Dolly Parton’s 1972 hit “Jolene” is an American classic. Even Beyoncé covered the song on her recent album Cowboy Carter. The song tells the story of an auburn-haired vixen who tries to steal Dolly’s man away from her. Even if you’re not a country music fan, everyone on Earth loves “Jolene.” Well, in the latest episode of Agatha All Along, they revealed that Agatha Harkness was, in fact, the actual inspiration behind Jolene in the MCU. Agatha All Along series showrunner Jac Schaeffer confirmed this in an interview with The Wrap. Here’s what she had to say about this stunning revelation about our Westview witch:
That was a [series writer] Laura Donney idea. And it was one of, I remember being one of the most fun days in the room, was everybody coming in with their sort of low-level Agatha nasties. And that was Laura Donney. She was like, ‘She’s Jolene.’ And we were just like, everybody fell out. It was so funny.
So, at some point in the ’70s, Agatha Harkness ditched her raven-haired locks for an auburn-haired look. Honestly, we can see it. Maybe she used a magical glamour? It’s difficult imagining Dolly Parton, someone eternally kind-hearted, actually slapping the crap out of someone. But if there is a person on Earth who can bring out the worst in just about anyone, it’s Agatha Harkness.
The reveal of Agatha’s Jolene past came in the flashbacks in Agatha All Along episode six. In those flashbacks, we see Billy Maximoff researching the history of Agatha online. And he found many instances of bad things happening whenever Agatha was present. This includes the sinking of the Titanic and the Hindenburg disaster. Although those instances had a catastrophic loss of life, we’re still somehow more mad at her for trying to mess with Dolly P. There are some things you just don’t do.