The ninth and final episode of the popular Disney+ miniseries Agatha All Along, concluded on October 30, 2024, finally bringing dramatic closure for Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and her wicked Westview ways. Although the anticipated WandaVision spin-off was conceived as a single-season one-off advancing the MCU’s Phase Five, fans would love to see more of Rio Vidal, played by the inimitable Aubrey Plaza.
Rio Vidal is introduced as Agatha’s former romantic partner, only to reveal her real identity as Lady Death in episode 7, “Death’s Hand in Mine.” Despite being limited by only two episodes to flex her full might and showcase the full gamut of her superhuman powers, Lady Death’s mythological lore stems from the pages of Marvel Comics. If Lady Death gets a spin-off series, here’s how the morbid Marvel villain will use her killer powers to extend her supernatural reign.
What Is Agatha All Along About?
Agatha All Along is an American dark fantasy miniseries created by Jac Schaffer that premiered on Disney+ on September 18, 2024. Designed as a single-season spin-off to WandaVision, the drama focuses on Agatha Harkness (Hahn), the villainous witch who tried to usurp Wanda Maximoff’s (Elizabeth Olsen), aka The Scarlet Witch’s, supernatural specialties in WandaVision.
The MCU origin story picks up three years after Wanda traps Agatha in the fictional noir TV series, Agnes of Westview, where Agatha believes she is a police investigator named Agnes O’Connor. Stripped of her witchy powers and supernatural specialties, Agnes sets out to solve a murder case in Agnes of Westview. During her investigation, Agnes meets FBI Agent Rio Vidal (Plaza), assigned to help solve the murder. Or so she thinks.
In the opening episode, Agnes learns that Rio is a witch who has been sent to kill her. Agnes discovers this as her powers are eliminated, forcing her to seek Rio’s mercy until she can regain her supernatural abilities. However, Rio tells Agnes that she is being hunted by a coven of witchy supervillains called the Salem Seven. As such, Agnes forms a new coven of allies and fights back to regain her paranormal powers. Unfortunately, her efforts are obstructed when Rio Vidal reveals her true nature in “Death’s Hand in Mine.”
Who Is Lady Death in Agatha All Along?
Introduced as FBI Agent Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), Mertis is the original Green Witch and Wanda Maximoff’s former romantic partner. According to Marvel lore, The Green Witch was elected by Death to serve as a Reaper of Earth, one of many evil ambassadors of the afterlife. Mertis’ backstory unfolds as Agatha All Along advances, revealing her time as Wanda’s lover who shared twin children, Natalia and Nicholas.
When Nicholas died due to Mertis’ failure to save him, she and Agatha broke up. Mertis joined forces with the Salem Seven afterward and led the vengeful hunt for Agatha. The Salem Seven descend from the witches killed by Agatha, giving them motivation for revenge. As such, they plant Mertis in Agatha’s new coven as FBI Agent Rio Vidal, secretly working from the inside to deliver Agatha to the Witches’ Road, a magical portal that grants wishes.
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As Rio Vidal keeps her identity as Mertis from Agatha, she also keeps her true nature from the audience until episode 7, “Death’s Hand in Mine.” In the antepenultimate episode, Rio is revealed to be Lady Death, a personification of pure evil whose powers extend far beyond what is depicted onscreen in Agatha All Along‘s final two-and-a-half episodes. The cosmic entity is derived from Marvel Comics and is worth examining closely to differentiate the character’s powers on the page versus on the screen.
Lady Death’s Powers, Explained
When Rio Vidal transforms into Lady Death, she tells the ancient witch Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) “In the end, all roads lead to me.” Indeed, Lady Death is the manifestation of death and decomposition. Throughout Marvel Comics’ history, the cosmic entity has taken many physical forms but is often portrayed as a skeletal figure adorning a long black cloak. Tasked with striking a cosmic balance with its sibling Eternity, Death has possessed several characters (mostly female), including Marlo Chandler and Rio Vidal.
In the abstract, Lady Death’s general powers in Marvel Comics include superhuman durability, energy projection, intelligence, speed, and strength. However, Death’s real influence comes from its uncapped omnipotence. Death can remove the souls and free the spirits of the deceased. As the metaphysical representation of death, all lost souls belong to Death. In addition to taking life, Death has the power to reverse death and restore the living.
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As an amortal entity, Death cannot die and is not beholden to the laws of Earthly physics. This grants Lady Death immense Cosmic Power, with the ability to manipulate spacetime, bend reality, and control entire galaxies through dark magic. While most of these powers are not seen in Agatha All Along, fans can expect Lady Death to flex her full might should the character star in a new spin-off. Such powers include telekinesis, telepathy, teleportation, invisibility, levitation, elemental control, unlimited omniscience, resurrection, and avatar creation.
Lady Death possesses Rio Vidal in Agatha All Along and sets out to mortally avenge Agatha Harkness. Although she is only given two episodes to showcase her powers beyond bodily possession, avatar creation, and existential trickery, Lady Death flexes her morbid muscles in the finale, “Maiden Mother Crone.” Lady Death takes Nicholas, weakens the boy through sickness, and spends centuries murdering various witches and usurping their powers to bolster her existential stranglehold on Westview.
Upon confronting Agatha, Lady Death realizes that Agatha is no longer “an arrogant little dark witch who thought she was immortal” and spares her life. Lady Death leaves Earth satisfied with Agatha’s evolution, but promises they will meet when Agatha dies. Agatha All Along‘s finale opens the dramatic door to continue Lady Death’s fateful manipulation of Marvel heroes and villains.
Agatha All Along is available to stream on Disney+.
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