Agatha All Along is finally here, and it’s feeling like the MCU’s WandaVision era all over again. Marvel’s very first Disney Plus series was a masterclass in how to get the fandom theorizing, as each new episode only added more and more puzzle pieces to the board, and it looks like its Kathryn Hahn-fronted spin-off is going to be no different.
For instance, the first episode goes and drops hints about Agatha Harkness’ past, which fans have been speculating about ever since her first appearance three years ago, and an eye-grabbing Easter egg may just confirm that one of the most popular theories about her is being made (retroactively) canon. They laughed at us when we said a bunny could be hiding some dangerous secrets, but suddenly it’s not so ridiculous anymore…
Who is Nicholas Scratch and has he been hopping around the MCU all along?
Agatha All Along‘s opening episode, “Seekest Thou the Road,” swaps the sitcom spoofing of WandaVision for a pastiche of prestige crime dramas, particularly Mare of Easttown. As the dialogue lampshades, it’s “a truth universally acknowledged” that every female detective in these shows has to have a dysfunctional personal life, probably with some kind of tragedy in her past.
Sure enough, Detective Agnes O’Connor (Agatha’s hexed identity) has one such backstory, but the intriguing thing is it looks to belong to the real Agatha, too. At one point, Agnes returns home and checks in on what is clearly an abandoned child’s room. In one telling shot, we see an award for “First Place for Best Vocals in the Children’s Concert Choir” and the name on it is “Nicholas Scratch.” That’s a name that should be familiar to Marvel Comics readers.
In the comics, Nicholas Scratch is Agatha’s villainous son, an occasional enemy of the Fantastic Four. Like his mother is in the MCU, Scratch is frequently depicted as desperate to increase his magical power and has even been known to enslave a town full of people, like Wanda. Interestingly, he’s the father of the Salem Seven in the source material, making them Agatha’s grandchildren.
Nicholas has long been theorized to exist in the MCU, all thanks to the addition of Senor Scratchy, Agatha’s pet rabbit who returns in Agatha. Many wondered if Scratchy was a transformed Nicholas — and it’s certainly worth noting that the only time we see his name it’s shown next to a rabbit statuette (see above). Even so, other hints across the first two episodes suggest Agatha’s son is dead.
The pendant she finds, which dates from the 17th century and appears to hail from Agatha’s hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, is clearly of personal importance to her — suggesting the lock of hair inside belonged to someone dear to her. In episode 2, “Circle Sewn With Fate/Unlock Thy Hidden Gate,” Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) chastises Agatha for dragging another boy into her schemes, which causes Agatha to look momentarily hurt.
Putting the clues together, it seems possible that Agatha got her hands on the Darkhold originally because she sacrificed her own son in order to summon it.
But maybe her son’s been with her this whole time in the form of Senor Scratchy? Interestingly, only six members of the Salem’s Seven attacked Agatha’s house at the end of ep 2, and we know the Seven take animal forms — could the MCU’s Nicholas secretly be the leader of the Seven, out for revenge against his mother? Has he just been biding his time, Scabbers-ed away, all along? The theories will only intensify as Agatha airs new episodes on Wednesdays on Disney Plus.