Agatha All Along‘s Best Episode Gives Its All for Patti LuPone

When past we saw Lilia she was being sucked into a bog, but Agatha All Along‘s seventh occurrence (titled “Death’s Hand successful Mine,” oh no!) begins with the character—now dressed arsenic Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz—falling done a achromatic void. The country fades arsenic we instrumentality to Agatha and Billy/Teen/William traipsing done the fog-strewn acceptable of the Witches’ Road, arsenic they hold for its supernatural architects to conception different popular culture-savvy decease trap for them.

In their downtime, Billy/Teen/William wisely asks Agatha immoderate burning questions: “Where’s Rio?” and “Is Wanda Maximoff truly dead?” Agatha is evasive connected some accounts, refusing to reply the archetypal and teasing “Yes…no!…maybe…” to the second. She saw Wanda’s body, but it’s “hard to say” whether different idiosyncratic could corroborate her death, quipping, “if you privation consecutive answers, inquire a consecutive lady.” Marching forward, they stumble upon a castle successful the region and admit it arsenic their adjacent trial. 

Upon entering, Agatha is transformed into the Wicked Witch of the West (or Elphaba, if you’re fancy) portion Billy/Teen/William becomes Maleficent. While this formal codification seems to corroborate a fantasy-themed trial, the surviving coven is alternatively asked to construe a platform of tarot cards and supply readings for each other. Billy/Teen/William reads for Agatha, archetypal drafting “The Chariot,” but fails to supply an close mentation of its meaning.

It turns retired that for each paper the subordinate gets wrong, a sword drops from the ceiling. Next drafting the Seven of Swords reversed, BTW suggests Agatha indispensable beryllium truthful, drafting them some person to decease with different plunging sword. Suggesting the tarot is conscionable a “con” with nary “skill” oregon “magic” involved, Agatha takes the reins, causing 5 further swords to plummet from supra conscionable for her attitude. At this moment, we observe our heroes are trapped successful a country with a descending ceiling, adding an further ticking timepiece constituent to the proceedings. 

© Marvel

As BTW wishes the tarot-reading Lilia were present to prevention them, we larn she and Jennifer survived the quicksand, but fell done the crushed and into a subterranean tunnel. Having different 1 of her spells, Lilia is confused by her surroundings, truthful Jennifer tells her “you precise intelligibly said we had to travel this gross passageway and look for shelving,” without knowing what she meant by that. We larn Lilia’s predominant unusual asides are really her experiencing clip non-linearly, bouncing backmost and distant done antithetic moments of her beingness similar Picard successful the Star Trek: The Next Generation finale, oregon Desmond successful Lost.

Lilia past mentally recedes to the infinitesimal from her puerility she learned to work beverage leaves earlier bouncing backmost to the present. She admits her reveries are becoming much frequent, and concludes she indispensable beryllium “close to the end” of her life. At that moment, the 2 of them are (seemingly) transported to the castle to vie successful the latest proceedings alongside Agatha and BTW.

Now backmost successful the game, Lilia is dressed arsenic Glinda, arsenic antecedently mentioned, portion Jennifer is the Evil Queen from Snow White successful her alternate witch signifier (though I thought she was the Man Behind Winky’s from Mulholland Drive, astatine first…). Lilia’s memories instrumentality and she confirms remembering BTW from his barroom mitzvah, arsenic we saw successful past week’s Agatha All Along; helium instantly apologizes for dumping her successful a bog. Lilia reveals she formed the sigil connected him knowing he’d “need time” to find himself aft dying successful a car mishap and having his corpse hijacked by a magically birthed sitcom character. So… I conjecture that makes sense? 

Now that they person their tarot reader, things should beryllium moving much smoothly—were it not for Lilia’s analyzable narration with the travel of time. As her caput abruptly snaps backmost to the passageway with Jennifer, she reveals she consciously enactment an extremity to her clip dalliances backmost successful puerility since, “all [she] saw was death.” At that, they find the “shelving” they were looking for: an existent bookshelf that doubles arsenic doorway to the peculiar country of the castle Agatha and BTW are struggling to work tarot cards in. 

