Agatha mentoring Billy is going to be like "Yeah I'm a super VILLAIN and you want to be a super HERO so I'm just going to teach you what I know and hopefully it translates over somehow. Anyway, lesson one: Always have a cloak or dress or something to flow behind you dramatically."

A3 Analysis #9: Every Ghost Story is a Love Story

— Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Welcome back everyone to the penultimate installment in this series- the long awaited Agatha backstory episode.

I have some Thoughts, and this was the episode that seems to be the most tampered with in post-production; so I have to say from the jump that this post is the analysis of what was actually presented on the screen. The supplemental information, known deletions, leaks, and other minutiae we've learned about, I'll be covering in my conclusion.

I love this show- but sometimes when we love something, we must tell it where it's gone wrong. And there were multiple issues in this episode that created more questions than answers- when what we craved the most as an audience were those answers. Further, the plot holes served to highlight the number of anachronisms (which I would have otherwise forgiven had the plot made sense), and only added to my dissatisfaction.

Final addendum- if you're squeamish about biology, maybe skip this one, because I have a lot of questions about how any of this actually worked.

"What can I say? I like the bad boys"

and the bad boy in question it's just a touch-starved-scarred-desperated-to-be-loved-and-forgiven-by-the-woman-she-loves personification of Death

I HAVE A SCAR. (insp)

I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS BUT IN SUMMARY: LESBIAN YEARNING!!!

agatha looks at her with so much hurt and restraint.

rio looks at her with so much adoration and yearning.

agatha and rio looks at each other with so much familiarity that with just one look, you could count the centuries they have loved each other.

aubrey and kathryn both played their characters so well *chef’s kiss*

(and don’t forget the music for this edit. pure lesbianism. at its core.)

AGATHA ALL ALONG | 1X05 + TUMBLR & REDDIT REACTIONS

happy birthday, @elssbethtascioni ❤

Natasha when she has to feed Liho

maybe Death isn't so bad... she's certainly hot

Okay but the implications of how shocked Rio looks when Agatha asks her to spare Teen— this woman has presumably only ever asked her to break the laws of fate once in the hundreds of years that they’ve known each other, and Rio caved, and now Agatha is asking again. Except this time, she isn’t begging, she’s commanding. She doesn’t say “my love”, but it’s there. It’s “don’t do this to him. Don’t do this to me. Don’t do this again. If you love me, you won’t do this again.” And it hurts, okay??

Just realized that while Agatha extended her arms towards Rio to cup her face she stopped walking towards her. Rio is the one who enters her personal space.I think its another muscle memory of their relationship. Whenever Agatha reaches for her, Rio automatically meets her halfway.

Rio is always reaching for Agatha.

She’s always there, wanting to be in Agatha’s company and presence.

Agatha Harkness + text posts pt. 1/?

MUSCLE MEMORY OF LOVE PROVEN.

we got episodes 4 and 9 as evidence your honor.

1 agatha's signature face hug

2 rio properly bottoms (it got confirmed by the headhoncho guys) during the kiss/not kiss

3 rio wrist latch maneuver

(step 4 agatha leaves rio devastated)

so basically we could've have had three nickels if we were granted a salem flashback that we deserved. we could've seen how this step by step eventually develop into a routine:

agatha is the one who almost always initiates by fully cupping rio's face with both her hands before the frenching marathon ensues then rio gratefully receiving and just letting agatha take while trying to support herself by anchoring on agatha's wrist. they do HBO.

agatha leaves rio devastated but in a good way IN BED/PRAIRIE/CEMETERY/ON TOP OF RECENTLY DECEASED WITCHES etc take your horny pick.

old habits die hard/screaming.

It's about selflessness, Teen. We fly together or not at all.

I really love the details in this scene.

I love that at first, you see Agatha decorating what the viewer assumes to be her own broom and how concentrated she looks while doing it. These vines are chosen carefully!

Then you see Rio doing the same, but her eyes are on Agatha, more than the broom. She looks confident that she knows what she's doing.

(With the way she was also flying in the later scenes, you can tell she's had plenty of practice!)

Then, once the spell is done, they regard each-other and there is a moment of almost shyness between them, an awkward pause, before they exchange brooms and the viewer realizes that they were not making the broom for themselves, but for the other person!

So all that careful thought and consideration that Agatha put in the broom was for Rio. She was decorating it, specifically with Rio in mind! And then you connect why she chose vines with lots of green leaves.

Which also makes you think that Rio knew perfectly well what to choose for Agatha. She was confident this is the right decoration and she was looking at Agatha with a look that almost says "I can't wait for her to see what I made for her. She's gonna love it!"

And even the last gif! While Agatha is busy explaining, you can see Rio carefully examining the broom Agatha gave her. Her hand was gently following the length, her eyes were on the broom. She wanted to really appreciate the "gift" she was given because it came from Agatha.

The details are just so perfect here and it's such a small scene! Not even gonna start talking about the color choices...

She has to be kidding... be fucking for real Jac are you serious? We would have rather seen Rio and Agatha together.

Why is no one talking about how Rio exits by literally cutting through the set like when I tell you I had to pause and walk away because she can break the 4th wall as she’s not a player in the story she’s just death

That is the coolest fucking way to use a practical set get outta here

I like how we all have decided that Coulson and May are married even though they only kiss once and don't even end up together but we're all like that's his wife, or that's her husband anyway