Agatha All Along may be one of the most unlikely successes in the MCU. This new corner of the franchise takes viewers into a dark, witchy landscape anchored by an incredible cast, strong writing, and rich Marvel world building that’s been missing from recent projects. Powered by the creatives behind WandaVision, the most critically successful Marvel Disney+ original series to date, Agatha is here to prove that Marvel Studios had the magic recipe for a successful prestige streaming series all along.
New genres in the MCU have been doubted before, but Agatha All Along is off to a very strong start that suggests it’s more of a Guardians of the Galaxy than an Eternals. Many fans (myself included) liked Eternals, but it wasn’t a strong critical and commercial success like Guardians. With its two premiere episodes, Agatha has quickly established the strongest foundation of any Disney+ series to date. If the show can avoid falling into the classic pitfalls of MCU Disney+ series (last-minute twist villains, rushed finales, and much-needed supporting character development arriving too late to matter), this Marvel series may prove all the haters wrong.
There’s so much to break down in the first two episodes, from crazy theories to the excellent way Jac Schaeffer is picking up the pieces from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness despite Michael Waldron’s disrespect for her work. Read on to discover the best parts of the Agatha All Along premiere!
[Warning: Spoilers ahead for the first two episodes of Agatha All Along.]
Agatha All Along is the first prestige Disney+ series
The most surprising thing about Agatha All Along is that it’s the very first Disney+ series that feels like high-quality, prestige streaming that can stand up to the likes of Netflix, HBO and Apple TV+ shows. Disney+ series like WandaVision, Loki, and X-Men ‘97 have been fantastic, but they’ve all suffered from the typical problems I mentioned earlier (although X-Men ’97 avoided these issues, it’s harder to compare an animated series to live-action dramas).
Agatha All Along has the strongest start of any Marvel series because it doesn’t feel rushed or compromised in any way. It’s surprisingly adult in small ways. I never expected Disney to allow full rear nudity in a Marvel series, for example. The episode lengths are appropriate for once, avoiding the common Disney+ issue of every episode feeling like it’s missing a necessary scene or two. Put simply, Agatha is the only Disney+ show that doesn’t feel limited in some way by the streaming service it’s airing on, at least not yet. I’ve only seen the first two episodes, so there’s plenty of time for those classic Marvel Disney+ problems to pop up.
Agatha is a very well-constructed show. The writing, performances, plot, and pacing are firing on all cylinders in a way that feels distinct from its fellow series. Even though the members of Agatha’s coven haven’t been on-screen for very long, their introductions quickly establish their personalities and their relationship to Agatha in effective, well-paced scenes that could be longer but don’t need to be. The character dynamics are already wonderful, particularly Agatha’s contentious relationship with Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal and her dismissive attitude towards Joe Locke’s Teen.
Kathryn Hahn has long been a supporting actress, but is more than up to the task of leading her own ensemble. It’s nice to see that Agatha is still a nasty, evil person, since I fully expected her villainous edges to be sanded off in the same vein as Loki. I particularly loved how she immediately tried to betray her coven. It made sense that she would want to walk the Witches’ Road to regain her powers, but it makes even more sense that she was lying to everyone to steal their magic and kill them instead.
Breaking down the premiere of Agatha All Along
The first episode of Agatha All Along takes us right back to the WandaVision days, which is fitting since Agatha is still trapped in Wanda’s TV-show spell. Agatha’s investigation of a mysterious murder is full of references to the fallout from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, addressing the ending of that film in a much more direct way than I expected and parodying Mare of Easttown in the process.
Agatha’s examination of the library card on the body reveals that Wanda checked out the Darkhold on October 13th while Agatha took it on January 21st, but we don’t know how many years separate the two. I loved the Darkhold references here, from the burned library shelf resulting from Wanda burning every copy of the book in the multiverse to the title on the library card that was an acronym for “DARKHOLD”. I’m glad to see the Darkhold sticking around the witchy side of the MCU because I found it shockingly stupid to have Wanda destroy an infinite number of Darkhold copies in every universe in Multiverse of Madness.
What stood out to me in the premiere is how Jac Schaeffer’s writing was carelessly thrown out and overwritten in Multiverse of Madness, but she’s not doing the same to Michael Waldron’s work. Instead of brushing past Wanda’s death or relegating the Darkhold to flashbacks, she seems to be building on what he did, despite it deviating from her own ideas. That’s the hallmark of a talented writer: to take the mess another writer made of your world and build on it to create a new, interesting storyline. We certainly haven’t seen the last of the Darkhold in Agatha All Along and while I really hope to see Agatha’s history with it, I also hope to see how the book’s destruction affects her and witchcraft in general in the present day.
It’s also interesting to see confirmation that Agatha has a son in the MCU. Nicholas Scratch is finally referenced when Agatha walks into his childhood bedroom, full of crayon drawings and awards. It seems to upset her and coupled with Jennifer Kale’s dig about “another child sacrifice” in the second episode plus a trailer shot of the Darkhold in a crib, it seems like Agatha may have done something horrible to obtain power so many centuries ago.
