Agatha All Along – The Magic that Marvel Needs

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AGATHA ALL ALONG Review
(L-R): Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), Mrs. Hart/Sharon Davis (Debra Jo Rupp) and Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) in Marvel Television's AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL.

***Please note this review contains some spoilers for WandaVision. But it was released in January 2021 – you have had plenty of time to watch it by now***

Some of the best stories that have come out of the Disney and Marvel movies over the last few years have been the anti-heroes or the villain stories. From Deadpool to Cruella and even Maleficent, these stories don’t fit the normal narrative and give a different twist on the films and stories we’re used to. And the newest to add to this list is Agatha All Along, the dark witch series coming to Disney+ just in time for spooky season.

After breaking out of the spell that Wanda put the town of Westview under, Agatha has to fight to not only figure out who she actually is, but also to regain her powers. Wanda took off with her Darkhold, and now, Agatha has to work with other witches (something she hates) to try to get enough of her power back, so she can fight to get it back in her possession. One of the most powerful witches not only has been revealed to be powerless but her location has been revealed to her enemies who want nothing more to take her down while she is at her lowest.

One way that Agatha can regain her powers, or what she most desires is to walk The Witches Road, a storied path that is full of trials and tribulations. But you can’t walk the road alone, you need a coven to do it. Working with a helper, only known as Teen (due to a concealment spell), she assembles a coven of local witches who also could benefit in their own ways from walking the road. After opening the door to The Witches Road, the group heads down the path.

AGATHA ALL ALONG Review
Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) in Marvel Television’s AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL.

Much like WandaVision, each episode seems to have its own theme or storyline. There’s an overarching story, but each episode has a trial associated with it as the coven arrives at a different house on the road. Each trial focuses on the skills of one of the witches, and the group as a whole but seems to be different decade themed. Whereas WandaVision the episodes were different eras of television, Agatha All Along seems to be decades with hints of different parts of entertainment/pop culture mixed in as well.

The series focuses on Agatha and other witches, but it doesn’t leave out a slew of Easter Eggs as you watch the show. From the minute the series opens, it peppers in different pop-culture witches and references throughout the show. There are of course hints of about Wanda from the very beginning, but the show also adds in more references that I’m sure will have a better payoff as the show continues. But these references aren’t as in your face as you’d expect, it could just be a reference to missing shoes (Wizard of Oz) or the letter W repeatedly showing up through the show. Once all of the episodes are released, it’ll be a show you will have to re-watch in order to find and piece together all of the clues to see what other magic we have in store.

AGATHA ALL ALONG Review
(L-R): Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) in Marvel Television’s AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL.

Does Agatha All Along get everything about witchcraft and its folklore right? Probably not. You’d have to ask every practicing witch their opinion, and depending on their practices, beliefs, and type of witchcraft the answers will vary greatly. But the show focuses on the different types of witches there are, the divine feminine, herbalism, and even how the commercialization of witchcraft can change the public opinions on it.

It focuses on the bonds of friendship, the duality of women, and how no one is truly good or truly bad, the created family and coven. All while giving a voice to the “bad guy” and further cementing the fact that some of the best stories that Disney tells are the villains. Sure, there are some comic book references for Agatha Harkness, but Hahn brings her own style and voice to it.

The result? Agatha All Along is an extremely bingeable series. Unfortunately for most viewers, Disney+ is only releasing the first two episodes today and you’ll have to watch the next ones as they release weekly. But the timing of the episode releases gives us a series finale set for around Halloween and that’s some pretty good marketing and timing as well.

Overall Rating

Four and a half Star Review

About AGATHA ALL ALONG

AGATHA ALL ALONG Review
AGATHA ALL ALONG. © 2024 MARVEL.

In Marvel Television’s “Agatha All Along,” the infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road…

The series stars Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, with Debra Jo Rupp, with Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza.

Jac Schaeffer is the creator and showrunner, and also directed three episodes. She also serves as an executive producer along with Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum and Mary Livanos. Trevor Waterson is the co-executive producer. The other directors are Rachel Goldberg and Gandja Monteiro.

“Agatha All Along” launches September 18, exclusively on Disney+.

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