I finally found the quote about Rio having a Mexican influence thanks to a kind subscriber! "Executive producer Mary Livanos and writer Giovanna Sarquis were instrumental in the character. Giovanna came in with the Dia de los Muertos [look] and having her be Latinx, and Mary was very much an influence on Rio’s darkness and toxicity and how enmeshed Agatha and Rio are." - Source: Variety "‘Agatha All Along’ Creator on Directing Patti LuPone’s Mind-Bending Episode, Revealing [SPOILER]’s True Identity and Who Is Really Dead".
Same here, I was expecting them to show more about their relationship developing. When rio popped up during the birth scene and Agatha responded like they already had history, I was worried I’d accidentally skipped a few minutes or something
Thank you so much for this series! I’ve loved every breakdown and clue. I think my favorite part is how you went so in depth with flower symbolism. It reminds me of Victorian flower language and LGBTQ people using flowers for flagging purposes. And it feels lovely that the two flowers most associated with that practice are violets and green carnations 💜💚
I’m glad you made use of that interview I left on the 8&9 Recap video. I’m also glad to know there is a lot more proof of Rio and Agatha’s history even though it wasn’t explicit (whether or not it was purposeful). Still sad about the character assassination in the fight scene buuut this video does heal me a bit. Thank you!
Non-text based note re: dandelions…. Dandelion was also the name of a witch that moved in across the street from Aubrey Plaza during the pandemic. Plaza explained on multiple talk shows at the time that she became Dandelion’s apprentice during lockdown, and Dandelion later provided her with a floral crown for her lockdown wedding to Jeff Baena (Dandelion was the only person aside from the justice that knew the wedding was taking place at the time, as it was a split second decision). I’m not sure what the production team had in mind symbolically when they chose the dandelion, but having seen those interviews (which Plaza gave while promoting her children’s book The Christmas Witch and it’s sequel), I admittedly immediately interpreted the dandelions as references to that, tied to Plaza’s character in AAA for the speed with which the flowers go to seed (I.e., “die”), and create new life, visualizing the cycle at pace.
Another inconsistency in Billy's mood was he didn't seem all that concerned when he thought he unalived Lilia and Jen when he was on the road, but in the end, he was all distraught about it. But I absolutely loved this series. The only thing that's still a mystery to me is when Agatha drained all of Alice's powers. Why were they useless to Agatha? 🤔🤔🤔 I agree with Rio when she said, "Power sure looks good on you," so much so that I have to go back and watch Wandavision 😂😂😂
Billy knew he had power (he's always been psychic), however, like Wanda, he can weave magic as a result of strong emotions/desires, and not even be aware of it. He knew he was powerful, but doesn't have full control over it. Getting Agatha, Lilia, and Jen away from him/off the road was an emotional outburst. It's possible that, as with Wanda, there are moments where he becomes more, or less aware of his abilities. He had a focus on community, teamwork, belonging, developing skill through effort and work etc. But he didn't know that he created everything, he thought the road was real, he wanted it to be real so badly that his powers literally manifested it.
Thanks for this. I always enjoy the tone of your commentary and extra show references you throw in. Regarding "It's a little frustrating that there's no confirmation. But we don't know what the reasons for her vagueness are." I have read/heard a couple of interviews where Jac flat out refuses to answer because if it didn't make it into the show then it's essentially not canon, and she has no say over what happens to the characters once they leave her control. I really hope no one but Jac tries to write about Agatha/Rio or Nicky's parentage. There's a lot of comic fan excitement about Death being in the MCU. But they want the comics Death with Deadpool or Thanos (cringe), not our beautiful/terrifying force of nature Green Witch who will always love Agatha. 💜 Maybe Audrey Plaza will say, "So I really only want to play the Death who's a witch opposite Kathryn Hahn."
My problem with Jac is that in the interviews she talks a lot about how they (writers room) talked about Agatha and Rio this or that but what we got in the show was a bunch of half tellings and not a lot of showings. I especially like (not) how in the interviews when talking Agatha and Rio relationship backstory. My reading of her answers are pretty much "well we talked about it and made a cute fanfic of it but didn't show it because we didn't have time". And to that my only question is: Jac girl you say y'all didn't have time to show us a flashback of Agatha and Rio before Nicky but somehow found and had the time to make a whole @ss episode that was pretty much just Billy's flashback 🤔 explain that to the class please?
