‘Agatha All Along’ makeup artists give insight on achieving the powerful final battle scene looks
It’s more than the costumes that make a fight scene memorable.
Fans anticipated the final fight between Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) and Rio (Aubrey Plaza) during the “Agatha All Along” — and it didn’t disappoint.
Two makeup artists for the miniseries, Erin LeBre and Vasilios Tanis, wanted to show how powerful Plaza and Hahn are while showcasing their powers.
LeBre, who did Plaza’s makeup, said she wanted to show “an evolution” of her makeup through the last two episodes.
Warning: Spoilers below!
“Once it was revealed that she is Lady Death, I made her Green Witch makeup more dramatic and gaunt,” she told The Post. “I paled her and contoured her face and neck to keep with the more skeletal look. When she transitions fully into Lady Death, I shifted the eye makeup to all nudes and black since she was in her truest form.”
To achieve the skeletal look, LeBre used the Pat McGrath Labs Mothership I: Subliminal Palette and IntensifEYES Longwear Primer when filming took longer.
With Hahn, Tanis said each look had to coincide with costumes and actions in the scenes.
“I wanted a variation of Kathryn’s look to range from soft and natural to strong and powerful,” Tanis said.
Vasilios, who also did Hahn’s makeup for WandaVision, took a variation from the actress’ “Hero” makeup look and revamped it for “Agatha All Along.”
“Her costume remains the same, however, her makeup wasn’t as structured and defined,” he said. “Her fingertips weren’t painted black as he’s now a different version of herself.”
To create Hahn’s iconic fight look, Tanis used Pat McGrath Labs Mothership l: Subliminal and Mothership lll: Subversive artistry palettes, paired along with the Pat McGrath Labs IntensifEYES Artistry Wand, and the Pat McGrath Labs Dark Star Mascara.
“Her costume remains the same, however, her makeup wasn’t as structured and defined,” he continued. “Her fingertips weren’t painted black as he’s now a different version of herself.”
We see both witches battling it out, with Rio having the upper hand towards the beginning of the fight before Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke) gives Agatha some of his powers, giving Agatha back her powers.
At the end of the final battle, Agatha, at the last second, decides to sacrifice herself for Billy, giving Rio what she wanted from the start — her soul.
This pivotal moment comes after Agatha has continued to double-cross Billy and Rio, trying to save herself from death (literally and figuratively).
After dying, Agatha returns as a ghost and is now assisting Billy in tracking down his brother, Tommy, after guiding him into an empty body.
When asked about the inspiration for aging Agatha for her after-death look, Tanis said he wanted to give her more of an “ethereal look” to illuminate her skin and features.
“The process was more about looking ‘less alive’ as I knew that the end result in filming those scenes would have her appear transparent,” he said.
Tanis shared that Ghost Agatha was her favorite look to do during the series.
“I loved creating all of her looks, but Ghost Agatha stands out for me the most because of the iridescence of the products I used to capture the light, giving her an ethereal glow,” he continued.
The pair share their only kiss, with viewers believing it is the kiss of death since Rio is Lady Death.
During the series, each character had a specific color. Plaza primarily wore dark, heavy makeup, with variations of green in her outfits.
LeBre wanted to set a tone for Plaza’s character after her dramatic entrance.
“I wanted it to be clear that perhaps she was a more sinister character through dark dramatic colors and shapes. The green was used as a nod to that character and to tie in with the wardrobe,” LeBre noted.
Similarly, Hahn was dressed in dark shades of purple, dark green/turquoise, and blue. Tanis said he would always try to incorporate different shades of purple in Hahn’s makeup because he personally wanted to “pay homemade to the comic book character of Agatha.”
“I made sure I used Pat McGrath Labs IntensifEYES Artistry Wand on the eyelids before applying the eyeshadow to boost the sparkle of the shadow and give it a lasting appearance with less touch-ups,” Tanis said.
However, the dark and heavy makeup was ditched for lighter tones during the flashback scene in episode 9, giving watchers an in-depth view of their rocky relationship during a critical part of Agatha’s life — being pregnant and raising her son.
During the flashback scene, Rio was chasing a heavily pregnant Agatha through a forest, waiting for Agatha to hand over her unborn baby.
After pleading, Rio agreed to leave Agatha alone with the promise that she would be back.
Both characters were seen in lighter-colored costumes and makeup, and Tanis told The Post that they picked the character’s makeup choices due to the time period.
“That look basically had to be period correct taking place in the 1700s. I used minimal makeup to just balance her skin tone and add a fresh glow of color to her cheeks,” Tanis said. “I used Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Concealer in small amounts blended evenly in various areas of the face. I also applied Divine Cream Blush: Legendary Glow Color Balm in ‘Alluring Nude’ softly to the cheeks and a hint of SatinAllure Lipstick in ‘Divine Rose’ on the lips.”
On the other hand, LeBre used products such as Divine Cream Blush: Legendary Color Balm in ‘Paradise Peony’ and the Lip Fetish Sheer Colour Balm to create a softer look for Plaza.
“I used colors and placement that were accurate to the 1700s,” LeBre noted. “I thought the more fresh-faced look was appropriate for these scenes and could also show that death doesn’t always have to be scary.”
Death wasn’t scary at all for Nicholas Scratch, Agatha’s son, who calmly and willingly went with Rio as she came to collect his soul.
“Agatha All Along” follows the witch, Agatha Harkness, as she regains freedom from Wanda Maximoff’s spell, thanks to a mysterious teen’s help.
From there, she, alongside Teen, embarks on the Witches’ Road with a makeshift coven to overcome trials, regain her powers, and discover Teen’s true identity.
Though a Season 2 hasn’t been confirmed yet for this spinoff series, another WandaVision spinoff, dubbed “Vision Quest,” is in the works — focusing on Marvel android, Vision.
“With this show, we wanted to tell a complete story, and I hope that we did. But as a fan and as an admirer, I believe that there is so much more story to tell about all of these characters,” showrunner Jac Schaeffer explained to Decider on a potential Season 2 for “Agatha All Along.”
Paul Bettany, who will reprise his role as Vision, told The Hollywood Reporter that the show is set to start shooting next year, teasing, “We’re cooking up something that I’m really excited about.”
All nine episodes of “Agatha All Along” are now on Disney +.
