After a meager start, the second episdoe of Marvel’s What If…? pulls some delightful punches for a cosmic experience. Recruiting their most recent character and a forgotten narrative, “What If…Agatha Went to Hollywood?” is a unique and fresh alternate reality in the MCU continuum.
In the golden age of Hollywood, Kathryn Hahn’s centuries-old witch, Agatha Harkness, has set her eyes on becoming a superstardom. As a headliner for Howard Stark’s Stark Pictures, Harkness is preparing her next close-up. After six script rewrites, her next role will be a showstopper, given the enormous production is a scheme to conjure up a masterful spell. This time the “Witches’ Road” author seeks to reap the power of a certain galactic being trapped in the middle of the Earth’s core.
To complete the incantation and become the most powerful witch in the universe, Agatha needs a costar to assist in making this production shine. She convinces Howard and his trusted assistant, Jarvis, to recruit the equally talented and ego-drive actor, Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani). The Eternal who hid in plain sight as a Hollywood heartthrob is eager to accept the role and stop Agatha’s ploy. Kingo possesses the energy Agatha needs to complete her spell since she’s already “borrowed” the powers of the other surviving Eternals.
The two stars collide in a wonderful dance number that evolves into a power battle with Kingo firing his energy blasts and Agatha answering with her magic. Stark is just happy to be capturing such a wonderful event on film. Soon the ordeal escalates as Agatha convinces Kingo she seeks to demolish the creature to save the planet. As if.
Despite her reputation, Kingo agrees to partner with Agatha in this ritual. But not before the two magical beings receive a warning from the elder celestial, Arishem the Judge. As one of two celestials that determine which civilizations live or end, Arishem is not too pleased with Agatha’s plan. Nonetheless, our favorite witch persists, stealing the celestial Tiaumut’s powers to become a cosmic being. Her evolution summons Arishem and the duo battle with Earth as their witness. Just as Wanda defeated Agatha, Ms. Harkness entraps Arishem in a pentagram before sucking him powerless.
Unsurprisingly, Agatha does not keep her word. She demands that Kingo bow to her immense power. Instead of trying to fight her magic, Kingo strokes her ego and her necessity to be adorned, loved even. He reminds her that movies are magical and that she can capture the hearts of every man through the silver screen as she originally intended. The reverse psychology works as these two narcissists arrive in arms to the red carpet premiere of “Cosmic Queen.” And there are rumors of a sequel.
This episode is the refreshing, left turn that finds What If…? at its best. Hahn and Nanjiani’s chemistry is great, with an undertone of comedic flare. It was awesome for the writers to pull from The Eternals. Given the film’s poor reception, it was interesting to see that storyline be relevant in a new and interesting way. Both these characters have been alive for centuries. The possibilities of their adventures are limitless. Perhaps Eternals would have fared better as a time-traveling series focused on the morals of their powers with humanity. Hopefully, they revisit this timeline in a future episode this season.
Rating: 8.5/10