I remember the interview you weren't able to find about rio's dia de los muertos influence but i can't find it either! So either we mandela effected this or its out there somewhere. But if i remember correctly it was not an in depth explanation of how that worked it was more off hand, like such and such came up with that and thats that. Less then a sentence 😅 hope this helps?
It's from a Variety article: "Executive producer Mary Livanos and writer Giovanna Sarquis were instrumental in the character. Giovanna came in with the Dia de los Muertos [look] and having her be Latinx, and Mary was very much an influence on Rio’s darkness and toxicity and how enmeshed Agatha and Rio are."
I’m not sure that’s lavender on Agatha’s bier/grave… they look more like grape hyacinths, which are small and low to the ground. Lavender is much taller, often growing in near spherical mounds. But possibly it’s a miniature hybrid of lavender. I am not sure.
Glad you have given the series finale some time to digest, and your analyses are always wonderful to hear. I'm of the opinion that I can wait for Jac to have the proper time and place to really go back into the Rio/Agatha love story, and not rush it in a few scenes in the epilogue. I do believe her when she says that doing so for this series would have impacted their already full plate with Nicky's storyline. It's important to keep in mind that the process of filming a series or movie can take a very long time from the writing process, through principal cinematography and post-production. Just filming this series, they must have spent over 900 hours (assuming a typical 8 days to film an episode, and about 12-14 working hours each day) just to give us 5 or 6 hours in total for the show. I'm incline to cut the creatives some slack for not including as much as they or we would like.
I have really enjoyed all of your analysis videos. I am strongly, hoping that Rio gets reused in the MCU, and that they stick with the green witch mythology established here instead of making her “just“ Lady Death. A version of Lady Death that is also thematically linked to birth, the cycles of nature, and witchcraft is so much more interesting than what Marvel usually does with the character. Agatha All Along ranks very high among my favorite Marvel TV series, and it’s easily one of the most rewatchable. I like to think that while Agatha probably did suspect Teen of being Billy from the time they started on the road, there was also a part of her that hoped he was Nikki. Rio thought it was necessary to tell Agatha that this was not their son, so Rio at least suspected that. From Agatha’s refusal to kill the Salem Seven as children, we know that she still had some compassion for children. Even if she didn’t know that Teen was Billy, I think she would have chosen to spare him unless forced to do otherwise. After all, she knew him as a child. Speaking of which (witch), I wonder if Agatha used similar magic to help Wanda give birth to Billy and Tommy that Rio used to help her? Which would give another layer to their relationship and to Agatha joking that she was his mother’s Ex.
It doesn’t make sense to me that Rio got distracted by Agatha killing witches. Rio is Death, thousands of people die day by day. I rather think Agatha knew that Nicky being Death’s child wasn’t meant to be alive. He was able to survive of Agatha’s power while he was on the womb. She hope he could absorb power just like her and maybe that would keep him alive. While she find a way or power to cure him.
Did anyone notice the moles on peoples' faces, appearing then disappearing? Like all is not quite right? It's like the time travel has caused a ripple that has marred the purity of life & death cycle. The animal/familiar is yellow & white with small black marks. The light flares on the camera signifies the infinity stone colour particles disseminating back into the universal correct places. Needed to get that off my chest noticing the sun/light flares all over tv & films with differing significant colours. Thanks for your breakdown analysis.
I finally found the quote about Rio having a Mexican influence thanks to a kind subscriber!
"Executive producer Mary Livanos and writer Giovanna Sarquis were instrumental in the character. Giovanna came in with the Dia de los Muertos [look] and having her be Latinx, and Mary was very much an influence on Rio’s darkness and toxicity and how enmeshed Agatha and Rio are." - Source: Variety "‘Agatha All Along’ Creator on Directing Patti LuPone’s Mind-Bending Episode, Revealing [SPOILER]’s True Identity and Who Is Really Dead".
Totally agree with the missing AgathaRio backstory! 💜💚 Marvel we want our cottagecore lesbians!
I wish the show runners did a short scene of when Agatha and Rio met and started a relationship.
For sure! They said they didn’t want to take away from Nicky but even a short scene would ADD to Nicky’s story, not take it away.
