Comedy
Agatha All Along
Occult themes aren’t the only elements viewers must be mindful of in Disney+ & Marvel’s ‘Agatha All Along.’
For someone who podcasts about relationships, Joanne hasn’t had much luck of her own.
When her sister (and podcast cohost) Morgan brings up this little fact, Joanne is quick to defend herself. “Remember Greg?” she says. “I dated him for eight months.”
“He did not acknowledge you in public,” Morgan retorts.
Joanne’s romantic tastes haven’t been all that conducive to healthy relationships, it seems. She acknowledges the critique and vows to do better.
Meanwhile, Noah, a rabbi, has been in a relationship for a fair bit longer than eight months. But he’s been feeling like it’s not the healthiest union either. Their eventual marriage seems inevitable to everyone but him. It doesn’t help that his girlfriend has taken to wearing an engagement ring Noah purchased—even though he hadn’t, you know, proposed yet. So he breaks things off with her.
These decisions lead Joanne and Noah to a mutual friend’s dinner party, where they meet. Joanne is neither religious nor Jewish, while Noah is both. Despite their differences, sparks fly, and they decide to see each other again.
The next time they do, it’s at Noah’s temple while he’s giving a Shabbat sermon. Noah is thrilled to see Joanne—but he’s the only one. Aside from the many members of the congregation who would rather Noah end up with one of their daughters, Noah’s family is less than pleased to see their rabbi son showing an interest in a shiksa (that is, a Gentile woman).
Even with the cards stacked against them, Joanne and Noah want to know: Can they make it work?
Nobody Wants This follows a pretty standard romcom formula. Two protagonists hit it off, intrigued by their differences. And despite forces trying to pull them apart, they start to fall for one another. The show tries to tweak the familiar blueprint with Noah’s occupation as a rabbi. There’s potential here for an examination of faith and romance, but Nobody Wants This isn’t interested in that angle. Any deeper, spiritual questions that sprout from the show’s premise are buried in favor of crude sexual humor, profanity, and other concerning content.
Joanne makes the case that her popular podcast, which frequently covers sexual topics, is about more than sex. You’d be forgiven for thinking that wasn’t the case—and the same could be said about this show. Sexual acts, orientations, and infidelity are frequent topics of conversation, both on Joanne’s podcast and in her everyday conversations. One of the first things Joanne asks Noah after she finds out he’s a rabbi: “Can you have sex?”
While out, people usually have a drink in hand. Someone smokes a cigarette. Over the first two episodes, the f-word is used more than 10 times. God’s name is abused nearly 20 times, including a misuse of Jesus’ name. The s-word is heard four times, along with “h—,” “a–” and “a–hole,” “d–k,” “whore,” and “p-ss.” There is an additional reference to male genitalia. The Yiddish term shiksa is used several times—an unflattering term for a non-Jewish woman.
With all that problematic content in mind, Nobody Wants This may prove to be something of a prophetic statement for many potential viewers.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out. )
Joanne is frustrated after another date goes awry. (It seems this guy talked a little too much about his grandmother.) She and her sister, Morgan, return home to record a new episode of their popular relationship podcast. When Morgan tells her she only falls for “emotionally unavailable” guys, Joanne vows to start looking for a healthy relationship.
Noah discovers that his longtime girlfriend, Rebecca, has found and is wearing an engagement ring that he bought—even though he didn’t propose. Feeling that they are not in a healthy place as a couple, Noah breaks off the relationship.
Joanne and Morgan join their mother and father for dinner to “celebrate” the anniversary of their parents’ divorce. Their mother says the reason for the divorce was that their father was confused about his sexuality. He responds that he’s “100% sure” he’s gay—then calls their waiter handsome and ogles the man as he walks away.
A few days later, Joanne and Noah end up at a dinner party. Joanne kisses a woman on the lips when she arrives. (The woman tells Joanne that she’s “not gay for you.”) Joanne and Noah hit it off. Partygoers talk about one of Joanne’s podcast episodes about a “three-way.”
