Agatha All Along's Secret Weapon Might Surprise Marvel Fans

Spoilers ahead: Don't even think about traveling this Witch's Road if you haven't watched the latest episode of “Agatha All Along”.

If the general public had some skepticism about the arrival of “Agatha All Along,” no one could blame them. On paper, a spin-off series from a main show that was itself a spin-off of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe films doesn't exactly inspire much in terms of confidence – or originality, for that matter. But it's a testament to showrunner Jac Schaeffer and her writing team that in reality, the story of a group of mismatched witches hoping to gain ultimate power along the Witch's Road turned out to be just as fun and entertaining as it has been so far. Where “WandaVision” only hinted at the supernatural happenings occurring within the confines of Wanda Maximoff’s (Elizabeth Olsen) spell, this new adventure was able to embrace its own horror charms in a way never before seen in the MCU. For fans, the opportunity to go into the field and pay homage to one of our most misunderstood forms of wizarding media was well worth the price of a Disney+ subscription. But when you dig deeper, that's not exactly the defining factor that sets “Agatha All Along” apart from everything that's come before in this franchise.

Over the past decade and a half that the MCU has dominated pop culture, much has been made of the interconnectedness of this superhero universe as the reason for its success, since 2012's “The Avengers.” In recent years, we've seen this factor novelty dwindles drastically, especially with some high-profile flops and poorly received shows arriving one after another. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before the same problem that plagued the comics ended up appearing again.

In light of this, “Agatha All Along” might be just what the wizard ordered. By taking place in an isolated section of the MCU and remaining free of any major franchise obligations, the series should be able to tell its story entirely on its own terms.. And, what's more, no less authority than Schaeffer herself agrees.

Somehow, against all odds, “Agatha All Along” became a refuge amid the MCU's storm of character cameos, callbacks, and self-reflexive references connecting every little detail to the franchise's overall canon. As of episode 5, titled 'Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power', the only overt examples of connective tissue from the parent series 'WandaVision' were a dropped name for Wanda Maximoff early on and the amusing inclusion of Ms. (er, be Sharon Davis) …that is, until her abrupt death last week. Still, the actual plot of the series hasn't been affected by the new status quo established at the end of, say, “The Marvels,” or the multiverse shenanigans of “Deadpool & Wolverine.” If you ask showrunner Jac Schaeffer, that's the main difference between this and “WandaVision.”

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Schaeffer explained:

“We didn’t have the burden of adapting any canon. In 'WandaVision', both [Vision actor Paul Bettany] and [Elizabeth Olsen] They had so much backstory in themselves and each other. […] So we wanted to emphasize those moments and fill them in more. We also had the bigger burden of Scarlet Witch, the Infinity Stone and that kind of thing.”

True, it would be disingenuous to ignore how much “Agatha All Along” still likes to tease all sorts of “Marvelisms” – including stray references to Mephisto and even the great mystery surrounding the identity of Joe Locke’s anonymous teenager, who has just be revealed. . But there may well be a difference between these relatively small crossovers and the upcoming “Captain America: Brave New World” turning into a “The Incredible Hulk” reunion tour. The freedom from the “burden” of the MCU mentioned by Schaeffer here is apparent for all to see.

There's a revealing moment during a pivotal scene in the latest episode of “Agatha All Along.” While being pursued by the nefarious Salem Seven, who we discover are the vengeful children of the witches that Agatha herself faced and killed hundreds of years ago, Teen gets the bright idea of ​​using several branches along the Road as makeshift brooms that they could use. fly away safely. This stupid (and slightly stereotypical) scheme works, oddly enough, but only for the briefest of provocations. As they fly high above the tree line, our group of misfits suddenly feel pulled back onto the Witch's Road by an unseen force – almost as if the MCU itself is warning them against being also original and independent. No matter how high this series may fly, the scene seems to suggest, the franchise's obligations will always threaten to drag things back down to earth… literally.

Even with five episodes, it's still too early to say whether “Agatha All Along” will succeed or not. The results so far have been extremely promising, not to mention genuinely inspired elements like that earworm of an original song or basically everything about Aubrey Plaza's enigmatic enemy, Rio. So far, nothing in the series gives any indication that Kevin Feige stepped in and ordered last-minute reshoots to create something random like, I don't know, “Avengers: Doomsday” or “Armor Wars” or whatever. Most likely, these idiosyncratic witches could exist within the MCU, but separate from the increasingly complex lore that lies beneath. just outside the magical kingdom of the Witch's Road. We hope this magical ride doesn't fall apart anytime soon.

New episodes of “Agatha All Along” stream on Disney+ every Wednesday.