The long-awaited spinoff to Marvel’s success of “WandaVision,” “Agatha All Along,” has finally been released with a two-episode premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 18. The Disney+ series features “WandaVision’s” Katherine Hahn, who has returned to play witch Agatha Harkness. Newcomers include Aubrey Plaza from “Parks and Recreation” and Joe Locke from “Heartstopper,” to name a few.
We last saw Agatha when “WandaVision” concluded back in 2021. In the finale, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) absorbs Agatha’s powers, which leads to Agatha having to stay as the innocent “Agnes” in which she started off as in “WandaVision.” After almost four years, Agatha is back and is looking for answers as to what happened to her and her witch powers.
The first episode starts off like a drama series with a mystery vibe. We see Agatha, or “Agnes,” as a detective trying to figure out the reason for a mysterious body that was found in Westview. We see familiar faces, such as Debra Jo Rupp and Emma Caulfield Ford from “WandaVision.”
We also meet Plaza’s character Rio Vidal, who is another detective and seemingly has a dark history with Agatha. After an amazing scene of Agnes continuously changing into different outfits she wore in “WandaVision,” we jump to Agnes returning back as Agatha Harkness, her true self. It is also revealed that the mysterious body happens to be Wanda’s since the name “W. Maximoff” appears in red on the card next to the body.
The second episode reveals that Joe Locke’s character “Teen” was the one who freed Agatha from Wanda’s enduring spell. We are taken along Agatha and Teen’s journey to create a new coven since Wanda removed Agatha’s original coven from her basement, as previously seen in “WandaVision.”
We meet the rest of the “Seven Witches,” consisting of Lilia Calderu (Patti Lupone), Jen Kale (Sasheer Zamata) and Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn). The second episode was easily more enjoyable than the first. There is more comedy, a musical aspect and a cliffhanger ending to get fans ready for episode three debuting next Wednesday, Sept. 25.
Fans have taken to X to share their excitement for the new Marvel series. User @joedeckelmeier has shared that the premiere is “…a delightful mix of Hocus Pocus & The Wizard of Oz, with a hint of horror and loads of comedy.” @BELLA_SNOWDEN has stated “…The Acting by these incredible Actresses is some of the best by the MCU.”
After Marvel’s last hit “Deadpool and Wolverine” and season two of “Loki,” Marvel fans started feeling some hope after a few failed projects such as “Secret Invasion” and “The Marvels.” With the new Agatha Harkness series, Marvel fans might not have to worry this time.
“Agatha All Along” brings a similar charm as “WandaVision” had. Most importantly, the musical scene and comedy are two things “WandaVision” was known for, especially since one of the songs from “WandaVision,” the namesake of the Agatha series, won an Emmy for the outstanding original music and lyrics category in 2021.
“Agatha All Along” will continue to stream on Disney+ every Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. EST until Oct. 30.
4/5 stars
jcaramag@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @marvelstdios, Instagram
