Agatha All Along has been all about the surprise character reveals lately. Last week, we learned that Teen (Joe Locke) was actually William Kaplan, a kid interested in witchcraft. And actually, William Kaplan was really Billy Maximoff, the son of Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlett Witch, whose consciousness went inside the then-dead body of William Kaplan after Wanda's weird magical dome from WandaVision collapsed. I mean, it's a confusing answer but it's still an answer.
In the newest episode, "Death's Hand in Mine," we get another reveal: Rio Vidal, the mysterious witch played by Aubrey Plaza, is none other than...Death! Like, Death, the concept of Death, incarnate. We'd actually gotten a few hints to this effect before, like when a Ouija board told the coven that death was in the room with them, and Rio laughed. The board wasn't just talking in the general sense; Death was really there.
So what does it mean that Rio is Death? As it ends up, Death is a recurring character in Marvel Comics, having made their first appearance in Captain Marvel #26 back in 1973. Death is an immortal being with nigh-infinite power and knowledge who can kill and resurrect people pretty much at will. Death has no physical body but occasionally appears as a human female so lesser beings can perceive it. In the comics. the supervillain Thanos is in love with Death, massacring people by the millions to prove his devotion. That aspect of Thanos' character was cut out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Death has finally made an appearance.
In a way, Agatha has been given been given the role Thanos had in the comics, since it's implied that she and Death have been an item at some point in the past. They might still be. Having Death as your girlfriend must open a lot of doors.
There are two episodes of Agatha All Along left, both of which will air on Disney+ on Wednesday, October 30, right before Halloween. Death is unpredictable at the best of times, and comes for us all. It's hard to predict what this version of Death will get up to in the two-part finale.
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