Agatha: How the Ballad of the Witches Road Reveals the Plot

The Ballad of the Witches' Road provides a map for the series.

By Aaron Perine - September 22, 2024 12:49 am EDT

Agatha All Along Episodes 1 and 2 took viewers down The Witches' Road for the first time this week. And, the song that Kathryn Hahn, Shasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp and Patti LuPone sang in the season premiere is the secret key to this series. Marvel Studios has now posted "The Ballad of the Witches' Road" on multiple platforms. With some increased time with this delightful song, fans are noticing how closely the lyrics mirror what's been going on in the series so far. From the fact that Agatha Harkness's makeshift coven has to sing this ballad together to open the portal to The Witches' Road to the danger that's obviously lurking behind them with each passing step, these lyrics provide a guide for the viewer to be prepared for whatever comes their way.

The first line shows the gamble that Agatha and these witches are taking trying to use the road in the first place. (Seekes thou the Road / To all that's foul and fair) Right after that, each of these witches get an element assigned to them. Jennifer Kale is Water, Alice Wu-Gulliver is Fire, Lilia Calderu is Air and poor Sharon is Earth. Agatha and Teen are left out of this sorting bit. It truly is the witches' darkest hour as desperation has led them to the road in the first place. But, they're going to have to work together to get what they want. Kale wants her powers unbound, Alice is looking for what happened to her mother, Calderu is searching for riches to keep herself afloat and Sharon just wants some friends. (Darkest hour, wake thy power / Earthly and divine / burn and brew with coven true / And glory shall be thine)

Sharon's core desire is reflected in all of these women and Teen in some way. Showrunner Jac Schaeffer gave a recent interview where she talked about forging bonds for these characters, and how it powers this story. Witches in pop culture always endure some sort of scrutiny. Agatha All Along's chaotic coven is no different in that regard.

"A lot of what the story is about is the power of community, the power of tribe. All of these characters are loners to various degrees, and they are people who are disconnected from their own internal sources of power," Schaeffer explained. "Through the circle of togetherness and through harmonizing—both literally and figuratively—they are able to reconnect with their naturally existing internal power."

Agatha All Along Sees The Fan Favorite At Her Lowest

Agatha Harkness might have the most desperation of any witch represented here. During her last MCU appearance, Kathryn Hahn's witch lost her power at the hands of Wanda Maximoff. So, when we meet her now, she doesn't have any of the potent magical abilities she displayed during WandaVision. But, Agatha has a way to get it back: The Witches' Road. That all sounds good, but she'll need a team of magic-users to travel the road. These women are all from different times and places, and united by these unique circumstances. Hahn talked about her character's return to glory and how her relationship with her fellow witches begins in Agatha All Along during the same interview.

"At the beginning she's kind of a twisted ringleader. If this was a circus, she would definitely be the Barnum or Bailey. She's got the smarts—maybe an almost Tin Man quality, if Tin Man had major character energy," Hahn explained. "And I think that she has to be the most confident one who gets all these little scared witches running behind her. She has to show a lot of bravado and kind of fake it 'til she feels it. Remember, she still has no powers, so she has to manifest power through her actions and her words. She's leaning a lot on appearing powerful to these other witches."

Do you think all of the witches will reach the end of the road? Check out all the pop culture discussion over at @ComicBook!

Agatha All Along Sees The Fan Favorite At Her Lowest

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