agatha's basement

Upfront, I do not see Agatha as a victim in this situation, in any form. As I read Agatha during Wandavision, she was a hunter and murderer who was staking out her prey, and that went ass up for her. She lost the fight, and the Hex following was a form of imprisonment that Wanda thought best fit, for what I read as a multitude of reasons. So, I want to unpack all of this. What the Hex was during WV, what Agatha's personal Hex is, and the Wanda of it all.

The Hex within the context of Wandavision seems like a near bodily reaction to Wanda's grief. It is interesting how much emotions seem to matter to witches for the fulfillment of their magic (Billy, the fear of the Seven, mixed with the belief of the Road; witches blasting Agatha after a certain point of verbal abuse). The Hex is her pain manifested, mixed with the fantasy of what she was denied and desired.

Wanda is, at this point in her life, only a few decades old. She is not a child; however, in the short time she has been on the planet, her life has been riddled with pain and suffering. She has taken blow after blow, and this blow seems to have broken the lid on the jar of her magic. Protective and self-soothing, it flows out to give her what she wanted. However!

She is not the only one taken into the Hex. All of Westview falls under it, and becomes tethered in the strings of her magic (and her grief).

While Wanda shows throughout the show she understands to some extent her power over what is going on, wishing to keep it going even though the specter of Vision is slowly awakening to the false reality--I would argue it is not until the finale that she fully understands the extent of what she is doing. She believes at first that it is Agatha making Sarah (Dotty) say what she is saying. She even looks distressed by what is being said.

Just a great shot of Darkhold Agatha, and fantastic lines, okay, back to the ramble.

And this is where we understand the extent of how mixed in with her emotions that Wanda's magic is. The resonance of her magic is dragging others through her pain, her nightmares.

Which Wanda, does not want to believe! Wanda is at her heart, a very mixed up, but wants to be better person. She is at her core, hurt, but has wanted to change the world for the better. This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest differences between her character and Agatha's. Agatha hungers for power and knowledge, and I do not think young Agatha was deeply different (and not as a slight against her character, this is why I like her). Wanda's wants and desires, on the other hand, is exemplified by the genre she chose for her Hex: a sitcom. She wants a place to belong, to be safe, to have friends and a family, to be loved.

Even as this begins to dawn on her, she sees what she has done as righteous, because this isn't about them...

This is about Wanda. This is how Wanda wants to/needs to feel. She needs to be at peace, to feel safe. Because the reality is, even in the Hex, there have always been cracks... At the end of the day, she cannot wish away the pain.

Oof Sharon.

And the overwhelming pain and anxiety and stress Wanda feels, her magic lashes out.

And it fully dawns on her the extent of what she is doing, and what is going on.

Wanda is not being heroic, but this is not active malice. While that does not change the trauma she put the residents of Westview through...

She tries to do her best with what she is working with, as reality really is sinking in. She is a mess, but she wants to be good.

So, it comes back to Agatha now.

This evil cockroach watching from the sidelines!

With Agatha the Hex she is put under is somewhat different. It happens once the Scarlet Witch is fully realized. Once Wanda has resurrected herself by reclaiming her powers and claiming her identity.

Agatha bit off more than she can chew with this situation!

So smug for someone who is about to lose badly.

Yeah.....

Agatha led to her own downfall too, which is so on point for her! Agatha's arrogance, her hunger for power led her to Westview, and it is also what made her yap the exact thing that gave Wanda the way to win.

She is resigned to her loss. Even if she will beg and plead in a moment.

And Wanda fully realizes her potential, her crown manifests.

Agatha, in some ways, made the Scarlet Witch! She helped forge her! And Wanda drains Agatha of centuries of stolen magic while forging herself as the Scarlet Witch.

This is not the Wanda who cast the Hex over Westview anymore. This is not the girl who is doing magic by merely her emotional outbursts.

What Wanda has done?

Okay, let's get back to the point of this entire ramble: what does Wanda do with Agatha at the end of Wandavision! Put her under a Hex.

