‘Agatha All Along’ series premiere review: Kathryn Hahn’s campy resurgence is burdened by Marvel’s waning spell

A nonetheless from ‘Agatha All Alongside’
| Picture Credit score: Marvel Studios

Following the breakout success of Kathryn Hahn’s deliciously sinister Agatha Harkness in Marvel’s WandaVision, Agatha All Alongside was destined to journey the Emmy-winning coattails of its coven mom’s success. Alas, its fumbling two-episode premiere rapidly loses steam, delivering a cheesy misfiring of witch tropes that’s egregiously underwhelming.

There’s a irritating sense that the collection is conscious of its limitations, however chooses to lean into them quite than transcend them. It begins with a self-referential homage to Mare of Easttown, with Hahn’s Agatha taking part in a grizzled small-town detective —  a spitting picture of Kate Winslet’s eponymous character — throwing herself right into a True Detective-like quest for the reality that feels amusing to witness play out within the MCU. The selection is definitely bold, maybe even intelligent in the way it performs with expectations, however as an alternative of sinking its enamel into that concept, the collection abandons it nearly as rapidly because it seems, when the pilot abruptly shifts gears.

The present then picks up the place WandaVision left off, with Agatha nonetheless trapped in her suburban persona, dwelling because the nosy neighbor Agnes within the sleepy city of Westview. Sadly, Agatha All Alongside doesn’t appear to know what to do with itself as soon as the curtains rise. There’s potential right here, however it’s quickly buried beneath a heap of corny one-liners and clichés that appear much less self-aware and extra lazily overdone.

A nonetheless from ‘Agatha All Alongside’
| Picture Credit score:
Marvel Studios

One may argue that the present’s intent was at all times to embrace its personal absurdity, however the place WandaVision cleverly wove in thriller, pathos and a few semblance of stakes, Agatha All Alongside falls flat in each try and be greater than only a collection of visible gags.

It’s not that the collection lacks attraction. Hahn, as anticipated, is a menacing delight. Her titular flip is concurrently sharp-tongued and world-weary, and a screen-saving presence. However even her sardonic proclamation that “infants are scrumptious,” can’t compensate for the shortcomings within the writing. Very similar to the constrained actuality her character finds herself trapped in, the present itself feels caught — hemmed in by the calls for of the franchise it’s a part of, and the necessity to keep marketable to a youthful, wider viewers.

With out prior information of WandaVision’s conclusion, Agatha’s motivations and backstory that abruptly entails strolling the fabled Witches’ Highway is… murky at finest, inscrutable at worst. There’s no emotional weight behind her need to reclaim her powers, neither is there a compelling antagonist (but) to drive the battle ahead. Conversely, Marvel has someway concurrently additionally made the stakes of Agatha’s journey really feel disconnected from the bigger MCU, nearly as if this had been a footnote that by no means wanted telling within the first place.

A nonetheless from ‘Agatha All Alongside’
| Picture Credit score:
Marvel Studios

The collection additionally feels caught in a visible limbo, not sure whether or not it desires to be a nostalgic homage to the ‘90s campy, Goosebumps-style vibe or one thing altogether new, inevitably leading to a bland, generic aesthetic that by no means fairly matches the zaniness of its central character. A refreshing takeaway nevertheless is Christoph Beck and Michael Paraskevas’ teasing authentic rating.

The supporting forged consists of Heartstopper’s Joe Locke as an endearing fanboy sidekick, whose function within the story continues to be a bit hazy; Aubrey Plaza’s transient look because the sultry Rio Vidal is one other vibrant addition that quickly will get misplaced within the shuffle of what’s but to return.

Often pleasing however largely forgettable, Agatha All Alongside is one more product on an meeting line that’s lastly beginning to creak. Marvel’s once-thrilling model of storytelling is teetering on the sting of a boring, soulless demise, and Agatha may simply be the ultimate proof that the magic is all however spent.

The primary two episodes of Agatha All Alongside are presently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar with new episodes each Friday