WARNING: This article includes SPOILERS for Agatha All Along, episode 7.With Lady Death officially part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Agatha all the time showrunner tells how they reinvented the character for the Disney+ series. The MCU timeline is known for bringing together the main characters from Marvel Comics, but with a big twist in many cases. With Agatha All Along getting close to ending its run, the Phase 5 show brought a crucial revelation to the audience as Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal is none other than Lady Death.
Screen speech recently interviewed Jac Schaeffer ahead of the two-part episode Agatha all the time finale, and one of the big topics covered was the MCU reveal of Lady Death in episode 7. When asked about the decision to transform Death into the original Green Witch and have her play a similar role to Shiva, both as destroyer and creatorSchaeffer delved into how they wanted to reinvent it to Agatha all the timesharing the following:
Jac Schaeffer: Yes, Andy, you’re speaking my language. You understand our show! I love that. When we had the idea to incorporate Lady Death into the show, we wanted to make it our own and we were already playing around with this group of witches. What does it mean to be a witch? Thinking about ritual creation, the divine feminine of the witchcraft space, and thinking about Lady Death as not just being about death, not just being about actual destruction, she is about the Twin Flames of birth and death. Which is really a kind of natural cycle of growth and decay. That felt so right for this original Green Witch idea. I don’t know if you just looked at her fantasy and intuited this, but you’re on the right track! [laughs]
Given the great tradition that accompanies Lady Death in Marvel Comics, bringing her into the MCU was always going to be a pivotal point. In case of Agatha all the time, Schaeffer makes it clear that they wanted to find a natural way to bring Lady Death into the storybut also link it to the concept of witches. From all the names and Easter eggs to Lady Death in previous MCU projects, this is a unique way to utilize her.
With the Agatha all the timeending episode 7, the MCU added new stakes to the franchise through Lady Death now being a proper active player. Despite the name, it is clear from Schaeffer’s explanation that Agatha all the time I wanted to give more meaning to Lady Deathrather than simply portraying it in a very black and white way. This also allows Lady Death to be a complex figure that other MCU properties can explore in the future.
Since Schaeffer boarded the MCU with WandaVision, One of the fun elements she’s elevated in the franchise is the element of surprise with characters fans expect to see but still find ways to defy their expectations.. Following Agatha all the timeEpisode 7 will be fascinating to see how Lady Death will be utilized beyond this series, as 2024 definitely won’t be the last time MCU audiences see her in action. Let’s hope the final Agatha all the time episodes will clarify what’s next for Plaza’s character.