Review: Maiden, Mother, Crone
Marvel’s Agatha All Along is full of sparkling sapphic witchery, drama, and Aubrey Plaza
The Yearning Rating: ✰✰✰✰
Romance: ✰✰✰½
Sex: ✰✰½
Storytelling: ✰✰½
Performance: ✰✰✰✰½
Yearning: ✰✰✰✰✰
Don’t be such a witch–like this post!
There will be no spoil, spoil, toil and trouble here!
Written by Meg Steinfeld-Heim
I am not a Marvel girl (much to the dismay of my comic-obsessed boss). It just doesn’t…do much for me? The story worlds are overwhelmingly complicated (for me) and beloved by (passionate, smart) people that can defend a point so intensely that I forget what my own is. Sure, I love a good Iron Man and Spider-Man movie, who doesn’t? And sure, I had to do a quick Google search to confirm that those are both Marvel and not DC. I’m being vulnerable, don’t bully me!
As Halloween Gay Christmas draws nearer, I felt inspired by the holiday season to write about something spooky. And I’d heard that Agatha All Along was worth the watch. I hemmed and hawed about the Marvel of it all for awhile, but, I am here to say: I have braved the Witches’ Road and found that it is good.
Agatha All Along is an expansion of the MCU’s (Marvel Cinematic Universe, see, I’m getting it!) Wandavision. The titular Agatha Harkness is an OG, first appearing in the Marvel comic book Fantastic Four #94 (October, 1969). She’s a centuries old, powerful dark witch whose roots date all the way back to the Salem Witch Trials. This story picks up right as Agatha is coming out from under a spell, cast by Wanda, that has made her forget her magical identity. Instead, she moves mechanically through the motions of a sad crime drama in the suburb of Westview, New Jersey as the town’s decorated-but-volatile police detective.
(By the way, I haven’t watched Wandavision and don’t feel lost at all while watching Agatha All Along. They do a good job of filling in the blanks for new viewers while not getting too in the weeds.)
There are two key players involved in lifting the spell on Miss Harkness: a tricky yet precocious, heavily eyelined teen (Joe Locke of Heartstoppers) and a sultry, dangerous, hot, knife-wielding witch named Rio (obviously played by Aubrey Plaza). Agatha is played IMPECCABLY (!!!) by American Treasure Kathryn Hahn, who at any given moment effortlessly flits between humorous quips, furious glares, a calculated coolness, brazenly violent outbursts, and sarcasm. Always sarcasm. The second this spell is lifted, you understand instantly who Agatha is (and if you’re like me, you’re obsessed). This cast is also casually stacked with Patti LuPone (?!), who plays Lilia, a Divination Witch down on her luck. Evan Peters is even kicking around in this as a kooky Reddit guy. We’re having fun here!
I’m loving Agatha All Along because its a black comedy meshed perfectly with a very interesting fantasy plot. As soon as Agatha wakes up, she realizes she’s in trouble. Her powers are missing, and a few very scary witches from her past are on their way to right some wrongs. The lore of the Witches’ Road is woven into the first two episodes–is it just the fictional place mentioned in the beloved witchkin song known as “The Ballad” or is it…real? The Road promises that, if you can make it there alive, whatever you’re missing will be waiting for you at its end. I gotta know what's at the end of this road, man!
In a way that I think is pretty characteristic of the Marvel style (weigh in on this in the comments if you have thoughts), some of the storytelling in Agatha All Along can be very convenient, even blunt at times. You had chemistry with that scary FBI agent at the police station, Agatha? Well, don’t worry, she’ll stop by your house later tonight, uninvited, with a pizza. And a summoning spell for the “right fit for the coven” can bring that missing main character from Episode 1 to join up with the group about 30 seconds later. If you decide to watch this, I’d prescribe a healthy dose of acceptance when it comes to the straightforwardness of moments like this. Maybe it's the Disneyification of the Marvel world calling for this excessive obviousness? Again, I’m not an expert, but would love to hear your thoughts as long as you’re nice to me about them <3
Despite this, the performances in these first six episodes are all so good; in particular I am blown away by Plaza, LuPone, and Hahn (hot takes, I know). They each, in turn, navigate the more on-the-nose moments with humor and finesse. I didn’t know I needed to see Aubrey Plaza’s eyes light up and go full demon voice, but I did, and so I watched it about four times in a row. And it’s been really personally gratifying for me to get grounded in a new fantasy world; Agatha All Along is like a salve for those of us who struggle to emotionally let go of other more…problematic…fantasy series from our childhoods. I will love again <3
I must also bring to your attention to Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza’s undeniable onscreen chemistry. Rio and Agatha are like the walking definition of it’s complicated, and also, we’re both evil, and we’re both into that kind of thing. They drive each other crazy. They threaten violence, then stare at each other hungrily. They are maladaptive yearning, come to life. Rio references some “good old days” that I am personally begging for a flashback of. They’re both just so hot!! It’s worth watching Agatha All Along solely for them! At six episodes in, I’m hoping that the final three will include further development of their story. Aubrey Plaza is everywhere right now (I just wrote about her performance in My Old Ass) and I can’t get enough. Also, I have the Ballad stuck in my head.
The first seven episodes of Agatha All Along are streaming on Disney+. New episodes air on Wednesdays.
Marvel / Disneyfication is so real yet this show (also wandavision) are good enough that I’ll forgive it
Thank you so much taking the jump down the witch's road. So happy to see this pop up on TY today <3