In this week's episode of Agatha All Along, it was revealed that Aubrey Plaza's Rio Vidal is really the MCU's version of Death. Of course, thanks to an earlier Funko Pop leak, many of us knew this coming.
Regardless, while "Rio" has been collecting the fallen members of the Coven on the Witches' Road, her intentions and history with Agatha Harkness have yet to be revealed.
Talking to Deadline, showrunner Jac Schaeffer (who also directed "Death's Hand in Mine") explained, "She is the personification of Death, and Agatha is a person who has killed a great number of people. It was a discovery in the writers room, or an idea that, if Agatha was going to have someone from her deep past who was really vital, the question was, 'Who would Agatha be attracted to? Who would Agatha be embroiled with? who would kind of turn Agatha’s head?'"
"And the answer was Lady Death," she added. "We felt so lucky that we got the approval to to have the character of Death in our show, and even more so that Aubrey Plaza stepped into the role, because, I mean, not of folks on the planet can convincingly play the character."
In a separate conversation with The Wrap, Schaeffer addressed the character's appearance and why Agatha All Along chose to reveal Death to Lilia Calderu shortly before her emotional sacrifice.
"We wanted the Death reveal to look like the Death card. So the imagery of it, we wanted to have that classic look and to link to Lady Death in the comics, the classic aesthetic of it. And her voice is kind of, I guess, menacing, and she sounds a little bit like she’s toying with Lilia. So I can see that those shades are there, but you know, it was our aspiration to have a nuanced portrayal of Death, both the lady herself and also what death means."
"I think there’s more to explore there, but I think it’s really about Lilia’s acceptance [of death], not about the personification of death being a menacing or evil thing. It’s about Lilia embracing her own path and understanding that the thing has been in front of her this whole time. She’s been seeing death everywhere since she was a child, and it made her afraid and it made her hide. It made her turn into a hermit, and she sets all of that down."
Then, in a Variety interview, the showrunner elaborated on Death's role in this story and how that evolved during pre-production from a character who was originally dubbed the "Debt Collector."
"We wanted a pursuant character. We wanted somebody who was going to be after Agatha, and therefore after the coven, because we liked the logic of whatever Agatha’s problem is, once they become a coven, it becomes the problem of the whole group. Very, very early, we had this character we called the Debt Collector. Witchcraft is a lot about intention and exchange and checks and balances. So we had this notion of someone being after them for unpaid debts of witchcraft. I don’t remember when we pivoted to death, but it was just so sexy. We were just like, who is the perfect ex-lover of Agatha Harkness? It was just so obviously Lady Death. It felt so right."
"Executive producer Mary Levanos and writer Giovanna Sarquis were instrumental in the character. Giovanna came in with the Dia de los Muertos [look] and having her be Latinx, and Mary was very much an influence on Rio’s darkness and toxicity and how enmeshed Agatha and Rio are. It was something that needed approval from on high. We had to get the sign off from Kevin [Feige]. There was a moment where we were all holding our breath, worried we weren’t going to get it. We were really delighted that we got the OK."
Schaeffer added that she would "classify [Death] as an antagonist," noting, "I would classify everyone in the show as a villain and a hero at one point or another."
Finally, ahead of next week's two-part finale, the writer and director took one major threat off the board by confirming "the Salem Seven are dead. They’re off the board in our show, is what I will say. Lilia has saved everybody!"
Agatha All Along has a lot to address in those final couple of episodes, though it feels like this Disney+ series is ultimately only an introduction to Death. While she wasn't part of Thanos' story in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, we'd be shocked if she doesn't get involved when Doctor Doom take centre stage a couple of years from now.
Are you excited to see more Death in the MCU?