It’s okay If you’re confused with Agatha All Along. Just like Agatha, “I’m not looking for right minded witches.” The Harrison Paw Print is here to summarize the egregious amount of detail in this series as clearly as possible. If you haven’t already, go assemble your coven and watch this thrilling series on Disney Plus right away!
Agatha All Along dropped on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, with a two-episode premiere on Disney Plus. This series is a sequel to its sister in the craft, WandaVision, from 2021. Agatha All Along follows the deadliest witch ever to exist, Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn). After being trapped in Wanda Maximoff’s spell at the end of WandaVision, Harkness believes herself to be a detective named Agnes O’Connor.
While WandaVision often referenced classic television sitcoms, this series incorporates references to true crime shows such as Mare of Easttown, The Wire, and several others. After being freed from the curse by a curious teenager (Joe Locke), Agatha assembles a makeshift coven of rough looking witches to walk “The Witches’ Road,” a series of trials which will grant them power if they survive. None of them have any reason to trust Agatha, but if they have any hope of making it to the end of the road, they must work together and face the fears they all are avoiding. Major reveals for Agatha All Along are included below, so watch the series before reading this review if you want to avoid any spoilers. For a non-spoiler review of the series, check out The Harrison Paw Print’s previous coverage of Agatha All Along here. This is your FINAL spoiler warning!
Agatha All Along does an amazing job illustrating this story and the complex characters within it. Each thread of the narrative is wound tightly enough to make the series not too confusing, while always keeping the audience guessing at what will happen next. The best parts of this show are its originality and how unpredictable it can be. Each episode follows the next trial on the road paired with a specific witch’s backstory.
Episode two, titled, “Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate,” establishes the main cast of the series. The episode follows Agatha and Teen as they assemble a makeshift coven of witches who are all loosely related to Agatha’s history. Each witch has a different elemental significance, representing different powers of witchcraft and sorcery. Each trial tests the witches in the craft they are closest to. Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata) is the team’s potions specialist who must save the coven after they drink poisoned wine in the first trial. Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) is their protection witch, defending the group during the second test from an ancient curse that haunts her own family. Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) serves as the team’s divination expert, mastering a tarot card reading of herself to give her coven the advice they need to complete the road. These scenes can be found in episodes 3, “Through Many Miles / Of Tricks and Trials”, 4, “If I can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You”, and 7, “Death’s Hand in Mine.”
The chemistry between these actors is flawless and shows off their amazing talent. However, another aspect of this show stuns its audience even more; each cast member is given a chance to demonstrate their musical abilities! According to Agatha, the Witches’ Road can only be accessed when a coven sings the sacred “Ballad of the Witches’ Road.” Despite few of them being professional singers, the coven rocks this catchy tune, with Broadway performer Patti LuPone crushing the high notes.
The ballad is written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. This duo is known for their iconic songs in Disney movies such as “Let it Go” from Frozen and “Remember Me” from Coco. They were also the brilliant minds behind the WandaVision theme songs during sitcom moments from the Hex. Unlike WandaVision, which paired new lyrics with pre-existing themes, the Lopez team created only original music for Agatha All Along, showing off their impressive skills even more.
The editors and set designers should be especially proud of their work in this series as well. Only some computer-generated graphics are used in the series to prevent an overuse of CGI. This allows it to blend beautifully with the practical effects. The creators of Agatha All Along wanted to make the series seem real, without the digital elements overpowering the show visually. To achieve this effect, the full set was created without any digital assistance, making every interaction between the actors and the Witches’ Road set completely tangible. In an interview with the Motion Picture Association, the showrunner and producer of the series, Jac Schaeffer stated, “It also has an added layer, this discovery where we were like, ‘Agatha’s power has been taken from her. No power for Agatha, no CGI for the show.’ It felt aligned with the Marvel ethos.” This highlights the stunning advancement in the film industry with modern technologies and older editing strategies. When the two effects meet, the final product is enhanced beautifully!
My absolute favorite episode of this series is episode seven, which contains remarkable attention to detail. This episode centers around Lilia Calderu, and displays Patti LuPone’s outstanding acting abilities. The character she plays, Lilia, has been experiencing her life out of order, and has what she calls gaps in her memory. Throughout Agatha All Along, we see Lilia as she experiences these flashes of her life out of sequence. She will say the most random lines out of nowhere, making seemingly no sense. However, in episode 7, each of these clips are stitched together into the narrative in the most astonishing way. Joe Locke, who plays Teen (later revealed to be Billy Maximoff in episode 6, “Familiar by Thy Side”), also described episode 7 as the best one of the series. Entertainment Weekly shared Locke’s statement, who claimed, “[Episode 7] is the best episode of the show purely because of Jac Schaeffer’s incredible form and storytelling.” Locke had only positive comments for the series and Schaeffer, who also created WandaVision.
The greatest reveal of the series happened in the same episode, when Lilia realizes that Rio Vidal, played by Aubrey Plaza, is the true villain of the series. Rio is found to be Mistress Death, the original Green Witch. She has a history with Agatha, who has come to love and hate her, hoping to never see her again. To Agatha’s annoyance, Rio disrupts the coven and breaks onto the Witches’ Road, walking with them throughout the series. The reveal thrills audiences with Plaza’s incredible performance, without taking the spotlight too far away from Lilia. Unfortunately for some, including myself, this reveal was leaked by a Funko Pop figurine titled “Death,” displaying Aubrey Plaza’s fully spoiled identity. While this plot detail may have become more evident to those who viewed the spoiler, the episode still plays perfectly without feeling predictable.
