TL;DR – What Agatha nails is that fine line between fun and concern.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this film.

Agatha All Along Review –

There is a lot of space within the Supernatural genre for where you can locate your show. You can terrify all the way to making it a straight comedy. Well, Agatha All Along does fall mostly towards that latter category, but it also shows how much space you can work with, even if you are trying to have a fun romp.

So, to set the scene, there was a feeling of triumph as the coven of Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), Teen (Joe Locke), Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), and Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) made it through the first trial during Through Many Miles / Of Tricks and Trials, but that was until someone noticed that Sandra (Debra Jo Rupp) was dead. The death of one of them put a stark pause on everything, especially given Agatha’s callousness. However, as they still need a green witch, they do a bit of summoning. If Agatha had a choice, I don’t think she would have summoned Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza). Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

One of the things that episode showed is that their commitment to the visual stylings that they are dabbling in was not a fluke of Through Many Miles / Of Tricks and Trials. While everything might have been amplified to eleven, they perfectly captured that vibe of the 1970s. But that was not just in the costumes, but every facet of that set. Once again, if you told me that they found an old recording studio and just walked in, I would completely believe you. These factors are essential, not just for their fun visual stylings, but in how they help explore parts of this witching world.

While this is an episode all about the pomp and circumstance, it is also one where we start to delve into this world so much more. A generational curse that can only be put aside if someone sings the song is a fascinating idea. But then, the realisation that Alice Wu-Gulliver’s mother popularised the song so that her fans would always be singing it somewhere in the world as a protection mantra took that fascinating idea and made it even more intriguing. We also got a look more into Agatha’s past, which is doing an excellent job of making sure she is not just a one-note character. While they are doing a lot of teasing with The Teen, which may or may not come to fruition, I mean, look at all the hints in WandaVision that never went anywhere. I am still enjoying all the little nods to people’s pasts and how that could impact the future.       

Now, we can’t talk about this episode without talking about The Ballad of the Witches’ Road. This song has been built into the very DNA of the show. I mean, look at the episode titles if you are not sure. But if you thought that Circle Sewn With Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate was going to be the only performance of the song, well, this episode showed that was not going to be the case. Playing the song to break the curse was a great idea from a narrative level, but it also gave every member of the cast a chance to shine. The choice to put Patti LuPone on backup vocals was wild, but then watching her play a different percussion instrument every time they cut back to her was one of the funniest visual gags of the show so far. The song was a blast, and it has been living rent-free in my head all week.  

In the end, do we recommend Agatha All Along: If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You? Of course. This series has been so much fun. I was honestly worried when this was first announced if it could work as a series, and I am glad to see I was wrong.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Agatha All Along yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Agatha All Along
Directed by – Rachel Goldberg
Written by – Giovanna Sarquis
Created by – Jac Schaeffer
Based On – Agatha Harkness created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Production/Distribution Companies – Marvel Television & Disney+
Starring – Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone & Aubrey Plaza and Jade Quon