Same here, I was expecting them to show more about their relationship developing. When rio popped up during the birth scene and Agatha responded like they already had history, I was worried I’d accidentally skipped a few minutes or something
The episode was called Maiden Mother Crone, but we didn't get to see Agatha as a maiden (and presumably meeting Rio)
Thank you so much for this series! I’ve loved every breakdown and clue. I think my favorite part is how you went so in depth with flower symbolism. It reminds me of Victorian flower language and LGBTQ people using flowers for flagging purposes. And it feels lovely that the two flowers most associated with that practice are violets and green carnations 💜💚
I’m glad you made use of that interview I left on the 8&9 Recap video. I’m also glad to know there is a lot more proof of Rio and Agatha’s history even though it wasn’t explicit (whether or not it was purposeful). Still sad about the character assassination in the fight scene buuut this video does heal me a bit. Thank you!
Aubrey Plaza (Rio) is Puerto Rican, so I think the Spanish influence for her Lady Death form is a good way to appreciate her culture. ❤
Non-text based note re: dandelions…. Dandelion was also the name of a witch that moved in across the street from Aubrey Plaza during the pandemic. Plaza explained on multiple talk shows at the time that she became Dandelion’s apprentice during lockdown, and Dandelion later provided her with a floral crown for her lockdown wedding to Jeff Baena (Dandelion was the only person aside from the justice that knew the wedding was taking place at the time, as it was a split second decision).
I’m not sure what the production team had in mind symbolically when they chose the dandelion, but having seen those interviews (which Plaza gave while promoting her children’s book The Christmas Witch and it’s sequel), I admittedly immediately interpreted the dandelions as references to that, tied to Plaza’s character in AAA for the speed with which the flowers go to seed (I.e., “die”), and create new life, visualizing the cycle at pace.
8:40 - I love how much thought went into every detail in this show. Im about to cry XD D:
I didn't catch the long stamen with the flower! Dang that's clever
Another inconsistency in Billy's mood was he didn't seem all that concerned when he thought he unalived Lilia and Jen when he was on the road, but in the end, he was all distraught about it. But I absolutely loved this series. The only thing that's still a mystery to me is when Agatha drained all of Alice's powers. Why were they useless to Agatha? 🤔🤔🤔 I agree with Rio when she said, "Power sure looks good on you," so much so that I have to go back and watch Wandavision 😂😂😂
Billy knew he had power (he's always been psychic), however, like Wanda, he can weave magic as a result of strong emotions/desires, and not even be aware of it.
He knew he was powerful, but doesn't have full control over it. Getting Agatha, Lilia, and Jen away from him/off the road was an emotional outburst.
It's possible that, as with Wanda, there are moments where he becomes more, or less aware of his abilities.
He had a focus on community, teamwork, belonging, developing skill through effort and work etc.
But he didn't know that he created everything, he thought the road was real, he wanted it to be real so badly that his powers literally manifested it.
Thanks for this. I always enjoy the tone of your commentary and extra show references you throw in. Regarding "It's a little frustrating that there's no confirmation. But we don't know what the reasons for her vagueness are." I have read/heard a couple of interviews where Jac flat out refuses to answer because if it didn't make it into the show then it's essentially not canon, and she has no say over what happens to the characters once they leave her control. I really hope no one but Jac tries to write about Agatha/Rio or Nicky's parentage. There's a lot of comic fan excitement about Death being in the MCU. But they want the comics Death with Deadpool or Thanos (cringe), not our beautiful/terrifying force of nature Green Witch who will always love Agatha. 💜 Maybe Audrey Plaza will say, "So I really only want to play the Death who's a witch opposite Kathryn Hahn."
Thank you for the video! 🖤💚💜 Great series and excellent commentary! 👏👏👏
My problem with Jac is that in the interviews she talks a lot about how they (writers room) talked about Agatha and Rio this or that but what we got in the show was a bunch of half tellings and not a lot of showings.
I especially like (not) how in the interviews when talking Agatha and Rio relationship backstory. My reading of her answers are pretty much "well we talked about it and made a cute fanfic of it but didn't show it because we didn't have time".
