This story contains spoilers for Episode 7 of “Agatha All Along.”
One thing “Agatha All Along” has made clear over the course of the series is that death comes for us all. And in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it turns out, Death comes in the form of Aubrey Plaza.
The seventh episode of the Disney+ series, aptly titled “Death’s Hand in Mine,” sees the rest of Agatha’s (Kathryn Hahn) makeshift coven finally learn that the mysteriously dangerous but charismatic Rio (Plaza) has been Death all along. As divination witch Lilia (Patti LuPone) does one final tarot reading to complete her quest, the clairvoyant sees the true identity of their wayward traveling companion.
“Rio. She’s Death,” says Lilia after saving her coven from imminent impalement.
When pressed for confirmation, Agatha acknowledges, “I like the bad boys.”
As seen in Lilia’s visions, Rio’s identity has been teased throughout the previous episodes. The most obvious of these hints being the Ouija board spelling out the presence of D-E-A-T-H in Episode 5.
In the final moments of Episode 7, Lilia pushes Agatha, Billy (Joe Locke) and Jen (Sasheer Zamata) to continue down the Witches’ Road and whatever other trials await.
Now that we know all roads lead to her, here’s everything you need to know about Death and her backstory.
Who is Death?
Things tend to get intense between Rio (Aubrey Plaza), left, and Agatha (Kathryn Hahn).
(Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel)
In Marvel comics, Death (with a capital D) is a cosmic entity who is the embodiment of death and mortality. The character first appeared in “Captain Marvel” No. 26 by Jim Starlin and Mike Friedrich as a cloaked cohort of Thanos. Yes, that Thanos.
While other interpretations of death had been featured in Marvel stories before, this cosmic iteration of the character is traced to the 1973 comic. Sometimes called Mistress Death or Lady Death, the cloaked entity tends to be involved in storylines set in space. Essentially immortal, Death possesses immense power, including the ability to manipulate time and matter.
Death has crossed paths with the likes of Mar-Vell, members of the Fantastic Four, the Grandmaster and more. But she is best known for being the object of Thanos’ unrequited affections. In the comics, the whole ordeal with the Infinity Stones was Thanos’ attempt to woo her.
For now, it seems extremely unlikely that the MCU’s incarnation of Death will have any ties to Thanos considering his saga has already come and gone. Plus, there are still plenty of witchy mysteries yet to be resolved in “Agatha All Along” — such as Rio’s whereabouts during the last trial.
What do we know about Rio Vidal?
Agatha (Kathryn Hahn), left, and Death (Aubrey Plaza) have some unresolved business.
(Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel)
Ever since she burst into Agatha’s murder mystery hallucination, it’s been teased that there was more to Rio than meets the eye.
Agatha and Rio have history. The implication from the beginning was that Rio and Agatha were involved in the past. And while the relationship may have ended centuries ago, they are clearly still drawn to each other.
Rio can’t kill Agatha (even if she wanted to). If their comments made in the heat of a battle are to be believed, Rio is “not allowed” to kill Agatha, while Agatha can neither kill Rio nor absorb her powers.
Rio speaks Spanish. The first couple of times Rio bade Agatha farewell, her parting words were “te veo.” It could be a nod to Plaza’s heritage, or it could be something that comes into play in the show’s remaining episodes. Ya veremos.
Rio hates ghosts. When Agatha’s mother appears in Episode 5, Rio declares she hates ghosts. But maybe she just doesn’t like her ex’s mother.
Rio is the Green Witch. Rio declares she is “less a green witch, more the Green Witch” when she first meets Agatha’s coven on the Witches’ Road. This suggests that Death in the MCU could have purview over the cycle of life rather than just reigning over death. Could regeneration, renewal and/or rebirth be what await at the end of the Witches’ Road after all the dying along the way? Audiences will just have to wait for Wednesday’s “Agatha All Along” finale to find out.