It’s like they reversed their normal order, it’s usually the penultimate episode is their flashback story then the finale is the action heavy part (WandaVision, Moon Knight & She-Hulk [opening episode was originally the penultimate episode])
The revelation of 'The Witches Road' being created by Billy with the combo of the song and legend being created by Agatha and her son really made the show for me.
yeah, and it wasn't even "down" and "witches road" at first but meandering road. do you think Agatha felt somewhat mocked whenever she heard witches talk about it?
the history of the ballad is insane. Agatha and her son, Nicki created it as a sweet little song for eachother then they used it as one of their many scams. It becomes some sort of folk song... which then Agatha, full of grief, uses it to trick witches into getting her powers. Lorna Wu, Alice's mom creates a rock ballad inspired in it that is actually a spell to protect her own child fron a generational curse. Billy hears the song which plants the idea of the Witches Road in his mind and then ACTUALLY creates it.
@@casaopcional3081 hence why it's "covent two" and not ”coven true" which made her pissed off when the song was originally made for the two of them (Agatha and Nicki)
They could both get consideration. Hahn would be leading actress and LuPone would be supporting, but they both killed it. I mean, the whole cast killed it. None of them left anything on the table. Was even cool seeing Joe Locke holding his own amongst all of those much more experienced actors giving it their all.
@@DralenDragonfox I agree, there was not one weak link in the show, it worked so well as a whole because everyone gave if their best. Joe Locke being the youngest also certainly had his work cut out for him, but he rose to the occasion and gave us a multi-faceted character.
You mentioned "Rogue One" but I feel an even better comparison is "Andor" - a Disney Plus show on a side character that no one particularly wanted but delivered some of the best episodes in their genre, helped by a longer episode count that enabled them to stretch their legs.
I think what’s really going on here is that the higher ups have way more say in the bigger budget, “blockbuster” movies and tv shows which play it way too safe and corporate. You can tell that smaller shows like Agatha, andor, penguin and peacemaker give a creative visionary time and control over their product. I think Disney realized this which is why they rewrote, reshot, and canceled a ton of projects.
But he is comparing them because of what he personally experienced with both projects. He had zero expectations and thought that maybe they were projects that we didnt need, but they blew his expectations and turned out to be some of his favorites entries in the franchise After Rogue One, Dan already had positive expectations for Andor
@@Scomusiq-o7cDisney isn’t small, there’s no small anything with any of the shows you listed. Less money sure but…to call any of those shows small is like not being aware of actually small productions
I think it’s the opposite…Marvel was chopping up what shoulda been 2hr Disney+ movies/specials and stretching them over 6hrs with odd cuts that didn’t make sense. Instead of cutting/editing them down to a tight 2hr movie which woulda flowed better. Such as what Hawkeye or like with Star Wars’ Obi-Wan shoulda been🤓
After the Billy episode I was so afraid that it will just end up with another big final boss fight before a rushed ending So fkin glad that episode 789 ended up being so good
Jac Schaeffer has proven to be a brilliant showrunner. I think she’s going to have her pick of projects after this. Marvel/Disney would be smart to give her pretty much whatever she asks for. edit: I admit I was half expecting Debra Jo Rupp’s character to turn out to have been Rio in disguise Thank God they didn’t try and give Agatha a full-on redemption arc. We can feel sympathy for her, bet she’s still an unrepentant serial murderer
I like the journey this show went on in the public consciousness. It went from "why are they doing this? Why does Agatha need her own show?" to being one of the best shows Marvel has done.
Definitely my process. I'm torn. Episodes 3,4,5 don't have much entertainment value for me. But at the end of the series I do feel they added to the journey.
@@Im_Ishagreed, those episodes weren’t as strong (especially waiting week to week) but I’m glad it continuously got better rather than starting off great and ending poorly. In retrospect, they’re fine - just not highlights individually.
@@Im_Ishwhat the least 3 episodes did was give the show rewatch value. Now go back to the previous episodes and you’ll pick up on the minor details that we’re setting up Agatha and Lillia’s big twist
That episode was the best in the series, but also it was straight-up "The Constant" from LOST. Which was also the best episode of *that* series. If you steal, steal from the best!
Agatha All Along is definitely the Andor of the MCU. Expectations were low, even skeptical, but the story, artistry, and acting blew me away. I also think it combats the common "go woke, go broke" claim and hopefully Disney gets the message they probably didn't get from The Acolyte: diversity doesn't matter if the story/delivery is no good.
And just like Andor, the good reception gave it a ratings boost towards the end of the season, and the ratings of the finale were higher than the premiere
I mean, the woke stuff _was_ negative - maybe the sole negative part of the series to me. By woke I don't mean diversity and representation, but exaggerated and kind of compulsive diversity and representation. Like, did *both* Billy and Agatha have to be gay? If they were in real life I wouldn't mind, but when they're written characters in a show, defying statistical odds like that, you _know_ politics has been involved. It's inorganic and as a result you get taken out of the show.
@@monmothma3358This. It was def the worst part of the show & I didn’t even like the show regardless & am almost the guaranteed to lean left type. It wasn’t that it existed but that everything was very heavy handed & campy. I can guarantee there’s people that wont even watch based off its presentation alone. I think alot of the positivity is cause most that finished the show were a fan of its presentation already. Alot of cw show types lol. I don’t know anyone who was “pleasantly surprised” irl at least..
This show actually felt like a show and not a film segmented into episode. This shit was episodic, where each episode had a beginning a middle and an end, and so did the arc across the entire show. And I like that two of the twists (Who is teen? Who is Rio?) weren’t twists that the entire show hinged on. There was still more to each of them and the relationships between the characters. And in the midst of that they somehow had Lilia come outta nowhere with her own arc and one of the best live-action episodes of anything I think Marvel has done. This is easily one of Marvel’s best live action shows. It was great to see Jac Schaeffer and team not just deliver again, but learn lessons from mistakes they made on WandaVision. It woulda been so easy for this show to end up a mess, between following WandaVision and all of the mess Marvel Studios had created for itself since then, but it turned out to be a real gem of a show. I really hope that Marvel Studios doesn’t make everybody wait 3 years for the story of Billy and Agatha finding Tommy, or that they have both characters move into a film without any involvement from Jac Schaeffer, and completely fuck up their characters as a result - how Wanda got done in Mulitverse of Madness.
