Warning: SPOILERS for the Agatha All Along episode “If I Can't Reach You / Let My Song Teach You” are ahead!
Last week’s episode of Agatha All Along was pretty eventful, from Debra Jo Rupp’s Sharon Davis dying at the end to that Mephisto name drop. Well, this week’s episode, titled “If I Can't Reach You / Let My Song Teach You,” had its own significant developments, including Aubrey Plaza’s mysterious Rio Vidal being summoned to take over as the coven’s green witch. As we’ve known since Agatha All Along premiered to those with a Disney+ subscription, Rio and Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha have history together, but this latest episode took things a step further and had these characters almost kiss each other. There’s no question this is one of the biggest queer moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date, and showrunner Jan Schaeffer opened up about how Agatha All Along’s LGBTQ+ representation was “undeniable.”
Schaeffer, who was also WandaVision’s showrunner, talked with EW about how Agatha All Along is infused with things that many in the LGBTQ+ demographic like, including camp, musicals, horror and actress Patti LuPone, who stars in this show as Lilia Calderu. This is why Joe Locke’s Teen is a gay goth horror fan, and Schaeffer explained why it was important to infuse the latest Marvel series with such elements with these words:
In our research into the history of witches, contemporary witches, witches in pop culture, there is a very strong intersection between the LGBTQ community and witchcraft. That was undeniable and needed a place in the show.
The MCU’s version of Agatha Harkness was initially introduced in WandaVision as Agnes, the nosy neighbor who lived next door to Wanda Maximoff and Vision during their sitcom-hopping days in Westview. However, her true identity was eventually revealed, and while we got a look into her past through a 1693-set flashback showing a coven of witches, including Agatha’s mother, trying to execute her for using dark magic, Agatha All Along is preparing to do a much deeper dive into her background. Now there’s also a romantic beat to keep track of with her too, as there’s clearly chemistry between Agatha and Rio Vidal in the midst of their adversarial dynamic.
Jac Schaeffer also recalled how when WandaVision was originally airing, she saw footage of a Minneapolis drag brunch where one of the performers was dressed like Agatha Harkness, and she was “moved and overwhelmed and flattered.” Cut to Agatha All Along, Schaeffer wanted the title character to also be a drag queen of sorts, saying:
[Agatha Harkness] is a drag queen. She is a performer more than anything else. She is constantly wearing masks. She's constantly putting on identities. So I would say that, in terms of our intention, the people that I was lucky enough to assemble on the show, both behind the camera and in front of the camera, [there were] so many members of the community, so many people motivated to tell these stories and to infuse the show with joyous, dark, resplendent queer energy. I am thrilled. I feel honored. It is my deepest hope that it is embraced as the love letter that it is.
As mentioned earlier, Agatha and Rio fell short of actually locking lips, as the latter reminded the former that Teen is not her long-lost son, whom Teen inquired about to Agatha just minutes beforehand, but she refused to talk about it. With five episodes left to go in Agatha All Along, there’s still time for viewers to see them kiss, but whether that happens or not, Kathryn Hahn is happy with how the show’s LGBTQ+ representation has turned out. In her words:
I'm so proud. This is what a large portion of the fans want to see and have looked to be represented in these huge movies. They're a huge part of these movies in this genre's audience, so it just makes sense. And also, it makes it that more rich.
New episodes of Agatha All Along are released Wednesdays at 9 pm ET on Disney+. You can look further ahead into the future by browsing through the upcoming Marvel TV shows and upcoming Marvel movies.
