Warning: This article contains spoilers from Agatha All Along episode 7.
SinceAgents of SHIELDkicked off the modern era of live-actionMarveltelevision in 2013, many shows have debuted, but this week Marvel released their best episode of TV ever. Over the years, there have been plenty ofexcellent Marvel TV shows, both set within the MCU and outside of it. Netflix’sDaredevildelivered a comic-accurate, grounded and exciting TV show, while FX’sLegionwas a critically-lauded genre-defying trip through a superhero’s mind.
In recent years, all live-action Marvel TV shows have been more firmly rooted in the MCU, and have been produced by Marvel Studios. This slate ofMCU TV showshas included significant highs likeWandaVisionandLoki, as well as the lows ofSecret Invasion, which remains one of Marvel’s worst-rated MCU projects ever. Of course, there were some misses before Marvel Studios took over, likeMarvel’s Inhumans, which I couldn’t get through, despite having watched all other Marvel shows up to that point.
Still, the MCU series that have been released on Disney+ are largely good, even theunderrated Marvel shows, likeMs. Marvel,She-HulkandEcho. However, through all the hours and hours of Marvel television that have been released, nothing tops the episode that premiered this week.Agatha All Alonghas been a wildly fun and entertaining witchy romp perfect for this time of year, but episode 7 takes the show to entirely new heights of creativity and execution.
Agatha All Along Episode 7 Is The Best Episode Of Marvel TV I’ve Ever Seen
And I’ve Watched A Lot Of Marvel Television
I had my doubts aboutAgatha All Alongwhen I reviewed the first four episodes, largely because episode 4 was the weakest of the bunch. But since that point, the series has only gotten stronger, with a flawlessly executed reveal of Teen as Billy Maximoff in episode 5, a great flashback episode in 6 andepisode 7 using Lilia’s divination powers to tell an emotional story about the witch’s acceptance of her powers, her coven and her fate.Agatha All Alongdoesn’t just tell audiences that the flow of time is an illusion, the series shows us by allowing viewers to experience time the way Lilia does.
Agatha All Along Episode 7 Ending Explained: Rio Vidal’s Identity Is Finally Revealed
Agatha All Along episode 7 was a time-jump-infused journey through Lilia Calderu’s fractured memories, ending with the reveal of Rio Vidal’s identity.
The result is an hour of television that took me through every single emotion possible - confusion, frustration, joy, hope, sadness - all while telling a story that brought together all the clues littered throughout the first six episodes. I cannot stress enoughhow difficult it must’ve been to write an episode like this, to make sure everything came together in a way that made senseand revealed things likeRio’s identity as Deathat just the right moment for their greatest impact. I applaud episode writers Gia King and Cameron Squires for their work, because it’s truly a masterclass.
In addition to the writing, I’d be remiss without mentioning Jac Schaffer’s direction of this episode. AsAgatha All Alongshowrunner, she no doubt had an instrumental hand in constructing the episode, and she was key to its execution as the director.From the beautiful scenes of Lilia falling to the creepy shot of Rio’s reveal as Death, there’s no shortage of visually compelling things to look atin this episode. But, of course, the episode’s success couldn’t have been achieved without the actress playing Lilia Calderu.
Patti LuPone Delivers One Of The Most Powerful Performances In The MCU
The Actress Showed Every Bit Of Her Talent
Everyone is going to have their favorite performances in the MCU - it’s a franchise that’s expansive enough to have hundreds of actors appear across dozens of movies and television shows. ButPatti LuPone’s performance inAgatha All Alongepisode 7 is among the best in the entire history of the MCU. In fact, the only performance I would say that could possibly rival it is Tom Hiddleston’s in theLokiseason 2 finale. But Hiddleston had embodied the character of Loki for over a decade at that point, whereas LuPone only played Lilia Calderu for seven episodes of a TV show.
It’s staggering how much talent LuPone exudes inAgatha All Alongepisode 7, bringing viewers on Lilia’s journey as she finally learns to accept her powers and allow them to lead her to the ending she fears.Every emotion I felt throughout the episode was all due to LuPone’s performance, which showed her range at deftly handling both comedy and tragedy. The ending scenes when Lilia accepts her fate is to die on the Witches' Road and decides to save her coven in the process are wonderfully played by the actress.
The writing, the directing and the acting all come together to deliver Marvel’s best episode of TV ever produced.
LuPone’s performance inAgatha All Alongepisode 7 cements her place in Marvel history.Lilia Calderu may have been a little known character from Marvel Comics, but LuPone turned her into one of the most compelling charactersin the franchise. And I would even go so far as to say that LuPone’s delivery of the line,“I loved being a witch,“is up there with one of the best, most character-driven quotes in the entire MCU. It rivals the likes of"I am Iron Man,“and"I can do this all day.”
Truthfully, I could gush aboutAgatha All Alongepisode 7 all day long. It’s one of the most breathlessly creative and heart-wrenchingly emotional episodes of television I’ve watched in a long time. The writing, the directing and the acting all come together to deliver Marvel’s best episode of TV ever produced. Even if the final two episodes don’t reach the heights of episode 7,Agatha All Alonghas been a wonderfully enjoyable ride, and I can’t wait to rewatch the whole series after the finale airs next week.
The two-episodeAgatha All Alongfinale premieres Wednesday, October 30 at 9pm on Disney+.
Agatha All Along
Cast
Agatha Harkness, after the events of “WandaVision,” seeks to regain her magical powers. Joining forces with unexpected allies, including the son of an old adversary, she battles new mystical threats while uncovering hidden secrets in the magical realm.