Agatha first asks if she will send her to prison, which Wanda responds in the negative to. And for good reason from Wanda's perspective: Agatha, like a bloodhound, came into Westview to kill and take all of Wanda's powers! Wanda also knows now: Agatha is a centuries years old witch! What's a prison going to do?

And the moment Agatha got out? Would Wanda be promised any peace or protection? And if Agatha did manage to befriend her again, is that a promise of a reality--because Agatha lied and wheedled her way in before. How long until Agatha uses the comforting lie of friendship to turn on Wanda and reclaim all of that magic that Wanda just took?

In Wanda's mind this is self-preservation. And beyond that: this is not the spell cast as it was before. No dramatic falling to her knees, no! Wanda merely waves her hand and traps Agatha in her role of the nosy neighbor. Because of this, I do not personally read Agatha as genuinely trapped in the same way the other residents were--Wanda's grief and pain are not part of this spell, this is not broken in that way. This is the Scarlet Witch fully bending reality.

This is house arrest! From Agatha's perspective: it sucks; however, Agatha is not stupid enough to think she did not have a heavy hand in creating this scenario. She does not want it to happen, of course!

I think it is fun to explore other routes, about the Hex still emotionally tormenting Agatha. And yes, her identity and self being locked away is terrifying and terrible! It is cruel to an extent; however, Agatha wanted to murder Wanda, threw the first punch, dragged her through her grief (gave Wanda false hope with a fake version of her very dead brother), lied and manipulated her...

And eventually, in 'Agatha All Along,' we get to see Agatha find the keys to her prison and begin to wiggle her way out--dropping the Nosy Neighbor, and donning Detective Agnes to solve her own imprisonment.

Wanda's role to Agatha is a strange one, not easily given name. She's a jailer, certainly, but she also does not truly know Agatha Harkness. At the end of the day of Wandavision, she is a former Avenger, trying to take care of a scenario the best way she knows how, and the safest way she can think of.

Agatha, the reason we love her, is the Witch Killer. And she lost the bet on this Witch she came to kill, this time.

I am certain for some folks I earned the NGL I got back in the day for this, so please enjoy the silly meme I made of it... But I promise I do like her!!

First we must discuss the issue of Rio Vidal. While it is romantic (in its own twisted form) to imagine that she has been there the entire time checking in on and caring for Agatha, we have no actual proof of that (we do have proof of her neighbors doing so, through John (Herb)’s dialogue). So, this leaves on with the fact that Rio Vidal, Death herself, showed up a day or so before Agatha’s death.

I think this is important narratively speaking that we do not get any hints of if Rio had been around before. If we consider Multiverse of Madness, Wanda “died” in 2024. Agatha’s death, and everything that takes place within Agatha All Along, happens in 2026. The last three years of her life, Agatha spent within the hex Wanda left her within. And for two of those years, Wanda is gone, to use Rio’s phrasing.

If Rio had wanted to awaken Agatha earlier, I firmly believe Death is powerful enough she could have helped Agatha “loosen the lid” far earlier than 2026. However, she appears when she does because a lot of death is about to happen, most importantly Agatha’s. In fact, Agatha’s death and her fear of it, propels the vast majority of the narrative.

Agatha’s pursuit of power is tangled in her fear of death, her avoidance of it, and her interest in transcending her own mortal limitations. It is likely this began before Nicky; though, that exasperated it. This is not to say that her love and relationship with Rio is not a genuine connection. I personally read it as such. I think Kathryn saying that Rio is the love of Agatha’s life outside of Nicky, is something I personally interpret from the story as well. However! We also know from Jac that Agatha was attracted to Rio’s power. And that makes sense with Agatha as a character: someone who collects power, is drawn to it, and who is trying to survive.

Which leads her centuries down the line to Westview, and to Wanda Maximoff. Agatha’s need to teach ends up as her own downfall, and Wanda places her under a Hex as a result of her hubris. While I adore the concept of other sitcoms and television flavours of the day for Agatha pre-pulling herself from Wanda’s Hex, personally my interpretation is that she only played the Nosy Neighbor until a few days before the narrative begins when she takes the reins and turns herself into Detective Agnes. We do not know what the exact spark is for the change, perhaps Rio showed up then and that was enough to inspire Agatha to pull herself out kicking and screaming.

