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Agatha All Along Review – Down the Witches Road

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Agatha All Along

Everyone loved WandaVision, one of Disney’s best Marvel-based shows during phase 4. The breakout character was Agatha, played by Kathryn Hahn. So, as Disney does, they have taken the break-out character of the show and given her a series of her own, Agatha All Along, which touted being the “gayest show ever” and “a progressive all-female cast”. Does Agatha still have the magic? Or are her powers nothing more than modern-day make-believe?

Agatha All Along

Title: Agatha All Along
Production Company: Marvel Television
Distributed by: Disney+
Directed by: Jac Schaeffer, Rachel Goldberg, Gandja Monteiro
Produced by: Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Mary Livanos, Robert Kulzer, Jac Schaeffer, Julie Herrin, and Cameron Squires
Written by: Jac Schaeffer, Laura Donney, Cameron Squires, Giovanna Sarquis, Laura Monti, Jason Rostovsky, Gia King, and Peter Cameron
Starring: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Debra Jo Rupp, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Okwui Okpokwasili, Patti LuPone, Evan Peters, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, and Miles Gutierrez-Riley
Based on: Marvel Comics
Release dates: September 18 to October 30, 2024
Running time: 29 to 49 minutes per episode

spoilers

A Tale of the Witches Road…

Agatha All Along Episode Summary – SPOILERS

Episode 1: 'Seekest Thou the Road' Summary
Three years after her defeat by Wanda Maximoff in Westview, New Jersey, the witch Agatha Harkness is trapped under Wanda’s spell, believing herself to be the police detective Agnes O’Connor within a crime noir television series titled Agnes of Westview, where she is fixated on a Jane Doe murder case. One night, a teenager breaks into Agnes’ house, looking for “The Road”. Agnes believes he is tied to the murder case and arrests him. Rio Vidal, an FBI agent, comes to Agnes and helps her remember her true identity and realize the Jane Doe she is seeing is actually Wanda’s body. Waking up from the spell, Agatha realizes that her powers are gone and that Rio, a fellow witch with whom Agatha has history, is there to kill her. Agatha convinces Rio to spare her until she gets her powers back, but Rio warns Agatha that the Salem Seven will soon come after her. After Rio leaves, Agatha is unsure what to do about the “Teen”, whom she actually kidnapped under the influence of Wanda’s spell.
Episode 2: 'Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate' Summary
Teen reveals he freed Agatha from the spell and wishes to travel the Witches’ Road, which rewards any witch who survives its trials what they desire most—in Agatha’s case, the restoration of her powers. Agatha also realizes magic is preventing her from learning any personal information about Teen, including his name. Needing a coven to open a portal to the Road, the pair recruits the witches Lilia Calderu, Jennifer “Jen” Kale, and Alice Wu-Gulliver who all have reasons to walk the Road as well. Needing a “green witch” but not wanting to recruit Rio, Agatha instead turns to Westview resident Sharon Davis, a talented gardener. As the four witches and Sharon perform the ritual to open the gate to the Road, they and Teen escape through it to narrowly evade the Salem Seven. The group then removes their footwear and sets off on the Witches’ Road.
Episode 3: 'Through Many Miles / Of Tricks and Trials' Summary
Agatha explains that to reach the end of the Road, the coven will face trials focused on different branches of witchcraft. They also realize that Teen’s sigil prevents any witch from learning his identity. At the first trial, the coven finds a coastal house with a bottle of wine that everyone but Teen drinks. Jen privately warns Teen not to trust Agatha, who is said to have traded her child for the Darkhold. A timer starts counting down, and Jen realizes the wine was poisoned as Sharon faints. As they gather ingredients to create an antidote, the witches hallucinate: Lilia sees her younger self and her maestra from the Renaissance era, Jen hallucinates a doctor forcing her underwater, Alice sees her mother Lorna Wu about to commit suicide, and Agatha sees a crib containing the Darkhold. As they prepare the antidote, the house is brought underwater, threatening to drown them. With a few seconds left, they finish the antidote, drink it, and feed it to Sharon. Water pours in, but a tunnel appears in the oven and the coven escapes through it back to the Road. As they recover, Teen discovers that Sharon is dead.
Episode 4: 'If I Can't Reach You / Let My Song Teach You' Summary
After burying Sharon, the coven is forced to summon a replacement green witch. Rio emerges from Sharon’s grave, much to Agatha’s annoyance. The coven encounter a house with a 1970s aesthetic that prompts renewed feelings of grief for Alice as it turns out to be a recording studio tied to Lorna. Just as Rio playfully suggests to Agatha that they betray the others, which is overheard by everyone, Teen accidentally plays a record backward, summoning the demon who is the source of the curse in Alice’s family. To fight it, the group plays Lorna’s version of the Ballad, revealed to be a protection spell, and Alice is able to kill the demon. As the coven leaves the house, they notice Teen had been severely wounded during the trial. Back on the Road, Jen is able to heal his wound, saving his life. Later on, Lilia, Alice, and Jen bond while Rio alludes to her history with Agatha. Teen asks Agatha what happened to her son, but she does not answer. Later, as Agatha tries to kiss Rio, she tells Agatha that Teen is not her son.
Episode 5: 'Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power' Summary
