Agatha All Along review: WandaVision's belated sequel recaptures MCU magic

The character's popularity peaked with the playful jingle from which this spin-off derives its name, which easily became a viral hit on pre-Musk Twitter (remember that?). While it's a shame that this show couldn't have come a bit sooner to better capitalise on that, Agatha All Along also feels like an advert for taking your sweet time on a project.

With so much MCU fare seeming woefully slap-dash these days – I'm looking at you Secret Invasion, Quantumania and The Marvels – it's a relief to see a project that was clearly thought about for more than 15 minutes before cameras started rolling. Who'd have thought that might be a good idea?

WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer is back in the driver's seat for this follow-up, which finds Agatha still living in the sleepy town of Westview after Wanda Maximoff locked the powerful sorceress into her suburbanite alter-ego. That curse appears to have weakened after the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, presenting a window for a certain goth teen to intervene.

Schaeffer's earlier MCU show grabbed the attention of viewers with its homages to sitcoms through the ages; an inventive framing device that propelled it to 23 Emmy nominations (a total that no Marvel show released since has come close to). It's no surprise then that Agatha All Along tips its cap (or witch's hat) to that approach in a memorable opening chapter.

Referencing the tortured antiheroes of True Detective and Mare of Easttown, the episode depicts Agatha as a jaded cop investigating the macabre case of a dead body found in the woods. It's essentially an abridged version of the WandaVision trick, speeding towards the eventual reawakening we all know to expect from the trailers.

One has to respect Schaeffer's obvious desire not to retread old ground, although admittedly it would have been nice to see her cast a parodical eye on some other prestige dramas before refocusing entirely. Indeed, the core focus of this show is a treacherous journey down the Witches' Road; an otherworldly place that could hold the key to reigniting Agatha's drained power.

Fans may have been dismayed by how Multiverse of Madness discarded some of WandaVision's hard-earned character development, but that hasn't stopped Schaeffer taking cues from the film's influential director: Sam Raimi. Certain camera tricks combined with the dark woodland aesthetic and a clear focus on practical effects help evoke the visceral thrills of Evil Dead.

Of course, this is a PG-13 (or 12A) rated Disney Plus series, so you shouldn't expect the same extreme heights of gore and terror, but genre fans will appreciate the care taken to give a suitably spooky edge to Agatha All Along. These touches should help it draw a reasonable crowd during the imminent Halloween season.

Hahn easily settles back into the title role as if no time has passed, with Schaeffer's scripts preserving the overt villainy of her character while adding never-before-seen nuance. Agatha All Along also welcomes several big names to the ever-growing roster of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza and Broadway legend Patti LuPone topping the bill.

It's Locke who has generated the most interest as a character referred to simply as 'Teen', with his true identity being one of the central mysteries of the show. Of course, Marvel fans have speculated that he could actually be Wanda's son, Billy, who goes on to become a magic-wielding superhero himself under the moniker of Wiccan.

He's also one of the publisher's most prominent gay characters, which is considered evidence by theorists given that Locke is openly gay himself and hails from Netflix's LGBTQ+ teen drama Heartstopper. My well-documented stance on that show is that it's hugely valuable to queer youth, but sometimes leaves a lot to be desired in the writing and acting departments.

Following Yasmin Finney's underwhelming turn in Doctor Who, I'll admit to being slightly concerned over whether Locke would be able to hold his own against three accomplished co-stars in Hahn, Plaza and LuPone. Fortunately, as of episode 4 (the last provided to press), he's doing a good job, putting enough distance between 'Teen' and Charlie Spring to allow them to stand on their own.

It's easily Plaza who steals the show, though. Her character, Agatha's rival Rio Vidal, is blessed with no less than three dramatic entrances, each one more elaborate than the last. Plaza embodies an air of unpredictable chaos that would make April Ludgate grin, with tantalisingly teased depths making her perhaps the most interesting figure on the show.

It's quite possible Schaeffer will be two-for-two on villains by the series finale. Perhaps we'll all be back in three years' time for Rio Really Rules or some other alliterative spin-off.

Surprisingly, by the halfway mark, LuPone's Lilia Calderu remains one of the least remarkable performances, while co-stars Sasheer Zamata and Ali Ahn are also yet to impress as fellow witches Jennifer Kale and Alice Wu-Gulliver.

In the case of LuPone, one has to wonder if she was drafted solely for the show's occasional musical numbers – there have been two so far, with more expected. I fear that these do leave the show open to trolling from certain viewers with a very narrow view of what a Marvel project can or should be, given how toxic the sci-fi and fantasy space has been in recent years.

I expect Schaeffer is not oblivious to that risk, but chose to roll the dice. That's fair enough – why should a creative comply to the whims of the intolerant? – but I do wish that more effort was taken to install defences against the inevitable potshots that these will provoke, beyond a somewhat flimsy in-universe explanation for why the characters are singing.

For the record, this writer is perfectly open to the prospect of musical numbers in the MCU, but the tracks (written by WandaVision songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez) are rather bland thus far. The on-screen presentation matches, usually amounting to little more than the actors standing around singing the song in full, with the odd cutaway or in-camera effect. It drags.

Coincidentally, that's a trait of many of the Disney Plus original Marvel shows, with many of them coming out of the gates strong, before stumbling into a mid-season slump. Having only seen four episodes (of nine), I can't confirm or deny whether Agatha All Along falls foul of the same issue, but notably I did find the last of those screeners to be the slowest and most repetitive.

I live in hope that it's merely a slight blip and that episode 5 will be a blistering resurgence. Time will tell. For now, Marvel fans can rest assured that Agatha All Along gets off to a solid start, maintaining a similar tone and quality level to WandaVision, while not relying on nostalgia from that years-old hit.

Hahn's delightfully devious witch might have been "messing up everything" in Wanda's hex, but she's now poised to help get the MCU back into fighting form – if the trolls don't get to it first.

Agatha All Along premieres on Disney Plus on Thursday 19th September. New episodes weekly.

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