Screen Test: Agatha Gets a Rude Awakening in 'Agatha All Along'
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Agatha All Along: A Spin-Off Series
After WandaVision (2021), our lives were never the same. And it wasn’t just because Wanda’s story made us ruminate on what it truly means to be a villain, but also how Marvel continues to surprise us with impressive plot twists and fascinating characters — one of which is Agatha Harkness, who made her MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) debut in the miniseries with sinister purple magic and a catchy theme song that became an instant Billboard chart hit.
And now Disney has released a new show based on Marvel’s first TV series and gave everyone what they wanted: a chance to go deeper into Agatha’s character and more witchy shows just in time for Halloween.
Kathryn Hahn reprises her role as Agatha and stars alongside Joe Locke, Debra Jo Rupp, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Okwui Okpokwasili, Patti LuPone, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, and Miles Gutierrez-Riley. Produced by Marvel Studios via their Marvel Television label, the show is directed Jac Schaeffer (WandaVision, Black Widow).
In this new witchy fantasy, Agatha Harkness finds herself powerless after being trapped by Wanda in Westview for three years. She escapes the town with the help of a suspicious goth teen who expresses his interest in facing the trials of the legendary Witches’ Road. Rumor has it that it rewards a witch survivor with what they’re missing. Wanting to get her powers back, Agatha sets off on a quest with the teen and forms a coven to help them through the series of tests, all the while trying to contend with her enemies who are out for her blood.
Considering that it’s a spin-off series, you will need to have watched WandaVision before diving into this one as it provides important context for understanding Agatha’s character. Events from the previous miniseries are also mentioned, especially in the pilot.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s begin!
Pilot Recap: Agatha Gets a Reality Check
Episode Title: “Seekest Thou the Road”
Run Time: 39 mins.
Rating: 15+
Genre: Fantasy
Subtitle Availability: English, Arabic, Hebrew
Warnings: Contains horror, violence, and some nudity.
SPOILER ALERT! This section contains details from the premiere episode of “Agatha All Along.”
Episode one opens with Agatha driving to a secluded spot in the woods where a body has been discovered. From the first scene, we learn that Agatha has been living as Agnes O’Conner, a detective working for Westview’s police department. Agatha surveyed the crime scene and felt a little off, which caused her colleague to ask if she was all right, reasoning that she didn’t look like herself. Agatha brushed this off and left, but not before pocketing a brooch she found on the victim.
The scene transitioned into the opening theme for a fictional show called “Agnes of Westview,” which appeared to be the show Agatha has been trapped in since Wanda left town. Afterward, Agatha was in the library to investigate the library card found with the body. The librarian, Dottie (Emma Caulfield), told her that the book checked out was stolen three years ago and that they had more copies in the Natural Sciences section. Agatha went to search for the book only to discover that the remaining copies had been burned.
At the station, we are met by a new face: federal agent Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza). The police chief asked Agatha to work with her, an arrangement the former wasn’t too thrilled about. After the brief but tense interaction, Agatha went to a pawnshop to have the brooch inspected and discovered it to be a locket with a lock of hair inside.
Back at the station, Agatha worked into the night, studying the name of the stolen book titled, “Dialogue and Rhetoric: Known History of Learning and Debate.” Before she could uncover the acronym formed from the title (which happens to be “DARKHOLD” — the book of spells that Wanda took possession of at the end of WandaVision), the chief appeared and told her to go home.
She received a surprise visit from agent Vidal that same evening, and while they were talking and drinking in her living room, the agent asked some ominous questions: “Do you remember why you hate me? Are you hiding evidence?”
They were interrupted by a noise upstairs where Agatha caught a burglar. She chased him down and took the goth teen (Joe Locke) to the station for an interrogation where he told her that he came in search of “The Road.” This made Agatha think of the road leading to the crime scene and assumed that the boy had something to do with the murder. He insisted he was innocent, but Agatha was unconvinced. She slammed photos of the body on the table to jog his memory, but they suddenly turned into snapshots of flowers. When Agatha looked back at the two-way mirror, it had turned into a painting and the teen began chanting a strange incantation. She locked him in a jail cell for the night.
Instead of returning home, Agatha went straight to the morgue to inspect the body where she discovered the library card by its feet, which now revealed a name: “W. Maximoff.”
Agent Vidal appeared all of a sudden and told her how Wanda had trapped her in Westview. At this point, Agatha began to “claw her way out” and went through a series of phases where she transformed into the different version of Agatha viewers met in WandaVision. The library card also revealed that before Wanda took hold of the Darkhold, it was owned by the one and only “A. Harkness.” (Dun dun duuun!)
Now aware of her true self, Agatha suddenly found herself back in her living room, livid and naked. She rushed outside to ask her neighbor how long she had been living there. He informed her that it had been three years. She went to her basement and found her lair gone with only a small rabbit left. Another shocking discovery: she could no longer perform magic.
