WandaVision was a fine first entry on Marvel’s Disney+ slate. It was full of excellent performances, looked great throughout and seems to have set the stage for multiple upcoming big screen MCU adventures. One of the best received characters was Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness, who was present throughout the show as a stereotypical nosey neighbor but was eventually revealed to be an incredibly powerful witch trying to steal Wanda’s magical abilities.
But while she did ultimately explain her plan, there’s a lot about Harkness that’s still mysterious. In a new interview with Looper, however, writer Jac Schaeffer, producer Mary Livanos, and director Matt Shakman have talked through what she was really up to. Particularly interesting is Schaeffer explaining how she came upon Wanda and Westview and how she wormed her way into Wanda’s perfect sitcom world, with the scribe saying:
“Agatha sniffed out that there was some crazy, crazy magic going on and it’s her bag to take people’s crazy magic. And so, she showed up, and she watched and waited. She’s been around a long time, as you’ve seen, based on her flashback at the top of episode 8. And she knows not to poke a bear or whatever. So in our minds, she showed up, and she assimilated. And she watched and waited and kind of tried to stir up some trouble and see what would happen and get the information hopefully that she needed. And then it became too late, and she had to force the issue.”
Harkness was easily the most knowledgeable person about magic in the show, so she recognized how much power Wanda had and knew that she should avoid confronting her directly for as long as possible. Schaeffer clarifies that her tactic “was trying to create moments where she could push Wanda [Elizabeth Olsen] to a breaking point, into a moment where she might reveal something.”
Livanos also shed some light on what was going on with Evan Peters’ version of Pietro Maximoff. Referring to him as “Fiektro,” she says he was a key part of Wanda’s scheme, explaining:
“We saw in episode 6, Pietro tried to get information out of Wanda, but it did not work and Wanda sort of became wise to the fact that he was not a benevolent presence.”
The show left Harkness trapped in Westview in the cheesy character she’d created. But I doubt she’ll stay there long, as a magic user as experienced as her shouldn’t have too much trouble finding an escape hatch in this mental prison. Beyond that, it remains to be seen whether the citizens of Westview are cool with a temporarily brainwashed supervillain making small talk with them at the supermarket.
Let’s hope she busts out soon, because after WandaVision, the more Kathryn Hahn in the MCU the better. Fingers crossed that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier can match it when it premieres tomorrow.