Agatha All Along episodes 1 and 2 review: slow but promising

The first two episodes of Agatha All Along have potential, but they start slowly. All of the charisma seems to come from Kathryn Hahn, and some of the character choices don't add up. The verdict on the opening pair: not bad, but not exciting yet. We're keeping this spoiler free, aside from what the trailers already showed.

Agatha All Along (2024) is the Disney+ spinoff of WandaVision, starring Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza and Joe Locke. The hope going in was that Agatha would finally get her solo show. That meant learning more about her backstory, seeing where she goes, and seeing how she could potentially fit into the MCU in the future.

Agatha Harkness loses her powers and heads for the Witches' Road

Agatha is an interesting character, and Kathryn Hahn did an amazing job with her. Beyond Agatha herself, the other draw was the world of witches the Marvel Cinematic Universe has set up. We already know a little of Agatha's backstory. She took the powers of her previous coven and of her mom, because she was reading the Darkhold.

Now she has no powers left, and she is breaking out of the spell Wanda put her in. The trailer showed that certain witches were willing to work with Agatha to travel the Witches' Road and get her powers back. But what witch in their right mind would join Agatha Harkness's coven? She has a certain reputation that makes other witches say no thanks.

Aubrey Plaza as Rio, and a decision that felt like a plot hole

Another strength is the addition of Aubrey Plaza. In the first episode, her character calls herself Rio. The feeling here is that Plaza is made for a show like this. It's her aesthetic and her vibe, and she's very intense as the character. She's present while Agatha is still under the influence of Wanda's spell.

Things change once the spell breaks, which the trailer shows when Agatha emerges in her black and white form from WandaVision. The conversation and encounter between the two characters afterward felt a little like a plot hole, and it seemed dragged out. In the moment, the reaction was: why would this character suddenly make this decision? It doesn't make sense.

On the flip side, if she hadn't made that decision and simply did what she wanted to Agatha right then, there probably wouldn't be a show. So the reason is understandable. Still, the choice doesn't seem consistent with the intention the character showed moments before.

The big complaint: logic gets pushed aside to move the story forward

So far, that's the main issue with the two episodes. It seems the show ignores what people would logically do because it needs to push the story forward and get the introduction out of the way. The adventure down the Witches' Road is the exciting part.

After recent Disney+ shows like The Acolyte and Secret Invasion, this show needed to nail the landing. It seems like it could have fun taking this group of witches down the road, with a Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz kind of storyline where "it's more about the journey than the destination." At the end of episode two, the adventure begins, heading into a wilderness of witches and witchcraft the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never explored.

Why the pacing of Agatha All Along feels slow

The pacing is a little slow. That tends to be the case, though not for every Disney+ show, because these series need to set their foundation to move the story forward. Generally, episodes three and four are where things pick up, and at the time, those episodes were the ones to look forward to.

We agreed the beginning drags. Some of it could have been cut so the coven reached the road sooner. The hope was that the adventure would start right at episode three, bringing more fun and exciting moments. Between some of the character choices and the pacing, it feels like a slow burn.

The coven's chemistry and Joe Locke as Teen

Once Agatha starts assembling her coven, the chemistry is good. There's plenty of quippy back and forth between the actors, and it feels like they're having fun in these scenes.

Another highlight is Joe Locke, who plays Teen. Many people were speculating that the character could be Wiccan, and there's a cool element explaining why we don't know for sure, which we won't spoil. His performance is a strong one, and it adds a whole different vibe to the show.

Not everyone in the cast landed, though. The other characters seemed like placeholders so far. Kathryn Hahn is the one carrying this show, with the hope that this would change.

Agatha All Along barely feels like a Marvel show

One thing we noticed: if you weren't following every Marvel film and series of the past 20 or so years, and nobody told you this was a WandaVision spinoff, you would have no idea. Nothing in it specifically says Marvel, apart from a few mentions of the Scarlet Witch, and after the first episode those are quite minimal.

That isn't meant as a good thing or a bad thing. It's nice to get away from the Avengers and the superheroes and tell a confined story of your own. The show arrived in mid-September, "such a perfect time for witches," and there are some creepy elements in episode two that stood out as a particular highlight.