Agatha All Along was one of the most addictive watching experiences of the year. Not only did it expand on the popularity of Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness, but it brought Marvel-averse viewers into the fold by establishing a witchy, cheeky, and emotional thrill ride across nine episodes. This ensemble, which includes Sasheer Zamata, Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza created a reluctant bond as a coven in order for each character to reach towards their personal ends, but Agatha finds a young foil in Joe Locke’s Wiccan. Locke commands the screen as a young man with the ultimate secret.
Embodying Teen/Wiccan/Billy is a tricky job. I had to keep reminding myself of Locke’s character’s consciousness, especially upon a rewatch. We talk a lot about naivety mainly because people assume that his character doesn’t know what he is doing because of his age. Wiccan’s excitement to take the journey is quite infectious.
“Lots of the excitement is because he is a fake character,” Locke says. “It’s a character that is made up, but I always think that he is never untruthful. He’s not ever maybe lying about his intentions of going on the Road, but he is still excited about it. The emotions are true, and he is just ramping them up to get what he wants. So while the intention behind everything might not be pure, he finds the journey to be thrilling.”
Locke laughs when he briefly reveals reading the script of episode eight when the big reveal happens.
“Mary Livanos, one of our producers, kept asking me if I had read it when I got the script,” he says. “She was eager for my reaction since she knew that it was big.”
When Agatha is assembling the coven for the Road, she tells Wiccan, ‘Wherever you are, a coven there shall be.’ That big of dialogue can extend to this ragtag group of witches, but it also carries a connotation of queer upbringing and identity. Locke’s character responds with, ‘That’s beautiful.’
“I thought a lot about that,” Locke admits. “With Billy trying to find his brother, he comes across the idea of the found family, and his queerness is a big part of that.”
Hahn’s Agatha and Locke’s Wiccan spend the most time together since they meet in episode one, and they challenge each other throughout the season. She eventually disappoints him and his ideal of the good that a witch can do, and during a confrontation, he says, ‘That’s what it means to be a witch? Killing people to serve your own agenda? Not for me.’ Locke reveled in their relationship existing in this barbed playground.
“Even though he’s lying to everyone about his intentions, his green naiveness indicates how pure he is,” he says. “In that moment, he realizes that everyone he’s with, especially Agatha, is there to get what they want. It’s not good for the coven. I thought a lot about how Billy is a good character who does bad things. People die because of him, but that doesn’t mean he’s not good. Playing in that gray area makes everything much more interesting. And it’s fun.
In that confrontation, that composition leads him to try and kill Agatha as his next step, but, subconsciously, he knows he made the Road. He doesn’t actually want to kill her, so that’s why I don’t think she dies in the mud. He can control things, because the Road is of his creation. It can be confusing to think about as an actor and a character at the same time. I loved figuring it all out–I love a puzzle.”
Do we automatically assume that someone is wise because they have reached a certain age? This coven’s members don’t get enough credit to Wiccan for his tenacity, intelligence, or guile, but Locke looks at the more overarching theme of understanding.
“I think our story is a reallty classic one in terms of everyone leaving with some level of enlightenment,” he says. “Agatha learns to love herself as a witch, and I hope that they all come to the realization that she’s not all bad. Alice takes the burden of the curse off of her family. Billy is a way of helping these witches reclaim these things–he’s the catalyst for a lot of things, even if the characters die. People can lose that naivity of youth, but there is optimism in that.”
As Agatha was airing, fans busiesd themselves with Wiccan artwork and costumes. This Halloween is going to be packed with handmade duds sporting crowns and red capes, and the impact is not lost on Locke. Seeing an unapologetically queer superhero descending from the sky to save the day against selfish evil is inspiring.
“Agatha All Along was the most perfect experience, and I will never have something like this in my career,” Locke says. “It came at a time when I realized who I am as a person, and I really taught myself things from every person on this show. I learned a lot about myself on this set.”
Agatha All Along is streaming now on Disney+.
