Who is Agnes?
Agnes, played by Kathrine Hahn, is the first person from Westview to meet in WandaVision Episode 1. Agnes was the neighbor who greeted Wanda after she and Vision moved to Westview. Agnes noticed how Wanda had arranged their belongings so quickly, and Wanda lied to her, saying that she had used a moving service.
When Wanda couldn’t remember what day she and Vision were celebrating, Agnes guessed that it was their anniversary. Agnes’ questions about her having no wedding rings and their non-specific anniversary date caught Maximoff off-guard. She offered to help Wanda plan their special night while complaining to her about her deadbeat husband, Ralph. (We never see Ralph, and I suspect there is more to him.)
“Hello, dear. I’m Agnes, your neighbor to the right. My right, not yours. Forgive me for not stopping by sooner to welcome you to the block. My mother-in-law was in town, so I wasn’t.” ―Agnes to Wanda Maximoff, WandaVision Episode 1
Agnes was around in each of the episodes acting as that nosey yet helpful neighbor. A trope that paralleled the nosy neighbors from actual sitcoms, characters like Ethel Mertz from I Love Lucy, Trixie Norton from the Honeymooners, Gladys Kravits from Bewitched, and Kimmy Gibbler from Full House.
She always seemed to be part of the action, showing up just at the right time to help. Remember when she showed up with a doghouse shortly after the twins brought home a dog? Her help was always appreciated but, especially for Vision, seemed intrusive.
Throughout the first six episodes, Agnes appeared more aware than most about what was going on in Westview, even breaking character at one point to ask whether or not she should repeat her lines and redo her scene:
“Do you want me to take that again?”
“I’m sorry?”
“You want me to hold the babies. Should we just take it from the top?”―Agnes and Wanda Maximoff, WandaVision Episode 5
And Agnes was the one who was apparently lost in her vehicle on Halloween that Vision spoke to, convincing him that he needed to leave Westview to find help.
Agnes isn’t exactly who she seems to be, and she is not just a nosey neighbor who just happens to be there at Wanda’s beck ’n’ call. She is a witch herself named Agatha Harkness. And by the end of episode 7, she kidnapped the twins and lured Wanda into her basement. But for what reason? Maybe to meet her missing husband, Ralph? Is his name really Ralph or some other name like the sinister Mephisto? Who knows? The end of the episode shows several flashbacks with Adam’s Family inspired theme music.
(Agnes= AG atha Hark NESS, The fist two letters and the last four combined)
By Andrew J. Mair
Sources:
https://x-men.fandom.com/wiki/Mutants https://www.polygon.com/2019/3/23/18274308/avengers-x-men-deadpool-disney-fox-timeline-marvel-movies-mcu-sony-spider-man https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a35552948/wandavision-commercials-easter-eggs-meanings-explained/ https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Agatha_Harkness https://www.cbr.com/wandavision-revealwandavision-residents-westview-outskirts-barely-alive/
