The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s television side once seemed brimming with potential, a shiny new addition to the franchise. But that feeling, despite being only three years ago, now feels like a distant memory. In early 2021, WandaVision marked the MCU’s return after a pandemic-induced hiatus, ushering in a new era for the multimedia powerhouse. This unique blend of character-driven superhero story and a love letter to television history, unlike anything Marvel Studios had produced before, captivated audiences. With its blend of humor, tragedy, and groundbreaking format, WandaVision fueled theories and kept viewers entertained week after week, all while showcasing Elizabeth Olsen’s spellbinding and revelatory performance. For a brief moment, WandaVision painted a picture of a brighter future for the MCU. However, that promise has since faded, almost completely extinguished. Nonetheless, Marvel’s latest TV offering, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, attempts to reignite that spark. In its first four episodes, the WandaVision spinoff strives to both echo the past and forge a new path for itself and its witchy characters. While the series, at its best, recalls WandaVision’s clever, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, it also can’t escape the flaws that have plagued other recent MCU endeavors. It’s a curious mix of old and new, vibrant and clunky, kept afloat by a cast who — in a rare occurrence for the MCU — seem genuinely invested in their roles. In what might be one of the most playful and concise pieces of MCU storytelling in years, Agatha: Coven of Chaos dedicates its opening minutes to answering fan questions, cracking jokes, and weaving clear connections between itself, WandaVision, and 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This extended prologue, whose details are best left unsaid, showcases WandaVision and Agatha creator Jac Schaeffer’s confidence as a writer, a refreshing change of pace. Unlike the bravado of Deadpool & Wolverine, which masked some of the most clunky storytelling in MCU history, Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ confidence is mostly earned. This is a series that, even while striving to emulate others, knows precisely what it is. There are extended stretches in Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ first two episodes where it seems content to let itself and its lead, Agatha Harkness (a commanding Kathryn Hahn), indulge in as much fun as possible. This sense of narrative space has become scarce in the MCU, making Agatha: Coven of Chaos feel, initially, like a much-needed change of pace for the franchise. However, things become uneven and slightly wonky once the series abandons its initial relaxed coolness in favor of more blatant plotting and MCU-flavored action. It’s not long before Hahn’s Agatha awakens from the spell Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff trapped her in at the end of WandaVision. Upon awakening, she’s horrified to discover her magical powers have vanished. Unfortunately for Agatha, this leaves her vulnerable to the vengeance of her many witchy enemies. With no other options, Agatha is forced to embark on the notoriously perilous Witches’ Road to regain her powers. To achieve this, she must assemble a coven of similarly desperate witches to join her on this journey. These eccentric characters include Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), a divination witch tired of making pennies reading fortunes; Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), a sorceress and potions master who lost access to her powers years ago; Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), a burnt-out “protector witch” haunted by the death of her magical witch mother; Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), a dangerous witch with a shady history with Agatha; and Sharon Davis (returning WandaVision star Debra Jo Rupp), a normal human woman living in Westview whom Agatha coerces into joining her on the Witches’ Road. A mysterious, magic-obsessed goth drifter known only as “Teen” (Joe Locke) also convinces Agatha to let him join the journey. At the end of the Witches’ Road lies a well of wish-fulfilling power that Agatha and her coven members can divide. Of course, this is only possible if they survive the trials that stand between them and their prize. These trials are tailored for each coven member and require them to overcome, through often zany means, the traumas of their past. Stylistically, these pit stops provide Agatha: Coven of Chaos with an opportunity to change its look each episode and focus on a different member of its supporting cast. However, these trials also necessitate Schaeffer and her writers to rely heavily on exposition rather than showing, leading to otherwise endearingly funny characters like Ahn’s Alice and Zamata’s Jennifer explaining their backstories, often while simultaneously seeing them visualized onscreen. Therefore, Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ trials feel clunkier than the rest of the show. They also force the series to frequently abandon its Witches’ Road setting, which is beautifully rendered by the show’s production team and perfectly suits Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ spooky narrative more than any of the Road’s supernaturally conjured prisons. These detours, frankly, are less fun than everything else Agatha: Coven of Chaos has to offer. The series flourishes when it allows its actors to joke, wander, and, in some instances, sing together. The writing and characterizations are crafted with an over-the-top flair that perfectly complements actors like Ahn, Zamata, Plaza, LuPone, and Hahn. In particular, Zamata and LuPone prove to be formidable scene stealers over the course of Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ first four episodes, their introductions generating some of the series’ biggest laughs. They stand out among what is one of the best supporting casts in recent MCU history. Nonetheless, Agatha: Coven of Chaos is primarily held together by Hahn, who manages to transform a Marvel-produced superhero show into yet another deserved showcase of her multifaceted talents. The actress effortlessly slips back into her WandaVision role, leaning once again into Agatha’s theatrical villainy while also imbuing her with more emotional depth than her previous TV series allowed. As Agatha, Hahn is believably fierce yet tender, maniacal yet endearing. The actress’ comedic skills seem to have only sharpened over the years, and even when sharing the screen with a capable performer like LuPone, Hahn never lets you doubt who holds the spotlight in Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Its lackluster action and stretches of forced, in-your-face exposition often drag the series down, and it lacks, perhaps inevitably, both the elegance and freshness of its parent show. Ultimately, the biggest similarity Agatha: Coven of Chaos shares with WandaVision is that its greatest strength isn’t its welcome sense of humor or ever-evolving style, but its central performance. Like Olsen before her, Hahn has taken an expensive addition to an already unwieldy franchise and made it her own. That’s a magic trick worth celebrating, even if Agatha: Coven of Chaos often struggles to live up to its star’s greatness. The first two episodes of Agatha: Coven of Chaos are now streaming on Disney+. New episodes premiere weekly on Wednesdays.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos – A Fun, Flawed, and Ultimately Hahn-tastic MCU Spinoff
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