Rio does show up, and this is what is important: she appears as Agatha is pulling herself out, and helps. I have made it clear I read Rio as very fay, and I think I read this as part of that inherent fayness. She is willing to help, because she wants to play fair with Agatha. She wants Agatha facing her when it is her Death. And this is because: as I said above, I firmly believe Rio has shown back up because Agatha is finally being called to her embrace.

I would also posit, given the need to hide behind the Darkhold: this isn’t the first time. It is heavily implied in interviews, and from the fact Rio and Agatha met up for the Daughters of Liberty—that the pair saw each other post-Nicky. But beyond just seeing each other, I would personally put down the large possibility that they made deals up until the Darkhold to keep Agatha from death’s door. It is my belief, and this is merely based on the getting the Darkhold—that Agatha was meant to die prior, or Rio had suggested that, and thus Agatha had to acquire it to continue her search for a way to transcend her mortal limitations. It held off Rio. It held off Death.

And without it, three years later, Rio comes knocking on her door. Finally time to collect.

The first episode sets up so much of what will happen in the show. The ways witches died are ways that trials end (the flooding of the water into the first trial), parts of the trial (fire), or the outcome of unhinged estranged/ex-wife (Rio choking Agatha with a vine for hanging). It sets up that the conflict surrounds three characters: Agatha, Billy, and Rio.

I can feel this unraveling into a few different topics, so I want to re-focus myself here on the primary hints I feel that are in the first episode about Agatha’s death, and how on rewatch it clarifies part of why Rio arrives when she does.

We begin episode one with Agatha investigating a crime. While this crime ultimate is centered on Wanda, it is also very much about Agatha. This is Agatha as Agnes attempting to claw her way out of the Hex. I would also argue that one of the reasons we do not see the corpse’s face is because it is interchangeable with Agatha’s own in the long run. This is a story about death (Death). This is a story where Agatha at the end of it will be that corpse on the ground.

This is later echoed in the library card tag that is attached to the foot of the corpse. Written upon it is not only Wanda Maximoff’s name, but Agatha’s as well. Did the Darkhold itself ultimately lead to why Agatha was meant to die? Because it is interesting that the card is for the Darkhold. We cannot know for certain, but we see here the most overt connection: Agatha and a corpse.

Before we move fully out of the Hex though, we also should talk about the painting that Agatha looks to in her living room. A painting that she sees as a pane of glass that Rio stands behind, but in reality is ‘Macbeth and the Three Witches,’ an oil painting by Francesco Zuccarelli. If we consider Agatha to be Macbeth in this scenario: Agatha’s story is about going towards her death. Macbeth is told he will remain king until the woods move (ironic given that Rio is the Green Witch). As well, no man born of woman shall kill him (Agatha kills herself on Rio’s lips, and further, Rio is no man of woman born; heck, she’s no human of human born!).

And of course, I want to end on what I started this essay with: the scythe is pointed in her direction the entire time.

Rio is a gentleman and opens the door so softly, and comes in with her scythe out. The scythe that points at Agatha (and at Billy as well, given he is in the closet). Death can touch Agatha again.

Lilia was falling, Lilia will fall.

Agatha has been touched by Death, what will she do with her remaining time? Take a few other witches down with her (and a non-witch), and traumatize a young man, of course!

“It’s getting late,” Wanda says, checking her phone. Over the photo she’s set as her wallpaper (Tommy and Billy laughing together in a candid shot), the time ticks from nine fifty-six to nine fifty-seven. “We should go in.” 

“You go,” Rio says, staring stubbornly at the side door that Agatha disappeared behind fifteen minutes ago. “I’ll wait.” 

“She can meet us inside, if she’s got stuff to – ”

“Or we can meet you inside.” Rio grinds her shoe into one of the sidewalk’s many discarded cigarette butts, annoyed. “You’re being weird.” 

“I’m – ?” 

