At the 2021 Emmys, WandaVision went head to head against… Mare of Easttown. Neither show won the Limited Series category, but Kate Winslet beat Elizabeth Olsen. And Evan Peters won for Mare. So I enjoyed what I imagined to be Jac Schaeffer making a play for the last laugh.
And speaking of Evan Peters, didn’t Agatha take up residence in poor old Ralph Bohner’s house? I guess he never came back after Monica helped him escape Agatha. I hope the little creep is okay.
As I think back to early 2021 — a strange and scary period in our lives as we entered the second year of lockdown — I remember that the TV discourse was all about Wanda and Mare. TV gave us two wonderful shows about grieving women, just when we needed them. Everyone had lost somebody to covid. The culture latched onto these shows like they were liferafts. It’s too much to ask for or expect that Agatha will have the same effect. And it doesn’t need to. But it feels cozy and safe being back in that world that comforted us in a scary time.
As a witch aesthetic enjoyer (and someone who grew up with Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed) I loved loved loved these two episodes. The camp, the outsized performances, the insane sexual tension between Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza (is it only me that got the vibe they are exes all the way through?), the all-star cast, the musical number with beautiful harmonies... This is everything I can ask for.
Not just you, they are 100% exes!! I was not expecting this show to give Agatha a vengeful-yet-flirty lesbian ex who is into knife play, but I LOVE it, more please!!
I'll be upfront about my motivations, and I would be watching this show anyway because Wandavision was so great, but I'm deep into Heartstopper and so I've been salivating over Joe Locke's performance for, uh... when was his casting announced? Anyway, I'm very excited. He was leaning hard into the cinnamon roll performance in these episodes but there was something about the threatening way he told the other witches to be at Agatha's that hinted at something much more sinister underneath. Also, I too am curious whether he's unaware of the curse (or whatever) on him, or if he's only pretending. Why can't he tell Agatha about his life, but she could see the photo of his protective "boyf" on his phone?
Your theory about Wanda's death triggering the cop procedural is interesting. And it makes sense conceptually given the murder mystery. Do you think that's ultimately what broke the spell? I'm not convinced Teen actually did it.
I'm probably connecting non-dots but was the WandaVisdyen joke a reference to the Dutch show "Van der Hoot: Psychische" from 30 Rock? Starring the Franco-Dutch Sue LaRoche-Van der Hout of course.
Authenticity alert: I was pleasantly surprised when Agatha pronounced "creek" as "crik." Extremely accurate Philly-area/south Jersey pronunciation.
I took it as Wanda's death sent Agatha into the true crime realm and then it was the joint effort of Teen and Rio that snapped her out of *that* realm and back to reality. But, again, that's really just a guess on my part.
And I suspect the WandaVisdyen gag is mostly just an homage to "Nordic noir" remakes like The Killing and The Bridge, but I like the specificity of your 30 Rock pull!
I agree, I think it's very likely Debra Jo Rupp's character has some magic in her. She was one of the few people who could break though Wanda's spell. When her husband was choking during the dinner scene in WandaVision she kept saying stop it and she was always absolutely talking to Wanda. I hope that's what they're now playing with, that it was latent within her or something.
I didn't necessarily take that to mean she had any powers--more that her husband was choking to death and Wanda could stop it, so the extreme emotion allowed her to push through slightly. (Of course the real reason is we needed to have something go wrong so we got a sinister sensation that something is more wrong that the sing-song sitcom format would indicate.) But, I'll admit I'm very curious to know where this is all leading and maybe she does have some sort of power!
My expectations were very low, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed these two episodes. I’d happily watch a whole season of Agnes of Westview! The rest was fun, too, and I’m excited to see where the Witches’ Road leads. Also, yes, I interpreted the black heart on the list as a reference to Rio as the final witch.
Coming in I wasn't entirely convinced that we needed an Agatha Harkness follow up, but the way to my heart is with a goofy alternate opening credit sequence so I went from "unconvinced" to "100% in on this show's vibe" in record time. Speaking of the pastiche, it's truly staggering how fine the line between "actual prestige true crime procedural" and "blatantly over-the-top parody of a prestige true crime procedural" can be. It wasn't as over the top as, say, the Community Law and Order parody episode, but it was still clearly a lovingly heightened version of the real thing. If Kathryn Hahn had toned down her damaged cop with an attitude mannerisms *just* a single degree it would have been practically indistinguishable from the real thing.
