Is Agatha Harkness the Problem? Or Can We All Agree She May Be Reasonable
Is Agatha the villain or is she just forthright? Is morally gray catching on?
Who Is Agatha Harkness?
Agatha All Along is the newest Halloween offering. As always, I was excited because I can always use another witch in my life. I first noticed Agatha in WandaVision. Agatha All Along is a continuation of WandaVision, which I find a lot of fun. Instead of trying to draw the WandaVision miniseries out, which runs the risk of the quality dropping, Agatha All Along propels this world forward with a different viewpoint.
Agatha Harkness is an ancient witch not known for her kindness. She’s a killer (known for killing her coven), she’s selfish, and she craves a ton of power. On paper, she’s not the most loveable witch, but she does have a wicked sense of humor. And perhaps it’s just me and my love the flawed, but I think Agatha might have a bit of gooey niceness deep, deep down inside.
Is Agatha Really Evil?
It’s safe to say none of us should follow her lead. Also, we can’t because we aren’t witches. However, if we consider the world she lives in, I’m not sure she’s the villain.
Mild spoilers for this entire universe ahead.
Wanda held an entire town hostage. I loved it. I got it. I like her too. But we can’t say that this world doesn’t understand an emotional witch. At the end of WandaVision, she’s does the right thing, becoming an understandable, grieving woman. However, Wanda backtracked in the multiverse movie, becoming the villain once again, putting her desires first and foremost. Dr. Strange had a point, but Wanda’s rage is valid. Losing a spouse and kids can’t be easy.
Moreover, the Avengers are not exactly paradigms of virtue. Civil War is one of my favorite movies of the franchise, and they (The Avengers) weren’t even on the same side (one team wanted full freedom while another wanted “accountability” and government oversight). They went to war with each other (hence the title). The government is always trying to control, kill, or manipulate something. (Perhaps the government should have more oversight in these movies and worry less about superpowers). With these truths, is Agatha really the one with the problem?
The last episode I was able to watch (had to cancel Disney Plus due to price hikes) revealed of the identity of “pet,” is easily one of my favorite episodes. There’s death, revenge, and judgment sequentially. Morally gray begins to encompass more than Agatha, making it my kind of show.
So is she evil? Well, so far I haven’t seen her doing anything unredeemable. Although, that also depends on how you feel about pets. While killing her coven wouldn’t get her voted nicest lady of the year, after seeing her mother during one of the trials, who could blame Agatha for wanting to do away with the bitchiest of witches?
Why Does It Matter If She’s Evil or Just One of Us?
I have a couple of answers to do this.
I just love watching this on television. I loved Once Upon a Time, but how long could I ignore how hypocritical Snow White was? Her morals always revolved around if something directly affected her and nothing else. At least Agatha calls it like she sees it, and does not sugar coat her actions.
This flows beautifully into the fact that perhaps if we can find ourselves in more of these characters, we can build more empathy of others. Bad actions often have a root cause. If we expand our empathy, it builds helpful communication and positive change. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should chase down Jason Voorhees for a date. Which is why it’s excellent we can do this in fiction while being significantly more choosey in life.
Last but not least, if you love these crazy characters, you can jump over to my Patreon where I create lots of flawed beauties. They are on the crazy side, but I hope there’s always a kernel you can relate to as these characters are deeply dramatic versions of our darkest, most honest thoughts.