A loud thud sounded in her kitchen where she found the goth teen locked up in a closet. Before she could untie him, an explosion shook the house cueing the arrival of Rio Valdez no longer clad in her usual agent fit and spewing green magic. A fight ensued between the two women (or witches?) but before things could escalate, Agatha managed to convince her to wait until she regained her powers for a fairer rematch.
REVIEW: Do You Feel Déjà vu, Agatha?
If you haven’t watched WandaVision recently or didn’t watch or read any recaps online before sinking your teeth into this, the first few scenes might be a little confusing, because all of a sudden Agatha is Agnes again and we’re watching a crime show? We thought this was supposed to be a fantasy series?
But leave it to Marvel to demonstrate a creative way to weave continuity from one miniseries to the next by providing us with another fictional show within a show — a recurring theme in WandaVision. Of course, it made sense that Agatha would be trapped in a make-believe show with no memory of who she truly was. How else did she stay in that town for three whole years?
What we liked about this pilot was how it eased audiences back into the world in a way that wasn’t jarring or had us scrambling for information about the previous series. It sent the message that yes, it picks up from the previous show, but it will also focus on an entirely new story separate from its predecessor.
Each scene transitioned seamlessly and provided us with ample time to take in and process information. It wasn’t one blow after another but felt more like puzzle pieces being handed over to you to complete as you watch your way to the end. At first, we were worried that there would be too many flashback scenes or perhaps her hidden memories would come in the form of strange dreams or echoing voices from the dark (many paranormal shows have done this), but the show did a marvelous job in providing easter eggs for Agatha. They tried to jog her memory with what was in the present, like the dead body with scorched-black fingers, the library card and book name, and the brooch.
The only thing that made everything so obvious was Rio Vidal’s character who made it clear that Agatha was living a fake life with all her remarks and questions. They made up for it in the (literal) explosive reveal at the end, when we witnessed her powers and go head-to-head with Agatha. It wasn’t revealed who she was yet, but we have a good idea as the show is meant to introduce some important magic players in the Marvel universe.
Kathryn Hahn’s acting as Agnes was also notable. The boorish detective is a stark contrast to the powerful and flamboyant Agatha. Her acting had been impressive from WandaVision, having portrayed several disguises throughout the show’s evolving fictional shows. The bottom line is that a huge part of why we enjoyed Agatha’s character is because of how Kathryn brought her to life.
The costumes were mostly casual civilian, which matched the setting and atmosphere well. As far as we’re concerned, Marvel has done well in the costumes department, but we are hoping they’ll update Agatha’s look to be less “Salem witch in a robe” and more “cool fabulous villain.” By the looks of the promo photos, it looked like Marvel has given her a more fall business casual look, trading the capes for long trench coats and high-collared shirts. We’re keeping our eyes peeled for her witch attire though, which will hopefully appear later in the season.
In terms of cinematography, we particularly loved the atmosphere change from the dark town of “Agnes of Westview” to a brighter, livelier hue when Agatha finally clawed her way out of her trapped state. As it’s produced by a big production label, CGI is expected to be well done. The transition between her many disguises at the near end of the episode was quite impressive, as well as the brief fight scene with agent Vidal, which we hoped was the show’s way of telling us that more action-packed moments are coming.
Final Verdict: 4 out of 5 BEATS
Overall, the first episode was a bundle of fun and excitement with Agatha navigating through her false reality. Although the episodes were twice as long as WandaVision’s, it felt just as short because we were so immersed in the script’s good pacing.
However, episode one failed to introduce the main conflict, which most pilots should have been able to show, and felt more like a prequel to the actual show as it mainly showed Agatha’s character awakening and how she was led to do the quest mentioned in the premise. But the series did premiere two episodes on the same day, so we assume it builds up the conflict from there.
Speaking of the premise, it’s already revealed that it’s going down the “Salem witch trials” route and that Agatha will form a coven throughout her quest. From that note, the plot is giving “The Wizard of Oz” where a band of misfits comes together and travels down a road in hopes of receiving a reward at the end. On top of that, there’s also a witch after them who uses green magic! We suppose this would count as a re-telling, but after seeing WandaVision, we trust Marvel writers in their ability to recreate stories and play around with well-known tropes. Who knows? Agatha might even seem like a heroine later on.
The show also gave “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” vibes with its dark atmosphere, talks of covens, and Latin incantations. Story-wise, however, they are completely different since the Netflix series focused more on the darker side of witchcraft and was set between the mortal and otherworldly realms. We’re unsure if “Agatha All Along” will go as far as summoning demons but it will most likely stay within the earthly realm where their conflict currently lies. We also expect some flashback scenes since according to the comics, Agatha was one of the original witches from the Salem witch trials.
We’re giving this episode a solid 4 out of 5 BEATS for its impressive storytelling, good pacing, and fascinating characters that tickled our curiosities and had us wanting to see the next episode right away.
Episodes are released every Wednesday at 6 PM (Pacific Time) on Disney+. A two-episode finale will premiere on Oct. 30.
You can witness Agatha and her new coven travel down the legendary Witch’s Road here.
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