Episode 7 of Agatha All Along delivers an intense, twist-filled journey that pushes the characters to their limits as they face a new trial on the Witches’ Road. This episode, filled with cryptic tarot readings, mind-bending time loops, and a major revelation about one of the coven’s members, puts the spotlight on Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) as she faces her own past while trying to guide Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) and Billy Maximoff (Teen) through the latest deadly challenge.
The episode opens with a head-spinning series of events. Lilia, who was last seen being thrown off the Road alongside Jen (Sasheer Zamata) by Billy in Episode 5, reappears in freefall, dressed like Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz. Before we can fully process this, we cut to Agatha and Billy, still trekking along the Witches’ Road. Billy remains skeptical of Agatha, grilling her with questions, including whether Wanda Maximoff, his biological mother, is truly dead. Agatha coyly responds with a cryptic “Yes. No. Maybe,” keeping Billy—and the audience—on edge.
They soon encounter their next trial: a haunting mansion straight out of a fairy tale, where their outfits magically change. Agatha becomes Elphaba from Wicked, while Billy dons Maleficent’s horns. Inside, they discover a stone table with a tarot deck and a cryptic message: “Your path winds out of time.” The trial begins when Billy picks up the deck, sparking a deadly timer that threatens them with falling swords if they fail the reading.
Despite Billy’s efforts, things quickly go awry as Agatha dismisses the tarot as a con, drawing random cards and triggering even more falling swords. At one point, Billy narrowly avoids impalement, jumping out of harm’s way as the tension builds. Meanwhile, Lilia and Jen, having survived their fall, are trapped in a network of tunnels beneath the Witches’ Road. Lilia, increasingly disoriented, begins to experience flashes from different points in time, leaving both her and Jen confused.
This confusion takes on a deeper meaning when we dive into Lilia’s mind and discover that she has been experiencing life out of sequence since childhood. In a series of flashbacks, we see her younger self being taught by her Maestra in Renaissance-era Sicily, learning to read tea leaves and grappling with her visions. The Maestra teaches Lilia that time is an illusion, but Lilia reveals her fear that these recent time flashes mean she is “close to the end.”
The episode expertly weaves Lilia’s fragmented timeline with the current trial. After being saved from a sword by Agatha, Lilia and Jen join the others in the mansion. Lilia confronts Billy, pinning him against a wall, demanding answers about his powers. Billy apologizes, explaining that his powers emerged unexpectedly, and Lilia, remembering Billy from a bar mitzvah (where she placed a protective sigil on him), realizes she must help him survive the trial.
The tarot reading resumes, but this time it’s Lilia guiding Billy. He asks the pivotal question, “Am I William, or am I Billy?” As the cards are revealed, the story deepens: The Magician card signifies his power, while The Sun suggests a reunion with his brother, Tommy. Lilia then shifts the reading to herself, drawing the Queen of Cups to reflect her identity as an empathetic and intuitive figure. The Three of Pentacles reveals what she’s missing—a coven—and the Knight of Wands and High Priestess cards hint at her past and the path forward. But the reading takes a dark turn when she draws the Tower card, reversed, and finally, Death—the grim revelation that Rio, a recurring figure in the series, is in fact Death itself.
As if the stakes weren’t high enough, the Salem Seven, who have been pursuing the group, close in on the mansion. Lilia instructs Agatha and Billy to escape through an iron maiden that opens up, providing a way back onto the Road. Before they leave, Lilia returns Billy’s spellbook and cryptically advises Agatha, “When she calls you a coward, hit the deck.” She then locks herself in the room to face the Salem Seven alone.
In a dramatic final showdown, Lilia confronts the Salem Seven and flips the Tower card upright, reversing the room’s very structure. The witches are sent crashing into the sword-filled ceiling as the room spins upside down. Lilia, holding onto the table for dear life, finally lets go, allowing herself to fall. This, we realize, is the moment from the beginning of the episode, completing the time loop and leaving Lilia’s fate hanging in the balance.
The episode concludes with a haunting scene of a young Lilia returning to her Maestra in Sicily for her first lesson on tea leaves, suggesting that even as she faces death, her story is far from over.
Episode 7 of Agatha All Along is packed with revelations, from Billy’s search for his true identity to the chilling discovery that Rio is Death itself. The complex weaving of timelines, tarot symbolism, and character backstory adds layers of depth to Lilia’s journey, leaving fans eagerly awaiting the final two episodes. Will Lilia’s sacrifice be enough to save her coven, and could Wanda Maximoff still be alive? With only two episodes left, the answers are within reach, but as Agatha would say, nothing is ever that simple on the Witches’ Road.