So, have you been tuning into Agatha All Along on Disney+? If not, oh boy, you’re seriously missing out on some wonderfully thrilling television! The series follows the captivating Agatha Harkness, played with absolute flair by Kathryn Hahn—yes, that enigmatic antagonist from WandaVision. This time, she’s not just hanging around but assembling a coven and diving headfirst into a quest to reclaim her former powers and unlock the well-guarded secrets of the Darkhold.
What really sets this show apart, reminiscent of its predecessor WandaVision, is its clever blend of different horror genres—each episode transports our witches through a delightful, spine-chilling labyrinth of scenes reminiscent of classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed. The best part? It’s genuinely scary at times! Showrunner Jac Schaeffer revitalizes the superhero genre, proving that, while capes and superpowers might be fading from box office glory, there’s a resurgence brewing in the storytelling world. And if you’re wondering why Agatha All Along has become the standout Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project this year, it’s all about embracing the anti-hero vibes—making for a riveting watch as Agatha dances the fine line between villainy and heroism.
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If you haven’t been watching Agatha All Along on Disney+, you’re missing out on some of the best television this season. The show follows Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), the antagonist of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) from the critically acclaimed WandaVision, as she and her newly assembled coven set off on a quest to regain her former powers and uncover the secrets of the Darkhold.
Hitting a similar note to WandaVision, each episode of Agatha All Along takes the witches into different genres of horror, blending what worked in the first series with the “monster of the week” approach that many favorite horror shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed used. The best part of the series is that it’s actually pretty scary at times, proving that showrunner Jac Schaeffer can bring the superhero genre back from the dead.
You might have noticed a lack of superhero films this year. That’s because the genre hasn’t been performing well at the box office in recent years. But why is Agatha All Along the standout Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project of the year? From embracing its anti-hero to genre-bending, this spin-off series creates a complex character that’s engaging to watch as she becomes either a hero or a villain.
Embracing Agatha From the Start
The MCU rarely embraces a villain without turning them into a hero. From Loki to Nebula, these baddies become heroes later on in the franchise. But Agatha is a witch who specializes in taking others’ powers for herself. She’s selfish and self-serving, and Agatha All Along isn’t afraid to embrace what makes the titular character so interesting.
Schaeffer and her writers never considered making this villain more sympathetic because they understand what drives Agatha through the narrative.
“[Agatha is] interested in two things: she’s interested in what serves her, and she’s interested in witchcraft—specifically, enormously powerful witchcraft. And that makes sense to me,” Schaeffer told Script Magazine. “And so for me, that sort of thread into her psychology just opens up a whole world of her being a sympathetic character that I can understand. So we populated the show with similarly flawed individuals who are also selfish and self-serving, who are self-sabotaging, who are constantly standing in their own way. And then they were just in conflict.”
Agatha isn’t the only anti-hero in the show. While she may seem like the most villainous, especially after her actions in Episode 5, “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power,” the entire coven of witches are inherently anti-heroes, too. Each member serves their own selfish desires by agreeing to join Agatha and Teen (Joe Locke) on the Witches’ Road.
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‘Agatha All Along’ (2024)
Finding the Genre of the Witches
It’s easier to embrace an anti-hero when witchcraft is involved. This isn’t to say that witches are inherently scary—there are plenty of witches in media that lean into a Halloween aesthetic without horror elements—but the horror genre lends itself wonderfully to the storytelling.
Schaeffer deliberately chose to blend the superhero genre with horror to define the witches in the MCU, a decision that seems to have influenced Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While that film opened to mixed reactions, Schaeffer and her writing team had more flexibility to play with genres without having to consider the continuity of a complex, multi-film narrative.
“Once I embraced that, then it was like, ‘OK, what’s horror and how many shades of horror can we put in this box?’ Because that’s what I loved about WandaVision—how many TV tropes and shades of the sitcom can we put in this show and do it accurately, authentically, while still giving it resonance within our show and emotional arc?” Schaeffer told Script Magazine.
She continued, “My touchstones for the show are like The Wizard of Oz, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The NeverEnding Story, and The Princess Bride. That’s the sort of deep down of it. And then the real horror stuff is more like a dollop here and a dollop there, where we get like legitimately scary.”
Each episode focuses on a different witch in the coven and their nightmare scenario. Agatha’s nightmare embraces ’80s camp horror, while Alice (Ali Ahn), the fire witch, journeys into ’70s psychedelic horror. The witches’ horror aesthetic shapes each trial, allowing the team to pull their favorite tropes from decades of horror media.
While Agatha All Along never gets too scary, there’s something deeply engaging about the very real threats that challenge characters and their moral compasses. Plus, we know the threats carry weight because characters actually die! Is it crazy to think that character death would be revolutionary? No, but for the MCU and the superhero genre as a whole, it totally is because we’re left wondering who will survive the Witches’ Road.
‘Agatha All Along’ (2024)
The Promise of a Satisfying Ending
In most Western media, audiences love a satisfying ending. This doesn’t mean it needs to be a happy ending or have a run-of-the-mill lesson like “the real power was the friends we made along the way.” Sorry, but Agatha isn’t interested in friends. Something is waiting for her at the end of the road, something she truly wants—but what is it?
“One of the big questions of the show asks if this is a redemption arc. And unfortunately, before the show airs, I can’t answer that,” Schaeffer hints to Script Magazine.
The promise of an answer to what drives Agatha beyond her desire for power is forcing the audience to engage with the story and understand why Agatha is playing nice with her coven. There are times when she prompts the witches to try and destroy her, but it’s a ploy to steal their powers—one the other witches carefully consider before attacking her.
The story unfolds, giving the audience pieces of a puzzle, with constant threats and the promise of something waiting at the end of the Witches’ Road—plus random hints into the future through Lilia’s (Patti LuPone) skill of divination. They tune in each week, hoping to piece together a clearer picture. That’s great TV storytelling because it intentionally sets up the ending. All it has to do now is make sure the payoff is worth the audience’s investment.
‘Agatha All Along’ (2024)
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Agatha All Along is the best MCU project since WandaVision, and a lot of its success comes from the writers’ ability to understand genre storytelling in a world where superheroes exist. While the scares and the story are enough to keep audiences engaged, Agatha All Along is great because it explores a complex anti-hero who embraces her villainy. And who doesn’t like rooting for the bad guy every once in a while?
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