Marvel introduced Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) in 2021’s WandaVision, further developing her character and position in the MCU with her solo series Agatha All Along, whose first season was released earlier this year.
What If…released in 2021 provide Marvel fans with an animated look into their favorite character’s lives if they were in different universes. It is a great and fun concept that reigned successfully as it is about to release its third season. Warning: spoilers ahead!
In episode 2, “What If…Agatha Went to Hollywood,” Agatha’s selfish path to gain more power is hidden by big, bright lights and moving cameras. During Hollywood’s Golden Age, Agatha becomes an actress to “save her world” from the celestials about to emerge from the center of the Earth. In the process, she convinces Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), her director, to cast Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani). He is the last of the Eternals whose power she needs, which he very quickly realizes as Agatha whips out Athena’s trident. Regardless of Agatha’s true intentions, he is convinced. After successfully gaining Kingo’s powers, Agatha gets what she wants, but the question becomes is it really what she is destined to maintain?
[This rhetorical question is placed here for dramatic effect and to stop this writer from spoiling the ending].
This is not my favorite episode from the series and lies on the weaker scale of episodes in comparison to the previous two seasons and Episode 1 of Season 3. Its story seemed monotone and not very far off from the plotline of Agatha All Along. What makes What If… such a fun show is that it gives watchers completely different looks into their favorite heroes. This episode just didn’t do that, but rather gave her the same plot line just in a different setting.
I must also acknowledge Agatha’s animation is very close to that of Peggy Carter, who we have seen very often throughout the entirety of the series — which I don’t personally love. Similarly, I believe Kingo’s animation was a bit Westernized.
That being said, I did appreciate the inclusion of the Eternals and the Celestials Tiamut and Arishem as there hasn’t been much Eternal activity since the film in 2021.
I am excited to see the new stories this season brings us.
