Agatha All Along

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

So Marvel had a series of hoaxes as to what the title of this show was gonna be.

 

Turns out… they were probably lying about it being a sitcom as well. They don’t usually have demons in.

(Though The One Where Janice Summons Azrael was pretty good.)

 

Kathryn is joined by Aubrey Plaza, Matt Locke, and holy hellfire that’s Patti LuPone. 
 

What do we think?

Edited July 9, 2024 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[GM_GooglyMoogly]

Horror + Comedy =  Hormedy?  Comror?

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Final trailer is up… and this still looks funny, but also get-into-your-head-psychological-scary…

And if you want an extra clue or two about what might be happening… here’s the cast letting out their inner theatre kids at D23. 

 

[Glacier Peak]

In time for Halloween!?

[biostem]

I'm confused why they would choose to develop this aspect of the Marvel Universe - Agatha was basically part of Wanda's growth, development, and grieving process, which, IMO, culminated in MOM.  Do you think they're going to use the series as a vehicle to introduce other "major players" in the MCU, possibly tying in with Secret War or maybe as an attempt to introduce more magical elements in?

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

The show should have started with a double drop on September 9th and ended on Halloween. There’s been an inexplicable push back and it will now finish on November 6th. Booo.
 

It doesn’t necessarily need to go anywhere. Agatha’s a breakout character, fun as all hell to play, watch, and write for, so she gets a limited series. Much as Marvel comics do every now and again.

 

In fact, my phenomenal cosmic powers are telling me…

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…Agatha doesn’t necessarily get out of this alive.

 Or at least, not in the same shape she was before…

 

If there IS an onward link, it might be our first look at the MCU’s Mephisto. I’m hoping it’s not Sasha Baron-Cohen as rumoured… Jason Isaacs has already voiced him for Midnight Suns and that seems a MUCH better choice to me.

Edited August 15, 2024 by ThaOGDreamWeaver
Spell-ing errors :P

[Excraft]

Can't say I'm all that excited for this series.  Not that I didn't like the character in Wandavision or Kathryn Hahn.  I thought she was great in the role.  I just don't think it's worth it's own series. 

[Triumphant]

I always watch the first episode and judge thereby.  If it's good, I'll keep watching.  If not, I'll move on.  I loved WandaVision and really enjoyed the character, so I'm fairly confident I'll like this.  The proof is in the pudding, though, so we'll see.   🤷‍♂️ 

[Oz The Elderly Gaymer]

Wandavision was by far my favorite Marvel series since Endgame.  And Kathryn Hahn totally rocked playing Agatha Harkness.  I am... cautiously... optimistic.  

[BrandX]

  On 8/15/2024 at 2:58 AM, biostem said:

I'm confused why they would choose to develop this aspect of the Marvel Universe - Agatha was basically part of Wanda's growth, development, and grieving process, which, IMO, culminated in MOM.  Do you think they're going to use the series as a vehicle to introduce other "major players" in the MCU, possibly tying in with Secret War or maybe as an attempt to introduce more magical elements in?

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Could just be made as a means of hoping it leads to people keep subscribing or start subscribing to Disney+

 

Lots of shows start out as "Why?" and become hits.

[GM Crumpet]

  On 8/15/2024 at 5:28 PM, Triumphant said:

I always watch the first episode and judge thereby.  If it's good, I'll keep watching.  If not, I'll move on.  I loved WandaVision and really enjoyed the character, so I'm fairly confident I'll like this.  The proof is in the pudding, though, so we'll see.   🤷‍♂️ 

Expand  

I'm usually the same, but I couldn't get into the first couple of episodes of Wandavision until I saw a spoiler free review about episode 4 that piqued my interest. I'm glad I went back as it turned out to be excellent. If you can make it to episode 4 you are hooked. It's a very clever show and Kathryn is wonderful. I am not too sure about the depiction of agatha, I am old enough to remember when she was introduced as a nanny for Franklin Richards then later for Wanda and Visions children. Plus her tutoring Wanda in magic. She was neither a good guy nor a bad guy, she was one of those intriguing supporting characters that seemed to do their own thing. Later or not they made her a bit of a villain and for me spoiled a great character. 

