Agatha All Along is the Spooky Queer Representation We Needed
Agatha Harkness may not be a huge character in the comics, but she’s more than proven her popularity and power in the MCU. First appearing in the 2021 hit WandaVision, she became the stand-out character and soon enough, it was announced she was getting her own spin-off, Agatha All Along (named after her iconic song from WandaVision). Of all the characters to have their own show, one may wonder if there could’ve been a better, more popular character to pick. However, with its mainly female cast, queer representation, and overall fun and spooky vibes, it’s clear that Agatha Harkness truly was the best pick for a spin-off.
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Agatha All Along picks up 3 years after the end of WandaVision, with Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) still being under the spell Wanda placed on her. It’s broken during the first episode by the mysterious Teen (Joe Locke), a teenage witch who has a sigil on him, which prevents anyone from finding out his true identity. Teen wants to walk The Witches’ Road, which grants any witch who gets to the end a single wish. Agatha and Teen team up, along with other witches Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), Jennifer “Jen” Kale (Sasheer Zamata), Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), Rio Vadal (Aubrey Plaza), and Westview resident Sharon Davis (Debra Jo Rupp), to conquer the road and each get their wish fulfilled.
As you can tell, almost the entire main cast is female. There’s just something amazing about specifically seeing a group of women tackling these obstacles together. The Road has a trial for each witch, where they must not only test their magic skills, but also come to terms with their trauma. For example, the fourth episode focuses on Alice’s trial, their protector witch, whose mother, musician and fellow witch Lorna Wu, was lost on The Road. Alice and her family have been haunted by a demon due to their generational curse, which is what led Lorna to walk The Road in the first place. During Alice’s trial, they accidentally summon the demon and must perform Lorna’s version of “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” in order to defeat it and complete the trial. Seeing Alice finally face her grief over losing her mother, along with ending her family’s curse once and for all really pulls at the heartstrings.
Along with the greatness of seeing women supporting women (at least until Agatha’s trial), there’s also the queer representation.There has been little queer representation in the MCU, with the first openly gay hero being from the 2021 movie Eternals (Phastos for those of you wondering), so to see multiple queer characters in this show is a step forward for the franchise. Green Witch Rio Vadal was first introduced as someone from Agatha’s past, and they clearly had something going on. Rio attempts to kill Agatha after she breaks free of Wanda’s spell, but is convinced to wait until Agatha gets her powers back so the death can be more fulfilling (after all, it wouldn’t be fun for her to get her at her weakest). However, underneath all this murderous intention is a deep and complicated love for each other.
In the fourth episode, Agatha attempts to kiss Rio (who leaned in as well), and the only reason they didn’t is because Rio decided to reveal Teen was not Agatha’s dead son, instead, (we’ll get into the whole Teen situation later). Even with this moment broken, there’s a lot of subtle hints to their complex feelings for each other. When riding on broomsticks in the fifth episode, there’s a moment where the camera focuses on Agatha looking at Rio. Hahn’s acting is amazing in this moment, as even though no words are said, so many emotions are conveyed just from her facial expressions. You can tell she’s conflicted over her feelings for Rio, but in the end, is still filled with this love for her. Later in the episode, during Agatha’s trial, Rio constantly stands up for Agatha. When the ghost of Agatha’s mother wants to take her and kill her, Rio is the main defender of Agatha, knowing how much pain her mother has caused her. Their love may be a complicated one, but it’s so refreshing to see a lesbian relationship be portrayed as such.
Then, we have Teen himself. Teen, portrayed by the incredibly talented Joe Locke, is the youngest and only male member of the coven. No one knew his true identity, although at one point it was suspected that he may be Agatha’s deceased son, Nicholas Scratch. However, in a shocking twist that everyone saw coming, Teen was revealed to be Wiccan, aka Billy Maximoff, Wanda and Vision’s son. The sixth episode focuses on his backstory, revealing that Billy’s soul entered the body of 13-year-old William Kaplan, who had just died in a car crash on the way home from his Bar Mitzvah, right as Wanda’s hex fell. While there was some controversy over Locke playing a Jewish character while not being Jewish, showrunner Jac Schaeffer revealed in an interview with Variety that they thought about casting a Jewish actor, but in the end, “Locke was the right person for Billy Maximoff.” In the same interview, Locke said that he “[made] sure that those scenes were tackled with the highest respect.”
Three years later, Billy still has amnesia from the crash, not remembering anything about William or his past as Billy. His one solace is his boyfriend Eddie, who is the most supportive boyfriend I’ve ever seen. When seeing his boyfriend’s numerous notes on witchcraft and conspiracy theories surrounding Wanda’s hex, he doesn’t judge him in the slightest. When Billy tells him he’s meeting a sketchy guy in an empty parking garage to learn more about the hex, he just tags along to make sure he’s safe. While I’m sure many people, including myself, would love to see Billy’s boyfriend from the comics, Teddy Altman, or Hulking, Billy and Eddie’s relationship is so sweet and healthy that it’s sort of sad to think they may not stay together in the future.
What ties all this together in the end is the spooky vibes and amazing set design. The show isn’t afraid to lean more into the horror genre, which is perfect for a show focused on witches. They’re not afraid to get more into the scary stuff, but it’s also not too scary for people who can’t handle horror (like me). It definitely gives off a campy vibe, as they balance the horror and the comedy very well. One of my favorite examples is at the end of the third episode, where Sharon is shown to have died from the trial. When Billy exclaims “Sharon’s dead!” Agatha only responds with “Who?” All the witches turn to her in bewilderment, and it immediately cuts to the credits where the song “Heads Will Roll” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs begins to play. Seeing that happen live was such a whiplash, but an ultimately hilarious decision.
The vibes only get better thanks to the amazing effects. There’s hardly any CGI in the show, instead choosing to focus on the practical effects. You mainly see this through the set, with the spooky and color-changing Road being completely real . However, even makeup and prosthetics, something that you’d typically see as CGI nowadays, is practical as well. It’s best shown in episode 3, where the witches’ faces become incredibly puffed up and swollen after drinking poison. This use of practical effects was the right decision, as everything looks so realistic, spooky, and just gorgeous. It’s no wonder they chose to release this throughout September and October, because everything about this show perfectly fits the vibes for the Halloween season.
With a strong supporting female cast, amazing queer representation, and great vibes, Agatha’s found her place in the MCU, and she’s clearly not going anywhere. The first 6 episodes of Agatha All Along are streaming now on Disney+, with the rest of the season premiering Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m.