Like Critics and audiences alike
in the spring of 2021 I became enraptured by Disney+ Wandavision, the
first project of any phase of the MCU which I believed managed to transcend the
limits of popcorn entertainment. A meta commentary on television sitcoms that
in its final third became a deep discussion of what grief can do to a person I ranked
it number 4 on my top ten list of 2021. It received 22 Emmy nominations and received
awards from groups as diverse as the MTV Movie and TV Awards and the inaugural
Astra (then HCA) awards for acting and writing.
A large part of the draw for many
was the work of Kathryn Hahn, one of the greatest television actresses of the
21st century as well as one of the most undervalued. Her work as Agatha
Harkness, the wacky neighbor who proves to be the villain manipulating Wanda Maximoff,
was one of the best performances she's ever given in her career on TV. Tweaking
her comic persona just enough when her true face was revealed (in the Emmy
winning song 'It Was Agatha All Along') Hahn got a chance to chew the scenery
in a way she really hasn't in nearly fifteen years of subtle performances. I
wanted Hahn to win her first Emmy (though I was just as much in favor of
Julianne Nicholson's masterclass in Mare of Easttown) but it has
represented a slight upturn in the recognition she has gotten from the Emmys ever
since. Two years later she received another Emmy nomination for her work in the
subtle comedy Tiny Beautiful Things and while this was going on Marvel
prepared another limited series around her, this one titled Agatha All Along.
I was of two minds of the idea of
the series: I will watch anything Hahn does because she has rarely given a bad
performance in the last ten years even if the material is beneath her which is
sometimes is. But I wasn't convinced that the MCU was going to be able to work
its magic in turning a villain of a major piece for many films into a hero. Tom
Hiddleston's Loki was one thing: he'd had over a decade to develop his
character. The writers were asking us to try and want to follow based on a character
who was clearly the villain and who even the most devoted comic book fans
probably knew very little of.
When Agatha came out last
fall, the critical reception was mixed compared to the universal praise Wandavision
received. It might have done well at other awards show were it not for the
ridiculous misclassification Disney+ has done since last winter: rather than
list it as a limited series, they decided to list in the comedy category. The
show has received quite a few award nominations despite this: Kathryn Hahn has
been nominated for several awards for Outstanding Actress in a comedy and members
of the supporting cast like Joe Locke and Patti LuPone have also received
individual nominations but it hasn't dominated the way Wandavision. The
fact that yesterday the TCA chose to nominate it as Best Limited Series makes
it clear Disney Plus made the wrong choice.
That said this past week I
finally decided to watch it, more out of my admiration for the cast then any confidence
it will be nominated for Emmys the way Wandavision was. And after three
episodes while I admit it is a crackling good entertainment and to its credit not
trying to be a second season of Wandavision, it's clear it's nowhere
near the classic Wandavision was,
The show opens looking very much
like its going to be a direct sequel to Wandavision. We see Agnes
driving her car to a crime scene in a dark wooded forest, clearly coming off a
suspension, looking at a dead body and certain evidence. We see the opening
credits for 'Agnes of Westview" in a manner that's clear meant to remind
of us shows like The Killing and True Detective and there's a gag
saying the show is 'Based on the Danish Series WandaVision'. Eventually Agnes
encounters an FBI agent she knows and because she's played by Aubrey Plaza we
know nothing good will come of this. Eventually a teenager breaks into Agnes's
house and after interrogating 'him', the spell begins to come apart. By the
time the episode reaches the halfway point Agnes has cast off the bind of
Wanda's spell (literally -she's stark naked.)
Agatha has been stuck in the prison
that Wanda put her in for the last three years – "you've been on a true
crime kick recently', a neighbor tells her helpfully. But her powers are still
bound and that's when Rio, who has set her free and plans to kill her, shows
up. Agatha tells her that she plans to go to the Witches Road and get her
powers back. Rio is amused by this and makes it clear she'd better hurry
because the Salem Seven will be there by sundown.
Agatha then frees the teenager bound
in her closet. 'Teen' (Joe Locke) is a groupie of all things witchcraft but
whenever he tries to tell her his real name or where he came from something
bleeps him out. Agatha seems amused by this but its clear she considers him something
of a pet. She spends the second episode knowing she needs a coven to find 'the
Witches Road' and goes throughout Westview. There's Lilia (Patti LuPone) the
fortune teller. There's Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata) a potions brewer who's now
working as a Gwynneth Paltrow type chemical seller. There's Alice Wu-Gulliver
(Ali Ahn) who has been trying to find what happened to her mother. And in order
to get an earth witch, Agatha 'recruits' her next door neighbor Mrs. Hart
(Debra Jo Rupp, recreating her Wandavision character.) With the
exception of Mrs. Hart who doesn't know she a witch, none of the members of Agatha's
coven trust her – with good reason, she's originally hoping to steal their
powers and leave them behind to die. But when amazingly their spell ends up
working ("I never doubted it for a second," Agatha tells us when
they're on the road") they find themselves traveling the road which is
everything you'd think it is.
There's a lot of humor in much of
the first three episodes as they assemble and its helpful that this is the
first entirely female based MCU project which seems neither appealing to woke
issues or some kind of ideology. In fact, much of the humor is how much all of
the women in this show absolutely can't stand each other and are
frequently unable to tolerate their presence. They don't like having Agatha as
the leader of their coven because they all either know her personally or her
reputation, something that Agatha doesn't even bother to try to smooth over.
Much of what works about Agatha
is the fact that three episodes in the writers have made absolutely no
effort to soften her. Agatha remains untrustworthy, selfish and unwilling to do
anything that doesn't serve her own interests. In the third episode when they
know they all have to drink wine to move on, she purposely doesn't do so. When
everybody who drinks is poisoned, Agatha tries to maintain the subterfuge as
long as possible. When its clear they need ingredients for a counterspell, Agatha
tries just as hard to find a way around it almost until the very end. Hahn
continues to lean in hard to selfish part of her original character and freed
from trying to be inconspicuous she can use her comic chops to her full
potential.
Most of the rest of the cast is
just as superb, Rupp remains just as comic joyous as ever and LuPone, as is her
want steals every scene she's in. I want to see more of Aubrey Plaza (and I
know I will) and Joe Locke, who's work is unknown to me for Heartstopper continues
to demonstrate comic irritation in his work.
I admit my problems comparing to Wandavision
maybe that, while it took three episodes for the true nature of what was
happening in Westview to play out, Agatha shows much of its hand a bit
early. That is negated in part because Agatha is less connected to the
MCU in the same way WandaVision was (though maybe there will be a
connection to the next phase down the road; I can't say yet). There are
indications that it may deal with deeper themes: the third episode indicates in
the strongest terms yet that all four of the women we've met are bound by a
trauma in their past that they will no doubt have to face on the Road. Agatha
was, critically, the last to see a vision of her past in the third episode –
and it's one that was implied.
I'm not convinced Agatha All
Along will be the masterpiece WandaVision was. What it does indicate
is that it's becoming increasingly clear that the best way to really tell comic
book based stories with the depth they deserve is in TV form, particularly
limited series. This is the third such project so far this decade that has
realized the potential of comic books, along with The Penguin (and in
its own way X-Men '97.) to tell stories that are about more than just
popcorn and box office and astonishing stunts. Clearly the MCU is more
reluctant to do this than DC is (Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Secret
Invasion are clearly just their to augment their film version) but Agatha
does demonstrate the potential for their shows to be about something more is
there. I also know, regardless of what is announced Tuesday, I will follow
the Witches Road to the end – and probably bitch to Disney + that they should
have put it in the Limited Series category anyway.
My score: 4 stars.
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