Ahead of the finale of “WandaVision,” fans wildly speculated about who might appear in cameos in the final episodes with Mephisto famously being suggested by many.
The result was disappointment in some corners of fandom because the finale chose to focus on closing out its own story without contrived fan service moments introducing last-minute threats.
This week will see the two-episode finale of “Agatha All Along” going to air and Jac Schaeffer, who serves as showrunner on both aforementioned shows, was asked by Variety about fan expectations this time around.
Schaeffer says the production team has been keeping an eye on the discourse and expects people are in a better mindset this time:
“I have dipped into the discourse a little bit more these last weeks, because, like ‘WandaVision,’ we designed this show to really take off dramatically in the back half. I’ve been really interested to see how that lands with people.
I think for the most part, people are on the track that we hope they will be. It’s not about the specifics of characters showing up or cameos or revelations, really. But it sounds to me like what people are emotionally interested in, I hope that we deliver on that.
There is more Agatha, there is more Rio, and there is a conclusion to this story, and there is some truth to be shared about Agatha. I can’t imagine giving anyone instructions on what they should be expecting in the end. I think what I would say is I feel so grateful that the viewers of this show seem so invested in the emotional story.”
Schaeffer also makes it clear that in this show, when you’re dead you are dead:
“Death is immutable. It is permanent. With this show, we wanted to pay respect to that. So this a more earnest and grave conversation about death than maybe you would find in another superhero project.”
Like “WandaVision,” the most recent episode ahead of the final two episodes delivered a major identity reveal.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “AGATHA ALL ALONG” 1×07
That reveal, which was slightly awkwardly inserted into the most recent episode, was that Aubrey Plaza’s Rio is in fact Lady Death, a significant character in the Marvel Comics. With the Salem Seven now dead, she becomes the primary antagonist.
Speaking with Inverse, Schaeffer says the audience will “get a little bit more understanding of how she operates in the last two episodes” but adds that they “leave some of it to interpretation”.
Schaeffer e also shoots down any talk of a Thanos appearance, that character inexorably linked to Lady Death in the comics: “Thanos is not in my show, so I can’t speak to any Thanos connection. Thanos stans out there, I have no answers for you.”
Then there’s the biggest question of all, will the character come back to the MCU after her appearance here? Schaeffer will say only: “As a fan? I hope so.”
