Agatha Harkness first appeared in Marvel Comics as the nanny of Franklin Richards the son of Reed and Sue Richards. She later appeared in West Coast Avengers to watch over the sons of Wanda Maximoff, The Scarlet Witch. She’s been mostly a throwaway, so it was strange that she was a big part of Wanda/Vision. As these things tend to do, the character portrayed by Kathryn Hahn caught on with fans of the MCU. Now she’s got her show called Agatha All Along. How covenant since that was a song played during Wanda/Vision that caught on as well.

When the series starts it picks up Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) still living in Westview as a police detective on suspension. Until her boss releases her to go investigate a dead body that was found in a ravine on the outskirts of town. With such a high profile case the FBI is brought in to assist on the case. Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza) is an FBI agent. When a kid tries to break into Agatha’s house and gets captured the true nature of Agatha’s situation is revealed. She’s been cursed and lost her powers. To get them back she has to form a Coven and travel the dangerous witches’ road.

Kathryn Hahn seems to be reveling in this character. She is doing so much stuff. The police detective character is serious and a hard ass then she goes into her witch role and she’s a bit different, but a lot of fun. I can see why she wanted to keep playing this character. She gets to flex so many different kinds of acting muscles in this role of Agatha. The least of which is she gets to sing again. She is fantastic opposite Plaza as well who looks to be the antagonist of the series early on. Plaza seems like the perfect foil for her. They have a good connection so far on screen.

Those aren’t the only cast members of this show though. The Coven of Witches that Agatha forms is filled with good character actresses. Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) Teen (Joe Locke), and Mrs Hart (Debra Jo Rupp) are all fun characters who go on this crazy journey with Agatha. The good thing is they have their own stories as well. Combined with Agatha’s story they fit together nicely and also have meaning to them.

This series is a nice extension to Wanda/ Vision. It shows that Agatha’s character had more to do. This may be a way into the dark side of the MCU. With only having seen four episodes so far I can see the writing on the wall. Kevin Feige likes to mix the characters like the comics do. So with that in mind, the show is heading down a darker path, no pun intended. This is just the middle chapter of this crazy character. I can’t wait to see Kathryn Hahn again soon. Maybe in the new Fantastic Four film or another movie featuring Wanda Maximoff. 

There are so many great technical aspects of this show. The best though are the makeup and hairstyling departments. They transform these characters into different variations of themselves from rich socialites to 70s rock gods. I loved seeing all the different costumes and hairstyles these characters wore. They brought me to a special place regarding where these characters ended up in this show.

With Agatha All Along catching on after  Wanda/Vision it makes sense that the writers of this series would come up with another catchy song  The Ballad of the Witches Road is going to be sung by everyone once the show starts airing this week on Disney Plus. I was singing along that’s for sure. There are two versions sung, but the second version which won’t be seen for a couple weeks was my favorite. It was a more intense version which proved to be a pivotal scene in the fourth episode.  

Agatha All Along is a terrific follow-up for the Agatha Harkness character, after her introduction in Wanda/Vision.  Hahn seems like she’s having a blast playing this role once again. Her interactions with the other actors in the cast were pretty entertaining to watch. She just has a certain quality that fits this character even when she isn’t herself. The technical aspects including the makeup and hairstyling and costumes were first-rate. The new song was very catchy and I’m sure a lot of people will sing it once they see the episodes. I enjoyed this show and I can’t wait to see where it goes after episode four.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen