With only two episodes left until the end of the season, Agatha All Along simply refuses to stop throwing twists and reveals at viewers. Episode seven of the Disney+ MCU series is no different, even one-upping the amazing reveals that have come before. The mic drop of Aubrey Plaza’s character’s true identity may be the big attention grabber, but the real draw of the latest episode was Patti LuPone’s powerhouse performance.
Let’s get the buzzy news of episode seven out of the way first. It seemed clear from the show’s start that Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Valda wasn’t exactly who she said she was. Fans had a wide array of theories, but they don’t have to guess any longer. As some may have suspected thanks to the show’s many hints, Rio Valda is none other than Death herself. This was most obviously hinted at in episode five when a ouija board the coven uses says that Death is in the room with them, which we now know meant Rio Valda. The revelation has an ominous note to it, as Death tells Patti LuPone’s Lilia that all roads lead to her. This is clearly implying that the coven’s journey on the Witches’ Road will lead to their deaths.
This, tragically, seems to be true, as by the end of episode seven Lilia meets her demise. Before the episode’s flashy finale, however, Patti LuPone steals the show and delivers the performance we’ve all been waiting for. The casting of LuPone was exciting for Broadway fans, as the actress is a legend of the stage known for her killer presence and voice. Given her star power, it came as a shock that LuPone takes the backseat in Agatha All Along for the first six episodes. Sure, she has some good quips in there, but it often felt like the show was scared to let her go all-out and risk her overshadowing the lead performances of Kathryn Hahn and Joe Locke. But in episode seven, LuPone gets to let loose.
With Agatha and Billy coming to a tentative truce after the revelations of the last two episodes, the coven find themselves in yet another trial of the Witches’ Road. This one traps them in a room with a tarot deck and a ceiling full of swords slowly pressing down toward them. The only way forward is to place the correct cards on the table, a job which falls to fortune teller Lilia. The episode then dives into how Lilia sees events take place which, due to her ability to see the past and future, occurs out of order for her. That means we get a lot of cutting back and forth between time periods as the show depicts Lilia’s disorienting life, a life that, it seems, has always been leading to this moment. Throughout it all, LuPone infuses every scene she’s in with a palpable emotion that blows her co-stars out of the water, and it all builds up to her sacrificing herself to save Agatha, Billy, and Jen. It’s a climactic conclusion to Lilia’s arc, anchored by a performance only Patti LuPone could give.
Agatha All Along is streaming now on Disney+.
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