On Halloween Eve, Agatha All Along came to its end, securing itself as one of the MCU’s best shows to date. For many, this is shocking, but for those of us who love Agatha Harkness and showrunner Jac Schaeffer, we knew Agatha All Along wouldn’t disappoint. Schaeffer successfully told a story, somewhat thematically similar to WandaVision, about love, loss, time, and the lengths we will go to for what we want most.
Kathryn Hahn gives her all as Agatha. She’s not a hero. Agatha is arguably a villain, as she kills hundreds of witches throughout time, but this show makes you love her, root for her, and cry for her. The heart-wrenching flashbacks of Agatha and her son, Nicky, that come in episode 9 piece together everything about Agatha that was missing. And in the end, despite Agatha’s relentless selfishness throughout the show, she makes the ultimate sacrifice and saves Billy from Death, doing what she never could for Nicky.
Regardless of if you expected this show to be as great as it is, there’s one thing we can all agree on: Marvel needed this. Since Endgame, Marvel has been releasing a lot of, well, not so good projects, and Agatha came along to prove they still have what it takes. Now, they need to do it again. So, here’s what Marvel should take away from the success of Agatha All Along.
There’s nothing wrong with a smaller budget
Marvel reported that Agatha All Along had the smallest budget of any MCU show thus far, at less than $40 million. There are many benefits to a smaller budget. Most obviously, viewership doesn’t have to be unattainably high in order for the money spent to be worth it.
Beyond that, if there’s less money spent on scenes full of special effects and big fights, writers can create moments that focus more on telling us who the characters are. By the end of Agatha, we know a lot about all the characters because they were all given the opportunity to have quieter scenes in which they told us about themselves.
Lastly, there’s something to be said for practical effects. The set of the Witches Road is real, and seeing the characters traverse through a world that isn’t a majority CGI (like in most Marvel projects) helped ground the show. Moments like Rio slicing through a literal backdrop to exit the road, the characters having prosthetics on during the trial in episode 3, and Rio’s skull face not being CGI make everything that much more fun and interesting to watch.
Give shows the number of episodes they require
Agatha All Along was nine episodes. That may not seem like a lot, but this is unique for Marvel. A majority of the MCU shows are 6 episodes, with Echo sitting at only 5. Expecting showrunners and writers to create a fully fledged story that introduces characters, develops them, and has a satisfying conclusion in just a handful of episodes isn’t reasonable.
Every show requires a different number of episodes, and Agatha was given what it needed. Nine episodes was enough to give each coven member a trial, provide flashbacks and backstory, and end with a big finish and a set up for future projects. Had there been any fewer episodes, and perhaps any more, this show would not be as good as it was. This is a lesson to Marvel to give their shows the amount of runtime they require.
Representation can draw more than just a niche audience
Last, but perhaps most importantly, Agatha All Along marks the MCU’s first show with a main plotline about a sapphic romance. As a queer woman who has watched Marvel for a long time, I never thought this would happen. Sapphic women are often considered too niche to appeal to general audiences. But Agatha’s viewership increased by 35% in episode 7 compared to the premiere and ten percent more in the finale. The show gained popularity after episodes that included Agatha and Rio’s romance.
Agatha is unapologetically queer in episode 7, with lines like “If you want straight answers, ask a straight lady” and Rio is unapologetically in love with Agatha in the finale. And in the end, Agatha and Rio’s final moments together include a kiss. And not just any kiss. It’s passionate. It’s the kiss of Death.
Marvel has always had an odd relationship with romance. So, while this isn’t the first LGBTQ+ kiss in Marvel, for the show’s culminating moment in a fantastic fight scene between Agatha and Rio to be a kiss between the two women is history-making. It’s something I never thought we’d see, but am so glad we did. The representation isn’t by any means perfect, but it’s the start we needed. What Marvel needs to learn from this is that queer stories are not just for niche audiences. If the story is strong, audiences will tune in.
You can watch all episodes of Agatha All Along on Disney Plus now.