I'm also a bit disappointed that Agatha broke out of pastiche land so quickly, but that would have more or less been a retread of WandaVision's gimmick and a brief revisit to the trapped-in-TV Land conceit makes sense as a bridge between that series and this one. As did the presence of so many of the recurring characters from WandaVision. Having them pop in made the world feel lived in and familiar, and it gave Deborah Jo Rupp an opportunity to straight up steal the show. While sticking with the true crime bit would have made things delightfully weird, the idea of a bunch of witches going on a metaphysical road trip still provides ample opportunity for strangeness and could maybe tilt this into a middle ground between WandaVision/Loki and Hawkeye. But even with that only as a possibility, I’m far more into it far more quickly than I expected.
Cute lil' teen with a cute lil' boyfriend who has a cute lil' thing for witches and a cute lil' bit of coyness around his name? He's totally Billy, right? It's not like this is a super deep reading along the lines of the one that relied on obscure hints which led some folks to think Mephisto was going to be the big bad in WandaVision. This more a surface level bit of wink wink nudge nudge that makes me think we're *supposed* to figure out what his deal is and the anticipation will be the fun as opposed to the puzzling out of his real identity.
I don't know I was hoping for way more genre pastiches and even if it was WandaVision's "gimmick" I still would've loved it if they'd gone multiple episodes parodying different prestige female anti-hero shows. I flipped out seeing the "Mare of Easttown" credits and was hoping there'd be different styled credits like that each week. But then I'm in the minority that found "WandaVision" far more compelling when it was still in the TV sitcom reality than when the "real story" kicked in. I think it's weird that this show couldn't even keep it going for a full episode. That said the show that this actually is fairly entertaining just in a different way
Iunno, I had a really fun time with this two-episode premier. Kathryn Hahn all but forced Marvel's hand to create an entire show about her based on how charismatic she was in WandaVision, and I've got to admit that the idea of yet another Marvel show (that's bound to only be one or two seasons long) about yet another Marvel ancillary character seemed like peak Marvel-Fatigue when I first heard about it. Then I saw Aubrey Plaza was in it, so I had no choice but to watch it.
Shame she wasn't in the second episode, then, because as Caroline mentioned, she and Hahn have supremely fun chemistry, even when they're in their obviously-fake-police-procedural. "Do you remember why you hate me?" They even have good sexual tension too, you can tell these two were lovers at somepoint with Rio's "I wanted you horizontal...in the GROUND" quip in the midst of their battle. Between that and Teen silencing a phone call from his apparent boyfriend, this looks to be a Marvel show that's refreshingly queer. Will we get one of our very few same-sex Marvel kisses on this show, instead of just an allusion to the fact that gay people do, indeed, exist and like Marvel stuff?
Speaking of Teen, pretty interesting how Agatha is under a spell where she isn't allowed to know his name/backstory, and the graphic that sewed up his mouth was sufficiently creepy. I'm guessing his character will eventually be revealed to be her son, or maybe a fun thing like Mephisto in disguise, which Marvel nerds have been clamoring for, and would fit in this appropriately spooky show.
With that said, it could be a good deal spookier for me, the only thing that was remotely scary was the 7 witches splitting up in the street with freaky movements. Let's have a little horror in this show, please, and properly introduce us to Halloween! (Marvel was very clever while scheduling this show).
Thanks for the video of them singing the song. I agree that was a great scene! Also thanks for the Marvel recap. I didn’t remember the details at the end of Wandavision. Plus I don’t watch many Marvel movies so that explained a lot!
I am just considering this my Halloween show. It’s not scary but it has fun spooky vibes.
As someone who grew up in Salem during the 90s, I have pretty resolutely avoided anything intensely witchy for almost my entire life. I think Suspiria and The Wizard of Oz are the only witch-laden films I've seen. And "Coven" remains my least favorite season of AHS, at least of the first 8 seasons.
All this is a preface to say that Kathryn Hahn, as well as the presence of Aubrey Plaza and Patti LuPone, who should be cast as a villain and a witch, respectively, as often as they like, is enough to draw me in for this particular journey, and while the second episode was a little weak, I'm optimistic after having watched the first two this evening.
At the 2021 Emmys, WandaVision went head to head against… Mare of Easttown. Neither show won the Limited Series category, but Kate Winslet beat Elizabeth Olsen. And Evan Peters won for Mare. So I enjoyed what I imagined to be Jac Schaeffer making a play for the last laugh.
And speaking of Evan Peters, didn’t Agatha take up residence in poor old Ralph Bohner’s house? I guess he never came back after Monica helped him escape Agatha. I hope the little creep is okay.
Oh my god, I LOVE this as a bit of Emmys lore. I totally forgot WandaVision and Mare of Easttown debuted the same year.
