Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer opened up about the wild ride that was episode 5. Not only did the episode contain the much-awaited reveal of Teen’s identity, but it also featured the most shocking character death of the series so far. Since its airing, fan speculation has run rampant regarding how Agatha’s trial unfolded.

In an interview with The Wrap, Schaeffer addressed the theory that the trial wasn’t for Agatha, explaining that she “wanted to do Agatha’s trial earlier than people expected.” The Agatha All Along boss further stated that the trial did go as planned:

Yes, they did pass this trial. The power piece of it is a larger conversation, but the sort of mechanics of the trial, what we were trying to do — and again, like always, I love everyone’s interpretations. And I do believe, you know, both with “WandaVision” and this show, we put so much love and intention into it, but once it’s once it leaves us, it belongs to everyone else and their interpretations.

But our intention was that, in every trial there is a stated goal, a stated thing that they are supposed to accomplish. And in this case, the stated goal is punish Agatha. And what happens is she’s put in a situation where she kills one of her own coven members and then has to look in the faces of the rest of her coven. And that’s when the door opens, because she is punished.

Schaeffer’s comments indicate her interest in giving the audience a fun, twist-filled adventure. The creator of Agatha All Along put careful thought into how the trials of the Witches’ Road were crafted.

What Jac Schaffer’s Agatha All Along Comments Mean For Episode 5

Agatha Harkness Faced Her Worst Nightmare

Agatha’s trial is meant to evoke her worst fears. Naturally, this meant confronting her baggage, namely the ghosts of her mother and her young son. Schaeffer offers further detail on how the trial was shaped around Agatha:

There’s sort of larger things that I can’t totally speak to about reasons, but I can say that there’s a bit in each trial of — well, it’s not a bit. It is the sort of fundamental principle of, like, our worst nightmares.

And so when we were designing this trial for Agatha, the idea was like, “What’s a nightmare scenario for her?” And we were like “A slumber party.” (Laughs). Just seemed like the most horrendous thing. And then that slumber party, to me, is like intrinsically linked with that era. And then, you know, we were doing horror, so then that became “Friday the 13th,” “Sleepaway Camp,” and then “Poltergeist” and “Exorcist” and those things sort of fell into place.

The writer’s explanation clarifies both that this was truly Agatha’s trial and that she earned her way out by being forced into murder again. Her worst nightmare is that she will always be the villain and always be misunderstood.

Aside from the creative reasons the trial is suited to Agatha, Schaeffer explained that she structured the series to feature Agatha’s trial earlier on because she “was banking on the intelligence of this viewership.” The Agatha All Along showrunner further explained that she felt the “clever” audience “doesn’t actually want to get into a clear rhythm.”

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Agatha Was Meant To “Fail” Her Trial

Given Schaeffer’s comments, it seems likely that Agatha’s trial went precisely as intended. The Witches’ Road is meant to give those who travel it what they want most. Jennifer Kale was able to use her powers in potion-making despite being “bound.” Alice Wu-Gulliver excaped her generational curse. Now, through her trial, Agatha regained her powers. While her method of doing so left her “punished,” Agatha got what she wanted from the Witches’ Road. With a powered up Agatha at odds with the rest of her coven, how Agatha All Along’s trials unfold will undoubtedly be a wild ride.