Beginning the journey of the final season with a banger Kaiju/Mecha battle, MCU’s What If somewhat loses momentum in its second episode, titled “What if Agatha Went to Hollywood?”. Focusing on witch Agatha Harkness’ insatiable hunger for power as she plans to steal energy from a Celestial in this alternate reality, the episode opts for a unique approach, using the movie biz as the backdrop—which presents Agatha as a golden age actress, based on the likeness of legends like Katherine Hepburn and Hedy Lamarr. This allows for an unlikely partnership, as Kingo, the famous Bollywood actor who is secretly a member of the cosmic guardian team known as the Eternals, is brought into the mix as well. His partnership with Agatha might seem a bit odd, but it works decently in the context of the movie. However, unlike the homage to the golden age of Hollywood, the MCU’s representation of Bollywood is still very much generic—fixated on dance numbers and extremely cringe, backdated Western media perception of the Indian movie industry, something that feels odd given how big of a fanbase the franchise has in India. Anyway, for fans like me who liked Eternals, this episode presents a chance to revisit their adventure in cosmic proportions.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Agatha Decide to Make a Movie with Kingo?
Viewers who are familiar with the basic storyline of “Eternals” will surely remember Celestial Arishem sending ten members of the cosmic guardians known as Eternals to protect Earth from Deviants and safeguard the emergence of Tiamut, a Celestial growing inside the core of the planet whose birth will destroy the Earth and make way for the creation of a new universe and new life in the process. In the present reality, witch Agatha Harkness has become aware of the presence of Tiamut, and in order to funnel its power, she has been preparing for a long time by making a career in Hollywood as an actress, using her profession as a means to grow connections and steal power from each of the members of the Eternals, which includes Thena, Makkari, and Gilgamesh, probably from the entire roster except Kingo.
In this reality, Howard Stark has abandoned his weapon business and R&D for the sake of making a name in Hollywood as a director/producer and wants to make a blockbuster with Agatha, who is able to convince Howard rather easily to include Bollywood superstar Kingo in the project as well. However, Kingo was aware of Agatha’s machinations, and joining as the co-lead in the movie as he and Agatha engage in an elaborate Hollywood-Bollywood dance-off sequence, he learns that Agatha has stolen the powers of his fellow Eternal friends and has taken them captive. A mild scuffle ensues between the two, with both of them using their powers while disguising the display as part of their performance.
Agatha reveals that she can free the captive Eternals if Kingo gives away his powers to her, which she needs to siphon the powers of Tiamut. She makes a good case for herself, pretending to be a noble protector of humanity who is seeking to stop the emergence of the Celestial, and manages to appeal to Kingo’s humanity—by mentioning how in the course of making a career as an actor, he has been able to tell the stories of humanity’s dreams and aspirations and form a connection with their kind. Kingo agrees to give away his powers when Agatha further mentions a three-movie deal with Howard Stark. Guess movie biz glam was more appealing to him than concerns about humanity.
How Did Agatha Stop Arishem?
Being aware of Kingo’s betrayal, Arishem makes his way towards Earth, and having little to no time to spare before his arrival, Agatha and Kingo decide to seek Howard Stark’s help in selecting a place where the required runes can be created and rites can be performed. Turns out, Howard was aware of their true identities all along; he proposes they use Griffith Observatory to perform the required ritual, and the team travels there in starship Domo, which brought the Eternals to Earth in the first place.
Agatha manages to take Kingo’s powers by performing a dark magic ritual, which allows her to siphon Tiamut’s powers—saving the Earth from his emergence. With a Celestial’s power inside her, Agatha turns into a beautiful, ethereal cosmic being of gigantic proportions, as the world watches in awe. Howard is ecstatic as he continues to film the larger-than-life scene with the help of his AD and constant associate, Jarvis. Arishem arrives and takes on Cosmic Agatha in a battle, who is able to combine her dark magic powers with her newfound cosmic abilities to bind Arishem and destroy him, taking his powers as well in the process.
What Happened to Cosmic Agatha in the End?
To none of the viewers’ surprise, having the power she wanted all along, Agatha reveals she can do whatever she pleases. Knowing she wields the powers of two Celestials, Kingo is aware she can rewrite reality according to her will and needs to be stopped before it’s too late. Using the trick she used on him, Kingo manages to appeal to Agatha by mentioning she didn’t need the cosmic power to command a place of her own, she’d already been able to do that in her career as an actor and moviemaker. She doesn’t need to reshape reality when she has been doing it on screen, changing the lives of the viewers even for the briefest while, taking them into the world of make-believe. Kingo’s words move Agatha, and she relinquishes her cosmic powers to return to her good old life as an actress.
Howard’s movie premiere appears to be a massive success, as Agatha and Kingo’s partnership is hinted to continue on screen. As Watcher narrates the story, a mention about a cliffhanger reveals the arrival of a number of Celestials on the planet. Arishem’s death will not be taken lightly by the cosmic creators, and they will probably take revenge by targeting humanity. Whether Agatha and Kingo will be able to stand up to them, now that they probably don’t have their cosmic powers any longer, is a question for another time.
There is little to no chance that a story like this is going to get adapted to live action sometime soon, although the prospect of seeing two cosmic behemoths battling each other in the void of space is a wishful fantasy of every comic book reader. Animation provides the liberty to imagination, and this episode of What If was a good example of that. And as always, having Katherine Hahn appear and slay as Agatha is always a delight, irrespective of the medium, and I am hoping we get to see more of her in the MCU.