“‘You’re coming tonight, right, Rio?’” Rio parrots, making her voice appropriately whiny. “‘You’re a thousand percent sure you’re coming? We only have five hours until the show, aren’t you ready yet?’ That’s you. All fuckin’ day today. Weird.”

“You haven’t been to one of his shows in ages,” Wanda says, calmly returning Rio’s glare. “He’s noticed.”

Chewing the inside of her cheek, Rio turns her attention back to the club’s side door. Agatha gave her the same lecture last night – how Rio’s been shirking her evil gay aunt duties, favoring the sacred task of shepherding souls into the great beyond over watching a drag queen swish her patchily-laid lacefront to Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional” for the umpteenth time. (How dare she.)

And for all that guilt-tripping, where’s Agatha now? Nowhere to be found. The second they pulled up to the dingy gay club, Rio’s beloved had announced that she absolutely needed to touch up her makeup. Wrinkling her nose at the thought of using the club’s gender-neutral bathroom (“It’s gloryhole central in there. No judgment, but that’s not a game of whack-a-mole I’m keen to play”), she’d stolen away through the door reserved for the performers, claiming that the backstage area had a few decently-lit mirrors. Say what you will about her track record of supporting Billy’s various ventures, but with mere minutes left until Madame Wiccunt struts onstage, Rio seems to be the only evil gay aunt taking her duties seriously. 

“Last chance to enter the kingdom,” one of the bar’s employees calls to the stragglers smoking on the street, propping the front entrance open with his foot. “Drawbridge is coming up in two minutes.” 

…Strange. Is Billy doing a Middle Ages-themed routine? Rio hopes not. Last year, Billie and Eddie dragged their posse to Medieval Times for the twins’ fifth birthdays; after getting kicked out for ‘eating the roast chicken in a way that many young guests found disturbing,’ Rio’s had more than her fill of fake knights. (For the record, the real knights of yore were plenty disgusting. After jousting accidents, the number one cause of death for those armor-clad dumbasses was choking on the food they couldn’t be bothered to chew.) 

Once Rio shuffles inside the club’s sweaty interior, the employee’s gibberish starts to add up: the walls are papered with crown-covered posters declaring tonight as Drag King Nite. 

“Doesn’t that mean it’s all women?” Rio says, peeling a poster from the wall. 

Wanda’s spine straightens, her ally senses tingling. “Not necessarily all women. There’s a whole spectrum of – ”

“There’s actually only one gender and I’m not telling you what it is.” Rio raps her knuckles on the bar, flagging down the bartender. “Hey – hi. Is Madame Wiccunt going on tonight?” 

The bartender shakes her head. “She’s not on ‘til next week.” 

“Awesome.” Rio swipes a drink from an unsuspecting loser, taking a hefty swig as she glares Wanda down. “You can’t keep track of your own kids' schedules? This is exactly why you keep misplacing them. I have shit to do, Wanda. Several universes’ worth.” 

Wanda looks over her shoulder, assessing the crowd. (For some baffling reason, she’s grinning.) “Don’t we all. Ooh – there’s a spot right by the front.” 

“No offense to – ” Rio glances at the assortment of drag kings listed on the poster – “Lou Skunt and Robin Banks, but I’m not watching a gay person embarrass themselves onstage unless that gay person happens to be my wife’s little pet project. When Agatha stops fucking around backstage, you can tell her I’m – ”

But the message sticks in her throat as her eyes drift lower. Toward the bottom of the poster…is she misreading? She has to be. The odd shadows cast across the room by the club’s disco ball are messing with her eyesight. A trick of the lights. 

“Ladies, gays and theys,” an announcer purrs into a mic, reading off of an index card. The crowd breaks into excited cheers. “Lock up your daughters, your sisters, your moms – hell, keep an eye on your grandmas, while you’re at it. Our first performer will steal your heart, your soul, any loose change you happen to be carrying around…” 

“No fucking way,” Rio mutters, squinting at the name on the poster. 

“Come on,” Wanda says, her grin widening as she pulls Rio by the wrist. “I think you’re gonna want a good seat.” 

