Witches rejoice, there’s finally a show for us in the Marvel universe with Agatha All Along!
The latest series from Marvel Studios follows Agatha Harkness after the events of WandaVision. Kathryn Hahn returns as the head witch in charge, though she finds herself a shadow of her former self. In an attempt to regain her former power she rallies a coven to assist her in traveling down the “Witches’ Road.” The Road is a gauntlet designed to test the worthiest witches and promises great reward to those who can make it to the end.
Agatha’s coven consists of a tapestry of representation without feeling performative. Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, and the legendary Patti LuPone all volunteer to wander with Agatha. She also finds herself intertwined with Joe Locke’s eager character named Teen, and Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal, a nemesis/potentially necessary ally.
Agatha and Rio’s relationship simmers with sapphic sexual tension. Locke’s Teen is also openly queer in the series. We raise a brew to the show for integrating these aspects without trying to turn it into a sideshow. Hahn and Plaza are able to nearly wordlessly establish a deep dynamic between the two characters and don’t get bogged down in expositional banter (though, like many shows in the genre, the series does end up relying a bit over much on some overly explanatory dialogue).
Aubrey Plaza stars in stars in Marvel's 'Agatha All Along.'Marvel Television
Agatha All Along features a bevy of Easter eggs and references to the character’s lore. She debuted in 1969, a few years after the X-Men (to date, still our greatest queer comics allegory) and from the same creators, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. While the character hasn’t always been the most well known, Hahn’s portrayal of her in WandaVision helped skyrocket her to popularity. Jac Schaeffer, who served as series creator and writer for both, helps shepherd this new series into its own so far charming (and sometimes terrifying) being. It still has the cheek and humor of WandaVision, but a word to the wise: If you’re going to dive into the series you'll need to be caught up on at least the Marvel Cinematic Universe to that point to have much of the new series make a modicum of sense.
Thankfully, there are limits to the amount of homework one has to do prior to diving into Agatha All Along. Schaeffer and co. seem to realize that this might appeal to a different corner of Marvel fans and keep things somewhat manageable (though if you want to deep dive, this will definitely contain treats, and perhaps tricks?). So far we’ve only been given the first four episodes to screen, but we found ourselves relishing in the efficiently established new characters, the lively stylistic choices, and the unraveling mystery.
The cast of Marvel's 'Agatha All Along.'Marvel Television
What spoke to us most though was the sense of found community amongst the newly formed coven. Agatha rallies a band of outsiders together to try to unite for a greater (albeit in this case somewhat selfish seeming) cause. If that’s not a queer allegory we don’t know what is. And as the series repeatedly calls out, magic users are not a monolith. Neither are LGBTQ+ folks, but like the witches of Agatha All Along, we understand we are more powerful together. The persecution of the wielders of the supernatural is also something that queer audiences will identify with. Witch trials and Lavender Scares could be somewhat interchangeable with the amount of trauma they cause their respective sufferers.
What we salute most about the series is that it doesn’t deal with these subjects with unskilled strokes. It knows the story it is telling and doesn’t feel the need to be ham-fisted about the underlying themes. That type of delicacy is often missing in broader fare like this, so it’s a refreshing blast of enchanting entertainment — and poised to become our favorite Marvel series yet!
The first two episodes of Agatha All Along are now streaming on Disney+. New episodes will debut weekly after that concluding in a two-part finale on October 30.
