Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 7 Review: Death’s Hand in Mine

Agatha All Along Season 1 Episode 7, “Death’s Hand in Mine,” spotlights Lilia Calderu and reveals some of her backstory. It is perhaps one of the best episodes of the series.

Patti LuPone’s character, Lilia, has been in and out of the headspace since the start of the series, and now we find out why. This week’s episode is about character development, ultimately revealing her true nature by digging deep into Lilia’s background as a witch and what happened to her.

This episode uses a framing device that works well to show just what is happening in Lilia’s mind. Throughout the show, we see her lose gaps of time and speak in riddles without knowing what they mean. Lilia’s power is finally revealed to us as we discover that she can look into her whole life, past, present, and future, in no particular order.

Lilia can’t fully control her powers, similar to how Agatha also has the same predicament. However, once these women learn to embrace their abilities, they fully accept who they truly are and move forward. That is the character development needed for this show, and this episode excels in that with Lilia.

There is a major reveal regarding Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal, in which her true self comes out in front of Lilia. As many fan theories suggested, she is the original Green Witch, also known as Lady Death.

She is a well-known character in the comics, but it seems like the show is doing things differently from her comic book counterpart. During the two-episode finale, we shall see how she fits into Lilia’s forewarning to Agatha.

Just like Death, Lilia can foresee the tragic end of anyone she has encountered. Even though she forsook her powers for a long time, her journey on the Witches’ Road has helped give her an understanding of what she truly wants. All she seems to want is a place to belong, and her coven ends up being her family.

During this trip, Lilia becomes so attached to the coven that she sees them as sisters. LuPone captures the emotional aspect of her character so well up to the very end. Once all the pieces of her mind come together, Lilia knows she has to complete the trial for her coven.

LuPone has always been fun to watch in every episode, but this particular one makes everyone feel for her character. With this non-linear narrative, we get to experience the actress pulling off all the emotions to showcase the many layers Lilia carries.

Hopefully, this won’t be the last we see of LuPone, but it does seem like her journey as Lilia has been completed.

Lilia sees her powers as more of a curse, which makes her become more of a recluse the first time we see her. Her connection to Billy before his transformation adds more answers from last week’s episode.

She seems to be aware of who he is the whole time and the reason she put the sigil on him. Lilia’s gift has done more good than bad for her fellow coven, helping them in tough situations.

During the trial, Lilia’s intuition, using the Tarot cards, and her ability as a seer help the group survive. Lilia foresees her death in her vision, so she is willing to make such a sacrifice for her coven as she takes out the Salem Seven.

Compared to previous episodes, this one has a lot of emotional stakes, and the tragedy that strikes the coven will stick with us for a long time. It is cool how the episode pays respect to The Wizard of Oz and Snow White with the witches’ transformations into these beloved characters in their trial. This personal story has a lot of weight to it as it relates to Lilia and is a fitting end for her.

As we reach the show’s final two episodes, the warnings that Lilia told her coven will be something to see when it comes to pass. This episode at least gives us more of an investment with Lilia, giving Patti LuPone the opportunity to continue to shine with her incredible performance. It’ll be intriguing to discover more about Death and Agatha’s relationship as more pieces of her past come to light.

What did you think of this episode of Agatha All Along? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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New episodes of Agatha All Along stream Wednesdays on Disney+.

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