“If you want a straight answer, maybe you should ask a straight person.” ---Agatha Harkness
The latest Marvel TV series on Disney+ wrapped up a couple of weeks ago and Andrea and I were there for the wrap up of Agatha All Along.
SPOILERS! (You’ve been warned!)
The journey on the Witches’ Road has reached it’s end and in the next to the last episode, Agatha is reunited with her long lost lover Rio aka Death!
Agatha Harkness is dead and buried so that is the end of that. So with our lead character dead, what are we going to do with the last episode?
Flashback time!
We learn the true fate of Agatha’s son, Nicholas Scratch. No, Agatha did not kill her own son in exchange for power as many have speculated.
We see time and time again Agatha’s betrayal of witches to gain their power.
We discover the true origin of the Witches’ Road ballad. And of the Witches' Road.
It all comes down to the young man known for so long only as “Teen” AKA William Kaplan AKA…
Billy Maximoff.
Yep, son of the Scarlet Witch herself, Wanda Maximoff.
And despite being dead, Agatha is not done with Billy just yet.
She’s a ghost and she’s decided to haunt Billy as they go look for his brother.
Agatha All Along is a challenging series, challenging our expectations and assumptions. It's a Marvel TV series you might enjoy if you are absolutely sick of Marvel's universe of movies and TV shows.
A lot of that owes to Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness who never meets a scene she doesn't devour like a Thanksgiving buffet. You never know from moment to moment if you should feel sorry for Agatha (she has known some real pain and maybe you should....) or not (and then she does some bullshit evulz and no you should not.)
Also gnoshing her way through the acting buffet is Aubrey Plaza as Rio, AKA Death, also Agatha's ex-girlfriend (and maybe also boyfriend too? Look, baby Nicholas came from somewhere is all I'm saying.) The personification of Death itself is as wicked and weird in the same way Aubrey is wicked and weird in real life, just turned up a bit?
Maybe? Or....
Oh my God! Aubrey Plaza really is the personification of Death and is only pretending to be an actor!!
Settle down, Dave-El. This is just a TV show and Aubrey Plaza is not really the embodiment of Death. (I think.)
My biggest disappointment with this series is we didn't get to spend more time with Debra Jo Rupp (Kitty Foreman from That 70's Show and Phoebe's sister in law Alice from Friends.)
We do get an extended visit and a great performance from Broadway legend Rita LuPone as Lilia, a 450 year old witch who does not experience time in a linear fashion. So good old Doctor Who timey wimey wibbly wobbly is always fun.
The series is visually stunning with some stunning set pieces involving magic and reality run amuck.
Agatha All Along is an exceptional entry in the Marvel extended universe. Yes, some knowledge of the events of WandaVision certainly enhances one's understanding but is not required.
Coming up next week on the Touchbase we go from Marvel to DC as I ruminate about The Penguin.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
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