Agatha All Along: Mother to Mentor

In this podcast episode, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester consider the recently released MCU Disney+ series Agatha All Along from the perspective of long-running themes at FANgirl Blog and Hyperspace Theories: the influence of myth and heroic journeys on contemporary storytelling and how contemporary storytelling is evolving those ideas, especially in stories told by women and other creators from diverse and marginalized backgrounds. The story structure of Agatha All Along itself is built around the idea of an evolving myth, the “Ballad of the Witches’ Road” song, which appears in multiple iterations over the course of the series.

We then discuss the character arcs of Agatha Harkness and Billy Maximoff through the frame of the Maiden Mother Crone triptych that is central to the series, and to longstanding lore about witches and other female archetypes. We also examine how Agatha All Along draws upon familiar elements of storytelling frameworks like the Hero’s Journey and Heroine’s Journey while also breaking from tropes and expectations in telling the tale of a centuries-old witch and a twenty-first century American teenager.

Related Links:

• ‘Agatha All Along’ Boss Jac Schaeffer Talks Episode Four’s Reveal and Mephisto: “That Is Larger Than Me and This Show” (The Hollywood Reporter; Oct. 7, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’ Showrunner Teases ‘Lots More’ Coming for Agatha and Rio – and Whether We Should Trust That Reveal About Teen (The Wrap; Oct. 7, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’ Showrunner Unpacks Episode 5: Wiccan, Agatha’s Mom and the Shorter Runtime (The Wrap; Oct. 14, 2024)
• Billy Maximoff Returns: Joe Locke and ‘Agatha All Along’ Creator on Hiding His Identity, ‘Wacky’ Fan Theories and Bringing Back [SPOILER] From ‘WandaVision’ (Variety; Oct. 18, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’ Showrunner Talks Billy’s Backstory, Evan Peters’ MCU Return & What’s To Come On The Witches Road (Deadline; Oct. 18, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’ Showrunner Talks Episode 6: Billy’s Backstory, Agatha’s Secret and That Cameo (The Wrap; Oct. 18, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’ Creator on Directing Patti LuPone’s Mind-Bending Episode, Revealing [SPOILER]’s True Identity and Who Is Really Dead (Variety; Oct. 25, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’ Showrunner Unpacks Lilia’s Trial, Rio’s Reveal And More Ahead Of Final Two Episodes (Deadline; Oct. 25, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’ Showrunner Unpacks Time-Tripping Episode 7: Patti LuPone on Wires, Wanda and That Death Reveal (The Wrap; Oct. 25, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’ Showrunner Jac Schaeffer On Sticking The Landing With Final Episodes & What’s To Come For Billy (Deadline; Nov. 1, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’ Creator Explains Shocking Finale Twists, Agatha and Rio’s Backstory, Nicholas Scratch’s Father and Why There’s No Post-Credits Scene (Variety; Nov. 1, 2024)
• Agatha All Along creator clarifies the Tommy moment and where the Road goes from here (EW; Nov. 1, 2024)
• After That Shocking ‘Agatha All Along’ Finale Twist, Sasheer Zamata Discusses Jen’s Reaction and Her Potential MCU Future (Collider; Nov. 1, 2024)
• Agatha’s Fate Was Decided From the Beginning in ‘Agatha All Along’ (Collider; Nov. 1, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’s Showrunner Breaks Down the Finale’s Reveals and Twists (Collider; Nov. 1, 2024)
• Agatha Is Not “The Hero of Her Own Story,” Says Creator (Collider; Nov. 2, 2024)
• ‘Agatha All Along’ Boss Jac Schaeffer on Forgoing Wanda in Finale: “It Didn’t Feel Fair to Agatha” (The Hollywood Reporter; Nov. 4, 2024)
• “I will die on that hill”: Jac Schaeffer Will Never Accept One ‘Agatha All Along’ Criticism Even After Revelation That Billy Maximoff Opened the Road (FandomWire; Nov. 6, 2024)