Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Momo and Okarun share a close moment in Dandadan

    Momo And Okarun: The Gold Standard For Shonen Romance

    07/03/2025
    Ironheart Episodes 4 6 But Why Tho 1

    ‘Ironheart’ Explained: Explore MCU’s Bold New Chapter

    07/01/2025
    Buck in 9-1-1

    ‘9-1-1’ Has To Let Buck Say Bisexual

    06/29/2025
    Nintendo Welcome Tour promotional image of the maraca mini-game

    The One “Game” That Justifies The Nintendo Switch 2 Purchase

    06/25/2025
    Destiel Confession in Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins) and Dean (Jensen Ackles)

    The Destiel Confession: The Lasting Importance Of Supernatural’s Greatest Ship

    06/22/2025
  • Squid Game
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » TV » REVIEW: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episodes 1 & 2

REVIEW: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episodes 1 & 2

Allyson JohnsonBy Allyson Johnson09/18/20245 Mins ReadUpdated:10/27/2024
Agatha All Along Episodes 1 & 2
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

The biggest hurdle Agatha All Along faces is its studio. Depending on how you define recently, be it The Marvels, Thor: Love and Thunder, or the last 15 minutes of Avengers: Endgame, Marvel has been a studio of diminishing returns for a while now. It’s long past the point of superhero fatigue as we now tread water in the lazy IP grabs and failed attempts to capture the magic of the MCU.

However, every so often, a Marvel television series works. Most notably, the series that began the foray into the television medium for the studio, with WandaVision. So, it makes sense that the best original series from the studio would capitalize on its breakout character. Agatha All Along, as a product, was inevitable.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

However, Agatha All Along Episodes 1 & 2 work despite the studio housing them. The most egregious elements — the necessity to know what came before (WandaVision, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) — are now a staple of anything that comes from Marvel. That said, it does a decent job at setting its own tone and identity; even the first episode sees Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) have to peel off the previous versions of her.

The first two episodes play it fast with the plot as we learn that, since the events of WandaVision, Agatha has been trapped in a false reality. Hilariously, that takes the form of a crime procedural where she believes she’s a detective trying to solve the murder of Jane Doe. She comes to with a little help from a mysterious teenager and an old witch acquaintance, Rio (Aubrey Plaza), who refuses to play a role in Agatha’s reality. We soon learn, however, that lifting the veil doesn’t bring safety.

Agatha All Along Episodes 1 & 2

With her powers gone and Plaza’s Rio promising more enemies to follow after her own aborted attack, Agatha, prompted by Teen (Joe Locke), seeks out other witches to create a coven to face the trials of the Witches’ Road. The end of the road promises all they desire, be it power or answers as long as they can survive. The witches in question are Jennifer (Sasheer Zamata), a potions witch; Alice (Ali Ahn), a protector witch; and Lilia (Patti Lupone), who specializes in divination. All outcasts of some sort, they begrudgingly join Agatha on her quest to seek their own desires.

Agatha All Along Episode 1 is a bit of a slog; the story only picks up once Plaza arrives, and the story pivots out of the fake reality. While the procedural elements and Twin Peaks title card are lovely, with a tongue-in-cheek touch, they fail to maintain momentum. It’s funny in theory but boring in execution, especially as it relies so heartily on Hahn to do all the heavy lifting.

Instead, the real magic of the series and its vivid charm arrives in Episode 2 when the entire cast gathers together. Each has a distinctive personality, and Hahn works better in a group to bounce off of. We want to see just that for a show about an unlikely coven of witches. The costuming clearly has a blast in carving out who the characters are through their clothes, all decidedly witchy, even if they all offer their own personal colors. Even the most structured outfits have a billowy effect.