The Salem Seven chase the coven, who evades them using makeshift flying broomsticks. After being pulled back down by the Road, they enter the next trial which takes the form of a cabin with a 1980s aesthetic. The group uses an Ouija board and makes contact with Agatha’s mother Evanora, who was killed by her daughter in 1693 along with her previous coven, revealed to be mothers of the Seven. Warning the coven to leave Agatha behind, Evanora possesses her and attacks the group. Alice uses her powers to expel Evanora from Agatha, who proceeds to absorb Alice’s magic. Teen, noticing another spirit’s presence, stops Agatha by shouting its name: Agatha’s son Nicholas Scratch, but Alice dies. Agatha insists that it was accidental, but Teen lashes out at her as well as Lilia and Jen, who affirm that their goals are the same as Agatha’s. The latter mocks Teen by stating that he is just like his mother; angered, he magically forces Lilia and Jen to toss Agatha into a mud trap, then blasts them in as well. As the witches sink, a headwear similar to the Scarlet Witch’s appears on Teen’s head.
Episode 6: 'Familiar by Thy Side' Summary
In flashbacks, William Kaplan, a teenager from Eastview, is celebrating his Bar Mitzvah where he encounters Lilia. Reading on his palm something she does not disclose, Lilia casts the sigil on William to protect him, instantly forgetting his identity. The party ends when the Hex created by Wanda begins to fall. While driving past Westview, William and his parents get into a car accident and he dies, but at that moment, Billy Maximoff’s soul enters William’s body, resurrecting him. William struggles to adjust after the accident due to his newfound ability to read minds and his lack of memory of his life before. Three years later, William and his boyfriend Eddie meet with Ralph Bohner, who used to be controlled by Agatha inside the Hex. He tells them about what happened there and about Wanda’s twins Billy and Tommy, making William realize he is actually the former. Determined to use the Witches’ Road to find Tommy, whom he can still sense, Billy goes to Agatha and breaks Wanda’s spell. In the present, Agatha escapes the mud and, realizing the sigil has been destroyed, deduces Billy’s goal and tells him that they must continue together since he cannot control his power.
Episode 7: 'Death's Hand in Mine' Summary
Agatha and Billy continue on the Road before coming across a castle. Upon entering, the two are garbed as the Wicked Witch of the West and Maleficent, respectively, and are presented with tarot cards. If they do not place the proper cards in the correct sequence, swords hanging from the ceiling fall down. Flashbacks from Lilia’s childhood lesson in divination reveal that she has been experiencing her life out of order, explaining her memory lapses. After falling through the mud, Lilia discovers that Rio is the personification of Death (something Agatha knew), who forebodes that her time is coming. She awakens Jen, and after evading the Salem Seven, they venture through the tunnels before reuniting with Agatha and Billy (Lilia is dressed as Glinda, Jen as the hag version of the Evil Queen). Knowing the trial is hers, Lilia places the cards in their proper order, saving them all. Prompting everyone to flee through the exit, Lilia chooses to stay behind as the Salem Seven approach. She flips one of the cards, causing the entire room to flip, impaling most of the Seven and presumably herself. A young Lilia is shown gleefully attending her first lesson in divination.
Episode 8: 'Follow Me My Friend / To Glory at the End' Summary
Agatha agrees to give Billy to Rio, who views him as an abomination for gaining a second life. Billy and Jen rejoin Agatha at the end of the Road, only to find that it goes in a circle. Billy puts his shoes back on, and the three are transported to a version of Agatha’s basement with grow lights that slowly go out. Jen learns that Agatha was the witch who bound her and performs the unbinding spell. She regains her abilities and disappears, having gotten what she needed from the Road. Agatha helps Billy locate Tommy’s soul, and Billy puts it in the body of a drowning boy. Billy disappears and Agatha grows a flower through a crack in the floor using a seed from her locket, completing the trial. She escapes and finds herself in her backyard, where Rio awaits her. Billy returns to aid her. Agatha attempts to give Billy up, but he convinces her to give herself up instead. Agatha kisses Rio and dies. Rio allows Billy to leave, and he returns home. Upon entering his room, he realizes that many of the objects in his bedroom match aspects of the Road and hears Agatha laughing.
Episode 9: 'Maiden Mother Crone' Summary
In 1750, Agatha gives birth to Nicholas, but is warned by Death that she will eventually take him. Agatha spends the next six years absorbing other witches’ essences while raising Nicholas. Together, they create what will eventually become the Ballad of the Witches’ Road, a simple children’s song. Eventually, Nicholas grows sick and Death takes him, greatly saddening Agatha. With nothing to hold her back, she spends the next centuries absorbing other witches’ magic by tricking them into gathering covens to open the Road then aggravating them into attacking her. In the present, Agatha, now a ghost, tells Billy that he created the Road. He despairs, blaming himself for the deaths of Lilia, Alice, and Sharon, but Agatha tells him that she was going to kill them anyway and that he did rescue Jen. Billy returns to the house and tries to banish Agatha; she reveals that she is afraid of dying because she cannot face Nicholas. Billy allows Agatha to remain as a ghost. Deciding to take her on as a guide, closing the door of the Road and recording the names of Sharon, Alice and Lilia, Billy and Agatha set out to find Tommy.

