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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Pitt chapter.

Is Agatha All Along the saving grace of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)?

Marvel’s most recent release, Agatha All Along, follows the titular Agatha Harkness (introduced to the MCU via Wanda Vision) as she goes on a quest to take back her power, encountering more than a few other witches along the way. The show is helmed by showrunner Jac Shaffer, who previously worked as a writer on Wanda Vision. I went into this show with cautious high expectations, the trailers looked incredible, I was ecstatic about the cast, and I had hoped that more good things could still spring from the Scarlet Witch side of the MCU. And let me tell you, my expectations were more than met. I fell head over heels in love with the show and, for the first time in a long time, felt hope for the direction Marvel was headed. 

I’ve been a Marvel fan my entire life; I grew up on comics, animated TV shows, and, eventually, the MCU movies themselves. However, there’s been a clear downtick in the quality of stories Marvel has produced post-Infinity saga, as profit has been clearly prioritized over quality, intention, and depth. Although there have been some notable exceptions, like Wanda Vision, Moon Knight, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, it seems that, as a whole, Marvel was headed for the worst. This felt particularly devastating as Marvel has finally bought back the rights to some of my favorite properties, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, and has begun to enact plans to bring them into the MCU. I have been afraid for the future of these stories and upset that they’ve finally come into play when Marvel seems so in decline. Yet, Agatha proves that maybe there isn’t quite so much to fear, that perhaps beautiful things can still occur within the MCU. 

Agatha All Along excels at many things—its style, characterization of Agatha, ability to highlight every single one of its characters, its queerness, and the introduction of Wiccan. On the style front, Agatha All Along is so much fun. Many of the episodes center around trials on the witches road, in which the witches are forced to put their skills to the test. Each trial works with a different aesthetic; for example, one is 70s themed, while another is more Wizard of Oz adjacent. The show has so much fun playing with all these styles; it’s a feast for the eyes and the senses. Music is also used throughout the film, specifically “The Ballad of the Witches Road,” which is also stylized throughout the eras. Furthermore, this song is used as a tie between characters—it’s about connection, legend, family, and trauma. More is revealed about the song as the show progresses, perfectly tying it into the plot and each of the major character’s lives. 

The show also greatly excels in its characterization of Agatha, who is neither ever fully good nor fully evil—she is motivated by extreme loss, trauma, and pain. She commits harmful acts against one person while also trying to save another. The show doesn’t pass judgment on Agatha. It shows the fullness of who she is, who she’s become, and who she’s trying to be. She is never made to be apologetic; she remains true to who she is and who she’s always been, even as she grows and begins to accept her grief and pain throughout the show. Agatha is a deeply complex and nuanced person, and a lesser show would try to purify her to make her perfectly good, but Agatha All Along allows her to be who she’s always been, making it even better. 

However, while it is Agatha’s show, there is also so much attention and love given to all the other witchy characters—Lilia, Jen, Alice, Rio, and Billy Maximoff/Wiccan (also called Teen). Essentially, each of these characters is given an episode that explores their own trauma and backstory while also serving to further the narrative. The amount of skill it takes to pull this off– to make a show centered on one character, to zoom in so closely on other characters, and to move narratively still forward is incredible. Throughout the show I truly came to love every single one of these characters. Furthermore, Agatha All Along is easily Marvel’s queerest project to date. Essentially every character in the show is queer, and there is even an explicit lesbian relationship between Agatha and Rio. However, the show isn’t about these people being queer—their queerness is a part of who they are, not their sole defining feature. The show revels in queerness and womanhood without ever trivializing it. It is felt beautifully, naturally, and fully. The queerness and wonder of the show is easily one of its most amazing aspects, and it fills me with so much love for all of it. 

The show also features the official MCU introduction of one of Marvel’s most infamous queer characters, Wiccan. Wiccan has a complicated backstory which is slowly laid out throughout the show, in which he is originally introduced as Teen. Essentially, the Wiccan of the show is the reincarnated form of Wanda’s son Billy (previously introduced in Wanda Vision), whose soul entered the body of teenage William Kaplan when he was in a car crash in the neighboring town of Eastview. The show slowly peels away the elements of Billy’s identity, as he himself reckons with his identity and his two pieces of self. Much of this culminates in Wiccan’s official reveal as he appears in his crown and, eventually, his full costume in the back half of the show. Wiccan’s arrival to the MCU is exciting for a number of reasons—he’s a major queer character, a member of the Young Avengers, and, for me personally, he’s just a character I absolutely adore. The Young Avengers have been set up in the MCU piece by piece throughout recent Marvel projects, hopefully culminating in an eventual Young Avengers project and the introduction of Tommy Maximoff (Speed) and Hulkling, the only two missing Young Avengers. For me, Wiccan is a comic character that I could not love more. I’m so happy Joe Locke is playing him, and I can’t wait for all that’s ahead. 

Overall, Agatha All Along has tentatively and cautiously restored my faith in the MCU. I’m so glad to have gotten such an incredible project, and I’m so excited about everything else witchy-related in the MCU!

Lauren Deaton is a third-year student at the University of Pittsburgh, she is currently serving both as Chapter Chair and Writer. She most frequently writes about entertainment topics– including music recommendations, topics of representation, and anticipated movie lists. Lauren is double majoring in English Literature and Media and Professional Communications with a focus on Corporate and Community Relations. She is also pursuing a Film and Media Studies minor and Public and Professional Writing and Children's Literature Certificates and is a member of the Honors College. She recently completed a research position with the Pitt School of Education and will be continuing a research position with the Language and Literacy Division at Pitt during the Fall 2024 semester. In the future, she hopes to work in publishing helping to increase access to representation. She is also a writer for Studio 412 a creative outlet on Pitt’s campus and is a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority. Lauren loves her dog, her friends, her family, and everything reading and coming of age related.