Streaming Wars is a weekly opinion column by IGN’s Streaming Editor, Amelia Emberwing. To read the last entry, check out The Jedi Don’t Own the Force: The Acolyte Is Changing Everything We Know About the “Good Guys”
In some ways, I am a walking stereotype. Which is to say that of course Agatha All Along (which had a much cooler name in Coven of Chaos) has been one of my most anticipated shows since it was announced years ago. Since said announcement, Disney has made sure to keep folks on their toes with repeated (and intentional) name changes and delightful casting announcements like Aubrey Plaza and Patti LuPone, all of which have worked in the show’s favor. Unfortunately, the teaser and subsequent trailer that followed have been less inspiring, and have left me wondering just what the heck this show is going to be about. I know that, usually, headlines like this column’s have the secret answer, but I’m just as curious as you are! What is Agatha All Along about!?
Right now, Agatha All Along is setting up two major hurdles for itself by rolling out its campaign as it has. First, there’s a limited demographic that knows and cares about this character enough to watch a spinoff. By not giving fans any kind of idea of what the show will be, it’s hard to expect those who may not care to show up. Secondly, it raises concerns for those of us who are actually interested in Agatha Harkness and her MCU journey because it seems like just months out the series still has no idea what its tone is.
Bad trailers happen, and there’s no judging a film or series based on two minutes. This wacky, witchy number remains my most anticipated series for the rest of the year, and I can’t wait to see Kathryn Hahn get into some Grade A shenanigans as only she can. But so much of the marketing for Agatha All Along has been trying to find its identity, and I’m starting to lose faith that it’s intentional and getting worried that said marketing is simply disjointed.
WandaVision’s marketing had a similar approach, hopping from sitcom era to sitcom era and keeping viewers mostly in the dark up until the series finally began (and throughout the show, really). It fits the theme of both Wanda and Agatha, as both enter their shows with memory issues for varying reasons. However, WandaVision also had the good faith of Wanda Maximoff fans and MCU aficionados hungry for something different from their traditional film offerings. Agatha Harkness is a fun character in the MCU, and an important one in the comics, but calling her “beloved” stretches farther than even Reed Richards can reach. After all, part of the lady’s theme song is “and I killed Sparky too!” (Sparky being the Maximoff family dog.)
Morally gray has been the name of the game for a while now, with fans growing more and more interested in how their favorite little monsters are the way that they are. We all love Loki! But, like Wanda before him, the Trickster God headed into his series with a mountain of good will. Folks like me are going to show up for Agatha regardless, but whether or not the fragmented narrative leading into the show is going to hurt it or not remains to be seen, and relying on the antihero trend and what worked with WandaVision seems like it’s becoming a mistake.
Broadly speaking, we know that Agatha is trying to find herself after Wanda locked her in a hex for toying with her family. Presumably, at the end of her journey, Agatha will become the same witch who was worthy in the comics of minding Reed and Sue Richards’ son, Franklin, before ultimately teaming with the Fantastic Four on various escapades. Of course, we have no idea if the character will be somehow tied to the upcoming Fantastic Four film (Harkness is much older than she looks, regardless of Fantastic Four’s place in the timeline or multiverse) or if she will continue on her own way as a solo character until witches are needed again in the MCU.
Agatha doesn’t need to be a part of the Richards’ family story to be an engaging character, but again, I’m also not the type that Disney needs to sell to here. It seems really unlikely that releasing two clunky teases — both of which start with the same obnoxiously dull detective fakeout footage — is doing anything to sell the show to folks not already interested in her story. (There are dozens of us! Dozens!)
But the real issue here isn’t that the trailers don’t tell us much. Not knowing much is often the absolute best way to head into shows and movies. Trailers used to tell us nothing! No details, no showing clips of every major scene, just vibes. And the vibes were great! But a trailer doesn’t need to tell you things to be a good trailer, and marketing doesn’t need to spoon feed-viewers to be a solid campaign. What they need to do is set the tone, and there are about seven of them in the Agatha All Along trailer. Are we going on a silly witch adventure? Are we body horror? Are we hokey? Are we serious? Who can say!
In a perfect world, the next trailer will continue to keep us in the dark on specific plot points but finally give us some answers on what to expect tonally from the show. Because if the series is as disjointed as the lead-in, it seems likely that Disney will take all the wrong lessons from its failure. We need more shows that take weird swings, not fewer! I guess it’s time to start a prayer circle, witches.
Amelia is the entertainment Streaming Editor here at IGN. She’s also a film and television critic who spends too much time talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers. There may be cheeseburgers involved. Follow her across social @ThatWitchMia