 

My first introduction to Agatha who I fell in love with

 

 

 

Later iteration I lost interest in 

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

  On 8/16/2024 at 12:18 PM, GM Crumpet said:

I am old enough to remember when she was introduced as a nanny for Franklin Richards

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The MCU version is several centuries old - having been around at the time of the Salem trials - and clearly doesn't age at all, or is using power to maintain/shape her appearance.

(Plus, we witches know how to moisturise.)

Edited August 16, 2024 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Triumphant]

@GM Crumpet Interesting.  I was never familiar with the original version, myself.  I did not really follow the fantastic 4 comics that closely, save when they battled Doctor Doom, as I've always found their arch-foe and his grandiose schemes more fun to read about than the team itself, for some reason.  I suppose you have a point, though.  I ought to watch more than a single episode and give it time to get some "legs", before I make a judgement.

Edited August 16, 2024 by Triumphant

[GM Crumpet]

  On 8/16/2024 at 2:03 PM, Triumphant said:

@GM Crumpet Interesting.  I was never familiar with the original version, myself.  I did not really follow the fantastic 4 comics that closely, save when they battled Doctor Doom, as I've always found their arch-foe and his grandiose schemes more fun to read about than the team itself, for some reason.  I suppose you have a point, though.  I ought to watch more than a single episode and give it time to get some "legs", before I make a judgement.

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On a rewatch the first three episodes are recontextualised and you see things in plain sight you missed without the context from later episodes. It's surprisingly effective.

[GM Crumpet]

  On 8/16/2024 at 2:02 PM, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

The MCU version is several centuries old - having been around at the time of the Salem trials - and clearly doesn't age at all, or is using power to maintain/shape her appearance.

(Plus, we witches know how to moisturise.)

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Oh I know. She was dead for a long time, appearing as a force ghost  astral projection. Then there were shenanigans and she was resurrected as a hot 30 year old.

 

And obviously moisturising is vital. 

[Oz The Elderly Gaymer]

  On 8/16/2024 at 12:18 PM, GM Crumpet said:

I'm usually the same, but I couldn't get into the first couple of episodes of Wandavision until I saw a spoiler free review about episode 4 that piqued my interest. I'm glad I went back as it turned out to be excellent. If you can make it to episode 4 you are hooked. It's a very clever show and Kathryn is wonderful. 

Expand  

It's a rare example of dropping the viewer into the middle of a story that actually worked... with enough hooks and 'This is weird but I wanna see where this goes' to keep most viewers engaged until the questions started getting answers.

[biostem]

  On 8/15/2024 at 10:47 PM, Oz The Elderly Gaymer said:

Kathryn Hahn totally rocked playing Agatha Harkness.  I am... cautiously... optimistic.  

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I agree insofar as when she was the aloof, somewhat suspicious nosy neighbor in Wandavision, but she, at least IMO, lost almost all of that charm when she revealed her true identity at the end of the series...

[Techwright]

  On 8/16/2024 at 5:16 PM, Oz The Elderly Gaymer said:

It's a rare example of dropping the viewer into the middle of a story that actually worked...

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Well starting in the middle is one of the fundamental features for a work to be an epic.  Glad to see someone at MCU was awake for at least part of their college Ancient and Medieval Literature class.

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Quick thing… in the new trailer, Joe Locke’s mouth is erased by a CGI rune when he tells Agatha his name, and he’s just credited as “Teen”.*

 

1) Do we think that’s just for this trailer, or an actual plot point that he CAN’T speak his own name?

2) Who do we think he is? There’s a rumour he might be Billy Kaplan, aka "Wiccan", who's a reborn Billy Maximoff - but in this series, I wouldn’t trust anything or anyone.
 