Hahn hit me in the feels in the second to last episode where Billy is crying about whether he is responsible for the boy’s death that he is seeing drowning in the vision, and she says something like ‘sometimes little boys die’ with sadness. I felt the decision to end with a flashback episode that recontextualizes the entire season was a master stroke and I loved that you got to sympathize with Agatha about her son without ever losing the fact that she was a villain who murdered innocent witches. Episode 7 was another similar masterstroke. I think the show feeling like a tv show was key and the physical sets added so much to the aura of the show. It’s definitely top tier MCU tv along with WandaVision. Not surprising that these shows have similar creatives. It’s been a treat watching this and The Penguin, two quality comic book tv shows that are so different.
I heard this recently, and so I agree this gives the MCU some flexibility in Midnight Sons to have a witch, but not necessarily Stephen Strange who is also a member in the comics. The witch played by Saheer is also in the comics. (Also Benedict is quite busy and terribly expensive I would imagine)
@@husker4life109in the comics, she's also associated with Man-Thing or Ted who was featured in Werewolf by Night last year... Or two years ago? I can't recall. The black and white film they eventually released in colour on Disney+. That one.
This is crazy! This review is EXACTLY identical to my review, that i did to myself, in the shower, because i don’t have a plataform to listen to me, hahahha
There did seem to have been an agreement between Agatha and Rio, she would kill witches ("provide bodies") and Rio would spare Nicholas. The day that they don't kill witches, she comes and takes Nicholas away.
People keep saying that, but there's no support for it in the show. Rio gave Agatha a gift of time. Period. Agatha says outright that she kills "to survive" and because" witches "will kill us". I see this as a reaction to the situation in her own coven. She did find that Nicky made a great prop for this plan.
After WandaVision, I was extremely excited for an Agatha show. But by the time it came out, the excitement had morphed into almost an ambivalent resentment because it felt like it took too much time to come out. But thankfully I begrudgingly decided to check it out in celebration of the spooky season, and I ended up absolutely loving the series from start to finish.
Very much agree with your review. This was a much better show than I expected. Great writing and great performances. Kathryn Hahn nailed her role, she was so good.
I was expecting the show to be fun and campy, and I was surprised that things got more real and introspective in the later episodes. It's a lot like Loki in that way. I like to see more of that in future MCU shows. I'm now very excited about Vision Quest. I'm expecting it to be like a Star Trek show focused on Data learning about humanity. And it's very appropriate that the showrunner worked on Picard season 3.
Only by you mentioning her time on SNL I realized Sasheer Zamata was Keeley on their Black Jeopardy sketches. OMG, I KNEW remembered her voice from somewhere.
0:45 Exactly my experience. What I thought was going to be another filler series turned out to be my third fave MCU show. The show structure was so simple (essentially a series of escape room episodes) but the charisma of the cast was top shelf. The twist ending was good, but I feel it could have been edited better. Maybe merging the last 2 eps could have played the reveal more smoothly. This is what Disney+ shows should be 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Jac Shaeffar should level up to movie level after this. This show had everything against it from the go. The way she and the cast turned it around with their talent alone is impressive.
but wasn't Dan's point that shows and movies are different and that those talents musn't necessarily translate to each other? meaning, she clearly knows how to do shows but might not be so good with the movie format. same as some movie directors don't know how to make shows work. I'd also like to have her involved in more Marvel shows so they turn out well.
@@benzaiten933 and I have to have the same opinion as Dan why exactly? I mean I'd love to see what she could bring in a big budget feature but that's just me. If she remains in Marvel TV I'm okay as well. I just want her to move up in her career.
I really liked this show. It had absolutely everything that I wanted from Marvel TV. A meaningful story, a good episodic breakdown, very good acting. Nothing felt padded or necessary or nonsensical. Unlike Secret Invasion where EVERY scene felt like it was padded for runtime and full of nonsense. However I thought the smash cut to "You should see me in a crown" was too on the nose and already done on the show "Locke and Key" like 4 years ago. So I had a very big groan right at the end.
the agatha all along and rogue one comparison is actually genius it makes you question why it even exists... and then it becomes a show/movie that enriches the world it is set in through very compelling storytelling and character work.
It was such a joy from beginning to end. Shows like this and Loki are the standard I want the MCU to be at. What these also showed is how effective these shows and movies can be when they don't just follow the same tired formula each time. I'm really hoping future MCU projects can return to some form of quality, though I am somewhat sceptical of that. I don't want to see the hard work of these good shows be let down by terrible, or even mediocre, movies.
I love how they used rio here. Just using her sparingly but smartly to maintain the mysterious and lethal presence, keeping her character interesting without ruining it with overexplanation
they're fuming with anger rn. the show is mcu's most consistent in terms of viewership numbers 2-4M per ep. they're in denial that a female-led mcu show can be successful 😂
Absolutely loved it, kept waiting for the other shoe to drop where we would get one of the typical Marvel trope like you went over, but we didn't and it was amazing. Ready for the second watch
I loved it and it was a perfect spooky season surprise. I'm glad that Jac Schaeffer is finally getting some credit. Back in 2021, it seemed liked Matt Shakman was getting all the praise for WandaVision, but I was honestly more impressed with the writing of that show, from the concept to the episodes themselves and was a little stunned that no one was talking about Schaeffer back then.
Good writing was the answer "all along". Not an inflated budget, bad CGI, and embarrassing writing, and cringey agendas. Glad Disney finally are starting to figure it out!
A masterclass in writing for the characters and the story and not for anything else. I hope this show gets the attention it deserves so that MCU knows what we actually want.
@@TheRockerX According to MANY, especially those of us that work in the industry. The story was alllll over the place, full of plot holes, wasted opportunities and yet another Marvel annoyance of naming something as if it's going to be one thing and making it about something else entirely. This wasn't 'Agatha All Along', this was 'Billy Maximoff All Along' to box tick and please the crowd by throwing them the low hanging fruit - the content of this series could easily have been series 2, there was so much to tell about Agatha and they didn't even bother until the last 30 minutes of the final episode, which was excellently done, just way to little, WAY too late. A heartbreaking waste.
I like this genre in the MCU, this WandaVision / Agatha type of series about people trapped in a make-believe reality. Honestly I hope the next one is something like a Battle Royale type, maybe Murderworld with Arcade, or still something built with magic, it's fun.
