Agatha All Along Full Series Review (www.ign.com)

Warning: This review contains full spoilers for Agatha All Along Season 1.

It was quite the surprise when Agatha Harkness became the breakout sensation of 2021’s

. She’s never been more than a supporting character in Marvel Comics’ supernatural stories; she’s never headlined her own book. And yet Kathryn Hahn’s “nosy neighbor” so enchanted viewers that she earned her own spin-off series three years later. Could WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer once again capture purple lighting in a bottle with Agatha All Along? While it doesn’t quite achieve similar highs, the nine-episode series does deliver more of the mind-bending mysteries and hang-on-to-every-word dialogue that made WandaVision such a fun time, all anchored by Hahn’s endlessly watchable wicked witch.

This is very much a sequel with plenty of connections to its predecessor, from the scene-stealing Sharon Davis (Debra Jo Rupp) to the traumatized Ralph Bohner, who redeems himself after that whole Quicksilver thing thanks to a humorously paranoid performance by Evan Peters. That said, Agatha All Along is very much its own thing. It picks up on a fittingly WandaVision-esque note, with Hahn’s character stuck in a brilliantly realized parody of the HBO crime drama Mare of Eastown. But then it charts a very different path – or should I say road? WandaVision may have been steeped in TV history, but this is Marvel at its most theatrical: Original songs, beautifully crafted practical sets, and a brilliant supporting turn from Broadway legend Patti LuPone. It’s overflowing with camp, which acts as a nice counterbalance to the sinister supernatural elements.

Ironically, Agatha is rescued by the magical offspring of the very person who cursed her, Joe Locke’s goth teenager Billy Maximoff (initially referred to simply as “Teen”). Together they assemble a coven of witches to walk the fabled, treacherous Witches’ Road, which promises power to those who complete its trials and reach the end. That encouraging premise gives way to a potentially tiresome formula as the witches face a new magical escape room episode after episode. But Agatha All Along keeps so many plates spinning in the air – each holding a tantalizing mystery about its curious cast of characters – that it never has the chance to get boring. The road’s obstacles are sincerely lethal: Those who lose their lives on this path stay dead. Even the series’ weaker midsection is buoyed by the steady drip of clever clues and delicious drama between the group’s clashing personalities.

The coven is made up of witches from different magical disciplines, each with their own reasons for walking the road with someone as flamboyantly deceitful as Agatha Harkness. While it’s admirable that each member is given their time in the spotlight, their stories end up being hit or miss. Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), for example, has precious little screen time, so it’s hard to feel invested when she experiences an…