*oh, and his IMDB character page has been erased. Which gave me a laugh…

Edited September 1, 2024 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Small thing #2: I dunno who's doing the marketing for this, but they're good.

 

I mean, I'm quivering with antici...

 

[Triumphant]

Ha, ha.  Nice.  That should get the Rocky Horror Picture Show fans attention. 😄

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Well, I'm enjoying The Agatha Show - though by Ep2, it's very much an ensemble piece, with scenes being stolen by most of the cast. 

(And even if Joe Locke's irritating me, I think that may be intentional - not least because it distracts from figuring out who the hell he is).

 

Also, whatever rumours you hear, I would trust nothing and no-one. Especially not Agatha.

 

SEEKETH YE THE ROAD OF SPOILERS?

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• Have your pause button ready from the very start for ton of clues and TV in-jokes ("Agnes Of Westview: Based on the Danish Series Wåndavisdysen")
• Aubrey Plaza opening up and sinking her teeth into this one.
• Wanda features (sorta) as a Jane Doe in a bodybag. Could be wishful thinking, could be confirmation Wanda is dead dead in the MCU.
• The library card that's been a lot in the trailers is a BIG DAMN Chekhov's...er, grimoire. If you only read the book title's cap letters, it's D-A-R-K-H-O-L-D: and it's by Andrew Ugo => Wundagore. I suspect this means that the person who checked out (Wanda) is still at Mount Wundagore, or what's left of her, and there's a copy waiting for collection. Wanda being extremely hard to kill, it still might not be the best of ideas to show up there.
• I saw an EPK interview with Kristen & Robert Lopez (the twisted and unhinged supervillains behind Frozen), who wrote the original Agatha All Along bop. The lyrics are important, there are multiple variations in different episodes, and are clues.
• Whoever Joe Locke's character is, I'm betting it's not the rumoured alt Billy Maximoff/Wiccan, even if there's a reveal in the next couple of episodes.
• Incidentally, I was right: they wrote in his spoiler prevention spell. None of the other witches can hear him if he speaks his name, or reveals anything personal. Hence, "Teen".
• Agatha's son, Nick Scratch, has a trophy on the mantlepiece. Red herring?
• Agatha's bad, but she's chased by worse: the Salem's 7 (no relation to the Sinister 7, Blake's 7, Ocean's 7, or 7-11)...
• ...hence, the only way to get enough power to fight back is gather a coven and Follow The Gothy Black Road. Follow The Gothy Black Road.🎵Follow follow follow follow🎵 (etc).
• First stop is the wonderful Patti LuPone as Lilia, a down-on-her-luck strip mall psychic, who reluctantly finds them the rest of their candidates. Neat.
• Jen Kale (Sasha Zamata) is next, a potions master who's got problems with both her magic and a sheaf of lawsuits.
• Alice Wu (Ali Ahn) is a ward witch working as a mall cop. Doesn't get to do much.
• And then we get to... Sharon? (Debra Jo Rupp, who returns from WandaVision). Oddly, she has no idea she's a witch, but the delightful old lady is a dab hand with gardening (green/hedge witch). And is almost certainly not who anyone thinks she is, including herself.
• They haven't gone real scary yet. But those of a mildly nervous disposition might need to have a cushion handy when the Salem's 7 show up...
• ...and we know that they're going to go a lot harder in the future episodes.

 

Edited September 21, 2024 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Small update:

It's nice to see a show generating a LOT of fan theories and positive interaction on the interwebs again.

Read a GOOD one, but it's gonna turn the happy campy singalong vibe on its head if it's true...

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"Teen" isn't Billy. He's Nick Scratch, Agatha's son.

 

And one way of proving to any passing multidimensional horror that you will do absolutely anything for power, especially the likes of the Darkhold...

...would be to offer your own flesh and blood for it.

 

If the Road's test involve confronting your own worst nightmares, I wonder what Agatha's is going to be...?

 

[Without_Pause]

My comment to my wife after the first episode is that I really need to see the second one. The first episode is very much 'Wait, what?'

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

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