New Disney Plus show Agatha All Along has certainly been keeping us on our toes with various shady characters, from Joe Locke's Teen to Aubrey Plaza's Rio Vidal. As Agatha and her makeshift coven walk the infamous Witches' Road these mysteries have only deepened, as tensions have risen during each dangerous trial.
One question we have been asking ourselves each week is 'what exactly is going on with Agatha's son Nicholas Scratch?' In the comics, Agatha is mother to a villainous warlock named Nicholas Scratch, who has worked alongside the likes of Dormammu and Mephisto in a quest for power. His name repeatedly cropping up in Agatha All Along, then, likely isn't a good thing...
While he's yet to be explicitly seen on-screen, fans have been speculating as to whether or not he's been hiding in plain slight – and his general fate, too. Below, we dive into some fan theories surrounding who Nick Scratch really is and what happened to him.
If you're not yet caught up, you might want to proceed with caution, though, as the following article features major spoilers for Agatha All Along episodes 1 to 5.
Is Señor Scratchy Agatha's son Nicholas?
In Agatha All Along episode 5, titled 'Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power', it was seemingly revealed that Teen is Wanda's son Billy Maximoff, AKA Wiccan. This suggests he can't be Nicholas, which is something we started assuming in episode 4 'If I Can't Reach You, Let My Song Teach You'. As you may recall, in that instalment Rio candidly told Agatha: "That boy isn't yours."
Still, Nick could be hiding somewhere. If you cast your minds back to episode 2, Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata) jokingly asks Agatha whether Teen is "another child sacrifice", which led fans to wonder what became of the titular witch's son. In episode 3, Jen pulls Teen aside and warns him not to trust Agatha. When he quizzes her as to why, she says that Agatha was rumored to have traded Nicholas for the Book of the Damned, AKA the Darkhold. If she gave up her own son to gain more knowledge and power, what might she be willing to do to her new coven?
Later on in 'Through Many Miles of Tricks and Trials', each witch – poisoned by the wine they've been forced to drink to move on to the next trial – suffers terrible visions representing their darkest fears. Alice (Ali Ahn) sees her mother, Jen sees the man who bound her, and Lilia (Patti LuPone) sees two death-like figures.
Having initially resisted drinking the wine, Agatha guzzles down a glass and soon imagines a crib in the corner of the kitchen. She wanders up to it and pulls back the comforter, only to find the Darkhold inside. She stumbles back in fright but when the others ask her what she saw, she brushes them off. Guess it wasn't so much of a rumor after all?
Most recently in episode 5, Nicholas Scratch is once again referenced, in the most explicit way yet, as we see Agatha become possessed by a spirit, which leads to the death of Alice. A desperate Teen asks the Ouija board they have been using 'who are you?' with the name 'Nicholas Scratch' being spelled out. We even hear his voice say the words: "Mother, stop."
"I do assume she sacrificed Nicholas in some capacity to get the Darkhold. But whether he died or was turned into a bunny or reincarnated into someone else still remains to be seen," tweeted Shawn AKA @wicklingstan. "Either way, it seems that could be the primary motivator for Rio and/or the Salem Seven."
I do assume she sacrificed Nicholas in some capacity to get the Darkhold. But whether he died or was turned into a bunny or reincarnated into someone else still remains to be seen. Either way, it seems that could be the primary motivator for Rio and/or the Salem Seven. pic.twitter.com/iWKeSMljN3September 21, 2024
"Okay so Señor Scratchy is definitely gonna be Nicholas Scratch turned rabbit," wrote Bronco AKA @upsidedwnbronco.
Plenty of others back the idea that Señor Scratchy, Agatha's pet rabbit, could actually be Nicholas, too. As someone else took to social media to point out, Nicholas' choir award, which can be seen in his untouched bedroom in detective Agnes' home in episode 1, stands next to a bunny ornament. Later, in Agnes' office, there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment where a plant on a unit behind Agnes briefly turns into an old-school looking photo of a young boy, before reverting back to being a plant. The most interesting thing? Both the plant and the photo are next to another bunny decoration...
I just noticed in episode 1 of #AgathaAllAlong in her imagined detectives office, in one shot we see a rabbit statue next to a potted plant and then less than a second later it’s suddenly next to a photo of a young boy instead..plant gone. these are literally back to back shots pic.twitter.com/VbnIudH1zTSeptember 19, 2024
Maybe it's just obvious bait that I fell for, but my current theory is (as some theorized during WandaVision) that Señor Scratchy is indeed #AgathaHarkness's son Nicholas Scratch, trapped in rabbit form by his own mother during her initial quest for the Darkhold.#AgathaAllAlongSeptember 19, 2024
What if senor scratchy was the nickname given to the rabbit by Nicholas scratch?September 19, 2024
It doesn't really seem like a coincidence that Teen randomly picks Señor Scratchy up in 'Circle Sewn with Fate/Unlock Thy Hidden Gate' right before he sees the septet descend upon Westview.
"What I would say is that there's a lot in the pilot to examine. It feels a little bit like a trick, and like something that we do and then we move on," showrunner Jac Schaeffer previously told The Wrap. "But it is worth a viewer's time to pay attention to what they're seeing in the pilot."
In the comics, the Salem Seven are Nicholas's shapeshifting children and although in episode 5 we learn that here they are the spared kids of the witches Agatha killed from her original coven, the comic book connections do still suggest that Agatha's son is going to play a major role going forward. Looks like it's going to be a while, though, before fans' theories are either debunked or proven right...
Like the on-screen version, Agatha has a complicated relationship with Nicholas in the source material, having grown up resentful of his mother – who was employed as a nanny for Reed Richards and Sue Storm – integrating herself into the outside, non-magical world. Nicholas often went up against the Fantastic Four and Agatha, inadvertently getting himself banished to the Dark Realm following one fateful fight.
Agatha All Along episodes 1 to 5 are streaming now. Ensure you don't miss a thing with our Agatha All Along release schedule. For more on the wider MCU, check out our guide to all of the upcoming Marvel movies and shows or get up to speed with our breakdown of the Marvel timeline.
