Agatha All Along Review

Agatha All Along
Starring: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Patti Lupone, Jennifer Kale
Streaming on: Disney Plus

Who remembers the days of WandaVision? When we all waited each week and theorized (often wrongly) on what would happen next with Wanda Maximoff and Vision in the town of Westview? Those were good times. Following the hype of WandaVision, a spin-off was in order for Westview’s resident witch Agatha Harkness.

Agatha All Along follows Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and Teen (Joe Locke) as they assemble a Coven to travel down the treacherous Witches’ Road.
Just like WandaVision, a lot is going on in this show. The genre shifts frequently from comedy to horror to musical. (Yes, there is singing.) Some of it is campy fun and some of it doesn’t work…like the many attempted comedic one-liners (in true Marvel fashion.)

Showrunner Jac Shaeffer (who also helmed WandaVision) begins the show with a creative framing device. The first episode, “Seekest Thou The Road” cleverly plays into small-town mystery procedurals like True Detective and Mare of Easttown. In the episode, “Agnes” believes she is a detective solving a high-stakes murder investigation. Everything is turned upside down when the seemingly familiar Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza) shows up. It isn’t long before Agnes realizes that her detective persona is a facade and Agatha resurfaces.
Episode Two, “Circle Sewn With Fate/Unlock the Hidden Door” documents Agatha and Teen’s attempts to recruit a Coven to travel the Witches’ road. They meet up with some interesting characters including Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp), and Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata).

Kathryn Hahn steps right back into the role of Agatha like no time has passed. She was a scene stealer in WandaVision and has no problem taking the lead in Agatha All Along. Hahn is wildly theatrical and entertaining.
Joe Locke is a good addition as Teen, Agatha’s eager sidekick, hoping to learn all that he can about Covens. Locke and Hahn have endearing mentor/sidekick chemistry that is a bright spot in the show.

Agatha All Along is sure to be a popular series among those who like the darker side of Halloween. Its early episodes try to bring magic and scares (plus a little singing) to the Marvel universe, but the tonal shifts and clumsy one-liners often fall flat.