The revelation that purple-suited witch Agatha Harkness was the secret antagonist of "WandaVision" was a pleasantly surprising twist for the flawed yet entertaining Disney+ miniseries. Her long-awaited spin-off series, "Agatha All Along," is a testament to Kathryn Hahn's skills. Still, ultimately, it's another Marvel TV show that fails to cast a bewitching spell, let alone justify its existence.
Three years after the events of "WandaVision," Agatha (Hahn) remains trapped under Wanda's spell in Westview, New Jersey, where she unknowingly acts as a lead protagonist in another genre series. Similar to "WandaVision"'s format, the premiere takes on the style of a humorous and stylish premium-channel true crime parody, as if Harkness is auditioning for the next season of "True Detective." But that's not until her psyche is infiltrated by a gothic, curly-haired teen referred to only as Teen (Joe Locke), who brings her back into the real world. Though she rebuffs Teen's assistance at first, he eventually becomes her familiar. Despite overcoming the curse, Agatha remains powerless without her magical abilities, which Wanda stole from her. She can only regain her magic by assembling a coven and traveling to a mystical realm called The Witches' Road, where she faces a series of trials.
Agatha ends up recruiting a ragtag group of worn-out, reluctant ally witches. These include Sicilian divination witch Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone); canceled beauty influencer and potions expert Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata); a guardian witch that harbors a tragic past named Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn); a mysterious yet feisty warrior called Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza); and the powerless Westview resident, Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp).
With the powerful cast conjured straight out of a queer theater kid's dream journal, "Agatha All Along" is sometimes held together by the ensemble's natural skill set and camaraderie. Hahn, LuPone, Plaza, and the rest of the cast channel their respective skills and natural comic spirit, infusing a welcoming, campy flair unlike any other MCU title. It's as if showrunner Jac Schaeffer wanted to bring a "Hocus Pocus"-like atmosphere to the MCU, and Agatha does so in a stylish and visually appealing manner. Some praise is also due to Daniel Selon's ("Thor: Love & Thunder") costume design, which ensures everyone's magical wardrobe is as powerful and devilishly illuminating as the actresses donning the suits. It's a great change of pace compared to the usual Marvel fan-service slop, wherein dude-bros scream over a comic-accurate appearance.
"AAA" tonally hearkens (haha) back to the early days of 2000s fantasy television, when shows like "Charmed," "Buffy," and "Supernatural" thrived. However, "Agatha" is not a 22-episode series and isn't interested in exploring the large ensemble of witches it promotes. Ultimately, it faces the signature Marvel curse of emphasizing story over character. The four episodes available to press go through the derivative Point-A-to-B structure, featuring one-note characters traveling to a CGI world. And because the episode count is so minimal, the story's flow is frantic, leaving pieces of potential regarding character scattered in its path.
If it had been made 20 years ago, "Agatha All Along" would have been one of those shows airing on ABC Family, possibly drawing a large demographic without the Marvel Cinematic Universe attachment. There, it would've had the opportunity to explore tone and character in a traditional network TV season. As is, it never feels like you're getting to know these witches on any personal level, Agatha included. It's disappointing that talents such as Hahn, LuPone, Zamata, and Plaza seem to settle for paper-thin material, considering their spirited abilities.
Four episodes screened for review. The first episode is now on Disney+.
