AGATHA ALL ALONG. Marvel amazes once again [REVIEW]

“The House of Ideas” is one of the alternative names for Marvel Comics, a label that’s stuck with the superhero giant for decades. It’s a term I really like because—even though it’s hard to deny the creativity of the competition—it instantly brings to mind the world of the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and X-Men. It also perfectly fits Marvel’s on-screen incarnation. After all, who would have thought just a few years ago that in the same shared universe that introduced us to Iron Man and Captain America, we’d see a queer series about a coven of witches and a metaphysical struggle with death? And surprisingly, instead of being a cynical cash grab, this show turned out to be an amazing piece of entertainment and one of Marvel Studios’ best streaming productions.

“Agatha All Along”—perhaps unexpectedly—is a very direct continuation of “WandaVision”, picking up right where the story of the Scarlet Witch ended. It begins with the titular Agatha Harkness trying to break free from the spell cast on her at the end of the previous series, before setting off with an eccentric group of witches along the mysterious Witches’ Road.

Alongside Agatha—played once again by the magnetic Kathryn Hahn, clearly having a great time on set—the series also focuses on a mysterious teenager played by Joe Locke of “Heartstopper” fame, who quickly becomes one of the most intriguing post-Endgame characters in the Marvel universe. There’s also Agatha’s unsettling ex, a witch named Rio, played by Aubrey Plaza, who dives into this universe with razor-sharp precision.

“Agatha All Along” plays with genre in nearly every episode, stretching family streaming conventions to their limits. The first episode, a clever bridge from “WandaVision”, draws not on sitcoms but rather crime dramas reminiscent of HBO or Scandinavian noir. (Almost) every subsequent episode is dedicated to another trial along the Witches’ Road, shifting from “Desperate Housewives” vibes one week to a rock musical, then an ’80s horror, before transforming the main characters into classic witches straight out of pop culture.

The series is bound together by frequent flashbacks, revisiting past events with new perspectives, playful time manipulations, and surprise reveals. This makes “Agatha” not only exciting and compelling to watch but also ideal for rewatching, once you have all its twists and secrets in hand along with the full emotional depth that the second half brings.

Visually, the series is a chameleon, expertly adapting to the tone of each episode. Music plays a big role, too: the haunting theme of the Witches’ Path, written by the “Frozen” composers, appears in various arrangements throughout the series, becoming the production’s musical backbone. And the inclusion of a Billie Eilish song at one point will be long remembered. The amazing end credits for each episode are also unforgettable.

The series’ inclusivity is both evident and refreshingly natural. The story centers on a group of women, with female antagonists, too. The main characters belong to the LGBTQ+ community, and Disney didn’t shy away from including more than one visibly homoerotic kiss on screen.

When Marvel Studios announced a series about a secondary character from “WandaVision“, I rolled my eyes, braced for what I thought would be a lazy attempt to cash in on the earlier show’s success. Instead, we got an emotional, heartwarming, and funny chapter in Marvel’s magic and witchcraft universe—a great reminder that Marvel fatigue doesn’t exist when the content on screen isn’t, well, tiring.