What Is the Story About?
Following the events of Wanda Vision (2021), Agatha All Along follows witch Agatha Harkness assembling a coven with a group of outcast witches to take on the legendary witches road so as to win back her lost powers.
Agatha All Along finds Agatha aka Agnes bound by Scarlet Witch’s spell for the last 3 years – the breakage of which leads her to take on the witches road trials.
Performances?
Kathryn Hahn is spectacular as Agatha Harkness. She was a scene-stealer in Wanda Vision and in Agatha All Along, she glues you to the screen with her charming presence, spontaneous and witty dailogues and effervescence.
Aubrey Plaza gets a starry cameo and she belongs to the world of witchcraft and wizards effortlessly. However we wish to see more of her in the upcoming episodes because hers seems to be an emotional pivot to Agatha’s character.
The rest of the star-cast hasn’t gotten the metal to splash an impact yet, but we’re sure Joe Locke, Patti LuPone, Debra Jo Rupp, Sasheer Zamata and Ali Ahn would make a strong team in the upcoming episodes.
Analysis
Created by Jack Schaeffer for Disney+ and Marvel Television, Agatha All Along is a 9 episode limited series within the Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe directed and led by Schaeffer. A spin-off of Wanda Vision (2021), Agatha All Along is a fantasy-comedy-superhero series that follows witch Agatha Harkness and her pursuit of powers after what happened in its finale.
It’s no secret that Marvel TV’s 2021 show Wanda Vision met with exceptional love from fans and critics alike. This was followed by Loki which even had a successful second season owing to the popularity of the character. 3 years past the events of Wanda Vision, the makers are back with a spin-off show on Agatha Harkness aka Agnes – Scarlet Witch’s nemesis in Wanda Vision.
After losing the darkhold to Scarlet Witch who creates a ruckus and renders Agatha powerless in the season finale of Wanda Vision, Agatha All Along introduces us to a Mare of the Easttown like detective world where Agatha is Agnes again. She is a homicide detective working with Westview police with personal trauma and a tricky murder case up for her to solve.
In little to no time through a splendid cameo from Aubrey Plaza we get to know that Agnes has been tied up under the influence of Wanda’s spell for the last 3 years. The spell gets broken by a teenage boy who calls himself as ‘teen’ and is a huge fan of Agatha. He dreams to walk down the legendary witches road and win powers for which he seeks Agatha’s help. Desperate to gather her powers back, Agatha lets the boy tag along. She assembles a coven of outcast witches with their own troubles and powers so as to open the portal to the witch road.
Lilia – a psychic with powers of divination, Alice – an ex detective who wants to know what happened to her mother who went down the road, Jen – who has lawsuits lined up against her because of her aromatic products and Sharon – Agatha’s garden-obsessed neighbour joins her and the boy who is himself enchanted by invisible spells.
However the trials at the witches road is a deathwish as Agatha and her little witch gang claims regardless of her previous successful ordeal with the road. With merely two episodes out, Agatha All Along has laid its foundation right. The writing in the first episode gets deceptive and dark before quickly turning itself into the fun Marvel TV that we all know. However, if this decision proves to be good or bad – only time will tell.
After the super success of Loki’s dual seasons, there seems to be a conscious attempt to replicate the anti-hero to hero rhetoric in Agatha All Along. Despite Kathryn Hahn’s scene stealing performance in both Wanda Vision and Agatha All Along, Agatha as a character is no match to Loki. The character is neither established over multiple movies offerings nor unanimously adored amongst Marvel fans, so the arc may not hit as well as it should have otherwise.
Regardless, Agatha All Along sets the spooky and sinister aura of a witchcraft based sinister tale on a good note. The actors share good camaraderie and Aubrey Plaza seems to be a riot already. One of the major grapplings of Marvel TV post the Wanda Vision-Loki-Moon Knight era is its non engaging and dull bore content. But if early signs prove true, Agatha All Along could most likely make Marvel TV fun Again.
Music and Other Departments?
Christophe Beck and Michael Paraskevas has done a fine job with the score and music of the show with the credit score being quite on the lines of Agatha’s theme from Wanda Vision. The cinematography team comprising of Caleb Heyman, Jon Chema and Isiah Donté Lee have captured the mood of a countryside mystery thriller in the pilot episode and the spookiness and shrills of a supernatural fantasy in the second episode. With the show just starting, let’s see where the Marvel show would stand visually. So far, good.
Highlights?
Kathyrn Hahn
Spooky supernatural fantasy setting
Aubrey Plaza
Drawbacks?
Attempt to ape Loki
Less Daring and Dark
Abrupt tonal shifts
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, but with some reservations. Fans of Wanda Vision can get on the bandwagon for this spin-off series, though.
Agatha All Along Series Review by Binged Bureau
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