After Joanne learns Noah is a rabbi, she asks him if his spiritual convictions prohibit him from having sex. “That’s priests,” he answers. “We’re just people.” Joanne says she doesn’t believe in God, saying what other people make God out to be hasn’t “felt right to [her].”
On her next podcast, Joanne talks in blunt terms about both men and women deriving pleasure from sex. Noah listens to the podcast in his office (in the synagogue), and two teens walk in and hear the inappropriate conversation—much to Noah’s dismay.
Later, Joanne watches as Noah give a Shabbat sermon in a Jewish synagogue. A cantor sings, and we see bread and wine presented on a table at the front of the synagogue. Noah speaks of the opportunities God gives to “wake up and change the course of our lives.”
Joanne is called a shiksa by Noah’s mother. Joanne’s mother says it’s “trendy to be gay these days.” Someone encourages a friend to “dress like a huge slut.” A woman makes a crude joke combining Jewish ethnicity and sex. The drug ayahuasca is referenced.
Joanne and Noah chat after the Shabbat service ends. Noah’s family watches their interaction with suspicion. Joanne crosses herself and Noah replies, “That’s not us.”
Noah asks Joanne to wait for him while he greets the members of his congregation. Joanne calls Morgan, who tells her their podcast is being acquired and that the new owners might want to rebrand it in a way that “screams sex.”
When Noah takes longer than expected, Morgan encourages Joanne to leave. Noah and his brother, Sasha, are just able to catch them before they leave, and they go out for drinks. Noah and Joanne chat about her podcast, and Noah references an episode talking about a sex toy. They discuss whether people should be more open about uncomfortable things (money, relationships and—you guess it—sex) or more private.
Noah says his parents are private people in part because they immigrated from the Soviet Union, where even a Jewish-sounding name could have dangerous consequences. The date ends when Joanne learns Noah is engaged. (He’s not.)
Noah’s family members stage something like an intervention to express their disapproval for his interest in Joanne. Noah’s father asks if Joanne mentioned Jesus and tried to “recruit” him to Christianity.
Morgan and Joanne bicker while meeting with representatives who want to acquire their podcast. Morgan says Joanne hates religion and was a lesbian for a year where “she thrived.” Noah counsels a young married couple. They are reluctant to open up until Noah shares about the failures of his relationship with Rebecca.
Noah invites Joanne to dinner “as friends.” He wants to clear the air about his so-called engagement but admits he didn’t handle it well by not informing Joanne. After dinner, they kiss passionately on the street and wonder if a relationship between them could work.
A man asks Noah for a recommendation for a mohel—to which another man tells him, “Good luck with your grandson’s “penis.” Sasha asks Noah to take a gummy with him. (It’s implied it’s a THC, or edible cannabis, gummy.) Noah declines. Joanne mentions “fourth-wave feminism.” People talk about the “friendzone.” Morgan jokes that their podcast should be retitled to “Slutty Shiksas.”
Bret loves a good story—be it a movie, show, or video game—and enjoys geeking out about things like plot and story structure. He has a blast reading and writing fiction and has penned several short stories and screenplays. He and his wife love to kayak the many beautiful Colorado lakes with their dog.
Occult themes aren’t the only elements viewers must be mindful of in Disney+ & Marvel’s ‘Agatha All Along.’
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns for its second season, full of characters and bloodshed alike.
Doctor Odyssey stars a medical team working on a cruise ship, but it cares far more for romance than it does for its patients.
FX’s Grotesquerie is aptly named. Horrific murder scenes, odd religious notes, foul language and sexual immorality plague the series from start to finish.
Our weekly newsletter will keep you in the loop on the biggest things happening in entertainment and technology. Sign up today, and we’ll send you a chapter from the new Plugged In book, Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family, that focuses on how to implement a “screentime reset” in your family!
