The most notable thing about Marvel’s latest TV show is that it’s first on their A-Z list of productions... before AGENT CARTER. A spin-off series from WANDAVISION that I’d argue nobody expected or even wanted, AGATHA... is consistently witless, with far too many obviously witchy traits (they ride ‘broomsticks’, too!), blithely gay stereotypes, and a quest-for-power plot-line with dismal ballad interludes.
All along (ack, see what I did there?), the Witches’ Road, this means it’s quite impossible to avoid pantomime clichés, especially as Kathryn Hahn plays the lead with a typically amateurish, hackneyed OTT style. In marked contrast, the usually wonderful Aubrey Plaza does what she can to save this disappointing fantasy, but her ‘evil’ character doesn’t get enough screen-time to make a difference. Don’t imagine AAA is anything like the two Dr Strange movies, or any genre-themed show like CHARMED, WITCHES OF EAST END, or movies like THE CRAFT, etc. What could have been an American response to great British series JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL, or Guadagnino’s Euro-styled SUSPIRIA remake, always feels very much closer to Disney’s HOCUS POCUS than anything linked to familiar MCU superheroes.
