Down, Down the Witches’ Road We Go: A High Five Review of “Agatha All Along”

by Naomi Grace Cavaneyro, Story Surfer
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The bell has been rung, the ballad has been sung, and now we follow Agatha Harkness’ makeshift coven as they go down the witch’s road. But before that, we get episode one where Agatha is still ensnared by Wanda’s spell, only to have Teen wake her up. Now, Agatha has to lead a group of “rejects” on a journey to help them regain their powers.

Join us as we journey together through the mysteries and intricate story that Agatha All Along has to offer in this High Five review of episodes one to three. Spoilers ahead.

An Interconnected Web of Easter Eggs and Symbolism

Agatha All Along picks up where WandaVision left off, with episode one showing audiences that Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) was still under Wanda’s spell, believing that she was living in a TV show called Agnes of Westview. The cold open parodies true crime series and includes several supporting cast members from WandaVision. It’s also a reference to the Danish series, The Killing. If this first episode is anything to go by, then we can expect the rest of the series to deliver layers of references that might take quite a bit of effort to pick apart, but will greatly deliver in the payoff.

In episode two, Agatha, now free from the spell and back to her old self, assembles her coven to get to Witch’s Road. We get more pop culture references, from The Wizard of Oz to Alice in Wonderland, as the series doesn’t pull punches with the story developing along. It also pulls heavily from historically witch-related symbolism, such as the Triple Goddess of the Maiden, Mother and Crone, which become more relevant as the coven faces their first trial involving the phases of the moon in episode three.

Sonic Storytelling

Soundtracks often get flack for being too focused on needledrops, but the songs in Agatha All Along are all curated to tell the story of the show. The opening credits of “Agnes of Westview” contains a leitmotif repeated throughout the series, with a humming version by Agatha in episode one and a ballad version sung in episode two.

We also hear “The Night is Ours: by David Lawrence & Charles Morton, and “Season of the Witch” by Donavan in episode one; “The Ballad of Witch’s Road” performed by the coven, “There’s A Road” by Megan Kinney, and “The Road to Happiness” by Evan Olson in episode two; and “Heads Will Roll” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs in episode three. Each of these songs gives audiences a feel of how the story will progress, which is sonic storytelling at its best.

A Diverse Cast of Acting Veterans and Up-and-comers

Next, we have to give props to the casting director for giving us a beautiful ensemble of actors, starting with the enigmatic Kathryn Hahn leading the helm. Best known for comedic supporting roles in movies like The Anchorman and We’re The Millers, Hahn brings Agatha Harkness to life with her trademark comedic timing.

Alongside Audrey Plaza who brings her deadpan humor as Rio Vidal, upcoming star Joe Locke who personifies an air of mystery as Teen, Sasheer Zamanta who brings flair and style as potions witch Jennifer Kale, Tony winner Patti Lupone who takes the kookiness up a notch as divination witch Lilia Calderu, Ali Ahn who rocks out as the protection witch Alice Wu-Gulliver, and TV veteran Debra Jo Pupp who also reprises her WandaVision role as Mrs. Hart.

From the names alone, you can tell that the cast is filled with acting and comedic powerhouses almost everyone is familiar with, so you know you’re in for a treat with this series.

Immersive Production

Aside from the already mentioned soundtrack, the musical score also helps facilitate the emotional groundswell of the series. An example is in episode one, when the instrumentals change from those of a crime thriller to a mystical suspense once the spell on Agatha is broken. The cinematography also helps draw viewers in, working alongside the score to immerse us during the most pivotal scenes. Another example from episode one is the light swinging like a pendulum when Agatha was “clawing” her way out of the spell—as the musical score played along, the mood of the scene changed from that with a sense of urgency to that of a magical mystery once Agatha Harkness finally lifts the curse.

So far, episode two has had the bulk of the spooky, witchy scenes, which necessitates special effects that look realistic to the setting and genre of the series. These effects were in full display when the appliances went haywire during a divination session; when Teen’s mouth sew shut every time he talked about himself; and when the way to the road glowed with vines akin to Alice in Wonderland, then transitioned into the Road, which is a dark parallel to the yellow brick road from The Wizard of Oz. The series knows when to make use of each of its elements to engage with the audience’s curiosity, making sure that each sound, symbol and camera movement means something.

Foretelling a Hidden Story

We know we mentioned the easter eggs and symbolisms pointing back to everything witchy throughout the three episodes, but we can’t help but notice the recurring sequences during the opening credits that eerily resemble what the characters had to go through in the episodes.

The opening credits feature books, laptops and other seemingly inconsequential things that have words highlighted or marked—what these words mean, we don’t know, but they seem to correlate with the events faced by Agatha and her coven. These easter eggs range from removing shoes on the road, to entering the road and facing their fears, to gathering witches for a coven, falling ill, brewing a potion, going down another passageway, verbalizing a spell, and then ending in a water anomaly. This could all just be random or this could be foretelling the events to come. Either way, we have to watch more to find out how Agatha and her coven deal with these problems as they pursue their self-centered endeavors.

SEA Wave gives Agatha All Along a 3.5 out of 5 waves. You don’t necessarily have to know what happened in WandaVision and Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness to appreciate the show for what it is—a legitimately fun comedic romp wrapped in a dark and witchy mystery.

What did you like about the series? Let us know in the comments!

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