Let's hope Ralph officially sold the house to Agatha and moved to LA to pursue his acting dreams!
As I think back to early 2021 — a strange and scary period in our lives as we entered the second year of lockdown — I remember that the TV discourse was all about Wanda and Mare. TV gave us two wonderful shows about grieving women, just when we needed them. Everyone had lost somebody to covid. The culture latched onto these shows like they were liferafts. It’s too much to ask for or expect that Agatha will have the same effect. And it doesn’t need to. But it feels cozy and safe being back in that world that comforted us in a scary time.
Poor Ralph isn’t doing so good. Hoping for good news over the coming weeks.
Heh heh... "boner." /ref
Didn't catch that, but it wouldn't surprise me!
> I found Plaza way more compelling as a wry FBI agent
Finally, Janet Snakehole-Macklin spinoff America has been waiting for!
First thing I said was "Burt Maclin you son of a b...." I would 100% watch and AP cop show
As a witch aesthetic enjoyer (and someone who grew up with Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed) I loved loved loved these two episodes. The camp, the outsized performances, the insane sexual tension between Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza (is it only me that got the vibe they are exes all the way through?), the all-star cast, the musical number with beautiful harmonies... This is everything I can ask for.
I was also a fan of the montage of Witch media throughout the end credits.
Not just you, they are 100% exes!! I was not expecting this show to give Agatha a vengeful-yet-flirty lesbian ex who is into knife play, but I LOVE it, more please!!
I'll be upfront about my motivations, and I would be watching this show anyway because Wandavision was so great, but I'm deep into Heartstopper and so I've been salivating over Joe Locke's performance for, uh... when was his casting announced? Anyway, I'm very excited. He was leaning hard into the cinnamon roll performance in these episodes but there was something about the threatening way he told the other witches to be at Agatha's that hinted at something much more sinister underneath. Also, I too am curious whether he's unaware of the curse (or whatever) on him, or if he's only pretending. Why can't he tell Agatha about his life, but she could see the photo of his protective "boyf" on his phone?
Your theory about Wanda's death triggering the cop procedural is interesting. And it makes sense conceptually given the murder mystery. Do you think that's ultimately what broke the spell? I'm not convinced Teen actually did it.
I'm probably connecting non-dots but was the WandaVisdyen joke a reference to the Dutch show "Van der Hoot: Psychische" from 30 Rock? Starring the Franco-Dutch Sue LaRoche-Van der Hout of course.
Authenticity alert: I was pleasantly surprised when Agatha pronounced "creek" as "crik." Extremely accurate Philly-area/south Jersey pronunciation.
I took it as Wanda's death sent Agatha into the true crime realm and then it was the joint effort of Teen and Rio that snapped her out of *that* realm and back to reality. But, again, that's really just a guess on my part.
And I suspect the WandaVisdyen gag is mostly just an homage to "Nordic noir" remakes like The Killing and The Bridge, but I like the specificity of your 30 Rock pull!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_noir
“Based on the Sokovian series…” would have been too on the nose and far less funny.
That's weird. That's the way they say it in rural northern Indiana too
I agree, I think it's very likely Debra Jo Rupp's character has some magic in her. She was one of the few people who could break though Wanda's spell. When her husband was choking during the dinner scene in WandaVision she kept saying stop it and she was always absolutely talking to Wanda. I hope that's what they're now playing with, that it was latent within her or something.
But also hundred percent the heart meant Rio.
I didn't necessarily take that to mean she had any powers--more that her husband was choking to death and Wanda could stop it, so the extreme emotion allowed her to push through slightly. (Of course the real reason is we needed to have something go wrong so we got a sinister sensation that something is more wrong that the sing-song sitcom format would indicate.) But, I'll admit I'm very curious to know where this is all leading and maybe she does have some sort of power!
It wouldn't surprise me at all that she's faking being a suburban mom, and that her powers will come out sooner rather than later.
Or, if she's not a witch, Rio will dispose of her (messily, hopefully) and take her place.
My expectations were very low, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed these two episodes. I’d happily watch a whole season of Agnes of Westview! The rest was fun, too, and I’m excited to see where the Witches’ Road leads. Also, yes, I interpreted the black heart on the list as a reference to Rio as the final witch.
Coming in I wasn't entirely convinced that we needed an Agatha Harkness follow up, but the way to my heart is with a goofy alternate opening credit sequence so I went from "unconvinced" to "100% in on this show's vibe" in record time. Speaking of the pastiche, it's truly staggering how fine the line between "actual prestige true crime procedural" and "blatantly over-the-top parody of a prestige true crime procedural" can be. It wasn't as over the top as, say, the Community Law and Order parody episode, but it was still clearly a lovingly heightened version of the real thing. If Kathryn Hahn had toned down her damaged cop with an attitude mannerisms *just* a single degree it would have been practically indistinguishable from the real thing.
I'm also a bit disappointed that Agatha broke out of pastiche land so quickly, but that would have more or less been a retread of WandaVision's gimmick and a brief revisit to the trapped-in-TV Land conceit makes sense as a bridge between that series and this one. As did the presence of so many of the recurring characters from WandaVision. Having them pop in made the world feel lived in and familiar, and it gave Deborah Jo Rupp an opportunity to straight up steal the show. While sticking with the true crime bit would have made things delightfully weird, the idea of a bunch of witches going on a metaphysical road trip still provides ample opportunity for strangeness and could maybe tilt this into a middle ground between WandaVision/Loki and Hawkeye. But even with that only as a possibility, I’m far more into it far more quickly than I expected.
Teen identity speculation thread!
Cute lil' teen with a cute lil' boyfriend who has a cute lil' thing for witches and a cute lil' bit of coyness around his name? He's totally Billy, right? It's not like this is a super deep reading along the lines of the one that relied on obscure hints which led some folks to think Mephisto was going to be the big bad in WandaVision. This more a surface level bit of wink wink nudge nudge that makes me think we're *supposed* to figure out what his deal is and the anticipation will be the fun as opposed to the puzzling out of his real identity.
I have him as either Mephisto in disguise or maybe Agatha's son. He's definitely more powerful than he lets on.
I don't know I was hoping for way more genre pastiches and even if it was WandaVision's "gimmick" I still would've loved it if they'd gone multiple episodes parodying different prestige female anti-hero shows. I flipped out seeing the "Mare of Easttown" credits and was hoping there'd be different styled credits like that each week. But then I'm in the minority that found "WandaVision" far more compelling when it was still in the TV sitcom reality than when the "real story" kicked in. I think it's weird that this show couldn't even keep it going for a full episode. That said the show that this actually is fairly entertaining just in a different way
The black heart definitely meant Rio
Iunno, I had a really fun time with this two-episode premier. Kathryn Hahn all but forced Marvel's hand to create an entire show about her based on how charismatic she was in WandaVision, and I've got to admit that the idea of yet another Marvel show (that's bound to only be one or two seasons long) about yet another Marvel ancillary character seemed like peak Marvel-Fatigue when I first heard about it. Then I saw Aubrey Plaza was in it, so I had no choice but to watch it.
Shame she wasn't in the second episode, then, because as Caroline mentioned, she and Hahn have supremely fun chemistry, even when they're in their obviously-fake-police-procedural. "Do you remember why you hate me?" They even have good sexual tension too, you can tell these two were lovers at somepoint with Rio's "I wanted you horizontal...in the GROUND" quip in the midst of their battle. Between that and Teen silencing a phone call from his apparent boyfriend, this looks to be a Marvel show that's refreshingly queer. Will we get one of our very few same-sex Marvel kisses on this show, instead of just an allusion to the fact that gay people do, indeed, exist and like Marvel stuff?
Speaking of Teen, pretty interesting how Agatha is under a spell where she isn't allowed to know his name/backstory, and the graphic that sewed up his mouth was sufficiently creepy. I'm guessing his character will eventually be revealed to be her son, or maybe a fun thing like Mephisto in disguise, which Marvel nerds have been clamoring for, and would fit in this appropriately spooky show.
With that said, it could be a good deal spookier for me, the only thing that was remotely scary was the 7 witches splitting up in the street with freaky movements. Let's have a little horror in this show, please, and properly introduce us to Halloween! (Marvel was very clever while scheduling this show).
Thanks for the video of them singing the song. I agree that was a great scene! Also thanks for the Marvel recap. I didn’t remember the details at the end of Wandavision. Plus I don’t watch many Marvel movies so that explained a lot!
I am just considering this my Halloween show. It’s not scary but it has fun spooky vibes.
As someone who grew up in Salem during the 90s, I have pretty resolutely avoided anything intensely witchy for almost my entire life. I think Suspiria and The Wizard of Oz are the only witch-laden films I've seen. And "Coven" remains my least favorite season of AHS, at least of the first 8 seasons.
All this is a preface to say that Kathryn Hahn, as well as the presence of Aubrey Plaza and Patti LuPone, who should be cast as a villain and a witch, respectively, as often as they like, is enough to draw me in for this particular journey, and while the second episode was a little weak, I'm optimistic after having watched the first two this evening.