Agatha All Along Showrunner Shuts Down A Huge Thanos Theory
“You'll get a little bit more understanding” in the Agatha finale — but no Thanos.
Jac Schaeffer knows how to make Marvel TV. She created WandaVision, the series that brought the MCU to Disney+ with a plot that paid loving homage to classic sitcoms. That led to Agatha All Along, the spinoff dedicated to nosy-neighbor-turned-chaos-witch Agatha Harkness. Just like WandaVision, Agatha All Along is chock full of plot twists and reveals, like the revelation that the mysterious “Teen” is actually Billy Maximoff, aka Wiccan.
Spoilers for Agatha All Along follow!
But Episode 7 raised the stakes. In an episode dedicated to divination witch Lilia Calderu, there was still room for a huge shock: Rio Vidal, Agatha’s ex-girlfriend, is actually Death herself. But how does this version of Death differ from the comics, and will we see her again? Schaeffer shed a little more light on this reveal and hints at some more information in the series’ upcoming two-episode finale.
Rio Vidal is revealed as Death in Agatha All Along Episode 7.
First, how does Death operate in the MCU? She appeared to Lilia just before she died, so she could be like the Marvel Grim Reaper, appearing to those about to die as a bad omen, or she could be something a little more mystical, controlling death the way Agatha controls chaos. Schaeffer can’t tip her cards just yet, but that’s in anticipation of Episodes 8 and 9, premiering October 30.
“There will be a little bit more illuminating about our version of Death, but what I will say is we generally leave some of it to interpretation in this show,” Schaeffer tells Inverse. “But you'll get a little bit more understanding of how she operates in the last two episodes.”
In the comics, Lady Death is the inspiration for Thanos to become such a murderous villain.
In the comics, Death appears multiple times as a cosmic being, but one of her most prominent roles is as a key part of Thanos’ backstory: Thanos’ destructive streak started as a way to impress Death, who he fell in love with. It’s clear Agatha All Along’s version of Death has a different romantic history. Don’t expect the Mad Titan to be a part of her story any time soon.
“Thanos is not in my show, so I can't speak to any Thanos connections,” Schaeffer says. “Thanos stans out there, I have no answers for you.”
While you can cross off Thanos in your finale cameo prediction list, Death won’t remain a complete mystery in the last two episodes. We’ll learn a little bit more about her then, but Death is everywhere, and that includes in the future of the MCU too. Will Rio come back for more adventures? Schaeffer’s answer is simple: “As a fan? I hope so.”
