Entertainment
Disney+’s 9-Part Fantasy Series Is the Perfect Binge Before ‘VisionQuest’ Arrives This Year
Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) were fan-favorite characters long before WandaVision, with Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War offering audiences glimpses of their developing relationship. Yet, the trilogy that WandaVision began, as Paul Bettany dubbed it on the HappySadConfused Podcast, is one of Marvel’s best narratives in a long time. While the Marvel TV slate has at times struggled to maintain a throughline of interconnectivity that defines the MCU, the second entry in this trilogy, Agatha All Along, is the perfect stepping stone from WandaVision and exactly what you need to binge before VisionQuest releases in October. Agatha All Along not only thematically builds on WandaVision‘s explorations of motherhood, but features a stacked cast that allows for a thrilling interpersonal dynamic and an easy binge. With twists and turns, mysterious identities revealed and classic MCU action, Agatha All Along is both necessary and joyous viewing.
What is ‘Agatha All Along’ About?
Agatha All Along takes place roughly three years after WandaVision, with Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), the villain of WandaVision, breaking free of Wanda’s spell. Driven to reclaim her powers after Wanda took them away, Agatha travels down The Witches’ Road with a coven of other Witches, as well as Teen (Joe Locke), who has a mysterious spell placed over him so no one can know his true identity. With each witch having her own unique personality, from Lilia’s (Patti LuPone) seemingly ditsy demeanor caused by her visions, to Aubrey Plaza‘s Rio seemingly being the only one who can truly see through Agatha’s hard exterior, Agatha All Along creates a fascinating interpersonal dynamic between each character.
What ultimately ties this together is that they all respond to Agatha in the same way: with distrust. This makes her unpredictable to watch, yet also generates sympathy from the audience for the isolation she has created for herself. Hahn plays this extremely well, with enough sass to make us laugh, while mixing in lots of insecure glances at Teen, who reminds her of her own son and reveals a depth to the character that wasn’t immediately present in WandaVision.
With each episode focusing on a different trial for each witch, Agatha All Along makes each episode feel vibrant and alive. Whether it’s watching the coven perform a rock song that doubles as a protection spell created by Alice’s (Ali Ahn) mother or seeing Lilia’s divination skills finally explained in a The Wizard of Oz-style tower as swords rain from the ceiling, there are no boring sequences. With the coven constantly under threat from these trials, they are forced to work together and deepen their relationships, ensuring that both the plot and character arcs advance with every episode, making it a perfect binge in which each installment feels exciting.
‘Agatha All Along’ Sets Up ‘Vision Quest’s Biggest Mystery
On the grand scale of the MCU, especially heading into Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday, Agatha All Along could feel rather ground-level. However, it is essential for understanding VisionQuest on both thematic and narrative levels. During Marvel TV’s New York Comic Con panel, fans got a sneak peek at VisionQuest, which shows scenes in which Vision explores his memories inside his head while conversing with personifications of other A.I.s and Ultron (James Spader).
The footage also includes the massive reveal of Thomas Sheperd (Ruaridh Mollica), who is confirmed to be the grown-up version of WandaVision‘s Tommy (Jett Klyne), Vision and Wanda’s son and brother to Billy (Julian Hilliard). With VisionQuest seemingly continuing the reality-warping environments of Agatha All Along and WandaVision, and with Agatha All Along also exploring the relationship between a mother and her lost son, alongside Teen’s mysterious identity, VisionQuest clearly serves to complete the exploration of broken families and their potential for healing.
Few MCU TV shows manage to combine comedy, action, and plot as well as Agatha All Along does. With several characters clearly knowing more than what they are revealing, the nine-episode show feels like it could turn on its head at any moment. Agatha All Along also feels like a return to the old MCU, where each story, whether it focused on the same characters or not, felt like it built on a larger narrative. Whether it’s your first or hundredth time watching Agatha All Along, there is no better TV show to binge right now, and no better time to do so.
- Release Date
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2024 – 2024-00-00
- Showrunner
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Jac Schaeffer
- Directors
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Jac Schaeffer, Gandja Monteiro, Rachel Goldberg
- Writers
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Jac Schaeffer
- Franchise(s)
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Marvel Cinematic Universe
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Agnes O’Connor / Agatha Harkness
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