Agatha All Along

Film: Agatha All Along

Year: 2024

Directors: Rachel Goldberg, Gandja Monteiro and Jac Schaeffer

Writers: Peter Cameron, Laura Donney, Gia King, Laura Monti, Jason Rostovsky, Giovanna Sarquis, Jac Schaeffer and Cameron Squires

Starring: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke and Sasheer Zamata

Review:

This was a show that I decided to check out as I continue to work through the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was interesting that in the beginning, I was only going to watch the movies. Finally signing up for Disney+ due to having children swayed me to take advantage of watching the shows. I enjoyed WandaVision and this is a spin-off from there, which intrigued me. I decided to do a full review as this is borderline horror. It also becomes a Foray through the Fours watch.

Synopsis: a spell-bound Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) regains freedom thanks to a teens’ help. Intrigued by his plea, she embarks on the Witches’ Road trials to reclaim her powers and discover the teen’s motivations.

We start this off like an episode of WandaVision. Agnes O’Connor (Hahn) is a detective who is called out to a crime scene. A woman was found in the woods. She is bothered by what she sees and there’s a nagging feeling there is more to this crime. It is during this investigation that she meets a federal agent, Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza). They are discussing the case when they hear something upstairs. Agnes goes to look and there is a burglar. She gives chase and ends up catching him. They go to the police station where something weird happens.

This burglar is called Teen (Joe Locke). Agnes asks him his name soon after and there is a spell that prevents her from hearing it. He does a chant of his own and it breaks the facade that Agnes is living, revealing her true nature of Agatha. She remembers that she’s a witch and this boy has talent, breaking the spell of Wanda aka The Scarlet Witch. His reasoning is that he wants to walk the witches’ road with her, hoping to find true power.

There is a rumor amongst the witch community that Agatha is the only surviving witch to have walked the road. This is partially why Teen sought her out. A coven is needed to conjure it and then to survive the different trials. Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) is sought to divine the names, which includes her. She knows Agatha, also not a fan, but she’s more included than they realize. The other names are Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), who lost her power while still being able to do potions, Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) and Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp). These last two do not have powers. Alice did at one point, but lost herself after her mother passed away, walking the road.

The truth of how this group is connected and the things they’re not sharing will drive them apart. It will also bring them together as they come to terms with everything to walk the Witches’ Road.

That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Now let me flesh out more why I’m doing this review. This isn’t listed as horror for its main genres on the Internet Movie Database or Letterboxd. We get witches doing spells and putting curses on people. That doesn’t automatically make it horror, I will say that. There are things like demons, possession, monsters and a cult that follows our coven. Plus, Death appears as a character later in the show. It is also dark in tone at times, while balancing it with comedy and drama. This would be an interesting one to show a child that might be intrigued by horror, so I’m considering it gateway.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let me delve deeper into what we’re getting. Sticking with the darker elements we get a different look at witchcraft and the power that can come from it. Being that this is a Marvel property, which makes sense. What we’ll learn is one of the reasons that Agatha is disliked by the witch community is that she absorbs other witches’ powers until they’re drained. Bad things happened to her to lead her to being what she is now. I do like that she is humanized by her trauma and makes her a gray character. Hahn balances the drama and comedy well. Her snark makes it work so well.

The community is where I’ll go next. Jennifer, Alice and Lilia are all leery of Agatha, knowing her reputation. She does nefarious things to sway them, including when Rio shows up later, throwing her under the bus. Witches through history are said to work as a coven. The trio here want to. Agatha is a lone wolf. I’ve said there’s a reason there, but I love exploring how suffering can push people away from fitting in. This is a different way of looking at this entity of the witch.

There are other good things here with character development. This show in a roundabout way is a redemption story for Agatha. To avoid being redundant, this does show why she is as hardened as she is. She also does good things to help those around her, when it helps her. The final episode is interesting in the development done there. There is grief and loss throughout this show as well. What I like is that none of the characters are safe. We don’t see that a lot today. That made me more invested to see what would happen next. Maternal bonds and resisting them also get explored here.

To then sum up the rest here briefly. There is a heavy LGBTQ+ representation, which I can see people complaining about this being ‘woke’. Get over it is all I’ll say there. This explores queer identity in multiple facets. Another thing I found interesting is using different witches throughout media and pop culture. It is for laughter at times but also makes sense for the different trials they face. Also, here I’ll say that we get a 1980s section, where it feels like a summer camp slasher. There is possession, a demon and Ouija board. That was fun. A lot of time and thought went into what they’re doing here.

Let’s then shift over to the acting performances. I’ve already said that Hahn is good here. She gets to show such a range from villain to comedy to developing heart. I’ll credit her as this might be the best all-around performance. Being that this is a television show, which helps since it gave her the time to work and develop. Locke was solid in his role. What I love there are the details as to who he is. Zamata, Ahn and LuPone are great as the coven members. I love the cameos by Rupp and Plaza. There are more that get used but everyone rounded this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I’ll say that the cinematography and framing are great. Being able to bring these different magical places to life. Whether it is a modern house in a place that doesn’t fit or making something that is nightmarish come to life. Going between different eras was also a good touch. The effects were also solid. There are practical makeup jobs that are fun. Incorporating in different witches from cartoons, television shows and just wherever else you find them. There is CGI, especially for magic and powers. Those weren’t overly used. This has Disney money so it looked good. The soundtrack was also good. I love this ‘Witches’ Road’ song. The truth behind it is great. This all worked in its favor to fit the vibe and build tension.

In conclusion, I ended up liking this better than I expected. On the surface level, this is entertaining. The acting is good across the board. I love all the references from different witches that get incorporated in. This is also well-made. The cinematography, framing, effects and the musical selections are factoring in there. This also has interesting themes and things that it explored, to add more for those that want to explore that. I'm curious as to how this will factor into the larger MCU. I’d recommend it to those that enjoy witches, want to see strong female characters or just completionists.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10