Agatha All Along

Story Review – Some Vague Spoilers

The walk along “The Witches Road” is one of self-interest and introspection on a level that I did not expect from a modern Marvel TV Show. Recent Marvel shows tend to push the modern audience narrative or some political message rather than let the characters shine on their own and evolve.

With Agatha All Along, we get what I love to see in TV shows and movies: good characters with great character development while pushing a story at the same time. Each episode focuses on a different member of Agatha’s makeshift Coven, allowing that character to get a moment in the spotlight and work through some personal moments while the group is there to support and uplift the spotlight character.

This is most evident in Alice’s episode, where she has to confront the curse that plagued their family and what killed her mother (Though we find out Alice’s mother’s death wasn’t at the hand of the family curse in the finale) through having to perform a musical number as her mother did. Not only do we get a lot of information about Alice, but we also get a personal payoff for the character and all the information we got through the episodes leading up to this one. More shows need to remember to put the story and characters’ journey first instead of focusing on whatever narrative they want to push with the show.

Take, for example, Teen, the only male in the Coven. Yes, he’s gay, and that’s fine. Unlike other shows and movies these days which would make this the 100% sole focus of the character, we get one episode showing his relationship and then move on. For the majority of Agatha All Along, Teen’s focus is more on the mystery surrounding his identity (name identity, not sexual preference), and even when his identity is revealed, the focus is on what Teen wants from The Witches Road rather than his preference in the bedroom. Again, more shows and movies need to remember what happens here and apply that to what they produce.

There are plenty of twists and turns on The Witches Road, with most of them giving you the amazing feeling of “Oh damn, the show is over and I can’t wait for next week”. This is thanks to the cast being written well by a bunch of writers who seem to give a shit about what they are writing about, and telling a story more than anything.

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Agatha All Along

A Coven of Powerful Characters

As I mentioned above, the casting in Agatha All Along does a great job at picking people who suit their roles perfectly, and each one gives their all when it comes to making sure their characters are entertaining while connecting with the viewer in a way that not many shows can produce these days… Plus most of them kept their mouth’s shut during the media tours and didn’t blame viewers for a possible failure that wasn’t going to come to pass.

  • Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness:
    We’ve seen Kathryn in this role before and we love her for all of it. Agatha is 100% the witchy bitchy scheming witch that we loved in WandaVision if not more than she was back then. From the first episode where she is playing out a role as a grizzle cop (in her own home), to her return to power as the witch with the most, Kathryn steals almost every moment that she is one screen. Hell, we even get some more heartfelt and emotional moments from her in this series, something that I didn’t expect the writers to do. Bravo for all of that.
  • Joe Locke as “Teen” / William Kaplan / Billy Maximoff:
    To say that the mystery of “Teen” was easy to work out is an understatement, but Locke did his best with the role and cemented it so well that I hope that he gets more chances to play Billy Maximoff in the future. Much like a lot of the original Avengers and other Marvel castings, Locke just has the look and attitude of the character down so well that I cannot see anyone else in the role.
  • Debra Jo Rupp as Sharon Davis:
    An amusing return for one of those side characters from WandaVision that people loved to see. I’m not sure if it’s because we have a generation who grew up with That 70s show and loved her character, which is the same as her one in WandaVision, or if we just love seeing Rupp in these roles. Either way, she was good to see in the few episodes that she appeared in.
  • Aubrey Plaza as Death / Rio Vidal:
    Step on me Death-Mommy…
  • Sasheer Zamata as Jennifer “Jen” Kale:
    Probably the weakest witch in the series as she is bound for a majority of it… and she never lets you forget it. 90% of the time she is complaining about how she can’t do anything, but ultimately, she is the one who does the most practical magic out of all of them. Zamata does approach this whole series with a very lazy coasting style of acting, which is all too common with modern actors, and really brings her character down.
  • Ali Ahn as Alice Wu-Gulliver:
    Alice as a character is one of the most interesting and dramatic of the whole group, which means she isn’t going to get anything more than a few small scenes and one episode dedicated to her story. Ahn does a great job with the limited time she gets in the series, making sure that you connect with her as a character so that when her moments are done, you are cursing the writers for doing what they did. A true testament to a good character and a good actor.
  • Patti LuPone as Lilia Calderu:
    The second-best character in all of Agatha All Along. LuPone as Lilia gives one of the best and most confusing performances in the whole series. For a character who has to act confused due to random moments not lining up, she makes everything seem so normal at the same time. When she does get her moment, you follow her along a journey that will have you connecting the pieces along with her, and connecting with her character more along the way. A award-winning performance for sure.
  • Evan Peters as Ralph Bohner:
    An amusing cameo. Nothing more. But to see the Ralph Bohner character return to give some information and what it is like for a resident of Westview who lives outside of the world that was created or left after the events of WandaVision was something different and helps those who want to know the psychological ramifications of Wanda’s powers on the mind.