I was so hoping you were going to review this show! I was really impressed by it! I wasn’t feeling it in the beginning, but I certainly didn’t hate it and thought it was better than some of marvels other TV shows lately, but by the end, I just realized how brilliant it was!
I really enjoyed it! I didn't expect the last-minute twist but it really added an extra layer I liked. I'm curious to see what Marvel does next with these characters (who knows at this point), but I'm happy we got this show.
When they were advertising this series I was rolling my eyes and dreading it (my sister wanted to watch it) but I’ve never been so glad I was forced to watch something! I loved it to the end! Marvel has burned me so bad I was planning to avoid something that has a lot of elements I like. Not a great sign, but maybe they can turn it around,
No sky portal! I really liked this series. I've divided all of the MCU Disney + series into three tiers based on quality and this one definitely goes in the top one for me.
I think it’s silly to ask “who asked for this?” When no one really asks for shows, we get them, watch them, and choose to support or not. This show was amazing! The writing, the signing, the acting, the story!!!!! All so great!!!
Yeah I was very pleasantly surprised with the show. I wasn't really interested to check it out initially and just let the season premier all the episodes before I watched, which really was a benefit because then I could just go one episode after the other instead of waiting a week before seeing the next. I wonder if Vision Quest will be connected in any way.
If Billy subconsciously created the road then how did he know what trials to construct? He didn’t have any prior knowledge of the other witches. How did he know the protector witch was cursed and the only way to break it was to sing a song?
@@mk6rfc1and Andor is by far the most expensive Disney+ show with $275 million, she hulk is technically cheaper than marvel most expensive show, Secret Invasion at around $225 million
One of the surprises of the year. I'm not saying it was the best show of the year or it's the best mcu show, but it was more consistent and enjoyable than i expected, and i say this as a fan who didn't love the trailers and I was only going to give the first episodes a chance. Now, I'm a bit more interested on what they can do with iron heart and wonder man, secondary characters like aghata.
In nearly every matrix, Agatha All Along is the exact opposite of Secret Invasion. Praise God!!! I love this show SO MUCH. I've actually watched the full series twice, along with watching every Wednesday's premier. *My hope is that Marvel understands the reason Agatha All Along is so phenomenal is because there's no "same vs same; sky beam; CGI" in the end. Just Quality writing, acting, directing, **_practical_** set design, costuming, and music.* We weren't complaining about there being too much content as much as we hated having so much CRAPPY content. I'm not sure I'll ever forgive them for Secret Invasion. (Personally, I absolutely loved She-Hulk, but that's because I'm a woman of Color that works in Law, and I love campy humor).
The Wanda/Vision saga, so far, imo, is the best stuff since endgame. It has been a pleasant thread through the multiverse saga. This Show, WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness have kept me IN, even while many other parts of this multiverse era, push me OUT. I am looking forward to the unfortunately titled Vision Quest as well. Excellent show
I think this show worked because it was so well crafted. every piece and character fell into place. this show didn't feel like just a cash grab or lame fan service of them giving us more of the Agatha they think fans want, it was it's own story and arc. and there is so much to love! first I like how they didn't suddenly turn Agatha into a good person in the usual 'misunderstood character' way, nope she clearly killed many people and planned to kill the other witches as well. but then she also truly cared about Teen/Billy and not once did she blame him for being Wanda's child or being not 'real', as he was crafted from magic. and like Dan I thought that everyone would survive/be brought back. I assumed that either at some point we've entered Teen/Billy's trial and it was all in his head, thus nobody died for real, or that at the end what Billy wanted was a coven and so everyone would be come back. but nope, dead for real, even Agatha - more or less. then there's Rio and how she isn't even a bad guy. she let Nicholas live a bit longer, even though he was supposed to be stillborn or die almost immediately after birth. and even when she did claim him, it wasn't cruel or painful, she even had him kiss his mother goodbye before leading him gently away. Rio even consoled Alice that her death wasn't meaningless, as she died protecting someone and at the end she didn't claim Billy either. also also, I love how the title was "Agatha all along" which is also really telling in hindsight! instead of "Coven of darkness" or whatever the title was supposed to be. overall, I really had a good time with this show and re-watched the episodes a couple of times, which I seldom do.
I think this show and Wanda Vision did a great job reacing out to the non-Marvel fans (me). They haven't convinced me to invest in the movies or other series yet, but if they lean into the supernatural/mystery themes again I'll probably tune in. And I MIGHT even check out Vision Quest even if it doesnt, just because I now have seen the first two pieces of this story.
I normally wait for all the episodes to land before watching, but I actually watches every episode as it dropped week by week. I still have that song stuck in my head 😂what a great series
To me this is Marvel's Andor. It shows us that they can ACTUALLY make shows that have structure, are consistent & have good pacing! More of this for both Star Wars & Marvel PLEASE! Also having a showrunner role & not a producer at the helm doesn't hurt either. Baffled it took Marvel this long to figure that out.
The thing that I think really gave this show a wonderful freshness, is that much of it felt like a really high production value stage play. Which, in retrospect, makes perfect sense given Billy's construction…
Awesome review Dan, I totally agree the whole season was one of the most consistent and well thought shows on Disney Plus. I loved Wandavision but I think this may be an even better show overall
I think the contrast between this show and "Multiverse of Madness" best showcases what Dan was talking about at the end. Instead of just grabbing a well-known but bad storyline (House of M) and jamming it into a story where it didn't belong, the show-runners took several different good Scarlet Witch stories and fit fhem together seemlessly with what was already established in the MCU.
I was not going to watch this show but my fiancé put it on and it got me intrigued by the first two episodes and I’m glad I decided to watch it. I echo every Dan mention but I was so happy to see some good queer representation in the MCU
Agree with Dan that mcu can market unknown characters in the marvel comics. Not all may be the hit but like AAA, it’s definitely a hit and none was expecting it, even with Wanda fans.
Agatha all along is a great show, worthy of binged it all, after the second episode I was hooked. Finally Disney/marvel TV did something worth watching without dropping the ball. I too hope they continue with better worthy story telling going forward.
🎉so happy to see you did a review!! Also fun you agree with me and my wife. This show was definitely wheat. A head above the chaff that makes up most of the other Disney plus showa
especially as thje viewership seems to be low (fell out of the neilson top 10 after 4 episodes). Disney will take less risks - Especially if they see that the only upcoming show people are actually intetested in is Daredevil and not Ironhart or Wonderman
This will now be the show I use as an example for "wokeness" not equaling bad writing. Even for shows like the Acolyte, she-hulk and the Disney doctor who, being overtly politically correct is just the red flag that poor writing lies ahead and isn't necessarily the bad writing in of itself.
