‘Agatha All Along’ series premiere review: Kathryn Hahn’s campy resurgence is burdened by Marvel’s waning spell

A still from ‘Agatha All Along’
| Photo Credit: Marvel Studios

Following the breakout success of Kathryn Hahn’s deliciously sinister Agatha Harkness in Marvel’s WandaVision, Agatha All Along was destined to ride the Emmy-winning coattails of its coven mother’s success. Alas, its fumbling two-episode premiere quickly loses steam, delivering a tacky misfiring of witch tropes that is egregiously underwhelming.

There’s a frustrating sense that the series is aware of its limitations, but chooses to lean into them rather than transcend them. It starts with a self-referential homage to Mare of Easttown, with Hahn’s Agatha playing a grizzled small-town detective —  a spitting image of Kate Winslet’s eponymous character — throwing herself into a True Detective-like quest for the truth that feels amusing to witness play out in the MCU. The choice is certainly ambitious, perhaps even clever in how it plays with expectations, but instead of sinking its teeth into that idea, the series abandons it almost as quickly as it appears, when the pilot abruptly shifts gears.

The show then picks up where WandaVision left off, with Agatha still trapped in her suburban persona, living as the nosy neighbor Agnes in the sleepy town of Westview. Unfortunately, Agatha All Along doesn’t seem to know what to do with itself once the curtains rise. There’s potential here, but it’s soon buried beneath a heap of corny one-liners and clichés that seem less self-aware and more lazily overdone.

A still from ‘Agatha All Along’
| Photo Credit:
Marvel Studios

One could argue that the show’s intent was always to embrace its own absurdity, but where WandaVision cleverly wove in mystery, pathos and some semblance of stakes, Agatha All Along falls flat in every attempt to be more than just a series of visual gags.

It’s not that the series lacks charm. Hahn, as expected, is a menacing delight. Her titular turn is simultaneously sharp-tongued and world-weary, and a screen-saving presence. But even her sardonic proclamation that “babies are delicious,” can’t compensate for the shortcomings in the writing. Much like the constrained reality her character finds herself trapped in, the show itself feels stuck — hemmed in by the demands of the franchise it is part of, and the need to stay marketable to a younger, wider audience.

Without prior knowledge of WandaVision’s conclusion, Agatha’s motivations and backstory that suddenly involves walking the fabled Witches’ Road is… murky at best, inscrutable at worst. There’s no emotional weight behind her desire to reclaim her powers, nor is there a compelling antagonist (yet) to drive the conflict forward. Conversely, Marvel has somehow simultaneously also made the stakes of Agatha’s journey feel disconnected from the larger MCU, almost as if this were a footnote that never needed telling in the first place.

A still from ‘Agatha All Along’
| Photo Credit:
Marvel Studios

The series also feels stuck in a visual limbo, unsure whether it wants to be a nostalgic homage to the ‘90s campy, Goosebumps-style vibe or something altogether new, inevitably resulting in a bland, generic aesthetic that never quite matches the zaniness of its central character. A refreshing takeaway however is Christoph Beck and Michael Paraskevas’ teasing original score.

The supporting cast includes Heartstopper’s Joe Locke as an endearing fanboy sidekick, whose purpose in the story is still a bit hazy; Aubrey Plaza’s brief appearance as the sultry Rio Vidal is another colourful addition that soon gets lost in the shuffle of what’s yet to come.

Occasionally enjoyable but mostly forgettable, Agatha All Along is yet another product on an assembly line that’s finally starting to creak. Marvel’s once-thrilling brand of storytelling is teetering on the edge of a dull, soulless demise, and Agatha might just be the final proof that the magic is all but spent.

The first two episodes of Agatha All Along are currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar with new episodes every Friday