Agatha All Along

Disney+/Marvel Television

Publisher’s Summary:

The infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road…

Review:

I finished Agatha All Along and enjoyed it. However, I don’t think anyone would be able to understand it if they missed Wanda/Vision. It has a lot of point of view jumping which helps fill in some histories of the characters, but not a lot. I found myself heading to ComicVine and YouTube to get more details. If you don’t want to research what makes Agatha Harkness deserving of her own show, here’s the short and sweet version:

Agatha, a powerful witch from Salem, ends up being the nanny for Sue and Reed Richards to care for their son, Franklin (this is not part of the show). At some point, she leaves that job for magical endeavors. She gets back to being a nanny for Wanda and Vision’s magically-born twins, Billy and Tommy. Agatha then becomes Wanda’s full-time teacher and mentor of witchcraft. Wanda ends up more powerful than her mentor which is a thorn in Agatha’s side (also a massive danger to the entire universe).

The Salem Seven are the children or descendants of Agatha’s coven—the first and only real coven she had (in the show anyway). She thrives on gaining power and—like an energy vampire you could say—drains witches of their powers; but, the caveat is those powers have to be freely given. I’d argue that attacking Agatha with a magical burst of energy is not the same thing as giving her one’s magic freely, but I did not get to write this show nor the comics. When Agatha is attacked by witches, she essentially sucks them dry of their magic and life even if it’s her own coven. As a witch-killer, her son is often used as bait and that’s where Agatha’s real history and the myths and legends about her and Nicholas germinate into tales people tell. It leaves no one knowledgeable about her real history or the origin of the Witches’ Road. Needless to say, The Salem Seven want to avenge their parents so they chase this show’s slap-dash coven of strangers throughout their walk on The Road.

The show gets props for creating an incredibly catchy song (maybe there’s an Emmy for that). I had to look up all the versions of the ballad I could find. The one that seems to be missing is the “draft” version Nicky sang originally when he called it the “winding road” not the “witches’ road.” Lorna Wu’s version to protect her daughter seems to be a favorite among internet commenters. I also didn’t find any version where Agatha insists the phrase is “coven two” rather than “coven true.” Yet that was a significant moment about the song’s origin before the audience is let in on the reveal.

Darkest hour, wake thy power
Earthly and divine
Burn and brew with coven true
And glory shall be thine

I have never been disappointed by Kathryn Hahn in anything. This show proves she can range from comedic to dramatic all in the same show. Agatha Harkness the character falls into that grey space of being both good and bad.

Aubrey Plaza seemed to enjoy being a magical lesbian character with great costumes. She fit this role much better than her guest role on Criminal Minds. The only problem I had is how they introduce her as an enemy and a green witch (earth powers), but then completely change the whole green witch aspect into something else entirely. Her character is called Rio Vidal which you might easily deduce means “River of Life” or just “river” and “life/vitality,” but basically that’s a big spoiler if I tell you why. If you want the spoiler, go to ComicVine.

I also forgot Hahn and Plaza were in Parks and Rec together!

If you’ve never seen Sasheer Zamata, she is also fantastic at comedy. She has at least two stand-up comedy specials on YouTube. Her character Jen Kale has her own arc as a nearly powerless witch when Agatha recruits her to walk The Witches’ Road. Jen has been trapped in a binding spell for a century and will risk her life to walk The Road if it means she might get her full powers back. Having an African-American woman cursed by a binding is a tremendously in-your-face statement about slavery and how African people were denied their religions and traditions by colonizers. Jennifer Kale’s special talent is potions which ties directly to real descendants of enslaved people hiding their customs in syncretized practices like Hoodou and Vodou—root magick. I am surprised that connection didn’t make her an “earth” witch but rather a “potions” witch. I suppose the writers needed some wiggle room because when the coven doesn’t have an earth witch, Agatha tells Jen her abilities are the closest ones in comparison.

Patti LuPone is an entertainment legend. Getting the chance to sing the Ballad of the Witches’ Road alongside other talented women and in fact, tying that song into the plot as a major storytelling element, gives all of the cast a chance to showcase their singing. One might argue the most interesting scene of them singing together is when they get a trial that sets them in the 1970’s. Every time a trial changes era, so do the costumes and scenery. LuPone plays Lilia Calderu, an interesting character with actual magical ability—the “air” witch—who pretends to be the type of psychic with a storefront that I think nearly every town in New Jersey has. Most people think Lilia is mentally ill though. Her charade is that of a carnival psychic. A crystal ball. A statue of phrenology. Neon lights. Beaded curtains. Tarot cards. But Lilia is a kind soul and not the type of witch who would normally give Agatha the time of day. Lilia already presents herself as a crone in witchcraft’s necessary maiden, mother, crone triad. Lilia brings balance to Billy’s youthful presence (he’s often referred to only as “Teen” until Agatha figures out who he really is).

Ali Ahn plays Alice Wu, the daughter of a witch who was famous for singing a particular version of the Ballad of the Witches’ Road therein creating the most well-known version of the ballad. In singing this song publicly, it put her and her daughter Alice at risk. Alice, however, is a “protection witch” who is also extremely reluctant to form any kind of coven with Agatha. Yet, if she gets through the walking the Witches’ Road, she’ll allegedly be able to visit her dead mother.

I hate to leave out Debra Jo Rupp who played Mrs. Hart. There isn’t much to say other than she is great at her job even though she’s typecast in the Mom roles for everything. Mrs. Hart is sweetly naive, not a witch, and oblivious to the danger she’s in when Agatha drags her along.

From a strictly feminist perspective: the cast has diverse women (openly gay subplots) and one gay white teen boy (Wiccan/Billy/Teen played by Joe Locke). It was deceptive that the show is titled Agatha All Along when it ends up being about Billy All Along. Yay for gay-friendly! But yes, another white male character is really the focal point. Agatha and her son’s history are done well, leaving Billy out of it for a while. The title of Agatha All Along never made sense anyway because Westview was the glamour of Wanda, not Agatha.

There’s never any hint of who the real father of Nicholas Scratch (Agatha’s son) was other than gossip and folklore that was passed down to besmirch Agatha’s name. This grates on me a bit since it was Agatha who stated that Wanda’s twins were conjured because Vision would not be able to procreate like a human. Viewers get to learn that origin but not the origin of her own son.

If you liked Wanda/Vision, definitely give Agatha All Along a shot. As stated, if you missed Wanda/Vision, this probably won’t make much sense at all other than a basic plot about witches walking a path that presents them with trials in order to get a prize at the end. Because so much hinges on Wanda/Vision and Marvel lore, I have to ding it down to four stars.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.