Marvel's found a formula in writing villainous characters that aren't complete caricatures. They humanize them and make them relatable without excusing or condoning their actions. And yeah, Lilia's episode was definitely the best. It was transcendent.
Loved Agatha All Along! Of all the Disney+ shows, I think it’s the most rewatchable from start to finish. I also loved Loki and was fully vested in WandaVision, but don’t really see myself going back and rewatching the entirety of either series. But, I could see myself rewatching Agatha All Along every October during the Halloween season. So good!
I think you're right about rewatchability. I could still keep up quite well on the first watch despite not knowing the backgrounds of any of the characters. I think I will have to rewatch Agatha to fully figure out what was going on.
I’m so happy for Dan to be able to watch a good show as oppose to the huge on slop of crap Disney+ has spun out. Let’s hope for more shows people can enjoy.
The tv show point is so real, agatha had me eager for the next episode each and every time without fail, no other marvel show (accept wandavision) had me this invested and Agatha All Along wasnt even my favorite marvel show ever
I feel like providing context to the reason why Agatha was stealing all the withes powers in order to be able to defeat Rio/Death when she inevitably comes for Nicky would have taken it over the edge for me. I don't necessarily think that this was what they were going for, but it will become my head canon nevertheless. Otherwise her quest of stealing all those powers kind of feels so random.
This line would have saved the show for me because all I see is a witch serial killer but if there was a purpose to it I could have accepted it better.
I think it's very heavily hinted she was essentially sacrificing witches for more time with her son. The one time she doesn't kill witches, her son up and dies. It's very heavily implied. Afterwards, Agatha being Agatha, she corrupts the ballad for power because at that point, anything to distract her from her loss and a huge middle finger to death like, "Here take these witches, leave me alone. Imma leave forever"
@@doubleasworkshop1692really good points. I'd have to look back, but I think it was kind of implied that Agatha was kind of an outcast even before Nicky was born. I also don't know why they wouldn't just include Agatha making that kind of a deal with Rio explicitly. It's also so interesting because Agatha really resents Rio for giving her "special treatment", even though that's exactly what Agatha asked for.
I can't wrap my head around this show enough. It's really hard to explain but this show reminds of like 10 or 20 other shows and movies, but somehow it works. Obviously, there's WandaVision. For the rest, it reminds me of Loki, Beetlejuice, Stranger Things, Memento, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Witcher, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Barbie, True Crime, Harry Potter, Inception, Mandalorian and many more that I can't remember on the spot. These are also all critically acclaimed (not a coincidence). Not a lot of medias make me feel that way let's say, because who could possibly come up with something that can mix that much stuffs together and make it make sense, but this show did. Which really makes it seems like this might be one of the best show ever created the more I think about it.
16:50 "Wanda-Vision" together with "Multiverse Of Madness" strongly implied that Agatha was only evil because the Darkhold book turns you evil. But "Agath All Along" showed us that Agatha was her evil self even before the Darkhold. So now "Multiverse Of Madness" (the Darkhold making Wanda so evil so Quickly) is retroactively even worse than it already was, which might make Wanda's character redemption even more complicated.
Having the season finale be the emotional ending instead of the "big battle" is the cherry on top of a good series.
Agreed 👍🏾
It’s like they reversed their normal order, it’s usually the penultimate episode is their flashback story then the finale is the action heavy part (WandaVision, Moon Knight & She-Hulk [opening episode was originally the penultimate episode])
That was the one thing I didn't like about WandaVision and I'm glad it wasn't repeated here.
@@Im_Ish now that you mention it - no sky beam!
@@benzaiten933 I knew something was missing.
This show is the clear example that you can create something good within budget.
The revelation of 'The Witches Road' being created by Billy with the combo of the song and legend being created by Agatha and her son really made the show for me.
yeah, and it wasn't even "down" and "witches road" at first but meandering road. do you think Agatha felt somewhat mocked whenever she heard witches talk about it?
Nah, considering Agathas personality probably she liked the fact that her sons song got famous
the history of the ballad is insane.
Agatha and her son, Nicki created it as a sweet little song for eachother then they used it as one of their many scams.
It becomes some sort of folk song... which then Agatha, full of grief, uses it to trick witches into getting her powers.
Lorna Wu, Alice's mom creates a rock ballad inspired in it that is actually a spell to protect her own child fron a generational curse.
Billy hears the song which plants the idea of the Witches Road in his mind and then ACTUALLY creates it.
@@casaopcional3081 hence why it's "covent two" and not ”coven true" which made her pissed off when the song was originally made for the two of them (Agatha and Nicki)
Patti Lupone should be the one getting award notice. Her episode is easily the best episode.
They could both get consideration. Hahn would be leading actress and LuPone would be supporting, but they both killed it. I mean, the whole cast killed it. None of them left anything on the table. Was even cool seeing Joe Locke holding his own amongst all of those much more experienced actors giving it their all.
@@DralenDragonfox I agree, there was not one weak link in the show, it worked so well as a whole because everyone gave if their best. Joe Locke being the youngest also certainly had his work cut out for him, but he rose to the occasion and gave us a multi-faceted character.
❤absolutely, hahn did amazing, but Patty shone like the true star that she is
Agreed that was a great episode to me
Her episode made the show for me. The rest was fun and I enjoyed it, but the writing & editing of that one was out of this world
You mentioned "Rogue One" but I feel an even better comparison is "Andor" - a Disney Plus show on a side character that no one particularly wanted but delivered some of the best episodes in their genre, helped by a longer episode count that enabled them to stretch their legs.
I think what’s really going on here is that the higher ups have way more say in the bigger budget, “blockbuster” movies and tv shows which play it way too safe and corporate. You can tell that smaller shows like Agatha, andor, penguin and peacemaker give a creative visionary time and control over their product. I think Disney realized this which is why they rewrote, reshot, and canceled a ton of projects.
But he is comparing them because of what he personally experienced with both projects. He had zero expectations and thought that maybe they were projects that we didnt need, but they blew his expectations and turned out to be some of his favorites entries in the franchise
After Rogue One, Dan already had positive expectations for Andor
@@Scomusiq-o7cDisney isn’t small, there’s no small anything with any of the shows you listed. Less money sure but…to call any of those shows small is like not being aware of actually small productions
When Marvel actually stops treating their series like 6 hour movies chopped up.
