Review of the series «Agatha All Along»

On October 30, the final two episodes of the fantasy series «Agatha All Along», which is a spinoff of the experimental retro sitcom «WandaVision», released in 2021. In total, this is the eleventh show in the immortal Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the review below, we will figure out why this achievement does not bring a smile to your face.

Pluses:

the presence of really funny jokes that don't overshadow the story; the character of Aubrey Plaza; a nice Halloween vibe (read — authentic atmosphere);

Minuses:

uninteresting characters, including the title character; the plot is also hardly exciting; the existence of the project in the Marvel universe looks extremely doubtful;

4.5/10

Rating
ITC.ua

«Agatha All Along»

Genre dark fantasy
Showrunner Jack Schaefer
Starring Katherine Hahn, Joe Locke, Debra Jo Rapp, Aubrey Plaza, Sashir Zamata, Ali Ahn, Patty Lupone, Evan Peters
Premiere Disney+
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb

After Wanda Maximoff charmed her sitcom neighbor, who is actually a wicked witch named Agatha Harkness, the latter identified herself a true detective and entered the imaginary world of police investigations. After existing in this state for three years (three seasons?), Agatha meets her colleague Rio Vidal and the mysterious teenager William Kaplan. With their help, the witch comes to understand the real state of affairs, and the magic of Wanda, who is probably died are no longer relevant.

After recovering from a long detective trip, Agatha realizes that she has lost her powers. Now she aims to form a new coven to pass all the trials on the Witch’s Road and regain her lost abilities. Together with William, who pursues his own goals, the protagonist gathers a company of suffering witches and sets off on a dangerous journey full of adventures.At the very beginning of «Agatha All Along», the viewer is presented with a noir police detective, but it is obvious that the show only pretends to be that. In fact, it is mostly a Halloween dark fantasy with elements of comedy, which can hardly be called justified within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In fact, there is almost no trace of standard superheroics here, but the series is not the kind of saving alternative that could claim to be a breath of fresh air for the tireless movie franchise. Rather, it will pass for an unfortunate vestige.

In general, the genre as such doesn’t have many maneuvers left to surprise today. To be fair, «Agatha All Along» barely qualifies as a superhero, and it doesn’t set itself high goals.

Here you have to play either a proven trump card that can still work — absolutely audacious and cheating fanservice, as the authors did «Deadpool & Wolverine». Either bright characters with adequate motivation and well-written characters within the genre; this way they will at least be remembered. Or by rethinking the genre itself, which Marvel is definitely not capable of in its current state. Unfortunately, «Agatha All Along» cannot boast of any exciting or nostalgic appearances, or interesting characters, and even less of hints of genre reinvention. Although Kathryn Hahn has transformed herself well into the image of a treacherous witch, the character herself does not evoke any feelings and cannot claim a sincere audience response. The same Loki performed by Hiddleston, with a single left hand, puts the seemingly helpless Agatha on the spot in terms of charisma and literally outshines her.

There is no point in even mentioning the other actors, they are so faded and inexpressive. Only Patty Lupone’s line is more or less sane, and the fiery and slightly creepy Aubrey Plaza is the one who really gives off real emotions and fuels this witchy hotbed of longing and sadness with appropriate energy.

Of course, «Agatha All Along» is clearly not charged with the ambitions of an average Marvel blockbuster: for comparison, the budget of «WandaVision» was $150 million, while only $40 million was spared for the spinoff. But the project does not look good even against the backdrop of unsuccessful shows such as «She-Hulk: Attorney at Law» or «Secret Invasion». It is completely unclear why fans of the superhero universe/genre should watch it. And it’s not exactly a must-see for a neutral viewer.

The show looks adequate only as a Halloween quest with nice props, or as a separate trifle with a nice Halloween vibe. However, it is definitely not viable within the framework of MCU.

If you like to watch someone go through quests, then it probably has a right to live. Otherwise, get an episode where weird aunts hallucinate terribly from wine, which also disfigures their appearance. Or the one where they are literally tortured with a song. The thing is, you don’t have to spend 5-6 hours in front of the screen to experience such adventures. To take a look at the desperate ladies who drink dubious stuff and spoil their appearance, watch «The Substance». For annoying songs in a conventional movie comic, we already have «Joker: Folie à Deux». And to watch women who have had too much wine, just visit Friday karaoke. Among the surprises — the frame features cosplay images of popular characters — the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the North (they will be seen on the big screens in the musical fantasy «Wicked», which starts in theaters on November 21), and its own version The Evil Queen. And how can we not mention the real star of this show — believe me, you have never seen such a Maleficent. The contrast with Angelina Jolie’s image is striking.

In short, call Thanos and let him clean up those abundant rows of Marvel characters again. After all, he didn’t snap his fingers heroically Tony Stark, I don’t want this universe to be a messy masquerade after him.

Conclusion:

As a separate seasonal product «for Halloween» in a television format — it will be useful to someone, so be it. As part of the MCU — another piece of junk within a universe that is already showing signs of life less and less.