‘Agatha All Along’ is dropping breadcrumbs no one saw coming and I’m officially intrigued

One of the best things about WandaVision were the creative and delightful references to decades of television and popular culture. As a spin-off to the 2021 show, Agatha All Along has tried to keep that spirit alive while carving out its own identity.

From the first second of the first episode, when Agatha was still stuck in Wanda’s hex and went by the name of Agnes, we were hit with one of the best television homages of the season yet. The protagonist, who we had last seen as the evil witch messing with Wanda’s plans in an attempt to steal her power, is now, inexplicably, a police detective in a pale, bleak criminal drama we later learn is titled Agnes of Westview. The title, Agnes’ parka and flannels, and her wretched home life — all a clear reference to a show that blocked WandaVision in most categories at the 2022 Emmys, Mare of Easttown with Kate Winslet.

Asked whether the choice was an intentional dig at the awards rivalry, WandaVision and Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer basically said “No comment.”

The tributes to the criminal genre didn’t end there, though. Posters for the first episode featuring Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza as well as the gothic country “True Crime” version of “The Ballad of The Witches’ Road” that played over the credits, were an obvious nod to True Detective. Then, Schaeffer and co. went even further by including the title card “Based on the Danish series WandaVisdysen,” which notes the influence Nordic noir has had on criminal thrillers in the West for the last twenty or so years. The attention to detail is searching itches we didn’t know we had.

Also, remember when the show kept changing its title before and during production? Those were all references to famous shows and movies, too. And throw in a Rocky Horror Picture Show promotional poster in there, too, because why not?

The references continued in the third episode where the coven faced their first trial at the Witches’ Road as they entered a dreamy cream-colored beachside mansion and received appropriate old money makeovers. Moving on from criminal thrillers to housewife soapy dramas, we got nods to Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, Desperate Housewives, and Real Housewives. These people did their homework.

Naturally, the show always finds time to shout out other iconic witches from history, like when Patti LuPone’s Lilia Calderu mused about a time when one of her friends, who also had a really nice house, was forced to get inside an oven. It’s only fitting, then, that every episode ends with a fabulous credits sequence featuring all kinds of magical creatures, from Snow White to the Wizard of Oz, to the sound of a certified bop like Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll.”