Yeah why treat a tv show like a 6 hour movie? especially when all the episodes aren’t released at the same time
Yes. AAA wasn't perfect, but I appreciate it having individual episodes instead of random cut cliffhangers.
It’s definitely a step in the right direction, and hopefully a sign that Marvel are learning lessons from their past mistakes
Omg right!
I think it’s the opposite…Marvel was chopping up what shoulda been 2hr Disney+ movies/specials and stretching them over 6hrs with odd cuts that didn’t make sense. Instead of cutting/editing them down to a tight 2hr movie which woulda flowed better. Such as what Hawkeye or like with Star Wars’ Obi-Wan shoulda been🤓
This show also took me by surprise and by the end I was looking forward to Wednesday each week. What a great series
I kept thinking it would drop off in quality, but it was great the whole time and stuck the landing. Loved it.
After the Billy episode I was so afraid that it will just end up with another big final boss fight before a rushed ending
So fkin glad that episode 789 ended up being so good
Jac Schaeffer has proven to be a brilliant showrunner. I think she’s going to have her pick of projects after this. Marvel/Disney would be smart to give her pretty much whatever she asks for.
edit: I admit I was half expecting Debra Jo Rupp’s character to turn out to have been Rio in disguise
Thank God they didn’t try and give Agatha a full-on redemption arc. We can feel sympathy for her, bet she’s still an unrepentant serial murderer
Hahn is hands down one of our best living character actors. The "sometimes boys die" moment absolutely wrecked me.
Still sobbing
Same!!!!! Auuughhh heart wrenching
I like the journey this show went on in the public consciousness. It went from "why are they doing this? Why does Agatha need her own show?" to being one of the best shows Marvel has done.
as Dan said, "how" you do it is key! in theory you could make a show about any character, if done right it would amount to a compelling story.
Definitely my process. I'm torn. Episodes 3,4,5 don't have much entertainment value for me. But at the end of the series I do feel they added to the journey.
@@Im_Ishagreed, those episodes weren’t as strong (especially waiting week to week) but I’m glad it continuously got better rather than starting off great and ending poorly.
In retrospect, they’re fine - just not highlights individually.
@@Im_Ishwhat the least 3 episodes did was give the show rewatch value. Now go back to the previous episodes and you’ll pick up on the minor details that we’re setting up Agatha and Lillia’s big twist
The exact same thing happened with Peacemaker and Andor. Sometimes we just gotta let creatives cook, man.
Episode 7 in particular really made my jaw drop. Some of the best writing I have seen in a show in a long time.
Agree!!
That episode was the best in the series, but also it was straight-up "The Constant" from LOST.
Which was also the best episode of *that* series. If you steal, steal from the best!
Agatha All Along is definitely the Andor of the MCU. Expectations were low, even skeptical, but the story, artistry, and acting blew me away. I also think it combats the common "go woke, go broke" claim and hopefully Disney gets the message they probably didn't get from The Acolyte: diversity doesn't matter if the story/delivery is no good.
And just like Andor, the good reception gave it a ratings boost towards the end of the season, and the ratings of the finale were higher than the premiere
I mean, the woke stuff _was_ negative - maybe the sole negative part of the series to me. By woke I don't mean diversity and representation, but exaggerated and kind of compulsive diversity and representation. Like, did *both* Billy and Agatha have to be gay? If they were in real life I wouldn't mind, but when they're written characters in a show, defying statistical odds like that, you _know_ politics has been involved. It's inorganic and as a result you get taken out of the show.
@@monmothma3358This. It was def the worst part of the show & I didn’t even like the show regardless & am almost the guaranteed to lean left type. It wasn’t that it existed but that everything was very heavy handed & campy. I can guarantee there’s people that wont even watch based off its presentation alone. I think alot of the positivity is cause most that finished the show were a fan of its presentation already. Alot of cw show types lol. I don’t know anyone who was “pleasantly surprised” irl at least..
First time i watched it: Wow, good series.
Second time watching it: everything makes MORE sense, BRILLIANT series.
This show actually felt like a show and not a film segmented into episode. This shit was episodic, where each episode had a beginning a middle and an end, and so did the arc across the entire show. And I like that two of the twists (Who is teen? Who is Rio?) weren’t twists that the entire show hinged on. There was still more to each of them and the relationships between the characters. And in the midst of that they somehow had Lilia come outta nowhere with her own arc and one of the best live-action episodes of anything I think Marvel has done.
This is easily one of Marvel’s best live action shows. It was great to see Jac Schaeffer and team not just deliver again, but learn lessons from mistakes they made on WandaVision. It woulda been so easy for this show to end up a mess, between following WandaVision and all of the mess Marvel Studios had created for itself since then, but it turned out to be a real gem of a show. I really hope that Marvel Studios doesn’t make everybody wait 3 years for the story of Billy and Agatha finding Tommy, or that they have both characters move into a film without any involvement from Jac Schaeffer, and completely fuck up their characters as a result - how Wanda got done in Mulitverse of Madness.
Marvel should give Jac Schaeffer a blank check for whatever project she wants to work on next because this was phenomenal
Hahn hit me in the feels in the second to last episode where Billy is crying about whether he is responsible for the boy’s death that he is seeing drowning in the vision, and she says something like ‘sometimes little boys die’ with sadness. I felt the decision to end with a flashback episode that recontextualizes the entire season was a master stroke and I loved that you got to sympathize with Agatha about her son without ever losing the fact that she was a villain who murdered innocent witches. Episode 7 was another similar masterstroke. I think the show feeling like a tv show was key and the physical sets added so much to the aura of the show. It’s definitely top tier MCU tv along with WandaVision. Not surprising that these shows have similar creatives. It’s been a treat watching this and The Penguin, two quality comic book tv shows that are so different.
Sasheer needs to play Jen again when Marvel finally gives us a Midnight Suns movie or show!
I heard this recently, and so I agree this gives the MCU some flexibility in Midnight Sons to have a witch, but not necessarily Stephen Strange who is also a member in the comics. The witch played by Saheer is also in the comics. (Also Benedict is quite busy and terribly expensive I would imagine)
@@WolfRamAndHart her character in the comics is cousins with ghost rider
@@husker4life109in the comics, she's also associated with Man-Thing or Ted who was featured in Werewolf by Night last year... Or two years ago? I can't recall. The black and white film they eventually released in colour on Disney+. That one.
