Ali Ahn

It was 2 AM when I hopped on a video call with Ali Ahn to chat about Disney+’s new show, Agatha All Along. While I had been fighting to stay awake an hour prior, my excitement chased away any lingering traces of sleepiness the closer it got to our scheduled time.

Agatha All Along is a spin-off from WandaVision, both of which are a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ahn, who is known for her roles in Netflix’s Raising Dion and The Diplomat, plays Alice Wu-Gulliver, a protector witch introduced in the miniseries. Recruited by Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) to join her coven, Alice and the other witches summon the legendary Witches’ Road, a path believed to grant wishes to those who pass its trials, by singing a sacred chant. Despite not getting along and having different goals, they, along with a boy known as Teen (Joe Locke), must learn to work together to survive and reach the end of the Road.

For Alice, whose famous rock star mom tragically passed away when she was young, the journey offers a chance to seek answers. “It's a different take and a really kind of epic way to explore intergenerational trauma,“ Ahn said about her character’s arc on the show. She added, “It's fun to play out these intergenerational [dynamics] that you may not get to do in real life and find that closure.”

After watching the recent Alice-centric episode, I was particularly drawn to Ahn’s character. Growing up with sisters and with shows like Charmed and Sabrina the Teenage Witch and books like Harry Potter and T*Witches, it was no surprise that I was drawn to a witchy show that explored themes like sisterhood and found family. “You’re the perfect demographic,” Ahn told me when I shared that I was also a fan of musicals.

During our conversation, Ahn delved into her character’s story, her experiences working on the show, and how she hopes the show can create a space for everyone to feel seen.

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Timid Magazine: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! How did it feel to step into such an iconic universe, especially into a spin-off of such a successful show like WandaVision?

Ali Ahn: I loved WandaVision, and I love witches, so all of that was exciting. And the showrunner, Jac Schaeffer, who also did WandaVision, is such a genius. I was excited about the caliber of people involved because obviously, Kathryn Hahn is an amazing actor.

TM: How do you feel the two shows explore the complexities of grief?

AA: All of these women are, in their own way, very alone in the world. For Alice, the pain from that grief has stunted her because she's basically running from it. The loss of a parent is a universal experience, but for Alice, it happened at such a young age, and her mom was such a public figure and beloved by so many. To me, her grief had to be really private, because everybody probably wanted to share a piece of it with her.  We don't have enough portrayals of [grief like this], because the size of it scares people.

TM: In the fourth episode, Alice overcomes her family’s generational curse. That was such a powerful moment—seeing the physical manifestation of the curse and defeating it—and I love that it was done via song rather than a traditional fight scene to fit her story. How did you approach conveying the emotional intensity needed for that scene?

AA: I mean, Bobby and Kristen Lopez—they're legends, and the music is so catchy. The lyrics are essentially a mother's prayer; for me, I thought about what I was singing and what it would mean to finally understand that it was my mother saying that to me. Some of that emotional intensity is just the gift of the writing. When you have good writing as an actor, you don't have to do as much work because the words feed you.

You know, originally that scene was a lot more fighting. There was actual throwing of weapons in earlier drafts—I didn't even know that there was a song when I got the job. The act of singing is so vulnerable for me, and pretty out of my comfort zone. I did musicals growing up, but that's sort of most high school kids’ entry into theater. I have such respect for the discipline that singing requires. Something about the leap of faith to sell the size of that moment through music was a huge challenge for me, and to get to portray that as Alice, was a perfect parallel.

TM: I loved the part where they revealed that her mom’s fans had been her coven and that every time the fans sang the song, they were protecting Alice. I thought it was so powerful, the lengths she went to protect her daughter—and the creativity, too—

AA: —and the tragedy of not being able to communicate that that's what you're doing. Alice's mother couldn't explain to her daughter, and so there's that generational divide where all Alice feels is that her mother was obsessed with being a rock star and performing this song, and she didn’t understand that it was for her, and that's tragic. A lot of people can relate to that, that there are things that our parents do for us that we don't see as a sacrifice or an act of love, because also, often the way they communicate that is not the best.

TM: It was definitely a turning point for her, too, to realize that there was actually a curse. She said she always thought that there was just something wrong with her, but then she realized that there was actually this thing that was actually actively making all these things go wrong in her life.

AA: I think we all feel that way. I assume it's my fault all the time when a lot of times it's freaking institutions, patriarchy, racism, and all these other things. That's a really human response, to think that we are in complete control, or we have full responsibility when a lot of things are beyond us and bigger than us. I love Jac's idea of making that feeling—and inherited burdens and inherited trauma—an actual physical curse.

TM: Absolutely. And we got to see how all this affected her afterward, during her conversation with Lilia about her anger turning to sadness. How do you think this development will affect the rest of her journey?

AA: There’s a real softening that can happen after that. Anger is a safer emotion for a lot of people than sadness. Alice recognizes that she's been misdirecting her emotional response. She spent most of her life thinking her mother didn't care about her, but she realizes her mother did love her—look at all she did to try to protect her!—and that her mother did her best, but she was fighting something too big.

And now, Alice can also reconnect to her roots as a powerful witch, she can connect with the other people in the coven, and she can step into this legacy that she's been avoiding her whole life. She wanted to shun everything that reminded her of her mother, and it turns out that leaning into her past is exactly the source of her power. And that's what the Road promises, right? Once you face whatever challenge is waiting for you, on the other side is the thing you've been wanting, which for Alice is connection and a sense of purpose.

TM: Let’s shift gears to a few lighthearted questions for a bit. First of all, now that you've finished the series, how do you feel about escape rooms?

AA: [laughs] Man, they stress me out. Every episode of the show is a damn escape room. I haven't done one in a while, but it really depends on the group of people. You will learn things about your friends that you may not want to know. I do think the more people in an escape room, probably the better. But yeah, they are stressful.

TM: The dynamic really matters.

AA: Oh yeah, for sure. And you also feel your own limitations come up real quick.

TM: Yup. If you were to form your coven, who would you try to recruit? Would you still be a protector witch like Alice?

AA: You know, I actually do love the idea of being a protector witch, because it's selfless, and it's about service, which is pretty rad. In terms of who I would recruit…people have been asking me this question, and I keep going back to my sister. She's someone that I always want on my team. You also need a good pop star in there, and the person that fits with the vibe of the show is probably Chappell Roan. She’s just doing her own thing, and you need someone who's a bit of a trailblazer in that way.

TM: What would your trial house look like? And what would everyone be dressed as?

AA: My personal trial would probably be a house that is literally nothing but beds and places to relax because I have a really hard time doing nothing. So my personal hell would be a space that, literally, what I'm supposed to do is try to rest. We would all be in PJs, and there would be no rules, no schedule, no clock, nothing.

TM: That would drive me nuts too. Given the different themes that the series explores, did you take away anything from your experiences working on this show?

AA: My gosh, there's so much about community that the show emphasizes that we really need in the world. And the friendships I made and how deeply we held each other.

TM: What do you hope audiences take away from the show?

AA: I hope that people feel seen. [The show is] kind of radical in that there's space for all these women who are alone and have been abandoned—society abandoned them. There’s space for queer communities that are on the fringes… and it's all about these misfits finding their power in turning towards each other and working together. If you're an outsider, I hope this show feels like a place where there's room for every weirdo. That's what is powerful about the show.

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Disclaimer: This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Agatha All Along premiered on Disney+ on September 18, 2024.

Season 2 of The Diplomat is set to be released on Netflix on October 31, 2024.