Finally, to address the elephant in the room: Aubrey Plaza. She’s born to play the role of Rio Vidal. I can’t imagine anyone else playing this character, and I feel certain the role was written specifically for her. Her entrance into Wanda’s spell was done perfectly, since you could immediately tell she was putting on a performance for Agatha. Their quiet moments together in Agatha’s house were a nice contrast to the angry, vengeance-fueled relationship they clearly have in the real world, as evidenced by Rio attempting to viciously murder Agatha as soon as Wanda’s spell is broken. Between their flirtatious relationship and the clues about Agatha’s son, it seems more and more likely that one of the earliest rumors about this show is true. I can’t wait to see it all unfold!
The nature of witchcraft in this Marvel series
The first two episodes of Agatha All Along begin to flesh out MCU witchcraft lore and I’m sure we’ll learn more about each witch’s particular magical skill as the coven sets off down, down, down the Witches’ Road. I loved the “coven rule” Agatha speaks of, that within three miles there will be a collection of “witchy enough” people to form a coven. It’s the exact kind of ridiculous idea that a show can get away with if it’s not full of little plot holes or inconsistencies that would cause viewers to nitpick.
The rule doesn’t make much sense. Are you telling me that if Agatha is in the middle of Wyoming or the wilderness of northern Canada, she’ll somehow find three to four witches within three miles of her? It doesn’t matter because the show has strong comedic elements and Agatha says things with such sincerity and forcefulness you’d never dare to question her! She rounds up her coven pretty quickly, but not in a way that feels incomplete or half-hearted on behalf of the writing team. Instead, there’s a ticking clock behind Agatha’s actions, and she knows exactly how to play into her fellow witches’ fears to get them onto her side in as few words as possible.
Agatha’s fellow witches are entertaining enough, but we really need to see more of them to understand them better. I hope they get a decent amount of character development as they each face trials on the Witches’ Road. Sharon Davis (Debra Jo Rupp) is not the WandaVision character I would have expected to see as part of a coven, but she adds an innocent sense of comic relief to serious moments. I don’t think she’s actually a “green witch” and fully expect her to die pretty quickly on the Witches’ Road, but it’ll be a shame to see her go.
Speaking of covens, another thing that sets Agatha All Along apart from other MCU shows is that the villains are present from the very beginning. I fully expect a twist with a bigger threat in the final few episodes, but since I’m guessing it’s Rio who’s the ultimate villain, that would mean both the main and secondary antagonists are a central part of the series from the first two episodes. For now, we have the Salem Seven, a mysterious coven of witches dressed in black clothing and creepy masks.
Their introduction is my favorite part of Agatha All Along so far. The entire ending of the second episode, with the haunting performance of “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” as Teen desperately barricades the house against the horrific figures entering Westview, is a masterpiece. I don’t like horror movies, but little horror elements being part of the witchy corner of the MCU is totally fine in my book, so I really liked how creepily one of the witches came down the basement stairs as Agatha and her coven entered the Road.
It was also great to see how the Salem Seven inadvertently opened the door to the Road for Agatha’s coven. Their ritual clearly didn’t work because Sharon isn’t actually a witch, but it seems like the presence of the Salem Seven in the living room allowed the entrance to the Road to appear. It’s unclear how much backstory we’ll get for the villains in this show, but I hope they aren’t as undercooked as most MCU villains.
There’s also the “mystery” of Teen’s true identity, but we all know who Joe Locke is really playing, particularly after a spoilery shot from a TV spot yesterday. I’m more interested in finding out where he came from and what he really wants on the Witches’ Road than finding out his name.
Agatha All Along is set up for success with premiere episodes
With a strong premiere that quickly hooks viewers, Agatha All Along is set up for success in a way few Disney+ shows are. I often feel like I’m hoping for a Marvel Disney+ series to find its footing in the beginning, even if I’m enjoying what we have. That feeling is nonexistent with Agatha. The series has a strong identity already, it’s setting up great mysteries that will expand the magic side of the MCU more than any project before it, and the characters relate to each other in fantastic ways.
Instead, I’m left hoping the show can maintain this cohesion all the way through. I love WandaVision, but it suffered from several issues, notably the messy finale which dropped storylines and characters without a second thought. I don’t think any live-action Disney+ series has started strong, stayed strong, and finished strong. Even when we get an excellent finale like in Loki, it’s following a season that’s had some of the usual issues.
Knowing Agatha All Along has the same creatives as WandaVision, I’m expecting the finale to be good but disappointing in some respects. However, to their credit, I think the first two episodes of Agatha All Along are much stronger than the first two episodes of WandaVision (which many people complained about). I hope the heart and soul of WandaVision minus its fragmented focus will be found in Agatha All Along. For now, it’s thrilling to see such a breath of fresh air in the MCU, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!
The first two episodes of Agatha All Along are now streaming on Disney+ with weekly episodes coming soon. What did you think about the premiere episodes? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus!
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