Agatha All Along

A Surprisingly Bitchy Tale…

Agatha All Along is one of those series that takes a very simple premise and turns it into an epic journey with a lot of twists and turns. Each episode might shift the focus around between the members of the Coven, but at the same time manages to show that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. With every challenge the Coven is put through, they get closer and closer, which makes when things go wrong all the more tragic.

The theme behind Agatha All Along is one of connection, with the Covern taking the place of the viewer. As you learn more about each character and their individual stories, not only do you feel like you know them personally, but you are a part of the journey as the stories combine to give a much larger narrative as you see the bigger picture.

Lilia’s story, which takes place late in Agatha All Along, is the biggest connecting moment in the whole series as it takes every moment that she has had a weird moment or premonition, and ties it all together with her past to make everything make sense. Much like the viewer who has spent many episodes wondering about these moments, they connect things alongside Lilia and together they both understand everything in a bitter-sweet ending.

This is what I mean by Agatha All Along has some great writing. Sometimes it will take a long time before all the blocks fall together and you see the whole puzzle. By the point all these things click you have been on the journey with the characters and you appreciate that you went along for the ride rather than just having everything handed and spelled out for you in the final moments like you are a child. Adults love having a challenge in their media, it makes the connection between viewer and writer a lot stronger and makes for a much better show.

Agatha All Along

With Some Fizzled Hocus Pocus

While I praise the writing in Agatha All Along, it wasn’t perfect.

One of the big things that kind of ruined the show was Teen, or more so, the identity of who Teen really is. Anyone who knows Marvel Comics knows about Wiccan, aka Billy Maximoff, one of the twin sons of The Scarlet Witch. One look at Teen and you know who he is, and the fact that the writers try hard to keep that identity a mystery for over half of the series will have those comic book fans screaming at the TV about it… I know I did.

Once they reveal who Teen is, the show doesn’t capitalize on it. You have a powerful Warlock available and all he does is throw around other Coven members in a hissy fit, and then give his power to Agatha in the final battle. I know this is meant to be Agatha’s show, but they could have at least teamed up to defeat the final enemy together… Nope, we gotta keep the modern status quo going… And that’s all I’m going to say about that as with today’s political climate, it’s socially unacceptable to point out things like this.

Agatha All Along

The Expected was Unexpectedly Good

Agatha All Along is a great story, with a final episode that makes you want to smash your TV in frustration but at the same time, you’ll be laughing about how things have turned out once again. There are references to things that happen late in the show that you see early on, making this one of those “I want to go back and rewatch it again to see the connections” type of shows. Agatha All Along made some interesting claims when it was in production and media rounds, but turned out to be much better than expected.

Summary

Agatha All Along might sound like one of those modern audience girl power shows, but what we got was a show that was full of good writing, good characters, and good moments that will make you want to go back and watch it a few more times in order to catch all those connections. Smart writing like this is rare in modern media, so Agatha All Along deserves a lot of praise and views.

Pros

  • Good and smart writing
  • Characters are enjoyable and connectable
  • Avoids modern narrative pushing

Cons

  • Teen’s identity
  • Some cringe writing at times
  • The final battle while enjoyable, drops into the modern audience territory
Overall
4
Karl

The main "Australian arm" of The Outerhaven. Karl primarily spends time playing and reviewing video games while taking time to occasionally review the latest movie or piece of gaming technology.

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