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- She is my scar.
- — Rio suggesting that she still loves Agatha by evoking her wounds in "If I Can't Reach You/Let My Song Teach You"
AgathaRio is the femslash ship between Agatha Harkness and Rio Vidal/Death from the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom.
Canon[]
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Seekest Thou the Road[]
During the first episode, Agatha is a police detective known as Agnes O'Connor (the Scarlet Witch cast a spell on Agatha trapping her into a delusion, for 3 years). While working on an investigation, she comes across Agent Rio Vidal, with whom she seems to have a past history with and their mutual hatred is palpable, as they seem to wish for each other's demise (they seem to harbor a longstanding rivalry/enmity). On her way home, Agnes/Agatha comes across a teenager who has broken into her house and breaks the spell, causing her to regain her memory. It is at this moment that Rio attacks Agatha in her home and tries to kill her with a blade (although that's questionable, since Agatha was powerless and could have been killed easily if Rio really wanted to kill her). At the end of a fight that radiates a certain sexual tension, Rio warns Agatha of danger to come. Agatha says she doesn't have a heart, but Rio says she has a black heart and it beats for Agatha. Before leaving, Rio licks Agatha's wounded hand, healing it.
If I Can't Reach You / Let My Song Teach You[]
In the fourth episode, Agatha and the coven summons a green witch to replace Mrs Hart aka Mrs Davis who died and by accident Rio is summoned because as she said later, she was nearby. Agatha is visible affected by Rio's appearance, while Rio can't help but annoy her and frighten the rest of the coven, while Agatha tries to avoid contact with her. During the episode, Rio subtly references her previous connection with Agatha and at the end, the two women are on the verge of getting closer and even kissing, but Agatha's past resurfaces and this attempt at reconciliation proves to be a failure : the two women endeavor to reconcile, but their efforts are unsuccessful.
Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power[]
In the fifth episode, the majority of the coven decides to sacrifice Agatha in order to succeed in a trial and continue on their road, but Rio defends her when Agatha is about to be cursed by her mother's ghost.
Death's Hand in Mine[]
In the seventh episode, it is revealed that Rio is Death itself. Agatha then admits her coven of her attraction and past relationship with Death.
Follow Me My Friend / To Glory at the End[]
In the eighth episode, Rio and Agatha talk about Billy Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch's son); Agatha offers to give her the boy, but in exchange, Death must leave her alone forever: she never wants to see her again. Agatha then manages to get out of the Road but is confronted by Rio, who tries to take her with her: she refuses and the two women fight. Billy saves Agatha and restores her lost powers. Agatha then tries to offer Billy to Rio, but she finally changes her mind and sacrifices herself. She kisses Rio passionately, which is seen as an act of sacrifice but also a reconciliation with Rio since she didn't need to kiss her that way to sacrifice, and then she dies.
Maiden Mother Crone[]
In the ninth and final episode, in a flashback, Rio appears to pick up Agatha's unborn child, who is also her biological son as confirmed by the showrunner, Jac Schaeffer. Agatha begs her not to take him saying she would hate Rio forever if she took her child from her. Agatha calls Rio “my love”, making clear the romantic nature of their relationship, and Rio grants her request momentarily, saying she would give her time and that's all she could do. A decade later, their son Nicholas falls ill and Rio comes to fetch him, leaving Agatha permanently heartbroken - and that's when her love-hate relationship with Rio began, even though Rio was only doing her job to maintain the cosmic balance. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that although Agatha died, she is now a ghost, meaning she's dead, but not gone, leaving place for more of her adventures and even a possible resurrection (like happened in the comics) is expected by fans.
Moments[]
Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate[]
- Agatha refuses to call Rio to form her coven.
Fanon[]
The ship is unique to the MCU and doesn't exist in the comics. The fact that it's a canon queer ship probably explains its popularity, given that Marvel and Disney have been accused of queerbaiting on numerous occasions.
On Archive of Our Own (AO3), AgathaRio is the most written ship under the Agatha All Along (TV) tag. AgathaRio is the most written ship on Archive of Our Own for both characters. This is also the most written and popular femslash ship under the Marvel Cinematic Universe tag on AO3 (and in the Marvel fandom overall). In a statistical review of AO3 in 2024, AgathaRio ranked 35 in the fastest-growing relationship tags on AO3 in the period Jan-Dec 2024.[1] As of June 2025, they have over 5,000 fanfics on AO3.
The fact that the two witches are immortal offers a lot of scope and potential for fan fictions. Before the release of the show, a leak reportedly revealed that Rio's character was actually Death herself. This was proven true in the seventh episode and has become a very popular trope for the ship.
Fans went crazy with joy when the fourth episode was released and that it was confirmed that the Agatha/Rio pairing was canon. It felt like a breath of fresh air that Marvel and Disney were finally taking responsibility for bringing a queer couple to the spotlight.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Agatha/Rio tag on AO3
- Agatha & Rio tag on AO3
Trivia[]
- Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza, who play Agatha and Rio respectively, are fervent supporters of the couple formed by their characters.[citation needed]
Gallery[]
Lists[]
| 3th | OCT 14 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| 4th | OCT 7 2024 | OCT 21 2024 |
| 5th | OCT 28 2024 |
[]
