Agatha All Along Episode 7 Confirms Rio Is Death as Lilia Closes Her Circle

Agatha All Along episode 7, Death's Hand in Mine, confirmed that Rio is Death and gave Lilia a farewell that hit me harder than I anticipated. I didn't enjoy much of the episode because it was hard to walk Lilia's path. It was disorienting, and much of it confirmed things we had already known or guessed. But by the end, I do think it's a beautiful episode.

The episode was short. When I turned it on, I checked the running time and wondered what Disney+ was doing to me. Still, some big things were confirmed, and the show went a little further than I think we anticipated, which was delightful.

Agatha All Along celebrates women supporting each other

Something I appreciate about this show, and it was in full form here, is how it celebrates women, warts and all, supporting themselves and each other. Jennifer has the chance to escape the Witches' Road, but Lilia asks her to stay and help her, "because you are my sister in the craft." And Jennifer stays. That was beautiful.

Women have historically been pitted against one another. They have often been derided and sometimes punished for showing camaraderie, because it makes them powerful. Perhaps that's why they've historically been discouraged from it. So seeing these women come together, along with a gay man who isn't only sharing a special bond with them but is in many ways truly part of the same group, is moving. I think it's beautiful.

Lilia's moments of clarity were the most devastating part

The episode was difficult to follow because Lilia lived a difficult life. We discover she experiences time out of order. It isn't in flashes here and there, as she made it seem. She was constantly living it that way, like a shuffled deck of cards.

Her moments of clarity were, to me, the most devastating. When she told Jennifer with the utmost sincerity that she loved being a witch, even though it had brought her so much pain, I was moved. I'll never forget that, and I think it's something we should all think about. Patti LuPone is a legend for a reason.

I think that while this was Lilia's end, it also brought her peace. She finally appreciated and understood her gift. That also makes it so sad, though, because I think she had no more surprises left. She became a closed circle. Her life ended, and she'll probably keep re-experiencing it forever in a loop because of her abilities. But now she knows the end. I think that's why, in the final shot, she seems so much more at peace going back to her first lesson as a witch. In earlier flashbacks to her early days, she was worried and unhappy. Now she's grounded, because there's nothing left to know.

Rio is Death, and her look is phenomenal

The spoiler is out there now: Rio is Death. Her Funko doesn't do her justice. She looks phenomenal. I love that she has the skull face from the comics, and the show went with a partial skull face, which is even cooler. I'm surprised Disney and Marvel allowed it. Maybe the compromise was the lighting, since you have to lighten the frame significantly to see it. Either way, I can see many Halloween costumes being born.

Why is Death so important, beyond being Death? I loved when Rio said "all roads lead to me," given that they're on the Witches' Road. But think about it: they've been traveling the road with Death, and sure enough, three of them have died. Agatha knows Rio is Death. Another great line came when Agatha said, "What can I say? I like the bad boys." Maybe that's why she's drawn to Wanda, who has a very bad streak. Rio is the original green witch, and it was nice that Agatha also plays a green witch in this episode.

Death has a type in Marvel Comics

Death has a busy dance card in Marvel Comics. Dating Agatha is new. In the comics she's had a relationship with Thanos, who racks up a lot of bodies himself, so of course he'd fall in love with Death. She's also been involved with Deadpool, another killer. Rio has a type.

That opens many interesting ways to use Aubrey Plaza's Death going forward in the MCU, basically any time a character dies. She has already met many Avengers. I wonder how they'll square this with Hela, the Asgardian goddess of death. I think Cate Blanchett would fit with this group, and I think she'd love to be part of it. She has already come back to the MCU to voice some What If episodes, so she's game. I wonder if she's thinking, "Pick me, Feige." I'd say do it.

Billy Maximoff is not so nice, and I love it

The other big headline is hello, Billy. He's not so nice. He wasn't lying to us, and I love it. It turns out he can serve as well as the rest of the coven, from insults to looks, from cheekbones to the perfect pout. I'm impressed that Disney let the show go all the way with this depiction of one of their iconic characters. They're making up for lost time.

It's nice to see him hold his own with the other witches. He keeps showing how powerful he is even without his blue energy. He reads Lilia's mind, though he says she's screaming at him with it. And it's interesting, particularly with how they're all dressed, that he truly is a witch: neither totally good nor totally bad, maybe leaning a little more toward bad, just like Wanda. A Disney villain has a reputation to uphold, and they are now officially Disney villains. I love this for him. Joe Locke does a great job. Billy can be so mean, and yet you think, but he's such a sweet boy.

We also got a babysitter reference. Some Wanda stans will be upset that Billy considers his mother to be Mrs. Kaplan, Rebecca Kaplan, while Wiccan stans will be delighted, because that's the way it's supposed to be. Don't worry, Wanda stans, he'll come around.

Agatha isn't sure Wanda is dead

Wanda fans should also be excited that when Agatha said to ask her questions, Billy asked whether she thinks Wanda is actually dead. Agatha said she's not sure. That's the answer we all wanted to hear. She also delivered another instant classic: "You want straight answers, ask a straight lady." That's going to become many people's personal saying.

Interestingly, Agatha is retreating more and more behind her persona, and she feels less like a real person. It's sad. That's her coping mechanism, and we can understand it, but I miss the real Agatha we connected with so deeply in the first few episodes. Maybe that's why she's the Wicked Witch of the West, with the cackle and the overdramatic makeup and look. Now that I think about it, that's an interesting choice for her.

