Agatha All Along released on Disney Plus on September 18 of 2024. The show takes place shortly after the events of the series “Wandavision.” Even after its long-awaited arrival, the fandom is now split between loving it and criticizing it. Fan opinions on the show have only grown stronger as more episodes have released.
The show stars Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness, Aubrey Plaza as Rio Vidal, Joe Lock as Teen, Sasheer Zamata as Jennifer Kale, and Debra Jo Rupp as Sharon Davis. The show started with a very rocky start, with most critiques saying most of the same thing.
New York Times writer Mike Hale wrote, “The virtues of the theme of female empowerment are outweighed by the tired, generic story lines. There is a discernible current of barbed humor in the dialogue, but it’s not strong enough to turn on any lights.” Many reviews also point out slow pacing for the first three eps, calling it boring. According to Valentina Kraljik, writer for Fiction Horizon, “However, something remarkable happened between September 20–26: not only did the show exceed its initial streaming figures, but it saw a dramatic surge in “minutes watched.”
The show, to the surprise of Marvel and Disney fans, has described the show as something yet to be delivered. Kira Deshler, writer for the Daily Dot, says “Cast and crew described the show as “the gayest project Marvel has ever done,” a proclamation which, unsurprisingly, turned a lot of heads.”
In the latest episodes, Disney made a decision that shocked and delighted their viewers. The main character was officially revealed to be a lesbian. “The pair’s sizzling chemistry sits at the heart of what cast, and creators have proudly touted as Marvel’s “gayest” offering yet, a claim backed up by multiple queer characters, musical numbers and a series of extravagant makeovers for the coven.”, says Rachael Sigee, writer for BBC.
In episode 4 of Agatha All Along, it is shown that Agatha and Rio had a complicated past. Within the episode, there is a kiss between the two women.
People who are accustomed to both Marvel and Disney were skeptical of this, with Disney not having the best track record of treating their queer characters in a serious manner. There are multiple movies in which they have claimed to have their “first queer character”, both live action and animated. Each time they had a character that was queer, they were minor and had little screen time. They also barely advertised their only movie that centers on a gay main character in “Strange World”, that released in 2o22.
As of the latest episode, episode 6, there seems to be even more mixed reviews. CBR writer, Joushua M. Patton, calls the latest episode that’s come out on having “slowed things down, possibly too much.” This is a problem in Marvel and Star Wars show that fans have criticized before. There was also a twist that was introduced involving the character “Teen”, who’s a familiar, that, unfortunately, fans had already saw coming. That same character, according to Yardbarker, failed to stand out even after having episode 5 centered on him. The series is aid by fans to have done a fine job of answering the mysteries within the stories as well as avoiding plot holes.
It is the hope of many that the remaining episodes pick up in pacing. With three episodes left, there still hope that for a memorable and conclusive ending, and a pacing that picks up the pace.