Yes, agreed
This is crazy! This review is EXACTLY identical to my review, that i did to myself, in the shower, because i don’t have a plataform to listen to me, hahahha
🤣😂😅🤣😁 Same!! 🤗🚿💬
your bottles be agreeing with you and clapping while listening to you 😂
This show was a real breath of fresh air. Best since WandaVision. Can't wait for the third show.
There did seem to have been an agreement between Agatha and Rio, she would kill witches ("provide bodies") and Rio would spare Nicholas. The day that they don't kill witches, she comes and takes Nicholas away.
Oh my god I didn't catch that, that makes it even more heartbreaking 😢
People keep saying that, but there's no support for it in the show. Rio gave Agatha a gift of time. Period. Agatha says outright that she kills "to survive" and because" witches "will kill us". I see this as a reaction to the situation in her own coven. She did find that Nicky made a great prop for this plan.
After WandaVision, I was extremely excited for an Agatha show. But by the time it came out, the excitement had morphed into almost an ambivalent resentment because it felt like it took too much time to come out. But thankfully I begrudgingly decided to check it out in celebration of the spooky season, and I ended up absolutely loving the series from start to finish.
Never ever thought that this show, would be the best show so far from Marvel+ IMHO.
I was pleasantly surprised by this show. There is some terrific acting, and you can tell the actors were bought in.
Very much agree with your review. This was a much better show than I expected. Great writing and great performances. Kathryn Hahn nailed her role, she was so good.
I was expecting the show to be fun and campy, and I was surprised that things got more real and introspective in the later episodes. It's a lot like Loki in that way. I like to see more of that in future MCU shows.
I'm now very excited about Vision Quest. I'm expecting it to be like a Star Trek show focused on Data learning about humanity. And it's very appropriate that the showrunner worked on Picard season 3.
Sounds incredible tbh Picard S3 is so underrated.
Only by you mentioning her time on SNL I realized Sasheer Zamata was Keeley on their Black Jeopardy sketches.
OMG, I KNEW remembered her voice from somewhere.
then you haven't seen her as black Bachelorette as well.
@@benzaiten933 No, I haven't. The only SNL I get over here are the videos on their TH-cam channel. I'll check it ou. Thanks!
0:45 Exactly my experience. What I thought was going to be another filler series turned out to be my third fave MCU show.
The show structure was so simple (essentially a series of escape room episodes) but the charisma of the cast was top shelf.
The twist ending was good, but I feel it could have been edited better. Maybe merging the last 2 eps could have played the reveal more smoothly.
This is what Disney+ shows should be 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Do we consider x-men 97 in the ranking? If so, Agatha is number 4 for me.
Jac Shaeffar should level up to movie level after this. This show had everything against it from the go. The way she and the cast turned it around with their talent alone is impressive.
I like Dan's pitch for her to lock-in to the Marvel TV world. She could be the Dave Filoni of the Marvel shows
but wasn't Dan's point that shows and movies are different and that those talents musn't necessarily translate to each other? meaning, she clearly knows how to do shows but might not be so good with the movie format. same as some movie directors don't know how to make shows work. I'd also like to have her involved in more Marvel shows so they turn out well.
@@benzaiten933 and I have to have the same opinion as Dan why exactly? I mean I'd love to see what she could bring in a big budget feature but that's just me. If she remains in Marvel TV I'm okay as well. I just want her to move up in her career.
She already wrote the Black Widow script so she’s had experience with that already
I loved this show. It gripped me immediately. I've seen it twice. And will probably do so again
I really liked this show. It had absolutely everything that I wanted from Marvel TV. A meaningful story, a good episodic breakdown, very good acting. Nothing felt padded or necessary or nonsensical. Unlike Secret Invasion where EVERY scene felt like it was padded for runtime and full of nonsense.
However I thought the smash cut to "You should see me in a crown" was too on the nose and already done on the show "Locke and Key" like 4 years ago. So I had a very big groan right at the end.
Who created the Witch's Road? IT WAS AGATHA ALL ALONG!
shuouldnt it be billy all along
@@mk6rfc1 Agatha invented the concept with Nicholas, Billy made it manifest 👍🏼
the agatha all along and rogue one comparison is actually genius
it makes you question why it even exists... and then it becomes a show/movie that enriches the world it is set in through very compelling storytelling and character work.
It was such a joy from beginning to end. Shows like this and Loki are the standard I want the MCU to be at. What these also showed is how effective these shows and movies can be when they don't just follow the same tired formula each time. I'm really hoping future MCU projects can return to some form of quality, though I am somewhat sceptical of that. I don't want to see the hard work of these good shows be let down by terrible, or even mediocre, movies.
Best analysis I’ve heard so far
This is one of my favorite shows of the year. I loved it!
I love how they used rio here. Just using her sparingly but smartly to maintain the mysterious and lethal presence, keeping her character interesting without ruining it with overexplanation
I loved it. What’s funny is all the dudes on Facebook that are big mad it was a gay show. Makes me enjoy it more.
they're fuming with anger rn. the show is mcu's most consistent in terms of viewership numbers 2-4M per ep. they're in denial that a female-led mcu show can be successful 😂
Absolutely loved it, kept waiting for the other shoe to drop where we would get one of the typical Marvel trope like you went over, but we didn't and it was amazing. Ready for the second watch
I loved it and it was a perfect spooky season surprise. I'm glad that Jac Schaeffer is finally getting some credit. Back in 2021, it seemed liked Matt Shakman was getting all the praise for WandaVision, but I was honestly more impressed with the writing of that show, from the concept to the episodes themselves and was a little stunned that no one was talking about Schaeffer back then.
Good writing was the answer "all along". Not an inflated budget, bad CGI, and embarrassing writing, and cringey agendas. Glad Disney finally are starting to figure it out!
Great review and analysis, always appreciate Dan's work and effort for his videos
A masterclass in writing for the characters and the story and not for anything else. I hope this show gets the attention it deserves so that MCU knows what we actually want.
the show nobody asked for yet everyone enjoyed
I asked for it - and thought it was a damn squib. It had so much potential, terribly executed and terribly written. Such a shame.
@@laurenklair why was it so terribly written, according to you?
