maximoff. Audiences learned that Billy's spirit claimed the body of William Kaplan after a deadly car accident, and he has been trying to understand what happened and who he is ever since.

One of the biggest reveals was that Billy was traveling the Witches' Road in search of his twin brother, Tommy. This has already caused a massive backlash from the fandom, many of whom suspected that the journey was going to end in the resurrection of Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. I also thought this was likely, not even including Tommy on a list of Wandavision characters to bring back for the new show.

However, that does not mean that this direction is a mistake. There are many reasons for Billy to search for his brother first, and it's a good sign for the future of the MCU. Focusing on Tommy instead of Wanda creates opportunities to develop both characters without using them as plot devices.

Why it doesn't make sense for Billy to be looking for Wanda

First, let's discuss why Billy isn't looking for Wanda. It's clear in WandaVision that Billy Maximoff loves her, but Billy Kaplan isn't the same person. At this point in the timeline, he has no memories of either of his childhoods, and thus no real connection to Wanda. He's curious to learn who he is, but that's not the same thing as knowing and missing a parent who is now gone.

Furthermore, as far as everyone knows, Wanda Maximoff is dead. It's unclear how much of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is known to the public, but her death is common knowledge. Billy says that he can feel Tommy out there, somewhere, but he doesn't feel Wanda. He might be an amateur, but the inability to raise the dead is one of the most well-known facts about magic, in the MCU and the real world.

Agatha theorizes that Billy's not searching for Wanda because he resents her. At a minimum, she chose to give the twins up in exchange for freeing Westview, but the news in the MCU has also historically been prejudiced against Wanda. While the Avengers press team covered up the Hex, he'd still know about the bomb from Civil War and her terrorist background in Sokovia.

In that case, he might not want to meet Wanda, fearing that she is as bad as the legends say. However, I find that highly unlikely. No matter what he says, he's clearly open to working with Agatha, so morality isn't the end-all, be-all for him. It makes more sense that he just doesn't think seeing her again would be possible.

At least, for now. Many fans are taking his desire to find Tommy as a rejection of Wanda, but it's just as likely that she's a future mission. He doesn't have a good grasp on his magic, so even if necromancy was possible, he isn't strong enough to try it. Yet. Working with Agatha can help him learn how to use his power. She helped Wanda learn what she could do in the comics, and it's likely she'll do the same for Billy now.

Once he gets more control, Billy might try to resurrect Wanda. He might also try to track down Vision, who few fans seem particularly concerned with him looking for. But those quests are going to be much harder than finding his brother, who is already on this plane of existence, with a psychic connection to him.

Billy needs to meet Tommy first

With all of that being said, it makes sense for Billy to look for Tommy first. He's the only one that Billy seems to have any memories of, and the link between them makes it easier to get started. Of course that's where he's going to start! But it's more than just logical. It is a much better move for the characters for Billy to be looking for Tommy.

Some fans have mentioned the deep connections twins often have in real life (and almost always have in media). This may be an element the show plans to explore, but even if they don't, we are given plenty of evidence of their bond. The boys are often shown as co-conspirators in WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness, working together to make mischief and protect their family.

In the comics, Billy and Tommy were together as allies, and then brothers, long before they sought out Wanda. The truth of their previous lives was revealed in the very next issue after Billy and Tommy met, but it took another two years before they went looking for Wanda. It was then another two years before they met her and three before she recognized them as her children.

While in-universe time doesn't necessarily follow the release timeline, it was five years between Tommy's introduction and Wanda's acknowledgment. That was intentional. By taking so long between those events, the comics firmly established Wiccan and Speed as their own people, unique characters, before risking having them become mere sidekicks for Wanda.

Likewise, it makes sense for the MCU to let them be brothers first. Although they went down different paths, they were incredibly close characters in the comics, and that's a bond worth seeing on screen. For the MCU to get as good as it was in the first few phases again, it needs to have characters with their own rich worlds, and this is how you do that.

Show the brothers learning how to navigate their compound identities together. Let them tease and support each other. Have them become family. Only then will it be worthwhile to further explore their dynamic with either of their parents. If they really want to hit fans where it hurts, make it so that bringing Wanda back risks one of the brothers. Those kinds of hard choices are impactful, but they only work when we actually care about Billy and Tommy first.

The fans whose response to this episode was "Yeah, yeah, but what about Wanda?" are precisely why this story is not about Wanda. Because Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd are incredibly complex characters in their own right, and they deserve to be treated like it. The introduction of Wiccan can be so much more than just a plot device to bring Wanda back, and the introduction of Speed should be too.

Superhero fans have a tendency to complain that the newest characters aren't interesting enough. That they're just weaker versions of the ones who came before them. That Marvel can't do anything new. But they can't break out of that mold if all fans want is for the old characters to come back.

In the comics, Wiccan grows up to be one of the most powerful magic users ever, and Tommy has been teased as having a similarly awe-inspiring destiny. Both are incredibly important to the LGBTQ+ community. Wanda Maximoff has plenty of fans of her own, and there's little doubt that she will be back. But let the boys make their mark without her first!

New episodes of Agatha All Along stream on Disney Plus on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET.