“Agatha All Along” opened with a spirited first two episodes that wasn’t afraid to wink at itself, taking full advantage of star Kathryn Hahn’s range and whimsy. Was Episode 3 able to keep that up?
This week, we’re finally on the Witches’ Road! And with that comes the first challenge for Agatha’s (Hahn) coven: Drinking poisoned wine in a quaint 1950s-inspired home, as they find themselves in outfits from the period that seem like they were recycled from the first few episodes of “WandaVision.”
As such, the group must make an antidote while on a ticking clock in order to proceed.
This episode drops the momentum established last week in order to let this cast awkwardly work through their differences and (it hopes) find chemistry. The show is keen on providing lighthearted humor that does break the ice, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that every character feels like a shell of themselves compared to Episodes 1 and 2. Those first two episodes oozed with personality and wit; Episode 3 feels like any other cookie cutter Marvel show.
Maybe that’s because the baton was passed from Episodes 1 and 2’s writer/director Jac Schaeffer and Episode 2’s writer Laura Donney. Episode 3 director Rachel Goldberg does make the show feel a little like “American Horror Story,” which she’s also directed an episode of, but it’s just so bland. I hope she’s able to turn it around in the next two episodes, which she also directed, but so far, I don’t have much hope. This might be another great Marvel project dragged down by uninspired direction and writing in its middle episodes.
This episode’s greatest sin is how it sidelined Hahn. Episodes 1 and 2 worked so well because it gave her room to shine, with her infectious personality bleeding off the screen. Episode 3 buries her under the show’s ensemble cast, none of whom have close to the screen presence she has.
I’m not hitting the alarm bell just yet. And I appreciated its willingness to axe a *spoiler* character at its end. But I am not impressed by Episode 3, and I think the show can do better.
“Agatha All Along” Episode 3 gets a 7/10
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