Top 10 Ways Agatha All Along Is a Big Homage to The Wizard of Oz

After several taxing trials, Agatha and co. find themselves zipped up in body bags in a kind of futuristic morgue. Claiming that the location is her basement, Agatha quotes “The Wizard of Oz,” saying “there’s no place like home.” It’s a line that initially appears to just be a fun, but insignificant, one-liner. That is, until Agatha finally escapes. After completing her trial, the witch ascends a staircase and exits out of a storm shelter not dissimilar to the one Dorothy’s family hides in during “Wizard of Oz”s fateful twister. Agatha’s surroundings really help sell the comparison, as the wind whips around her with a similar force. And, just as she’s becoming acclimated to her new surroundings, Death appears overhead, cackling like the Wicked Witch.

Just as “Oz” has witches from the east and west, so too does “Agatha All Along.” In the first episode, a witch is found dead in Eastview and, of course, honorary witch Sharon Davis (better known as Mrs. Hart) is from the “WandaVision” established town of Westview. While half of this reference predates the 2024 series, the coincidence feels too big to ignore. It’s only a shame that the writers didn’t delve into the rest of the coven’s backstories enough to establish any of the others as witches of the North and South.

Following over a decade of lackluster LGBTQIA+ representation in the MCU, “Agatha All Along” feels like a breath of fresh air. The series’ two protagonists are shown to have same sex attraction, with Agatha’s ex, Rio Vidal, also playing a major role. But what does this have to do with “The Wizard of Oz”? There’s a lighthearted gay euphemism called “friend of Dorothy”, which is often associated with “Oz” protagonist Dorothy Gale. People are divided on whether this is because of Judy Garland’s status as a gay icon, or a line in the novel “The Road to Oz” in which Dorothy is told she has some “queer friends.” Either way, the representation in “Agatha” provides a nice nod to the culture surrounding the classic story.

While many of the references to “Oz” in “Agatha All Along” may be obvious to anyone with a passing familiarity of the book turned film, this one is a bit of a deep cut. At the beginning of the 1939 movie, Dorothy runs away and encounters a fortune teller by the name of Professor Marvel. It’s clear to the viewer that he’s a phony, but a kindhearted one at least. When we first meet Lilia, she is performing a similar con in a small shop just outside of Westview. The set design supports the connection between these two scenes. In “The Wizard of Oz,” Marvel’s wagon notes that he can read the “past, present, and future” - a claim which is repeated on a neon sign in Lilia’s store.

Teen? I have a feeling we’re not on the road anymore. In “Agatha All Along’s” third episode, the coven faces their first trial together, and does so by stepping off of the path and into a new world. While “The Wizard of Oz” famously transitioned from sepia-tinted monochrome to brilliant Technicolor, “Agatha” does the opposite. Just off their path, the witches (and Mrs. Hart) spot a mansion, bathed in golden sunlight which contrasts strikingly with the road’s cool-toned forest. As they walk forward into the farmland, they too are tinted by the colors of their surroundings. It’s a clever spin on the popular scene that doesn’t call too much attention to itself, fitting seamlessly into the show’s magical world.

“Agatha All Along’s” penultimate episode upends everything we thought to be true. After coming home, Billy is drawn to his Wicked Witch figurine which bears a passing resemblance to Agatha. As he looks up from the toy, and around his room, you can almost hear Dorothy’s voice. Everything on the road was something that he had a personal connection with. Just as his superhero mother had puppetted Westview, Billy has invented the road. And although everything that happened was real, it’s not a leap to say that it was all caused by a powerful dream. Oh, and did we mention that his poster of Lorna sits next to a giant “Oz” illustration?

By the end of “Agatha All Along,” it’s difficult to associate Agatha with any “Oz” character but the Wicked Witch. Prior to the series’ final three episodes, however, she was actually set up to represent another classic character: Dorothy Gale. This is especially true in the show’s third episode, wherein Agatha wears pigtails and calls Billy “her familiar, Toto.” With this knowledge, it’s not difficult to link the rest of the coven to Dorothy’s trio of friends. Like the scarecrow, Jen was smarter than she thought, while Lilia was able to find her courage, and Alice realized she had always been protected by her mother’s love. Rio, now revealed to be Lady Death, also slots nicely into this analogy as an alternate Wicked Witch.

Leading up to the events of “Agatha All Along,” the title character battled it out with the Scarlet Witch in “WandaVision.” At one point, Wanda throws a car at Agatha, and approaches the wreckage to find two boots peeking out from under it, calling to mind the dead witch at the start of “The Wizard of Oz.” This reference is played out again in “Agatha” - with a twist. Stuck in an imagined police procedural, Agatha invents a murder mystery with a magical victim who’s had a large, heavy object dropped upon her. Her partner even clarifies that the woman is “really most sincerely dead,” a direct quote from “Oz’s” munchkin coroner about the Wicked Witch of the East.

This road isn’t brick, but it is occasionally yellow. One of the strongest links between “Agatha All Along” and “Oz” is the presence of a significant road, which moves the plot forward. In both stories, the plot device is strongly associated with a song, and there is a promise that wishes will be granted at its end. Unlike Dorothy, the witches are traveling without any shoes, but one of their abandoned pairs is notably red. One might even say ruby red. Even the series’ faux police procedural credits call the yellow brick road to mind, featuring a prominent pathway of caution tape backed by a fitting theme.

Leading up to the release of “Agatha All Along,” fans speculated about what was to come. Due to a clip in the trailer that saw the title character dressed as The Wicked Witch, “Oz” was already on people’s minds. The context for this get-up was finally revealed in the seventh episode, in which Agatha claims that the classic character is “based on [her].” Lilia arrives later, contrasting Agatha in a Glinda costume. The significance of these wardrobe decisions are made all the more obvious by the other costumes, which reference some classic Disney witches. Thinking back, it’s a welcome surprise that an entry in the MCU decided to construct such an elaborate homage to a property that doesn’t belong to its parent company.



Do you hope to see more of Agatha in the MCU? Let us know in the comments!