One element of the series that stood out to many fans is the diversity of the cast. While there are various Marvel characters who have been part of the LGBTQIA+ community in modern comics, Marvel Studios historically has not included many of them into the film franchise. Agatha All Along changed this in a big way with the introduction of Billy Maximoff, one of the more recognizably queer heroes.
One student at Harrison had a lot to say on inclusivity in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). When asked for her opinion on the series, Gwynevere Hill responded, “I really appreciated having queer representation in a Marvel show since often the LGBTQIA+ identifying fans get passed over in the community.” Hill’s point can be clearly seen across the franchise, especially with characters such as Loki and Valkyrie. While their homosexuality has been lightly hinted at, neither have received proper recognition or acceptance of their identities. Hill also described how many Marvel films turn the subject into a joke, making fun of the idea instead of celebrating it. She explained, “While this can be funny, it feels like they’re laughing at the queer community instead of with them.” This certainly makes the series a step in the right direction, pleasing many members of the Marvel fan base. Hopefully, this means we will see more queer characters in Marvel projects later on, as well as more diversity overall for the franchise.
While Agatha All Along is more of a dramatic and serious show, it does a fantastic job of interjecting comedy to lighten the mood at just the right moments. A particularly hilarious aspect of the show was the character played by Debra Jo Rupp. The star from television sitcom That 70s Show reprises her role from WandaVision, playing the lovable neighbor with a green thumb, Sharon Davis, also known as Mrs. Hart. While recruiting her coven, Agatha must acquire a green witch. Not wanting to interact with Rio, she recruits the closest green witch she can find. Sharon isn’t a witch, but her gardening skills appear good enough to Agatha who just wants to fill out the coven. Rupp’s addition to the show was a perfect blend of WandaVision nostalgia and much needed comedy in its darker sequel. Sadly, Sharon doesn’t survive past the first trial, with an early departure in the third episode. Despite her character’s premature death, Rupp makes all the difference in this series, captivating audience members with her charming demeanor and hilariously ignorant lines.
My only complaint with this series is how the Salem Seven were removed from the show so quickly. This group was formed by the daughters of the Salemites, Agatha’s previous coven, all of whom she killed and stole their magic. Throughout the series, the Seven hunt Agatha on the road, seeking revenge for their mothers who Harkness had murdered. This coven was perhaps one of the spookiest elements of the show, but they were used in only a few short sequences spread over 3 episodes. They were a perfect inclusion for this series, but each appearance of the Seven felt rushed.
Despite being underused in Agatha All Along, the Salem Seven play a stunning role in the final scene of episode seven, where Lilia uses the most amazing power move the MCU has ever seen! The trial seen in this episode takes place in a castle with swords hanging from the ceiling. Lilia, dressed as Glinda from The Wizard of Oz, defies gravity by overturning a tarot card. She inverts the tower and sacrifices herself to save her coven, ending the Salem Seven for good. This is one of the most fulfilling scenes of the entire franchise and radiates pure awesomeness to all viewers.
The final two episodes were released just in time for Halloween, dropping on October 30 on Disney Plus. Episode 8, titled, “Follow Me My Friend / To Glory at the End,” feels more like the end of the series, with episode 9, “Maiden Mother Crone,” acting as an epilogue. When asked for their opinion about the finale, one student at Harrison commented, “The last twenty minutes disappointed me.” This student expressed their confusion and dissatisfaction with the last episode, which could have been due to the coda-like structure. However, this was an interesting choice of format by Marvel and might be worth exploring in the future. If new techniques can be executed properly, audience reception might improve as well.
These final two episodes show Agatha making the ultimate sacrifice, as she gives herself over to Death to protect Billy. In the series finale, Agatha appears to Billy as a ghost, sharing her past with him and explaining how Death took her son, Nicholas Scratch. Agatha was devastated by the loss of “Nicky” and finally admits she can’t face him in the afterlife.
Billy learns that the road was never real, because Agatha made up the story to trick witches in order to steal their power. Agatha explains to Billy that he made the road a reality with powers he inherited from his mother, the Scarlet Witch. The design of Billy’s home in Eastview is particularly clever because his room is filled with objects and designs seen in each trial on the road. This acts as more proof that he created the entire path with his reality warping abilities.
Billy feels responsible for the deaths of Sharon, Alice, and Lilia, but Agatha reminds him that she has committed much worse crimes. She reassures him that her atrocities were intentional, while Billy’s were only accidental. The dynamic between these characters is incredible and their connection makes you root for them wholeheartedly. The series ends with Billy asking Agatha to guide him through the supernatural world, as his goal on the Witches’ Road was to find his lost brother, Tommy Maximoff, who first appeared in WandaVision. Agatha agrees, hoping to delay her inevitable reunion with her son, and maybe even prepare her for what is to come. They both depart on a new adventure together, Billy as Wiccan, and Agatha as his spirit guide.
Overall, this series is extremely fulfilling, with comedy mixing perfectly into a heartfelt and generally compelling story. The actors perform with passion and sing powerfully enough to convince you that they really opened the gates to another world. The magic of Agatha All Along feels real, using light CGI to enhance wonderfully crafted practical effects. In spite of the uphill battle Marvel Studios has faced with more recent series, Agatha All Along has my full approval. It found its way into my top five favorite MCU series ever, reaching a level remarkably close to Marvel’s WandaVision and Loki. It’s perfect for any superfans of the MCU or even just witchcraft in general. You won’t regret checking this series out!