“Put your hands together for the ladykiller with the long-ass hair,” the announcer says, hyping up the whooping crowd. “It’s my honor to welcome to the stage: Señor Snatchy!” 

The club’s plunged into total darkness. As a song begins to boom over the speaker system – “I tried to be like Grace Kelly” – a spotlight flares for a split second, illuminating a figure facing away from the audience. 

On the song’s next line – “But all her looks were too sad” – there’s another brief bloom of light; the figure’s adjusted his pose, both hands splayed outward. 

“So I tried a little Freddie” – The figure raises his fist in a Freddie Mercury impression – “I’ve gone identity mad!” 

As the lights blaze back up, Señor Snatchy spins to greet his adoring public. 

Their announcer wasn’t kidding about the long-ass hair. Apart from a sort of man bun gathered at the top of her head, most of Agatha’s mane is flowing free. The masculinization comes more from the close-cropped beard lining her face, a thin streak of white snaking through the warm brown. Plus the thickened eyebrows, the contouring on her nose and jaw, the plum-colored three-piece suit. 

“I could be brown, I could be blue, I could be violet sky,” Agatha lipsyncs, adjusting her tie (the brooch pinned at the knot) as she swaggers around the stage. “I could be hurtful, I could be purple, I could be anything you like – ”

(And for a moment it’s 1697, and Rio is watching Agatha’s fingers tremble as she buttons her trousers – a tremor she’ll fiercely deny, claiming it’s the bitter New England winter that’s making her hands shake, the draft that Lady Death herself can’t seem to banish from the small cabin. 

“You insult me, spirit,” Agatha had sniffed, turning back and forth to admire her reflection. “What sort of weakling would quiver at the sight of some drab cloth?” 

No weakling at all, of course. But perhaps a young woman who’d learned to associate the donning of men’s clothing with rattling doorknobs, sharptongued covenmates. Wrathful, punitive mothers. On more than one occasion, a pair of stolen trousers had nearly led to Agatha meeting Rio far, far too soon.) 

Agatha meets Rio’s eyes; she beams, wildly whipping her hair. It’s the twenty-first century, and a pair of pants means nothing but joy. 

“Gotta be green,” Agatha lipsyncs in Rio’s direction, “gotta be mean, gotta be everything more – ”

The music shifts. A trumpet wails, ushering in another song that Rio doesn’t know. Agatha loosens her tie, slowly and seductively shedding her jacket. 

“I want a girl with a mind like a diamond,” she lipsyncs, lazily making her way into the crowd as she unbuttons her vest. “I want a girl who knows what’s best.” 

People hold dollar bills aloft, screeching drunkenly. Rio doesn’t mind the men; it’s the lesbians she’s got her eye on, some of them waving their money a little too enthusiastically. 

By the time the song reaches the refrain (“I want a girl with a short skirt and a lo-o-o-o-ng jacket”), Agatha’s down to a white undershirt over a tight binder. She toys with the zipper of her pants, wordlessly asking the crowd: off? 

Yeah, Rio doesn’t think so. Conjuring a dollar, Rio beckons Señor Snatchy over. Agatha reaches for the cash; Rio hoists it out of reach, arching an eyebrow. 

One corner of Agatha’s beard-lined lips hitch up. Kneeling by Rio’s chair, she opens her mouth. 

Letting Agatha take the bill with her teeth, Rio leans in. “Good boy,” she murmurs against her ear, nipping at the lobe. 

Wolf whistles echo from around the club. As the playlist transitions to a faster song, a flushed Agatha collects herself, returning to the task at hand – parading across the stage like she owns it, flexing her biceps and grabbing at the packer in her pants. 

“I like the girls that do drugs,” Agatha lipsyncs, pointing to someone in the audience. “Girls with cigarettes in the back of the club” – She singles out another stranger – “Girls that hate cops and buy guns – ”

It’s a good schtick; with every random selection, the crowd erupts in giggles, Señor Snatchy’s chosen girl momentarily made to feel special. But as Agatha mugs her way through the song, panting and sweaty, her gaze falls solidly on Rio. Stays there. 

