WhenAgatha All Alongwas announced as an unofficial sequel/quasi-spinoff to 2021’s hitWandaVision, many rolled their eyes at what seemed yet another unnecessary project in the MCU’s never-ending machine. To some, the miniseries was absurd, greenlit based on the viral success ofan annoying earwormfrom 2021. To others, it reeked of desperation, a last-resort attempt to keep the MCU conveyer belt alive on Disney+. Indeed,Agatha All Alongarrived ata precarious time for the MCUwhen even its most ardent followers doubted it. But if the charm was wearing off, who better than a witch to bring it back to life?
And bring it back, it did.Agatha All Alongjust concluded itsspectacular nine-episode runwith a two-part finale that tied loose ends and provided a satisfactory conclusion but still left the door open for the next chapter in Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and Billy Maximoff’s (Joe Locke) stories. Unlike its predecessor,Agatha All Alongstuck the landing and delivered a tremendous limited series that reminded us why we love the MCU. In fact, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to call this show the finest project in the franchise since the herculean 2019 juggernautAvengers: Endgame, and you know what? It’s not even close.
Tame your fears/A door appears
Agatha All Alongcenters on Agatha Harkness (Hahn), still under the Scarlet Witch’s (Elizabeth Olsen) spell following the events ofWandaVision. However, she is soon helped out by a mysterious teen (Locke) and a shadowy figure from her past (Aubrey Plaza). The teen wants Agatha’s help to tread the fabled Witches Road, which gives any witch who completes it “glory at the end.” Reluctantly, Agatha agrees, assembling a makeshift coven and entering the dangerous path while pursued by the Salem Seven, ancient foes from her past.
The show gathers an ensemble of new faces — Locke, three-time Tony winner Patti LuPone, Emmy nominee Aubrey Plaza,SNLalumni Sasheer Zamata, andThe Diplomat‘s Ali Ahn — and a few familiar figures fromWandaVision, most notably the beloved but severely underrated Debra Jo Rupp. Jac Schaeffer, who was also the mind behindWandaVision, returns to serve as showrunner, and thank god for that.
At first glance,Agatha All Alongis another puzzling entry into the MCU’s Phase Five, but upon closer examination, it’s easy to see why the show was greenlit. In summary, it serves two purposes: one is showcasing Kathryn Hahn, perhaps for the first time in her career (justice forMrs. Fletcher), as a bona fide leading lady capable of headlining a major project. It can even be seen as a reward of sorts for both Hahn and Schaeffer after the success ofWandaVision. After all, Olsen gotDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness— which was more a punishment than a reward, in hindsight, but that’s another story — andPaul Bettany got a series of his own, which apparently is still happening. But Hahn and Schaeffer were just as instrumental toWandaVision‘s success — they even got Emmy nominations for their efforts! A sequel series of their own was only fair.
Agatha All Along‘s second purpose, arguably more important in terms of franchise-building, is expanding the MCU’s magical corner by introducing one of Marvel’s most popular characters: Wiccan. Arguably the most popular LGBTQ+ character from the comic books, Wiccan is the sort-of-son of the Scarlet Witch and Vision, a being of massive magical power who has even served as Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme.
He is also one-half of the mostfamous and beloved gay couple in comic books, and the overwhelming popularity of his romance with Hulkling has put them on par with iconic couples like Sue and Reed and Peter and Mary Jane. The casting ofHeartstopper‘s breakout star, Joe Locke, made it immediately clear thatAgatha All Alongwould introduce Wiccan. The young actor denied it for years, never once breaking andmaking Andrew Garfield proud. Many even ventured into guessing he was playing Nicholas Scratch, Agatha’s son from the comic books. However, we all knew; one look at the kid, and you could tell.
Now, with the season over, we can safely sayAgatha All Alongachieved its two purposes and then some. Hahn is brilliant as the lying witch with the great wardrobe — seriously, that purple coat isto die for. Because she’s not a former Avenger like Wanda, Hahn’s Agatha is not constricted by traditional, moralistic, and frankly boring notions of “good” and “evil;” instead, she’s allowed to exist in the morally gray area inhabited by so few Marvel characters.
Agatha is truly that bitch: she lies, cheats, betrays, and kills, and does it all with a smile and a cackle that would make Eleanor Audley proud. Agatha is perhaps the MCU’s one true anti-hero; more than Bucky (Sebastian Stan) or Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Agatha is a genuine loose canon marching to the beat of her solitary, covenless drum.
It’s so truly refreshing and, frankly, admirable that Schaeffer adopts the same approach with Billy. AlthoughAgatha All Along‘s early episodes had him declaring he is “not that nice,” hardly anyone took his words at face value. After all, the MCU is famous for either redeeming its villains and turning them decidedly heroic or killing them once they’ve served their purpose; no one is allowed to be shifting or mercurial, at least until now. However, the two-episode finale reveals Billy is not only inadvertently responsible for the deaths of his newfound coven, but he is actually OK with them because things worked out his way.
