This review contains minor spoilers for the first two episodes of Agatha All Along.
The first two episodes of Marvel’s newest miniseries, Agatha All Along, are chock full of mystery and a spooky sensibility that befits the Halloween season. But how do they match up to their predecessor, the much-lauded herald of the Marvel Miniseries universe, WandaVision?
Episode 1: Seekest Thou the Road
Agatha All Along (Episodes 1&2)
Directed By: Jac Schaeffer
Written By: Jac Shaeffer, Jason Rostovsky, Giovanna Sarquis, Laura Donney
Starring: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza
Release Date: September 18, 2024 on Disney Plus
The first episode starts off much in the vein of the original series. Kathryn Hahn (Parks and Recreation, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse) returns as the titular character, but the situation immediately seems unusual. For starters, Hahn’s character is now a hard-boiled detective, and the other characters continually refer to her by the name of Agnes instead. The so-called “Agnes” investigates a case, a dead body that may seem eerily familiar to those who are keeping up with the Marvel movies thus far, but whose identity is intentionally kept from us for now. The opening credits roll, a series of names that are distinctly not the actors in the show begin to flash across the screen, accompanied by some grungy swamp rock, and we are quickly made aware that not all is as it seems.
Instead of the classic TV sitcom presentation of WandaVision, Agatha All Along appears to kick off the series in a metafiction inspired by the likes of True Detective and Twin Peaks, following “Agnes” as she attempts to solve the case of the mysterious dead woman. Thing begin to unravel when Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation, The White Lotus) enters the scene as an FBI agent who clearly seems to know more about what is going on than she’s willing to reveal.
The series of events culminates in an end to the metafiction, a decision that was at first disappointing but ultimately understandable. Agatha All Along seeks to forge its own way forward, not content to simply tread along the path that WandaVision laid out before. Agatha ends the episode knowing who she is and she knows what she wants: To restore her power to the heights it once was before her fated encounter with the Scarlet Witch.
Episode 2: Circle Sewn With Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate
The second episode relies much less on strange metafictional conceits and instead focuses its efforts on the chemistry between Hahn and costar Joe Locke (Heartstopper). The unlikely duo seek to create a new coven to begin their journey down the Witches’ Road, a mystical pathway that, supposedly, promises to grant what’s missing to you at its end. Ultimately, a new coven of four witches (or maybe just three witches and someone who just happened to be available) begin their first steps down The Road to see what power may befall them.
Unlike the first episode, which served to deliver the mood and atmosphere of the show, the second episode instead provides the brunt of the exposition and stakes. By the end of it, we know what the characters are after, why they are after it, and who is stalking at their heels should they falter.
Expectations and Observations
Agatha All Along is a show that has carried with it no small amount of baggage. It’s no secret that Marvel’s offerings have been met with more criticism than ever, from the lukewarm reception to 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder and even Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, a movie which this series seeks to directly follow up on, to Marvel Studio’s necessary pivot away from their planned storylines featuring Jonathan Major’s Kang the Conqueror after the actor was convicted of assault and harassment. With all of that hanging in the air, it’s hard to imagine that a show centering around a prior show’s villain could have any real chance at catching the attention of an audience.
I admit, while watching these first two episodes, this thought was close at hand. The first episode’s Twin Peaks-esque trappings were fun and interesting, and the transition from Agnes to Agatha was a delight that fans of WandaVision are sure to appreciate, but I struggled to ascertain who, exactly, this was for. Agatha Harkness is a long-standing part of Marvel Comics history, having tutored characters from the likes of the obvious Scarlet Witch to the more surprising Susan Storm and her son Franklin Richards, and therefore of immediate interest to long-time comic book readers. Is this who Feige is hoping to reign in with this show?
There are also notable queer tones throughout Agatha All Along that stand to be pointed out. Joe Locke, who publicly came out as gay in 2023, plays the character currently billed only as “Teen,” a gothy young man who is clearly depicted as having a boyfriend. A confrontation between Plaza and Hahn’s characters at the end of episode 1 is absolutely fraught with sexual tension as well. The show has, within only two episodes, already centered the idea of queerness within the series in a way that is pleasantly normalized and not focused upon. These are witches on a quest for power, and their sexual orientation is not a focus, but instead simply a facet of who they are.
Final Thoughts
While watching these first two episodes, I cannot help but admit I was wondering who this show was intended for. That being said, however, I still found myself fully captivated within the magic and the mystery. From the Twin Peaks experience of the opening episode to the haunting musical number of the second episode that continues to ear-worm its way into my brain even as I write this, I feel like I need to see more. The actors are doing a fantastic job to sell us on the situation – Joe Locke, in particular, is extremely entertaining in the second episode, proving that he has the chops to stand up next to industry titans like Hahn and Plaza. Kathryn Hahn is, as usual, giving the kind of standout performance that she often does, making clear that her stealing of the show in WandaVision was far from a fluke.
I came into this series as something of a jaded-but-hopeful Marvel fan. As a long-time lover of Marvel Comics and the kind of person who has been ecstatic to see these characters brought to life on the big screen, I’ve been happy to hold water for these shows even when the general consensus has turned against them. Even now, at the height of the cynicism against Marvel, I’m excited to see where this show goes from here. At the very least, I’m excited to see the evolution of Joe Locke’s character, who, if he is who he was rumored to be cast as, will have some interesting ramifications throughout the overall Marvel storyline.
If nothing else, Agatha All Along will, I think, prove to be a perfectly worthy watch for those looking for something a little offbeat during the spooky season that is to come. It’s a little bit Hocus Pocus, it’s a little bit Stephen King, and it’s, overall, a lot of fun.
New episodes air every Wednesday at 6PM Pacific Time or 9PM Eastern.
