In the years following “Avengers: Endgame,” the market has been oversaturated with Marvel movies and TV shows released at a rapid rate — often trading quality for quantity and resulting in lackluster CGI and character development. The studio’s newest series, “Agatha All Along,” released its first two episodes on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
The show’s titular character, Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), is one of the most powerful witches from Salem and was first introduced in the series “WandaVision.” Despite being Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch’s teacher in the comics, Agatha was brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as an adversary to the Scarlet Witch. After a dramatic face-off at the end of “WandaVision,” Agatha was stripped of her powers and left trapped inside a false reality in which she lives as an average citizen in the city of Westview.
Arriving just in time for Halloween, “Agatha All Along” follows Agatha as she is freed from the Scarlet Witch’s spell and embarks on a journey to regain the powers that were stolen from her by walking a mystical trail called The Witches Road, which is said to grant someone’s greatest desire, should they live to reach the end.
Believed by many to be nothing but a legend, Agatha must assemble a coven of witches to access the road, resulting in a main cast that is nothing less than stellar. Sasheer Zamata (“Home Economics”) is Jennifer Kale, Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) is Rio Vidal, Ali Ahn (“Supernatural”) is Alice Wu-Gulliver and Patti LuPone (“American Horror Story”) is Lillia Calderu. While all of them have some disdain for Agatha, they prove that characters do not have to like each other to have promising chemistry as a group.
As for Agatha herself, Hahn throws herself headfirst into the role, playing a character you cannot tell if you love or hate, but know that you cannot wait to see grow as the series progresses.
Another standout performance right out of the gate is Joe Locke (“Heartstopper”) as the enigmatic and unidentified teenage sidekick to Agatha, known only as “Teen.” Despite traveling along the road with the group, he is not technically part of the official coven, but balances Agatha’s more abrasive, self-serving personality extremely well.
In terms of production, the fears that the show would fall among Marvel’s many failures of CGI and overall production value appear to have been assuaged, at least for the time being. Having relied primarily on practical effects over CGI for the sets and stunts, the quality of the show is noticeably better than many of the studio’s recent works. The first two episodes also featured artful camera work and color palettes that further elevated the viewing experience.
Tonally, Agatha All Along has a fun mix of humor and intrigue with elements of mild horror that creates something that keeps the show from feeling like a typical “superhero/supervillain” show. While Agatha herself may be considered a “second-tier villain,” her character and endeavors are shaping up to be a refreshing improvement to the Marvel productions of recent years.
While they saw mixed feedback throughout the marketing campaign, with some saying the show was unnecessary and unwanted, the first two episodes saw impressive success, gaining a score of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.7/10 on IMDb upon their release.
Stream new episodes of Agatha All Along stream on Disney+ every Wednesday.