Back successful the crippled for existent this time, Lilia reshuffles the platform and reveals BTW his fortune. Though the coven would similar helium inquire the cards however to flight the decease trap of falling swords, helium alternatively asks, “am I William oregon americium I Billy?” She gives him a six paper reading, drafting the Magician and the Sun earlier different flashback to her childhood.

We observe she had a imaginativeness the coven who raised her were doomed to dice successful a plague, and though she warned them, she’s spent the remainder of her beingness traumatized for being ignored. Her parent tells her decease ain’t nuthin’ but a G thang, basically, and that its inevitability is what everyone has successful common. Lilia, it seems, has ever known she’d dice successful a fall. Her parent fig shrugs this off, asking, “What volition you bash successful your remaining time?” 

Once again, Lilia’s caput palace takes her backmost to the passageway and we observe the Salem Seven are blistery connected their heels—though walking backward, successful a legitimately eerie visual. Returning to the tarot trial, Lilia abruptly understands that arsenic this is her trial, she’s meant to springiness herself the reading. She pulls the Queen of Cups, diving it indispensable correspond herself, and the Three of Pentacles, which she recognizes arsenic her coven. The Knight of Wands was Alice (RIP), the High Priestess is Jennifer, the Three of Swords for Agatha, the Tower reversed for BTW, and Death for the inactive conspicuously absent Rio—who, we discover, is not really “Rio Vidal” astatine all, but alternatively the Marvel Universe’s embodiment of Death, itself! 

© Marvel

Having completed her proceedings successful the nick of time, the ceiling retracts and a adjacent robust maiden opens, revealing the exit. While the others marque their escape, Lilia decides to enactment down and grip the encroaching Salem Seven, who participate the country successful their way-too-cute carnal forms. Lilia reverses the Tower card, which someway causes the full castle to flip connected its head, impaling at slightest 5 of the Salem Seven connected the swords below. Embracing her destiny, Lilia falls, too, and successful her last moments, she’s brought backmost to the precise infinitesimal successful clip she began to survey witchcraft. 

© Marvel

I deliberation it’s harmless to accidental this was apt the champion occurrence of the series’ to date, wrapping up Lilia’s arc successful a acold much satisfying mode than Alice’s. We truly didn’t cognize excessively overmuch astir Madame Calderu earlier this episode, but we decidedly got a grip connected her earlier the end.

Though it gave Lilia a crushed to nobly sacrifice herself and adhd to the wide assemblage count, I felt similar this was a reasonably ignominious exit for the Salem Seven, who yet didn’t magnitude to much—especially considering they’re acceptable to beryllium replaced by Death arsenic the series’ main antagonist going forward. I conjecture their vendetta against Agatha for sidesplitting their parents and causing them to rise themselves arsenic household portion of semi-feral shapeshifters indispensable extremity here.

Hopefully, Death’s reasons for hating Agatha and getting progressive with the coven are revealed to beryllium fractional arsenic interesting. (Still, I lone counted 5 bodies among them, truthful possibly she’ll support a mates Salem henchman and we’ll get to look them bash thing too skulk astir eerily, aft all? That would besides springiness some BTW and Jennifer idiosyncratic to combat successful the finale.)

Speaking of, Rio’s lack and consequent reveal… kinda sucked? Rio’s been MIA for 2 afloat episodes now, truthful to person her existent individuality revealed successful the character’s ain continued lack is simply a puzzling choice. Especially since this precise amusement is titled aft the memorable villain uncover of its genitor series, WandaVision. The last 2 episodes volition truly person to enactment a batch of enactment successful to warrant astir everything astir Rio’s inclusion truthful far—not to notation wherefore the elemental Death chose to airs arsenic a pistillate named Rio Vidal successful the archetypal place.

Fingers crossed Agatha All Along lands connected its feet with its two-part finale adjacent week. See you then.

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