‘Agatha All Along’ series premiere review: A spellbinding start for the coven

The Witches’ Road has pulled us into its spell. We’re hooked on Marvel’s new miniseries, Agatha All Along. The spellbinding 9-episode series kicked off with a 2-episode series premiere that left us excited to see where this story goes. Agatha All Along on Disney+ acts as a great continuation to another miniseries back in 2021, WandaVision. The premiere helped to bridge the gap in the years since the events of WandaVision and set us on a new adventure with Agatha Harkness’ new coven. Based on the teases so far, the season is going to be a thrilling and spooky journey for everyone involved.

While it’s very helpful for fans to watch (or rewatch) WandaVision on Disney+ to get caught up for Agatha All Along, it’s not fully necessary. Both “Seekest Thou the Road” and “Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate” made it clear that there was no time to waste for their grand mission. The characters easily provided enough exposition and backstory to explain what happened to Agatha and the citizens living in Westview, New Jersey. Even when Agatha broke through Wanda Maximoff’s (aka. The Scarlett Witch) spell, all the details were handed right to us. Agatha All Along wanted to make it easy for longtime MCU fans and new fans to jump into the story. Still, we’ll gladly take more as it comes up in later episodes.

The culprit behind Westview’s biggest crime

Between the two episodes, “Seekest Thou the Road” acts as a standalone chapter that bridges us from WandaVision. The original series played with sitcom elements and inspirations for how their episodes were structured. Think of past sitcoms like I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, and Modern Family. “Seekest Thou the Road” follows in a similar vein as it brings Agatha into a True Crime narrative set in the fictional show, ‘Agnes of Westview’.

I loved how everything from the dialogue to the cinematography was influenced by other True Crime shows in the genre. Agatha as the complex police detective checked off every trope, from her no-nonsense police approach to her rough and gritty life. You could tell that Kathryn Hahn had a fun time playing this character – she made the detective so outlandish and dramatic, especially during the interrogation with Teen (played by Joe Locke). And the plotline in her fictional series seemed to be one that would naturally start a season-long mystery. Wanda did a great job with her magical spell on Agatha, and the reveal of it all being in Agatha’s head was absolutely brilliant.

In the case of “Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate,” this chapter felt closer to where Agatha All Along wants to go. It had an emphasis on the coven/characters, Agatha’s ambition, her partnership with Teen, and an injection of horror elements into the tone. The pacing here seemed fast as it felt like Agatha All Along wanted to get us to the Witches’ Road quicker. We couldn’t do that without Agatha’s coven, so everything ramped up and provided us with those introductions. Plus, the inclusion of the Witches’ Road coven song was so catchy and well done! I have a suspicion that there might be more song elements popping up later in the series. Come on, you can’t have a legend like Patti LuPone in the coven without using her singing talent.

A new coven forms

Speaking of the coven, the group includes an interesting mix of personalities and stories. Patti LuPone’s Lilia Calderu and Sasheer Zamata’s Jennifer Kale seem like characters that will have a lot of backstories to reveal, both from their lives and with Agatha. Debra Jo Rupp’s Sharon Davis provides needed comic relief as the non-witch in Agatha’s schemes. (Crossing my fingers that she survives, but the odds don’t look too good.) Ali Ahn’s Alice Wu-Gulliver and Teen are the most mysterious members so far. We know Alice is tormented by her mother’s disappearance in the Witches’ Road, but there has to be more to the story. The Road might unveil what happened to her mother and what that means for her trials.

Who do you think Teen might be? And do we all collectively agree that it’s most likely the character of Wiccan from Marvel (aka., Billy Kaplan, who is Wanda’s son)? His inability to share with Agatha his name and backstory is an intriguing mystery. The signature that appears across his mouth whenever he talks alludes to Wanda – it’s her signature from the library card. Agatha All Along wants us invested in finding out the truth of Teen’s identity, so it must be important to the story at large. In the meantime, his “witch’s familiar” role with Agatha felt so funny and light-hearted; he balances against Agatha’s more sinister and cutthroat qualities.

Down the road of villainy

It’s a vast difference from the vibe of Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal. Between “Seekest Thou the Road” and “Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate,” her connection to Agatha both felt antagonistic and romantic. There was a lot of energy coursing between them – you couldn’t tell if she was flirting with Agatha or baiting her into a fight to the death. It’ll be interesting to see how their story develops. Rio will no doubt end up on the Witches’ Road too, but since she’s not with the coven currently, she’ll have to find her way there. Agatha has no problem scheming her way to gain and steal powers, but Rio looks like she’d rather have Agatha dead before that ever happens.

“Seekest Thou the Road” and “Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate” set up Agatha All Along on a good strong step for the miniseries ahead. Plenty of action, character development, and spooky witchy wonderment hooked us immediately. Every character has their motivation for walking the Witches’ Road and serving us the plot, even innocent Sharon (let her enjoy a party!). Rio and the Salem Seven look to be imposing threats that will offer plenty of hurdles. But the Witches’ Road might be the most sinister foe of them all. We can’t wait to see where this road takes us and the series.

Agatha All Along airs Wednesdays on Disney+.

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Images courtesy of Marvel