“I like girls who got degrees,” she lipsyncs, dragging the dollar that Rio had given her across her face. “Girls on killing sprees. I like girls who got a bone to pick with me.” 

“She’s a natural, right?” Billy says giddily over the music, appearing at Rio’s elbow. He hugs Wanda, resting his head on her shoulder. “I should’ve made her do this years ago.” 

“It’s not her first rodeo,” Rio says, thinking of her lovely young murderer with the shaking fingers. 

Onstage, Agatha scrubs the bill over her body. “I like girls who make love, but I love girls who like to fuck,” she mouths, thrusting into her own hand. 

“Anyone want a drink?” Billy says, shielding his eyes.

Wanda’s way ahead of him; she’s already halfway out of her seat. “I’ll come with you.”

Rio gladly watches them go, wishing that the rest of the squealing mob would follow suit. As she waits for the set to wrap up, Rio summons a walletful of singles, her eyes tracing the thick line made by Agatha’s packer against her pants. The second that she gets Señor Snatchy alone, she’s gonna be demanding a private show. 

-----------------------------

@trickofthelights' full prompt: "rio is guilted into seeing billy go perform in drag. wanda is also there. but it's a ruse: for it is actually- drag *king* night. guess who is performing."

Agatha's drag king setlist:

"Grace Kelly" - MIKA

"Short Skirt / Long Jacket" - CAKE

Agatha Harkness - For me, she clearly has to be Mismagius. Classic generation 2 Pokemon, and outside of the Gastly line, some of the most iconic ghosts. Mismagius' cries torment the listeners. They sound like incantations. Looks at Agatha. But some of those cries can bring happiness or joy, just very rarely. It can ward against misfortune, but if you upset one, it will bring disaster. I also think from a design perspective, Mismagius really suits Agatha's coat's design.

Alice Wu-Gulliver - Arcanine! I considered Incineroar; however, I do not like dark typing for Alice. She does not play the heel (even if she has a sort punk dark tech look). She is very much a loyal and protective sort of character, which suits Arcanine. I like to imagine Lorna had her evolve early, hoping it would be protective for her...

Jennifer Kale - For Jen, I decided on Audino. I like the fact that Audino can mega evolve, and I think that is suited to Jen, who is the future, and who has further she can grow into for her powers. I sort of imagine she was an Audino whose feelers were harmed in some way, thus the "binding" of her abilities. However, once she mega evolves (despite how painful it is), she is able to begin healing and reconnecting with those abilities.

Lilia Calderu - For Lilia, Farigiraf! While the psychic powers are synced up between her minds, Lilia still has not managed to fully control her abilities, and tries to hide from them. She has always been very talented, and evolved early on, and the power jump only made what was already a struggle, worse. (Also I think the patterning and colours are fun for Lilia...)

William 'Billy' Kaplan (Maximoff) - This one is a jump, but I decided on Latios, given that in the comics Billy and Tommy are two parts of the Demiurge (as I understand it, I am not really a comic person, but I have done some research, and that was interesting to me...). So I wanted to lean into that sort of duality between the two, and chose the Eon duo. "Latios has the ability to make others see an image of what it has seen or imagines in its head." Felt very Billy to me. (I originally was going to have Billy as Latias, but the Latios stuff felt more along the lines of his abilities.)

(I will sort out Latias as Tommy, or maybe they're a special Latios eon duo...)

(People assume that Billy is a shiny Ralts...)

And Rio Vidal! - For Rio, I have to credit trickofthelights for this specific Pokemon (since she had it on Rio's team). Zygarde! She is the balance of nature. She generally presents and spends time in her 10% form, so that people are unaware of who she is. They assume most of the time that she is simply a Meowscarada based on her costuming. She has grass knot which she uses to create and play with flowers (did I look through the potential moves for Zygarde for its one TM grass move, yes). (Her hidden power would be grass as well, because... why not.)

(50% form Zygarde is Rio when she is showing off as Death, because the serpent look reminds me of her cocoon cloak as Death.)