Agatha All Along holds a special place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The mix of horror, fantasy and comedy brings together more LGBTQ+ people and queer characters in front of the camera with a refreshing naturalness than any other MCU project before.
Warning, spoilers for Agatha All Along follow:
The representation, also celebrated by leading actress Kathryn Hahn, has now produced a revolutionary Marvel moment in the finale released on Disney+ on October 31st: We have just the MCU’s first-ever lesbian kiss witnessed and numerous fans celebrate this surprisingly passionate milestone.
Agatha All Along shows us the first (real) lesbian kiss in the MCU
The highlight of the 8th episode is a passionate kiss between witch Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and Rio or Lady Death (Aubrey Plaza). The sexual tension between them crackles throughout the entire Marvel series from episode 1, while their strong feelings for each other and their former (but unfortunately not shown) relationship have been hinted at again and again. The kiss now removes all doubts.
The MCU has been around for 16 years, but representation of queer characters and stories is still lacking and is only implemented successfully in rare cases. Although some queer characters from the Marvel comics have now made it into the live-action universe of the MCU, the depiction of physical affection often falls by the wayside.
For the first time in Eternals, we saw a same-sex (and fleeting) kiss between two men in the MCU. The first kiss between two women in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was staged even more tentatively. Here the relationship between two Dora Milaje fighters was only signaled with a gentle forehead kiss.
It is all the more surprising how openly Agatha All Along deals with queer characters for a Marvel project, whose emotional world is essential for the story and character development. After a few episodes previously the teenage relationship between Billy (Joe Locke) and Eddie (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) was depicted with a kiss and a declaration of love, the finale now presents almost all of the previous queer scenes from the Marvel cosmos Shadow.
Agatha All Along Finale: Fans Are Overwhelmed by the Kiss of Death
The kiss between Agatha Harkness and Rio/Death is as intense and passionate as a kiss can be. It is a kiss of maximum dramatic importance to the plot. Because Agatha not only gives in to her feelings for her ex-partner, but also seals her own fate. Because of her power-stealing powers, she literally absorbs the power of death and dies – saving the young wizard Billy from death.
After the final two episodes aired, numerous fans on X (formerly Twitter) shared their reactions to the end of the story, most notably the kiss of death between Agatha and Lady Death euphoric storms of emotions triggered:
“The first women to kiss like they damn well should in the MCU!“
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“Jesus, that kiss was unreal. Despite everything, this really is such an epic kiss. These are two women who know how to kiss women.“
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“The way they kiss so intensely because they know that once they kiss, it’s over. They know in that moment that this is their last time together. They let their hands linger as Agatha goes up, making the most of every last second.“
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“We got an Agathario kiss. But at what price?“
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The final kiss between “Agathario” is immediately followed by Agatha’s emotionally staged death, which not only touches Lady Death but also the fans:
“Can we talk about the look on Rio’s face when she has to take Agatha? How she made sure it was transformed into a beautiful bed of flowers and plants.“
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However, there are also critical voices that are problematic in the tender kissing moment and Agatha’s subsequent death Bury Your Gays trope recognize:
“Jac Schaeffer says let’s bring back the Bury Your Gays trope! Why do lesbians always have the most heartbreaking endings! I’m fucking sick of it.“
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Stories of queer characters in films and series often end in suffering and death. At first glance, despite all the joy in representation, Agatha All Along also falls into this cliché trap. Fortunately, the Marvel series doesn’t completely get rid of its deceased queer main character, but instead brings him back into the plot as a ghost a few scenes later.
Even if the love story between Rio and Agatha has no future, the queer (ghost) witch will remain in the MCU even after the end of Agatha All Along.