Review: 'Agatha All Along' is a Magically Queer Confection

The MCU's latest TV offering, "Agatha All Along," follows up on the hit series "WandaVision," starring Kathryn Hahn and featuring queer turns by "Heartstopper" star Joe Locke, among others.

If "WandaVision" started out as a traditional sitcom, "Agatha All Along" adopts the tropes of a gritty procedural. Agnes (Hahn), a tough woman detective with an abrasive attitude, tries to unravel the mystery of a body found in the woods with no clue of how it got there. A library checkout card leads to another puzzling discovery: Someone has burned a whole bunch of books at the local library. Agnes' comically ineffectual boss (David Lengel) offers little support, and the investigation seems to be headed nowhere.

When FBI agent Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza) shows up to take on the investigation, things begin to get weird in earnest... and that's when a youthful housebreaker (Joe Locke) enters the picture. Suddenly, Agnes' reality starts to crumble, leading to the realization that nothing in her life is what it seems.

Spoiler alert for those unfamiliar with the revelations of "WandaVision": Wanda, a.k.a. The Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), in a bid to resurrect her dead lover Vision (Paul Bettany), cast a spell over an entire town in order to retreat to a fantasy life where she and Vision could remain together. Agnes realizes soon enough that she's actually Agatha Harkness, a once-powerful witch who has lost her abilities. She's been part of Wanda's magical illusion for years – and the FBI agent horning in on her investigation is none other than an old nemesis who's looking forward to waking Agatha to reality once more, in hopes of annihilating her.

But Rio Vidal isn't the only ringer to infiltrate Agatha's enchanted reality. The young housebreaker turns out to be a fanboy with a scheme to usher Agatha back to her old self. Thus starts a road trip of a different sort, as Agatha sets about assembling a coven of witches (including Patti LuPone, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, and the ever-delightful Debra Jo Rupp) to help open a portal to a path through a magical realm – a kind of occult brick road at the end of which a restoration of magical powers, and personal agency, will be possible.

First, though, the makeshift coven will have to survive the tests and trials along the way, as well as evade a pursuing posse of murderous adversaries... not to mention, they'll need to overcome their own differences and learn to work together.

It's a familiar enough story, but one that carries special significance in a time when women's rights – and very liberties – are under intense assault. (That said, it seems odd that this puzzle-box journey to personal agency relies repeatedly on the coven finding their way to, and then surviving, tests that are set in various houses; the show starts to feel a little too domestic, so to speak, when life-or-death challenges unfold in designer kitchens.)

Joe Locke's character – referred to only as "Teen" because he's under a special spell to conceal his identity and his attempts to reveal his name are thwarted – is gloriously, unabashedly queer, and he gets some of the show's best lines. Sapphic tension fills the air when a couple of the other characters share the screen; no spoilers, but let's just say there's a hint of "angry/awkward ex" energy going on between them.

The story might be a little color-by-numbers, but the cast is a dream and the production design is a pure pleasure. The show's music, by Christophe Beck and Michael Paraskevas, helps create moods that are mysterious, suspenseful, and upbeat by turns, all while meshing well with the show's not-infrequent swerves into musical (and music video) territory. (A pop song about the same magical road the coven travels is key to the plot.)

"Agatha All Along" isn't as surprising or visionary – "Vision"-ary? – as the show it's spun off from, but it's a successful entry into the MCU's ever-growing library of television offerings.

"Agatha All Along" premieres Sept. 18 on Disney+.