And to that my only question is: Jac girl you say y'all didn't have time to show us a flashback of Agatha and Rio before Nicky but somehow found and had the time to make a whole @ss episode that was pretty much just Billy's flashback 🤔 explain that to the class please?
Wowser. This is the most thorough vid. Amazing.
I really like your analysis 💚
excellent review - thanks! lol @ the end, Aubrey has a great witch cackle.
I remember the interview you weren't able to find about rio's dia de los muertos influence but i can't find it either! So either we mandela effected this or its out there somewhere. But if i remember correctly it was not an in depth explanation of how that worked it was more off hand, like such and such came up with that and thats that. Less then a sentence 😅 hope this helps?
Thank you - it does help to know I'm not just imagining it!
It's from a Variety article:
"Executive producer Mary Livanos and writer Giovanna Sarquis were instrumental in the character. Giovanna came in with the Dia de los Muertos [look] and having her be Latinx, and Mary was very much an influence on Rio’s darkness and toxicity and how enmeshed Agatha and Rio are."
@@PvcScrew oh my gosh, thank you so much!
I’m not sure that’s lavender on Agatha’s bier/grave… they look more like grape hyacinths, which are small and low to the ground. Lavender is much taller, often growing in near spherical mounds. But possibly it’s a miniature hybrid of lavender. I am not sure.
thank for the breakdown but not catch all those rio references about their relationship definitely need a backstory with agatha and rio
I think lots of this is a stretch, but I do appreciate the analysis about characters I love
Jk the second half of the video is mostly dead on.
Glad you have given the series finale some time to digest, and your analyses are always wonderful to hear. I'm of the opinion that I can wait for Jac to have the proper time and place to really go back into the Rio/Agatha love story, and not rush it in a few scenes in the epilogue. I do believe her when she says that doing so for this series would have impacted their already full plate with Nicky's storyline.
It's important to keep in mind that the process of filming a series or movie can take a very long time from the writing process, through principal cinematography and post-production. Just filming this series, they must have spent over 900 hours (assuming a typical 8 days to film an episode, and about 12-14 working hours each day) just to give us 5 or 6 hours in total for the show. I'm incline to cut the creatives some slack for not including as much as they or we would like.
I have really enjoyed all of your analysis videos. I am strongly, hoping that Rio gets reused in the MCU, and that they stick with the green witch mythology established here instead of making her “just“ Lady Death. A version of Lady Death that is also thematically linked to birth, the cycles of nature, and witchcraft is so much more interesting than what Marvel usually does with the character.
Agatha All Along ranks very high among my favorite Marvel TV series, and it’s easily one of the most rewatchable.
I like to think that while Agatha probably did suspect Teen of being Billy from the time they started on the road, there was also a part of her that hoped he was Nikki. Rio thought it was necessary to tell Agatha that this was not their son, so Rio at least suspected that.
From Agatha’s refusal to kill the Salem Seven as children, we know that she still had some compassion for children. Even if she didn’t know that Teen was Billy, I think she would have chosen to spare him unless forced to do otherwise. After all, she knew him as a child.
Speaking of which (witch), I wonder if Agatha used similar magic to help Wanda give birth to Billy and Tommy that Rio used to help her? Which would give another layer to their relationship and to Agatha joking that she was his mother’s Ex.
Hello how do you do all these symbolism analyse are there some searches or website I could look for symbolism?
Shiiiiiet I’ll stay 😍
so good!
Hey, are you completing The Loyal Pin?
The downside of working within a bigger universe is Jac and the writers were at times limited in what story they could tell.
It doesn’t make sense to me that Rio got distracted by Agatha killing witches. Rio is Death, thousands of people die day by day. I rather think Agatha knew that Nicky being Death’s child wasn’t meant to be alive. He was able to survive of Agatha’s power while he was on the womb. She hope he could absorb power just like her and maybe that would keep him alive. While she find a way or power to cure him.
Did anyone notice the moles on peoples' faces, appearing then disappearing? Like all is not quite right?
It's like the time travel has caused a ripple that has marred the purity of life & death cycle.
The animal/familiar is yellow & white with small black marks.
The light flares on the camera signifies the infinity stone colour particles disseminating back into the universal correct places.
Needed to get that off my chest noticing the sun/light flares all over tv & films with differing significant colours.
Thanks for your breakdown analysis.
🧐 wtf