In the first episode of the series, she appears as a federal agent in Agatha’s illusion “Agnes of Westview”. Rio initially seems to be an ally of Agatha as she tries several times to free Agatha from Wanda’s spell, but she ends up attacking Agatha when she finally awakens from her spell. The two fight brutally, but they remember that they are not allowed to kill each other due to the “Witch Rules”. The powerless Agatha negotiates with Rio to wait until Agatha can regain her powers for a fair fight.

“Not like that,” Agatha says to Rio. “Don’t you want me to be at my best?”

Here’s what we know about the deadly witch:

Rio Vidal is portrayed by Aubrey Plaza.

When Aubrey Plaza was first announced as a dark witch in Agatha all the time, I thought, “That makes sense.” The actress who deals with the dark artstell WSJ Magazine“What could be better than playing in the witchy worlds of witches?”

Plaza, who previously appeared in Parks and Recreation (NBC) and The White Lotus (HBO), is not new to the Marvel Universe. In Legion (FX), also based on Marvel Comics, she played Lenny Busker, a human whose body was taken over by a mutated parasite. It was a very different role for Plaza. She told KINO.de“Agatha had a very hands-on approach to all the effects. The aesthetic of the show was really different. Legion was a little more traditional Marvel-esque. There were a lot of great sets too, but more special effects and stuff like that. But (Agatha All Along) is a little more hands-on. It was more tangible. It felt like we were really immersed in this world that we could touch and see. I think on that level it was really different.”

Rio Vidal is a new character in the MCU.

While the other witches in Agatha’s coven are based on characters from Marvel Comics, Rio Vidal is an entirely new character created for the series. However, many have speculated that she is based on several magical beings from Marvel Comics:

Emerald Warlock Dian was a Green Warlock who accompanied Agatha and Wanda on the Witches’ Road during the 2015 Scarlet Witch comic series #4. His powers rival those of Wanda and Agatha in terms of force absorption, telekinesis, and force transfer. Although he does not display any earthly magic, he is immortal and wears and radiates green, but that seems to be the only thing he and Riothey have in common.

Gaea, also known as Mother Earth, is a goddess who was one of the first beings to come to Earth from the darkness (similar to Rio emerges from the ground in the trailer). She is powerful and can transform into a humanoid that resembles those who see her. She can heal others and control nature and other witchy things that Agatha can do. It also makes sense when Agatha reveals that she cannot absorb Gaea’s energy blast to Rios because it would kill her. Gaea is a god, meaning her power would be too great for any witch. Gaea is also connected to the multiverse as she is the sister of Chthon, a god who once owned the Darkhold.

Although Morgan le Fay appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Hulu’s Outliersit would make sense if another alternate version of her was part of Agatha’s story. One of the most powerful sorceresses in the comics, Morgan once had the Darkhold in her possession and has a close connection to Doctor Strange and the Fantastic Four. Her powers include (but are not limited to) manipulating Earth’s natural environment, creating illusions, shapeshifting, and healing abilities. Not to mention that she also wears green clothing.

In the first episode, Rio tells Agatha that she has a “black heart,” represented by a black heart symbol from Lilia Calderu’s premonition. There is a character named Blackheart, the son of the demon Mephisto, who has the power of dark energy and can change physical form. Like Gaea, Agatha would not be able to absorb Rio’s powers if she were a demon. It would also lead to a real connection with Mephisto – finally.

Rio is a green witch.

Green witches are exactly what you’d expect when you hear the term – they can cast earthly magic. So far, we know that Rio has the powers of nature, healing, and immortality. She showed off some of these abilities during her fight with Agatha, using air elements to launch her across the counter and healing the knife wound on Agatha’s hand (by licking it!?).

Describing her character as a warrior witch, Plaza told Disney in a promo video, “I would say my character is very powerful and mysterious and almost has a shapeshifting ability where you never know what version you’re going to get. So I was really excited about that challenge and getting to play a character that plays by (her) own rules.”

Although there have been discussions about the character’s origins, Plaza Total Film Magazine, “I did some research in the comics that was very helpful. The Green Witch is about nature. The Green Witch is about life and death and all kinds of things. But am I the Green Witch? I don’t know. There’s more to these characters than meets the eye, that’s all I can say.”

Rio has a long and complicated past with Agatha.

If the first episode was any indication of their relationship, we can confirm that Rio and Agatha are not getting along. Their chemistry was insanely strong and almost seductive, as they knew how to provoke and calm each other down. Plaza says in Disney’s production notes, “It’s really fun to play because the characters know each other so well that they know how to get to each other, but they also know that destiny is bigger than them and that destiny must come true no matter what they want.”

It seems that Agatha had treated Rio badly to provoke such a strong reaction when she was found in Westview. But what exactly happened between Agatha and Rio? Could it be a power struggle…or a lovers’ quarrel?

Rio and Agatha could have been lovers.

Throughout the press tour, Plaza and Hahn have been dropping subtle hints that Rio and Agatha are more than just enemies. Plaza mentioned during the Agatha all the time press conference One expects a very intense and dynamic relationship between the two, “one that has all the colors of the rainbow. They should be scared and excited and set the bar very high.”

On the Agatha all the time red carpet, the cast all praised how “queer” the series “It’s better that way, because that’s what I signed up for,” Plaza told Variety. “100 percent. I can’t tell you how. There’s going to be a gay explosion at the end.”

Laura Sirikul is a freelance entertainment journalist and editor based in Los Angeles. Over the course of her career, she has written for Weekly entertainmentNBC News, the Los Angeles Timesand many other media outlets. She has appeared as a television and film expert on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour and BBC World News. She is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association and the Critics Choice Association.