By the end of Episode 2, the story fully immerses us, even with its, at times, clunky dialogue and perpetual inability to light a night scene (which at this point is just endemic to Hollywood television.) There’s a suitably spooky atmosphere when the significant threats present themselves, with exciting designs and movements that keep them unsettling. But essentially, the first two episodes are mainly playing set-up, as we meet the characters, identify the threat and motives, and establish certain mysteries that will carry through throughout the season.

Agatha All Along Episodes 1 & 2

The biggest being the identity of Teen. Agatha is shocked when, after asking his name, his mouth and voice are blurred, so she can’t hear what he says. It happens again when she asks him where he came from. While Teen, on the whole, veers on the side of tedious due to being both an audience stand-in and exposition lifter, his mystery and Agatha’s interest in him is intriguing.

Locke is at his best in the smaller, more subdued moments rather than when he has to land a cringy zinger. While there’s certainly speculation about who the character is and what it means for the future of the MCU (fine, whatever), here’s hoping the series teases it out with the right amount of mystery.

But the best performances so far are easily Hahn and Plaza. The two set the screen aflame in just a few brief scenes with their crackling chemistry. Plaza, as always, brings a snake-like energy to her performance, clearly emulating elements of her character from Legion. Meanwhile, Hahn easily embodies this role, bringing just the right amount of depth to a morally dubious character who, to her own chagrin, isn’t quite as bad as she probably would like.

Directed by Jac Schaeffer, Agatha All Along is a decently entertaining vehicle for Kathryn Hahn to show off her versatility. Episodes 1 & 2 suffer from pacing issues and setup as they move all the pieces in place but come alive when the group fully forms. It’s not quite a return to form, but, at the very least, it exhibits signs of life and personality. And considering the hellish qualities of its worst efforts (see Secret Invasion), that’s an enormous bar to clear.

Agatha All Along Episodes 1 & 2 premiere September 18th on Disney+, with new episodes on Wednesdays.

Agatha All Along Episodes 1 & 2
  • 7/10
    Rating - 7/10
7/10

TL;DR

Directed by Jac Schaeffer, Agatha All Along is a decently entertaining vehicle for Kathryn Hahn to show off her versatility. Episodes 1 & 2 suffer from pacing issues and setup as they move all the pieces in place but come alive when the group fully forms.

  • Watch Now on Disney+ with Our Affiliate Link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Superman’ Issue #18 (2024)
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Oshi No Ko’ Episode 22 — “Freedom”
Allyson Johnson

Allyson Johnson is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of InBetweenDrafts. Former Editor-in-Chief at TheYoungFolks, she is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Boston Online Film Critics Association. Her writing has also appeared at CambridgeDay, ThePlaylist, Pajiba, VagueVisages, RogerEbert, TheBostonGlobe, Inverse, Bustle, her Substack, and every scrap of paper within her reach.

Related Posts

Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

07/03/2025
Anthony Ramos in Ironheart Episodes 4-6

REVIEW: ‘Ironheart’ Episodes 4-6

07/01/2025
The Bear Season 4 But Why Tho 3
7.0

REVIEW: ‘The Bear’ Season 4 Tries to Bounce Back

06/30/2025
Squid Game Season 3
9.5

REVIEW: ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Delivers An Emotion-Filled Finale

06/27/2025
Taecyeon in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 5-6
7.5

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 5-6

06/26/2025
Cho Yi-hyun in Head Over Heels Episodes 1-2
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Head Over Heels’ Episodes 1-2

06/24/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

By Sarah Musnicky07/03/2025

The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8 spends welcome time in pre-domestic bliss before new developments stir up trouble.

Together (2025) still from Sundance
8.0
Film

REVIEW: Have A Grossly Good Time ‘Together’

By Kate Sánchez01/27/2025Updated:07/04/2025

Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together (2025) is disgustingly funny, genuinely ugly, and just a good time at the movies.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 Alcatraz
9.0
PS5

REVIEW: ‘Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4’ Gives Old Games New Life

By Kyle Foley07/07/2025

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 is another example of how to breathe new life into a classic without losing touch of what makes the originals great.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here