This review contains full spoilers for episodes 1 and 2 of Agatha All Along, “Seekest Thou the Road” and “Circle Sewn with Fate Unlock Thy Hidden Gate.”
They always say the sequel is darker. That’s certainly true of Marvel’s WandaVision sequel, the ominous and deliciously evil Agatha All Along. After being defeated by Wanda Maximoff in the previous series, Kathryn Hahn once again takes on the role of the evil but deliciously entertaining Agatha Harkness – and this time, she’s even more sinister. You’d think that losing her magic and spending three years under the Scarlet Witch’s spell would humble Agatha, but she wastes no time in breaking free and putting a new plan into action to restore her lost power. The two-part premiere of Agatha All Along does a great job of continuing the story of WandaVision while expanding the witch side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
WandaVision impressed us with the way it parodied different eras of television to tell Wanda’s story of starting a family, and Agatha All Along continues that trend to connect us with Agatha, trapped in a variant of the television world Wanda created for herself and forced to reenact the life of a fictional character with no memory of who she actually is. Parody Mare by Easttown is a brilliant choice, as it allows us to follow “Agnes of Westview” as she investigates a murder that also forces her to examine the cracks in her bizarre new reality. Hats off to Hahn, who really nailed Kate Winslet’s role as a junk-food-eating, pushy, hard-boiled detective whose hair has never felt a comb. The series’ crime elements are also used well to create a scary moment about the former owners of the ancient book of dark magic known as the Darkhold.
Helping Agatha escape is the mysterious goth teen known only as “Teen,” played with genuine enthusiasm and an adorable dose of naivety by Joe Locke. He’s the goofy guy to her straight wife, a goofy Agatha fanboy eager to learn more about witchcraft, even though she treats him with utter disdain. He sees her as a mentor, but she sees him, in her words, as a pet. They’re a delightfully odd couple, brought together by the shared goal of following the fabled witch’s path to obtain what they’re “missing” – what they both say is the power they want. Who wants to bet that what they want is not what they need, and will the mystical road ultimately give them something completely different, such as the magic of friendship?
As for Teen’s identity, fan theory suggests that he is none other than Billy Kaplan, the adult son of Scarlet Witch, who in the comics is a teenage superhero sorceress named Wiccan. It seems that Jac Schaeffer, creator of the series “WandaVision” and “Agatha All Along,” understood that his identity would be of great interest to fans. So, rather than beat around the bush, it is explicitly mentioned in the series and made into a mystery for Agatha to solve. It’s a very self-aware approach, but perhaps it proves to be a smarter one considering that we fans tend to get caught up in such things, which can distract from the actual story. (Who remembers endlessly theorizing about the missing witness, the space engineer, the supposed Mephisto references, and the fake Pietro in WandaVision that ended up not being relevant?) If you do it this way, it doesn’t matter if you know the Marvel Comics stories and already know the answer or not, because Agatha doesn’t know. The fun is watching her try to figure it out, and we can all relax a little instead of spending every waking hour on YouTube watching theory videos.
It’s almost funny to see Agatha trying to shoo Teen away like a nuisance, even though she literally has no friends or allies to speak of. Her list of enemies, on the other hand, looks terrifying and growing quickly. We don’t know much about the Salem Seven yet, but their super-creepy appearance serves its purpose by giving Agatha some seriously dangerous opponents to fear. Then there’s fellow witch Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), who invades Agatha’s TV world and helps her escape – only to attack her while she’s vulnerable. Rio and Agatha’s confrontation in the kitchen practically crackles with electricity. They clearly have a juicy past, and it’s obvious that meeting them again will bring a lot of intense emotions to the surface. It seems a bit too easy for Agatha to talk Rio out of attacking her, especially after Rio put so much time and effort into tracking her down and helping break Wanda’s spell. So we hope we learn more about their troubled relationship and why Rio was so willing to change her mind.
To gain access to the Witch Road, Agatha must gather enough witches to form a new coven, which proves difficult given her reputation as a notorious witch killer. It’s devilishly fun to watch Agatha recruit Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), Mrs. Davis/Hart (Debra Jo Rupp), and Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone). She’s a powerless witch at the end of her rope, but her overbearing attitude and caustic remarks are no stopping them, even to save her own life. She succeeds, but in the most typical Agatha way: with insults, lies, and emotional manipulation – all with a wicked smile on her face. It’s this recruitment sequence that proves why Agatha deserves her own show: she’s the nastiest piece the MCU has ever seen.
However, Episode 2 feels a little rushed as it tries to squeeze out enough time for Agatha and Teen to visit all the witches. With so little time spent convincing them to join in, it’s hard to believe they would all show up willingly. Still, it’s interesting that each witch has a specialty that focuses on a different aspect of witchcraft. I’m familiar with the idea of a witch who’s good at brewing potions and can read the future from a crystal ball, but what skills does a protection witch have? I’m intrigued.
The premiere ends with Agatha and her reluctant coven singing “Down the Witches’ Road” to open a magical gate, making excellent use of the ensemble’s musical talents. You don’t cast Broadway legend Patti LuPone as a witch if she doesn’t use her pipes to sing some spells! Their beautiful voices and haunting melody give the song tremendous power, bringing the premiere to a fantastic climax. The tone of the song is miles away from WandaVision’s surprise hit “Agatha All Along,” but it’s no less catchy.
Other thoughts
– During the first scene, Agatha is humming the song in the car and the music that plays afterward is the tune of “Down the Witches’ Road.” I like how Agatha is already on her way to the Witches’ Road before she even realizes it.
-The sequence where Agatha breaks free from the spell by going through all of her WandaVision disguises again, culminating in the black and white Agnes, was pretty damn great.
– It was nice to see the residents of Westview again and see them treat Wanda’s name the way the characters of the wizarding world treat Voldemort’s name. As Agatha walks past the property where Wanda’s house stood, we can see that it is covered in anti-Scarlet Witch graffiti. That’s what happens when you traumatize an entire town.
– Agatha’s signature necklace turned out to be a locket with a lock of hair inside. When Teen begs Agatha to take him to Witch Street, it is only when she stops to look at the locket and is lost in thought for a moment that she changes her mind and agrees. So there must be something about it that has great personal significance for her.
-Rio Vidal is not a character from the comics, so I’m excited to learn more about her and see if there’s any connection to the comics at some point.
– When Agatha rips down Teen’s “WELCOME TO CIRCUS” sign, all the letters fall off except for the “W.” Could this “W” stand for Wicca?
-Agatha’s new costume and hairstyle at the end of Episode 2 are a direct homage to Agatha’s classic comic book appearance.
-Mrs. Davis was so, so sweet during the musical performance. “Do I have to know this song?” And then the way she jumps around excitedly and starts singing along when she learns the words? Protect her at all costs!
– Remember when the MCU tried to treat magic as super science rather than actual magic? I’m glad that’s a thing of the past now, because it was great to see the supernatural corner of the MCU expanded in this way.
-Marvel Witch Songs: 2. Star Wars Witch Songs: 0.
