MCU's 'perfidious' witch

'Agatha All Along' stays true to its evil

KARACHI:

Familiar's out of the bag now that Marvel Music has uploaded the final rendition of The Ballad of the Witches' Road and its corresponding narrative sequence on YouTube. With a plot as winding as the mysterious Road itself, I didn't expect my major queries to be resolved with the show's end. Yet Agatha All Along delivered a steaming cauldron of a conclusion, and then some.

The show, which began airing in late September, serves as a spin-off series to WandaVision, which is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first television production. The title is a direct reference to the catchy song that announced the curveball point in WandaVision. While the Elizabeth Olsen starrer is quickly ageing to become an MCU classic, no one expected its wicked villain to earn a separate narrative, especially considering Wanda's own uncertain spot in the cinematic franchise.

Quite frankly, Agatha All Along stood central to rhetorical questions like, "Who asked for this?" And to be honest with you, I was one of the people echoing that sentiment. But after Deadpool & Wolverine patched my years-long disconnect with the MCU, I decided to indulge my curiosity a little more and give the show a chance.

Being positively bewitched was among the many things I didn't expect. Perhaps, I needed a refresher on Kathryn Hahn's charming performance as the titular character. But the great thing about the follow-up show is, you don't need any refreshers.

Beyond its reliance on the surface-level knowledge of recent MCU developments, the show stands well on its own. It doesn't even adhere to the Marvel-specific convention of mid-credits and post-credits scenes. While constructing an independent identity, the plot is also careful not to fall to pretension.

Mischaracterisation, begone!

The story follows the transformative journey of Agatha Harkness after her latest nemesis Wanda Maximoff drains her abilities and casts a spell of mundanity on her. Now, Agatha must restore the powers that established her as a formidable witch by assembling a coven and journeying through the perilous Witches' Road.

But if there's one thing you should or might know about Agatha, it's that she is notoriously disliked, even within her own community. And there's your first reason to care about the show. The protagonist is not noble; she is a cunningly deceptive woman who will do whatever it takes to satisfy her ambitions.

There is no ideal scenario where she will display amity, not unless she has something to gain from it. And the narrative stays committed to that fact, through and through. Agatha is not your typical main character that can be swayed by kindness she has rejected her entire life. She's a law unto herself, driven by greed and malice.

This unwavering commitment to her character is what makes her the best part of the show. Even when we are introduced to a possible shot at redemption, a potential for buried goodwill to sprout again, Agatha's familiar actions keep her nature rooted to what it's truly loyal to: her unquenchable thirst for power.

But Agatha is not comically evil, either. In fact, she is a reminder that villains need not be reduced to the negative extreme to be of value to the plot. A fleshed-out villain, with all her evil intact, deserves to possess something she cares about. She needs to grieve as the hero does, bleed as the hero does, and still not necessarily be justified for what she has done.

Showrunner Jac Schaeffer understood the assignment with this one. Why undo a thoroughly ignoble character by giving her a palatable and predictable outcome when you can let your creative liberties run wild? Dare I say, Schaeffer did with Agatha what the MCU was too afraid to do with Wanda.

Weight of a single melody

Aside from the clever misdirection with respect to Agatha's possible redemption, Agatha All Along is a beautiful blend of foreshadowing and other ominous plot elements. From the mystery of Teen's sigil to Lilia's inexplicable outbursts, the narrative introduces several new conundrums as soon as it spares an answer to a single question.

The biggest puzzle of all is The Ballad of the Witches' Road itself, but we are none the wiser as the narrative already has us preoccupied with a number of death-dealing concerns. Besides, when a mystery is shrouded with powerhouse harmonies and haunting music, who wouldn't be led awry?

If Agatha is the heart of the show, the Ballad is its soul. No viewer is immune to its baleful allure, especially as the refrain tolls like a hypnotic bell and the chant rises to a beautiful crescendo towards the end. The song is at the core of the witchcraft elements that the show generously implements. But this musical number wasn't just made to scratch ears.

When Frozen's songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez are on board, it is safe to expect some magic. The quasi-musical show features only one song but different versions of it, all of which tell a story each. The Sacred Chant Version introduces us to the Witches' Road, the Cover Version sheds much-needed light on Alice's lore, Nicky's Version serves as a chilling contrast to the other minor-key renditions, and the Agatha Through Time Version brings it all full-circle.

Employing the Ballad's lyrics as episode titles is also masterful storytelling in disguise. It is as if the big twist is staring the viewer in the eye yet remains smug about the fact that the audience would fail to catch its drift. True to her onscreen origins, a catchy song remains Agatha's trademark tell, which is another example of the amount of justice that's been done to this character's arc.

Every lyric is an extraction of an integral part of the story. Even the dialogue debates, such as the "coven two" or "coven true" dispute, hold meaning. You don't think to keep your eyes peeled during comic relief moments, and that is exactly how the show succeeds in carving out a solid narrative.

Old MCU fans hold Wanda at a level of reverence that they are reluctant to share with another witchy character. But if you're looking for a show that borrows dutifully from witchcraft's mythical origins, Agatha All Along is the spell-binding mini-series for you. And as a dedicated Wanda fan, trust me on this: you'd happily let this villainess share the throne with the Scarlet Witch.