This article contains spoiler-ish theories about Agatha All Along. Read at your discretion.

There has been plenty of talk about how the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe offering, Agatha All Along is the gayest thing in the Marvel Studios oeuvre — and after watching the first four episodes of the series, I can confirm. It is VERY queer.

The MCU has seen its fair peppering of LGBTQ characters since its inception.

In Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness, the denim jacket-clad inter-dimensional traveler America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) had two mommies; Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) in Eternals had a husband (Haaz Sleiman) and a kid; Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) was very queer in Thor: Ragnarok (remember when Thompson said Valkyrie will find “her queen” at Comic-Con 2019); and in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever we saw glimpse of Aneka (Michaela Coel) and Ayo’s (Florence Kasumba) relationship — which is also seen in the comics. Also, I’m just throwing Captain Marvel and Captain America: The Winter Soldier in there. Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) gives me queer volleyball coach energy and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) are basically hyper-masculine superhero versions of Bert and Ernie.

When the worlds started to get more fantastical, it was easier to fit representation of queer people in an otherworldly narrative to appease people who are, let’s face it, queer/trans/homophobic or are uncomfortable with watching same-sex intimacy and using they/them pronouns.

At the premiere of Agatha All Along, the gay media machine was working its magic as it is clear that they are making the Wandavision spinoff their most queer-forward project to date. The cast was very into the gay of it all at the red carpet premiere. Joe Locke, who plays a character that goes by “Teen”, told Variety  “It’s got many layers and gay is one of them. That’s one of the great things about the show. … Teen is a queer guy on the show, but it’s not the driving force, which I think is really great. It’s really nice to just have these positive queer characters.”

Sasheer Zamata, who plays bougie potions expert Jennifer Kale in the Disney+ series, added to the praise of the flourishing queerness in the MCU. Zamata told Variety: “You’ll see when you watch. Witches are queer, inherently, just because we are outcasts and set aside for many reasons. This show shows a really good representation of different types of people and that we can all use the power we have within to go forward and be great.”

Zamata is right. Queerness has always been linked with witchcraft in many ways. In 2021, writer and historian Mara Gold helped curate an exhibition at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, England called “Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality and Power”. One of the focuses of the exhibition was the LGBTQ community’s connection to witchcraft. “Histories of both the LGBT community and of witchcraft often have to be considered in relationship to one another in order to be fully understood,” said Gold in a statement on the museum’s website. “Whether it be queer astrology, lesbian witches on mainstream television [such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Willow and Tara] or real Wiccan practices, Esotericism and queer culture remain inextricably linked.”

In the same red carpet interview,  Kathryn Hahn who plays the titular purple-tinted witchy villain loves how the queerness on the show is “normalized” and part of the natural fabric of the narrative.

Aubrey Plaza plays Agatha’s foil Rio, a very cunty witch that wants her — in more ways than one. At the premiere, Plaza claimed, “It will be a gay explosion by the end of it.”

The first four episodes have a lot of queer energy that radiates off the screen — specifically between Agatha and Rio. “Teen” has a boyfriend and at one point, Jennifer Kale and fellow witch Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) playfully crush on Rio.

But is the show good?

Well, it’s not bad. And it’s just the right amount of camp. It’s middle of the road Marvel. I had no problem with it. It’s as good as an MCU show can be nowadays. I’m not bitching and whining about whether or not it’s going to ruin the MCU.

It’s TV. It’s fun and all the actors are a joy to watch. Can we all agree we are just on this Marvel ride waiting for The Fantastic Four: First Steps and/or the thrilling return of the Russo Brothers?

It’s only appropriate that Jac Schaefer of Wandavision continue this journey as we find Agatha and a motley crew of witches (which also includes actors Debra Jo Rupp, and the legendary Patti LuPone) walk the mysterious “Witches’ Road” for all of these outcast witches — and “Teen” in order get their powers back.

Using a similar Wandavision formula of genre-bending, Agatha All Along eventually becomes a survivalist funhouse with twists, turns, and all the other Marvel adventure malarkey that comes with the territory. It’s a good ass time. Is it the greatest? No. But at least Disney is starting to push the envelope more and more with its queerness… and just wait till you get to episode 4.

Here is my unsolicited theory on how this will all connect to the MCU: Locke’s character’s name is a mystery on the show. I think a lot of people, including myself, think he is Wiccan — a.k.a. Billy from Wandavision — a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff’s son (who is also gay in the comics). But that “twist” just seems too easy for Marvel obsessors. So who knows who “Teen”?

Agatha All Along might be more of a one-off show in Marvel’s new strategy of minimizing output and there was also the overhaul of its current slate. Agatha is as good as its importance to the bigger picture of the MCU — and for now, the only possible connection for future MCU projects, besides her connection to Wanda, is Fantastic Four. In the comics, Agatha was the nanny Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s kid. We may see Agatha again in 2025’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

If anything, Agatha All Along continues the grand tradition of queerness in Disney projects that are “LGBTQ enough” to cause just the right amount of uproar from right-winged Disney fans.

It’s kind of like The Walking Dead and the refusal to use of the word “zombie” in the series. They will show all things zombie, but they just wont name it blatantly on the show. With Disney, it’s the walks a similar line. It’s giving “you can be gay, but just don’t say anything about it on screen.” Also, I always tend to side-eye corporate studios and networks with anything queer or BIPOC…but I am loving Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez’s catchy “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road”. I’ve been singing it around the house like I am part of Agatha’s coven.