As for Wanda, I feel she was near death, which is why Agatha saw a body, but the return of her children will wake her. Earlier, when the sigil was removed, it was said that now every witch with a heartbeat can hear that he is Billy Maximoff. We all knew who heard him. That line is too good not to be intentional. Jac Schaeffer doesn't mess around.

Lilia placed the sigil on Billy out of kindness

We also find out why Lilia placed that sigil on Billy. It wasn't nefarious. She knew he'd need time to come to terms with his transformation, so she gave it to him. That fits the vision and representation of this show, and it's a beautiful sentiment.

She was a bit wobbly on forgiving him for throwing her and Jennifer off the road, though. I liked when she confronted him and called him "teenager" instead of just "teen," and Jennifer reacted as if she'd used his full name. When Billy has to ask a true question for the trial, he asks whether he's William or Billy. Didn't using blue magic settle this for him? Apparently he needed a concrete answer, or maybe he wants more underlining because he wants it so badly. It's clearly true: Lilia pulls the Magician card, perfect for Wiccan. And what is he missing? Tommy.

His reading is interrupted, because this is Lilia's trial and she realizes she needs to do her own reading. Her original mentor gives her a great line: her task is not to control, but to see. That's good advice for everyone. How much control can you have? But you can keep your eyes, ears and heart open. Lilia truly sees everything, even her own death, which is part of her trial. The episode's title is Death's Hand in Mine, and it opens on her death. We and Lilia just don't know it yet.

Billy wears the Wizard of Oz trial best

This time we get a castle instead of a house, complete with a drawbridge. I'm not sure what the moon sign was, something to do with blades, I guess. There's an hourglass timer and fairy tale witches from The Wizard of Oz, which is in the public domain and also features a famous road.

I think the best look belongs to Billy. He rocks the shoulder pads and has poise. The runner up has to be Agatha, because the show goes so far with her costume and she has cool movements. When you have a big costume, you have to go big with your physicality, and I think both of them understand that.

The joke that Agatha inspired the original character in the book was cute, but I'm getting a little tired of it, because I miss the actual Agatha. I guess she keeps making those jokes to push people away and build her reputation, so it's in character, but like with Rio, I wonder where the real her is. It's a little jarring to have whimsical fairy tale characters in such a sad, hard hitting episode, but I think they fit Lilia because they're timeless too. Jennifer's line that they can get upset about cultural misappropriation later was great, like a Disney content warning come to life.

Lilia went on the road because she needed a coven

We learn Lilia has experienced her whole life out of order, though she took a break from witchcraft after her coven died of fever, something she had predicted. She was on her own for centuries, because she felt it would be too painful to lose another coven. That's moving. It's why she was on the Witches' Road. It wasn't for power, which she already has. She went because she realized, at least subconsciously, that she needed a coven again, and she got one.

Many of the things we'd been guessing were confirmed, which means fewer surprises in this episode. The good news is that it left nothing but surprises for the final two episodes, which were set to air back to back, one day before Halloween. Billy guesses Agatha was never even on the road, which we'd been saying. Rio is Death. And Lilia has been saying lines from future episodes all along, just like Agatha All Along. I appreciate that meta callback in the writing.

The tarot reading lays out the coven's fate

What we didn't guess was that the witches have had moments where they acted out tarot cards. I'm too superstitious to Google the actual tarot cards, so I'm assuming they're accurate. Lilia herself is the Queen of Cups, which I like because it made her feel she was a good witch who had done good. It was a positive reading. What's missing is a coven, and she even wrote the names of her coven on the paper standing in for that card.

The path behind is the Knight of Wands, full of fire and fighting bravely: Alice before she died. What's ahead is Jennifer Kale as the High Priestess, immense spiritual power she's unwilling or unable to use. What a tease. The obstacle isn't just Agatha but Agatha's pain, heartbreak, sorrow and grief, which I think is what makes her the way she is, and perhaps the key to defeating her if you can resolve those issues for her.

The windfall is the Tower reversed, which she also saw during William Kaplan's reading at his bar mitzvah, I think. The Tower reversed means miraculous transformation, and that means bringing Billy Maximoff into the world. I think that's probably such a momentous event that being part of it is her windfall, and in some way she's even facilitating it by protecting him. Finally, the destination is Death, Rio, who is there for a number of them, Lilia included.

Lilia saves her new coven and dies in the falling tower

Lilia passes her trial and gets her coven out. She saves her new coven, whereas she couldn't save her old one. She warns Agatha, "When she calls you a coward, hit the deck." She gives Billy back his spellbook, which she found, and tells Jennifer she's the path forward, the future. It was fitting that they spent time together in an episode where Lilia imparted so much of her knowledge to the next generation.

Then Lilia doesn't leave the trial, because she knows chaos will ensue if the witch who passed doesn't leave. She sets a kill zone for the Salem Seven, who are creepy but don't do much, so I was ready for them to go. She invites destruction and turns the Tower card right side up, which flips the castle's actual tower and kills the Salem Seven and herself. It wasn't immediate for her. In a sad, poignant moment, she holds on to the tarot table, in many ways her touchstone, before she falls too.

She dies, but goes right back to her beginning, because her circle is closed and complete. She can run through it in a loop forever, though now she'll be more stable, because she'll always know what's coming. It ends with Time in a Bottle, a great choice. This show is cheap to make, and thank goodness, because they are spending a lot on music rights for these fantastic end credit songs. I love the visuals and the song, and I listen all the way through every time.

Joe Locke said this was his favorite episode. I think it's sweet, and perhaps very smart of him, to pick an episode where he wasn't the focus. He's a good diplomat and a good witch, but not too good, because he's a witch. As for episode 7, it was tragic and beautiful indeed.