@@TheRockerX According to MANY, especially those of us that work in the industry. The story was alllll over the place, full of plot holes, wasted opportunities and yet another Marvel annoyance of naming something as if it's going to be one thing and making it about something else entirely. This wasn't 'Agatha All Along', this was 'Billy Maximoff All Along' to box tick and please the crowd by throwing them the low hanging fruit - the content of this series could easily have been series 2, there was so much to tell about Agatha and they didn't even bother until the last 30 minutes of the final episode, which was excellently done, just way to little, WAY too late. A heartbreaking waste.
I love how you say "first season of agatha all along"
Someone posted on Twitter the leaked Funko Pops of Billy and Death early on, and I got so pissed because I didn’t want to know :(
The top 3 you mention are absolutely on point.
I like this genre in the MCU, this WandaVision / Agatha type of series about people trapped in a make-believe reality.
Honestly I hope the next one is something like a Battle Royale type, maybe Murderworld with Arcade, or still something built with magic, it's fun.
I was so hoping you were going to review this show! I was really impressed by it! I wasn’t feeling it in the beginning, but I certainly didn’t hate it and thought it was better than some of marvels other TV shows lately, but by the end, I just realized how brilliant it was!
I really enjoyed it! I didn't expect the last-minute twist but it really added an extra layer I liked. I'm curious to see what Marvel does next with these characters (who knows at this point), but I'm happy we got this show.
When they were advertising this series I was rolling my eyes and dreading it (my sister wanted to watch it) but I’ve never been so glad I was forced to watch something! I loved it to the end! Marvel has burned me so bad I was planning to avoid something that has a lot of elements I like. Not a great sign, but maybe they can turn it around,
No sky portal! I really liked this series. I've divided all of the MCU Disney + series into three tiers based on quality and this one definitely goes in the top one for me.
I think it’s silly to ask “who asked for this?” When no one really asks for shows, we get them, watch them, and choose to support or not. This show was amazing! The writing, the signing, the acting, the story!!!!! All so great!!!
Yeah I was very pleasantly surprised with the show. I wasn't really interested to check it out initially and just let the season premier all the episodes before I watched, which really was a benefit because then I could just go one episode after the other instead of waiting a week before seeing the next. I wonder if Vision Quest will be connected in any way.
It will be, Marvel said that Wandavision, Agatha all along & VisionQuest will be kinda like a trilogy.
If Billy subconsciously created the road then how did he know what trials to construct? He didn’t have any prior knowledge of the other witches. How did he know the protector witch was cursed and the only way to break it was to sing a song?
So Agatha All Along cost about 40 million and The Acolyte cost over 200 million... MAKE IT MAKE SENSE 😂
I’d say she hulk more than acolyte since the cgi in that was still pretty shoddy with that budget
@@mk6rfc1and Andor is by far the most expensive Disney+ show with $275 million, she hulk is technically cheaper than marvel most expensive show, Secret Invasion at around $225 million
Thank YOU for your SANE voice on TH-cam...
One of the surprises of the year. I'm not saying it was the best show of the year or it's the best mcu show, but it was more consistent and enjoyable than i expected, and i say this as a fan who didn't love the trailers and I was only going to give the first episodes a chance. Now, I'm a bit more interested on what they can do with iron heart and wonder man, secondary characters like aghata.
Shcaeffer should be put on a Wanda movie STAT! This show exceeded my expectations. Solid storytelling and a stellar cast. Lupine was a standout.
In nearly every matrix, Agatha All Along is the exact opposite of Secret Invasion. Praise God!!! I love this show SO MUCH. I've actually watched the full series twice, along with watching every Wednesday's premier. *My hope is that Marvel understands the reason Agatha All Along is so phenomenal is because there's no "same vs same; sky beam; CGI" in the end. Just Quality writing, acting, directing, **_practical_** set design, costuming, and music.* We weren't complaining about there being too much content as much as we hated having so much CRAPPY content. I'm not sure I'll ever forgive them for Secret Invasion. (Personally, I absolutely loved She-Hulk, but that's because I'm a woman of Color that works in Law, and I love campy humor).
The Wanda/Vision saga, so far, imo, is the best stuff since endgame. It has been a pleasant thread through the multiverse saga. This Show, WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness have kept me IN, even while many other parts of this multiverse era, push me OUT. I am looking forward to the unfortunately titled Vision Quest as well. Excellent show
still digesting the ending but what a fantastic show
I think this show worked because it was so well crafted. every piece and character fell into place. this show didn't feel like just a cash grab or lame fan service of them giving us more of the Agatha they think fans want, it was it's own story and arc. and there is so much to love! first I like how they didn't suddenly turn Agatha into a good person in the usual 'misunderstood character' way, nope she clearly killed many people and planned to kill the other witches as well. but then she also truly cared about Teen/Billy and not once did she blame him for being Wanda's child or being not 'real', as he was crafted from magic.
and like Dan I thought that everyone would survive/be brought back. I assumed that either at some point we've entered Teen/Billy's trial and it was all in his head, thus nobody died for real, or that at the end what Billy wanted was a coven and so everyone would be come back. but nope, dead for real, even Agatha - more or less.
then there's Rio and how she isn't even a bad guy. she let Nicholas live a bit longer, even though he was supposed to be stillborn or die almost immediately after birth. and even when she did claim him, it wasn't cruel or painful, she even had him kiss his mother goodbye before leading him gently away. Rio even consoled Alice that her death wasn't meaningless, as she died protecting someone and at the end she didn't claim Billy either.
also also, I love how the title was "Agatha all along" which is also really telling in hindsight! instead of "Coven of darkness" or whatever the title was supposed to be. overall, I really had a good time with this show and re-watched the episodes a couple of times, which I seldom do.
I think this show and Wanda Vision did a great job reacing out to the non-Marvel fans (me). They haven't convinced me to invest in the movies or other series yet, but if they lean into the supernatural/mystery themes again I'll probably tune in. And I MIGHT even check out Vision Quest even if it doesnt, just because I now have seen the first two pieces of this story.
I normally wait for all the episodes to land before watching, but I actually watches every episode as it dropped week by week. I still have that song stuck in my head 😂what a great series
To me this is Marvel's Andor. It shows us that they can ACTUALLY make shows that have structure, are consistent & have good pacing!
More of this for both Star Wars & Marvel PLEASE!
