The first two episodes of Agatha All Along are now streaming globally on Disney+. New episode stream weekly through October 30, 2024.
Synopsis
In the series, 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…
Review
It’s hard to believe it’s been over three years, closer to four in fact, since WandaVision took the MCU from the big screen and launched it in to the streaming world. The results may have been divisive but one thing is clear, the Marvel Studios team isn’t afraid to experiment with their formula when it comes to their television content. So, almost four years after she debuted in WandaVision, Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) is back on our screens in the much-talked about House of Darkness Coven of Chaos Darkhold Diaries… sorry Agatha All Along.
The nine-episode series launches today with a two-episode premiere. “Seekest Thou the Road” and “Circle Sewn with Fate Unlock Thy Hidden Gate” are hopefully a great taster of what to expect from the show. It easily sucks the audience back in with a reminder of why WandaVision was so successful. Jac Schaeffer returns as executive producer, showrunner as well as directing both of today’s episodes and writing the premiere. “Circle Sewn…” is written by Laura Donney.
Schaeffer uses the WandaVision formula to bring us back in to Westview. Where we left in back in the WandaVision series finale, Wanda has sealed Agatha in a spell similar to that which the town had all been under from the beginning. She had also stripped Agatha of all her magic. Powerless and with no memory of her true self we pick up with “Agnes O’Connor” who is a detective in the Westview Police Department. Schaeffer paints the picture of a gritty Danish crime drama as Detective O’Connor is assigned to a Jane Doe murder case with some very familiar plot elements. In fact the entire of “Seekest Thou the Road” is constructed to tease the truth out of Agatha.
What it cleverly does is remind us why WandaVision was so successful. The idea that the MCU can place characters in to these different genres, playing with audience expectation and even subverting it. The memories of seeing Wanda trapped in all these different era of sitcom come flooding back. But Agatha All Along does simply try to recreate that. The Danish crime drama aesthetic and the True Blood style intro set Agatha apart and begin laying the groundwork for the series to quickly diverge from the previously trodded path.
The arrival of Aubrey Plaza as Blackheart, or here as an FBI agent named Vidal, is the beginning of shaking up the formula. Agatha’s perception is also shattered by the arrival of Billy Teen played by the incredible Joe Locke. The two new characters seek to break the veil around Agatha for their own, as-yet-unknown reasons.
Dipping back in to the WandaVision playbook, Detective O’Connor is surrounded by most of that first series supporting cast. Debra Jo Rupp returns in an ongoing role whilst townsfolk such as Emma Caulfield, David Payton, David Lengel, Asif Ali and Amos Glick. All of them getting to play roles within the murder mystery as well as giving a glimpse in to life in Westview post-Scarlet Witch’s influence. The attention to detail, particularly across these two episodes is impressive. The continuity of WandaVision isn’t lost thanks to Schaeffer’s return.
With the scene set there’s little time for Agatha All Along to hang around. These two episodes work pretty quickly to setup the character’s need to journey the Witches Road and then to bring together a coven around her. There does appear to be a threat to Agatha’s existence although they’re only briefly mentioned in episode one and then seen in episode two. Whilst this would appear to tie back to flashback scenes in WandaVision this series is yet to fully explore that aspect of the story. For now it’s all about trying to get Agatha’s powers back and to do that she needs a little help.
The supporting witch-cast of Plaza, Sasheer Zamata as Jennifer Kale, Ali Ahn as Alice Wu-Gulliver and Patti LuPone as Lilia Calderu are excellent. Each has a specific role to play within the coven and moving forwards that should give each a moment to shine across the rest of the season. The classic MCU formula of moving one-by-one to recruit the team gives each a reasonable introduction across the second episode’s 44 minute runtime (the first episode clocks in at 42 minutes). But those introductions are really facilitated by Joe Locke mysterious character. His introduction in episode one is very straightforward though his motivations for watching to push Agatha on to the Witches Road seem easily predictable if you put in a little thought. That being said Hahn and Locke are a dynamite duo on screen. There’s a campy spark between the two which really brings life to the show.
By the end of “Circle Sewn…” are characters are on the Witches Road and we’re ready to get to the meat and bones of the show. We’ve also seen just what this crew is capable of. Whilst Westview doesn’t test the Agatha crew too spectacularly, the Witches Road appears to be a beautiful and most importantly practical world for the actors to inhabit. For a franchise which is beset by green screen, Agatha All Along feels like something tangible and refreshing which is very exciting as the series moves forwards.
Verdict
Perhaps what the Marvel Cinematic Universe needed was Agatha All Along… at least on Disney+ anyway. These first two episodes are fun reminder of WandaVision whilst also stepping in to something new. Kathryn Hahn is electric as Agatha and shows a versatility which adds new depths to the role. She’s even more enthralling when teamed with Heartstopper’s Joe Locke. A great to start to a pre-Halloween must watch.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
