This review may contain spoilers for Agatha All Along Episodes 1 and 2
Summary
It’s been a while since the last live-action Marvel Studios series on Disney Plus, but the wait forAgatha All Alongis finally over. Arriving just in time for the spooky season, the latest series certainly encompasses some familiar themes: witches, demons, magic, curses, and darkness. However, there are some other fun surprises thrown in that will definitely keep people entertained.
All that being said,Agatha All Along’s first two episodes (titled “Seekest Thou the Road” and “Circle Sewn with Fate Unlock Thy Hidden Gate”, respectively) spend a lot of time setting the table for a much bigger and grander adventure, and it may not be enough to keep casual viewers clued in. While it’s always fun to see Kathryn Hahn embodying the role of Agatha Harkness, it would have been nice if there was a little more here to hold the audience’s interest.
Right off the bat, viewers are treated to a throwback to original MCU series WandaVision, with Agatha trapped inside a reality resemblingsomething like a mash-up ofTrue DetectiveandMare of Eastown. Living as a detective by the name of Agnes in this reality, Agatha is confronted by the body of a young woman (those who have kept up with the MCU, especiallyDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, will know who this is before the reveal later on). As she puts the clues together, the cracks in her reality begin to show.
The spell is ultimately broken by the arrival of an FBI agent (Aubrey Plaza) and a defiant teen (Joe Locke) who breaks into her house. Once Agatha claws her way out of this reality, she must figure out what her next steps are. Of course, she must first fight off Plaza’s vengeful witch in a somewhat clumsy fight scene that is hopefully not too indicative of the action fans can expect from the rest of the show. Agatha determines that she must regain her power, and in order to do so, she enlists the help of the mysterious Teen (whose identity has all but been confirmedby those in the know) to assemble a coven and walk the Witches' Road.
This first episode is the most fun when Agatha is navigating her false reality (which also includes a fun opening sequence). It’s too bad that once the spell is broken, there’s not much else going on in this premiere besides a physical conflict (though it is funny to see Kathryn Hahn interrogating her neighbor in the buff). The first half of this premiere truly feels like half of an episode despite the 40-plus minute runtime.
There isn’t much for Locke to do here, though Plaza does get to flex the comic book villain muscles shedeveloped in FX’sLegion. As usual, Plaza brings an almost cheeky darkness to her role, goading Agatha into breaking Wanda’s spell just so she can go at her with a knife. There is likely more to the antagonistic relationship between these two than the show is letting on, but that remains to be seen, especially since Plaza unfortunately disappears for the entire second episode.
The story picks up a little more steam here, with Agatha and Teen setting off to find some other witches. As shown in the promos, there is some type of spell preventing Agatha from learning Teen’s real identity (even if the fans havepretty much already figured it out). For now, though, that’s not as important as gathering a coven to walk the road. Agatha and Teen spend this episode collecting other characters, including Patti Lupone’s Lilia Calderu, Sasheer Zamata’s Jennifer Kale, and Ali Ahn’s Alice Wu.
Both Lilia and Jennifer are given fun introductions, with the former relegated to operating a rundown fortune-telling business in a strip mall and the latter running a successful if problematic wellness company selling edible candles. Both of them have their own reasons and motivations for wanting to walk the road. Lilia wants to reverse her fortune, and Jennifer wants to break the bounds that have rendered her incapable of using magic. Alice is unfortunately a little less developed up front, other than mentions of her mother being a famous musician, and Alice wanting to find out what really happened to her.
The final member of the coven, who is clearly supposed to be Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal, is instead replaced by Sharon aka Mrs. Hart, a returning Debra Jo Rupp who is just delightful. Much like she did so masterfully onThat ’70s Show, Rupp plays an exuberant suburban woman who tries to maintain her polite nature even in the face of the supernatural.
WhileAgatha All Along’s second episode is somewhat more engaging than the first, it still feels like it is mostly comprised of exposition and set-up, without any real conflict driving the plot. Fans ofWandaVision’s musical aspectsmay get a kick out of the episode’s climax, which culminates in a stirring rendition of “The Ballad,” a song used to open the door to the Witches' Road that is likely to be the earworm of Halloween. This is also where the show begins to introduce some of its horror elements, with the foreshadowed Salem’s Seven attacking the house while the coven tries to open the door. It’s not quite as extreme as some horror fans might want it to be, but it’s at least a good indicator of what is to come.
Agatha All Alongmay not be off to the strongest start for a Marvel series, but considering there are still seven more episodes to go, there are more than enough chances for the show to really surprise audiences and deliver some excitement, engaging storytelling, and even a few scares. It’s just too bad that the show doesn’t really get off on the right foot, but for those who are willing to walk the road withAgatha All Along, there are likely to be some trials worth conquering.
Agatha All Alongis now streaming on Disney Plus. New episodes stream every Wednesday.