Also having a showrunner role & not a producer at the helm doesn't hurt either. Baffled it took Marvel this long to figure that out.
The practical sets and effects were a nice change from all the VFX we've been seeing. They were immersive and kept the story grounded
I have loved Kathryn Hahn for SO LONG! I am so happy she got her own show to display her acting chops. Drama and comedy she nails it all. ❤
The thing that I think really gave this show a wonderful freshness, is that much of it felt like a really high production value stage play. Which, in retrospect, makes perfect sense given Billy's construction…
Awesome review Dan, I totally agree the whole season was one of the most consistent and well thought shows on Disney Plus. I loved Wandavision but I think this may be an even better show overall
Didn’t expect to like it - loved this show
I think the contrast between this show and "Multiverse of Madness" best showcases what Dan was talking about at the end. Instead of just grabbing a well-known but bad storyline (House of M) and jamming it into a story where it didn't belong, the show-runners took several different good Scarlet Witch stories and fit fhem together seemlessly with what was already established in the MCU.
100% agree that this was a GREAT show. I was happily surprised by the story.
This was such a good review. So many good points. Patti was a real surprise casting.
So excited for your thoughts on this show! I frantically followed your reviews of Wandavision back in the day
I've been waiting for Dan's thoughts on Agatha All Along! Loved the show and glad Dan enjoyed it too!
I REALLY enjoyed this show! Loved how everyone got their time to shine and the way the story was woven, including the twists 🙂
People who were complaining “Who is this for?” Are missing out.
I was not going to watch this show but my fiancé put it on and it got me intrigued by the first two episodes and I’m glad I decided to watch it. I echo every Dan mention but I was so happy to see some good queer representation in the MCU
Love the content Dan, would be awesome to see an MCU TV ranking
Agree with Dan that mcu can market unknown characters in the marvel comics. Not all may be the hit but like AAA, it’s definitely a hit and none was expecting it, even with Wanda fans.
This show is a definitive *chef's kiss*
Agatha all along is a great show, worthy of binged it all, after the second episode I was hooked. Finally Disney/marvel TV did something worth watching without dropping the ball. I too hope they continue with better worthy story telling going forward.
🎉so happy to see you did a review!! Also fun you agree with me and my wife. This show was definitely wheat. A head above the chaff that makes up most of the other Disney plus showa
God I hope Disney/Marvel learns from this. They wont, but I can hope.
Secretary: What do we learn from this?
Disney executive: absolutely nothing
That checks
especially as thje viewership seems to be low (fell out of the neilson top 10 after 4 episodes). Disney will take less risks - Especially if they see that the only upcoming show people are actually intetested in is Daredevil and not Ironhart or Wonderman
I saw Agatha as the focus rather than the protagonist of the show, if anything billy was the protagonist
This will now be the show I use as an example for "wokeness" not equaling bad writing.
Even for shows like the Acolyte, she-hulk and the Disney doctor who, being overtly politically correct is just the red flag that poor writing lies ahead and isn't necessarily the bad writing in of itself.
loved it, start to finish
Marvel's found a formula in writing villainous characters that aren't complete caricatures. They humanize them and make them relatable without excusing or condoning their actions.
And yeah, Lilia's episode was definitely the best. It was transcendent.
Loved Agatha All Along! Of all the Disney+ shows, I think it’s the most rewatchable from start to finish. I also loved Loki and was fully vested in WandaVision, but don’t really see myself going back and rewatching the entirety of either series. But, I could see myself rewatching Agatha All Along every October during the Halloween season. So good!
I think you're right about rewatchability. I could still keep up quite well on the first watch despite not knowing the backgrounds of any of the characters. I think I will have to rewatch Agatha to fully figure out what was going on.
I’m so happy for Dan to be able to watch a good show as oppose to the huge on slop of crap Disney+ has spun out. Let’s hope for more shows people can enjoy.
The tv show point is so real, agatha had me eager for the next episode each and every time without fail, no other marvel show (accept wandavision) had me this invested and Agatha All Along wasnt even my favorite marvel show ever
The answer is yes to everything that Dan said.
Episode 7 really sealed the deal and made this series so much fun rewatching!
Always very objective and proceed review professional . Keep up the great work
I feel like providing context to the reason why Agatha was stealing all the withes powers in order to be able to defeat Rio/Death when she inevitably comes for Nicky would have taken it over the edge for me. I don't necessarily think that this was what they were going for, but it will become my head canon nevertheless. Otherwise her quest of stealing all those powers kind of feels so random.
This line would have saved the show for me because all I see is a witch serial killer but if there was a purpose to it I could have accepted it better.
I think it's very heavily hinted she was essentially sacrificing witches for more time with her son. The one time she doesn't kill witches, her son up and dies. It's very heavily implied. Afterwards, Agatha being Agatha, she corrupts the ballad for power because at that point, anything to distract her from her loss and a huge middle finger to death like, "Here take these witches, leave me alone. Imma leave forever"
@@doubleasworkshop1692really good points.
I'd have to look back, but I think it was kind of implied that Agatha was kind of an outcast even before Nicky was born.
I also don't know why they wouldn't just include Agatha making that kind of a deal with Rio explicitly.
It's also so interesting because Agatha really resents Rio for giving her "special treatment", even though that's exactly what Agatha asked for.
I can't wrap my head around this show enough. It's really hard to explain but this show reminds of like 10 or 20 other shows and movies, but somehow it works.
Obviously, there's WandaVision. For the rest, it reminds me of Loki, Beetlejuice, Stranger Things, Memento, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Witcher, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Barbie, True Crime, Harry Potter, Inception, Mandalorian and many more that I can't remember on the spot. These are also all critically acclaimed (not a coincidence).
Not a lot of medias make me feel that way let's say, because who could possibly come up with something that can mix that much stuffs together and make it make sense, but this show did. Which really makes it seems like this might be one of the best show ever created the more I think about it.
16:50 "Wanda-Vision" together with "Multiverse Of Madness" strongly implied that Agatha was only evil because the Darkhold book turns you evil. But "Agath All Along" showed us that Agatha was her evil self even before the Darkhold. So now "Multiverse Of Madness" (the Darkhold making Wanda so evil so Quickly) is retroactively even worse than it already was, which might make Wanda's character redemption even more complicated.
Alice's death was so sad, but yes, she got what she wanted from the road..she broke the curse AND died protecting....sad but beautiful