What Happened To Billy Maximoff In 'Agatha All Along'? His Return, Explained
Little did I know that two of the characters I would become most attached to after Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) would be Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). I never could’ve guessed that small, meaningful scenes in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018) would lead to a series as universally successful as WandaVision (2021). It’s one of the best things that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever produced. It centers on a love story and navigates themes like grief with an appreciated tenderness.
A line like “What is grief, if not love persevering?” has become part of larger conversations beyond its context within the MCU. There, though, it means something to Wanda, who must say goodbye to her family that she created with the Hex of magic in the small town of Westview. Unbeknownst to her, that painful but correct decision would lead to not one but two series: Agatha All Along (2024) and VisionQuest (2026). Ahead of the latter’s reintroduction of Tommy Maximoff (Ruaridh Mollica), here’s how the former brought back Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke).
How Does Billy Maximoff Return After 'WandaVision'?
After Wanda collapses the Hex and frees the residents of Westview from her magic, Billy’s (Jillian Hilliard) soul jolts into the body of William Kaplan (Locke). It can do so because William dies at the same time—just outside of Westview from a car accident caused by the Hex’s distraction. This instance coincides with Lilia Calderu’s (Patti LuPone) palm reading of William at his bar mitzvah earlier that day: “Your lifeline is broken in two,” which is an understatement.
Billy, waking up with complete amnesia about both Billy’s life in the Hex and William’s life outside it, keeps his fate a secret from William’s family. Still, Agatha All Along showcases William’s parents as loving and supportive, so much so that Billy pretends to remember his life as William to help them. He even returns home to them after the events of the series. All of this feels relevant to remember, as VisionQuest likely paints a different picture for Tommy.
Regardless, Billy spends three years trying to piece together any information he can about why he suddenly has telepathic abilities and a connection to someone named Tommy (Jett Klyne). Eventually, Ralph Bohner (Evan Peters), one of the best guest stars, provides the necessary exposition, leading Billy to find Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), build a coven, and walk the Witches Road to find his long-lost brother. Of course, Billy is so subconsciously and unintentionally powerful from chaos magic that he creates the Witches Road without knowing it.
Where Does 'Agatha All Along' Leave Billy?
To further her goals, Agatha agrees to help Billy, stepping into his chaos magic, find a body for his brother’s soul in Agatha All Along’s penultimate episode. It starts with Billy remembering the end of WandaVision, aka the dissolution of the Hex. As that happens, Billy has to hold on to what is left of Tommy. Agatha tells Billy, “You breathe for yourself. You breathe for him. You breathe for everything he is. You hold it all inside you, but it can’t stay there.” The idea is that Billy can’t keep Tommy inside of himself. There has to be a place for him—a body, most importantly.
Billy then sees flashes of a boy drowning as a result of a prank. Notably, Billy says, “It’s a bad place.” That line could just refer to the fact that Tommy—or the person whose body Tommy’s soul will live in—is dying. But the show takes it a step farther with Billy clarifying, “And the people, the family, there’s no one to love him! He’s got no one!” That reality is far different from the one that William Kaplan lived in. That sentiment extends to the VisionQuest trailer, revealing that Tommy remembers Vision and Wanda, although the same was not true when Billy woke up in William’s body. So, the WandaVision trilogy is already drawing distinctions between the brothers’ experiences.
Agatha All Along ends with Agatha, now a ghost after sacrificing herself to Rio (Aubrey Plaza) to save Billy, agreeing to be Billy’s guide to find Tommy. It was always the assumption that the next time Billy would be on screen, that this would be his goal. There’s no way that the MCU can satisfyingly skip past something so significant. Thankfully, as one of VisionQuest’s trailers suggests (above), the show will deliver not only a reunion between the brothers but one between a father and his two sons. Who knows when that will happen in the show’s run or why, but as someone who has loved this trilogy and these characters, I can hardly wait to see it all.
Obviously, I’m eager to see Tommy as Speed—that arc will surely take place throughout VisionQuest. Watching him team up with Billy, who has likely stepped into his powers as Wiccan even more in the meantime, will be thrilling. Imagining them both with Vision is actually mind-boggling. Still, I can’t help but wonder if Hahn will reprise her role as Agatha—she’s so incredibly in this part. Not to mention, the family may need her if their next stop is to find Wanda.
