Marvel series hits are few and far between, but Agatha All Along delivers beautifully. It is no secret that Marvel has been struggling lately with their content. Both their series and films seem to have suffered from the constant production pressure and the power creep of the Marvel Multiverse. Lucky for us series lovers, Agatha All Along seems to have gotten some freedom to mostly detach itself from the universe and do its own thing. While being connected to Marvel's WandaVision, the series is mostly standalone, and surprisingly devoid of superheroes. Getting into it, I only knew the basic plot points of WandaVision and that was more than enough to understand what was happening. Well, to the extent you are supposed to, anyways, because this series throws the viewer for a loop more than once.
Besides a great cast, the show looks good and sounds even better
So what is it about? This is a relatively complicated question to answer. In the basics, the series deals with the aftermath that Agatha (Kathryn Hahn, Tiny Beautiful Things) faces after the events in WandaVision. She is left without power, and hopes to gain that back by traveling down the Witches’ Road. In order to do that, she needs a coven of witches, to face the different trials. Encouraged by a teenager dubbed ‘Teen’ (Joe Locke, Heartstopper), she finds her coven and goes down, down, down the road, down the witches’ road.
The road itself is wild and full of twists and magic, just like the story. Do not expect straightforward storytelling, and also don’t take what is shown at face value. The height of this show’s storytelling capabilities come to the fore in episode seven, which is fantastic. But in general, towards the end of the season, the different story pieces will fall into place quite well.
Unfortunately, the end is also in a sense a bit anticlimactic. Writing this a few days after finishing the show, I am in all honesty still not entirely sure if I liked the final twist or not. Nonetheless, the ride was worth it most definitely, if only for the great cast. Hahn plays the anti-hero flawlessly, and keeps you guessing: is she evil or not? Are we supposed to like her? She is supported by a great Locke and coven of witches. While it takes some time to warm up to some of them, the end will have you liking them. A special mention should go to Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), who shines as Rio Vidal, a witch with a dark edge.
Besides this great cast, the show looks good and sounds even better. The ballad of the Witches’ Road is a banger, and makes it way into every episode. Be warned though: it gets stuck in your head quite easily.
The show's strength lies to an extent in its move away from the multiverse, away from superheroes
So we end up with one of Marvel’s stronger shows, up there along Marvel's Loki, Marvel's Moon Knight and Marvel's WandaVision. Its strength lies to an extent in its move away from the multiverse, away from superheroes. The story is also suitable for television; this was clearly written for TV, rather than a movie stretched out over a few episodes. A lower budget therefore does not have to mean lower quality.
Overall, Agatha All Along is a nice show to watch. Not because Agatha is so likable – she is not - but because you want to understand what is happening, and know where this is going. We can only hope that Disney and Marvel learn something from this experience.
About the writer, Nienke de Boode
She started with watching NCIS, CSI and Bones, but over time her passion for TV shows has grown to what it is today, with dozens of shows that need to be watched. You can always wake her up for a good crime show, but she is also open to different things. Comedy and fantasy are on her list of favourites as well. Since October 2014, she also writes for MySeries to combine her love for TV shows and writing.