To be fair, it’s not like Billy cackles with glee at the deaths of his fellow witches. However, he doesn’t lose any sleep for them either. He is also perfectly OK with inhabiting a body that isn’t his, lying to Billy Kaplan’s parents, and carrying on as if nothing happened. All this isn’t to suggest Billy is evil, but there is a clear ruthlessness present in him that’s lacking in so many other Marvel heroes.
Much like Wanda, Billy is volatile and closer to the edge than anyone thinks, holding enough power of creation and destruction to bring the world to its knees. The fact that Schaeffer makes him somewhat cold and calculating only adds layers to his characterization, making him instantly fascinating, especially in a franchise that treats its teen characters like carbon copies of each other.
Burn and brew with coven true
All the praise directed atAgatha All Alongis justified, especially in the current age of Marvel entertainment. The show feels like back-to-basics for the franchise by doing what every project should: focusing on building itself rather than a cinematic universe. Sure, it has Easter eggs — it makes sure you don’t forget about Wanda Maximoff, after all — and it’s connected to the larger universe. However, its priorities are the characters on screen, first and foremost. To Schaeffer, Jennifer Kale and Lilia Calderou are more important than Thor or Peter Quill; thus, you care because she cares.
Agatha All Alongis such a good television show because it’s just that: a television show. Unlike other MCU shows, which seem to think of themselves as extended movies, Schaeffer’s shows prioritize episodic storytelling in service of an overarching story. It seems outright dumb that a TV show receives praise for doing what any project on its medium should do, but here we are. And it’s not just Marvel that’s guilty of approaching limited series like wannabe movies: even HBO, once the premier network for quality, small-screen storytelling, is stumbling nowadays for putting outminiseries with identity crises.
It’s not likeAgatha All Alonghas something overly meaningful to say. It’s a show about grief and self-discovery, yes, but it doesn’t reinvent or delve particularly deep into those themes. LikeWandaVision,Agatha All Alongalso struggles in the final act, although it does a far better job than its predecessor by featuring the traditional Marvel final battle in the second-to-last episode and allowing the final chapter to be a full-on character study.
That’s whereAgatha All Alongtruly shines: in its characterization, introducing a cast of brilliant players that rank among the MCU’s most compelling. Every member of the coven has a defined struggle that makes them relatable and worth rooting for — the one exception might be Plaza’s Rio Vidal, but this elusive nature plays to the strengths of Plaza as a performer and her mysterious character’s allure.
However, virtually every other character is a little world in itself, and the show does a brilliant job developing its arc over its limited episodes. Nowhere is this more apparent than inits best episode,Death’s Hand in Mine,which is not only a tour-de-force for Patti LuPone but a masterclass in slow-burn storytelling.
WithAgatha All Along, Schaeffer opts for bold rather than familiar. The magic in the show is refreshing enough to stand out but conservative enough to exist within a budget. The stakes are high enough thatthe characters’ deaths are finalbut not so high as to descend intothe CGI mess that so many of the MCU’s third-act battleshave become. Like its titular character,Agatha All Alongis resourceful and inventive, doing so much with so little and providing a much-needed breather for the franchise, especially in a particularly flawed saga that has favored multiversal spectacle over genuinely good storytelling — seriously, if I never hear the word “multiverse” again, I won’t mind.
Wherever it may bend/I’ll see you at the end
IfAgatha All Alongproves anything is that Marvel needs to hold on to Jac Schaeffer for dear life. In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing her take on a bigger role after two certified hits. I’d feel a whole lot more confident in a potentialYoung Avengersmovie or show if she were in charge. Locke, too, needs to stick around: his Wiccan is the most fascinating young figure in the MCU by far (sorry, Ms. Marvel), and the idea of a gay superhero at the forefront is genuinely exciting.
As for Hahn? Ghost Agatha seems here to stay, and the pieces are all set for another project with her at the forefront. Millions of fans are clamoring for Wanda to get another shot at the movies: Scarlet Witch solo movie with Schaeffer, Olsen, Hahn, and Locke? Shut up and take my money!
Beyond what it did for the MCU as a franchise,Agatha All Alongmust be praised for what it did for Marvel as a creative venue.More so than HBO’sThe Penguin, which is somewhat embarrassed by its source material,Agatha All Alongreminded us that there is quality to be found in a world of superheroes while still embracing their campy nature.
Like the best comic book movies, it finds joy in the confines of its little corner yet makes it feel so grand, making everything seem like a life-or-death situation. In the true nature of the witches it so loves,Agatha All Alongis loud, over-the-top, and dramatic in all the best way possible, and we wouldn’t want it any other way. Glory at the end, indeed.
All nine episodes ofAgatha All Alongare now available tostream on Disney+.
