I Have An Agatha All Along Theory About Rio That Suggests One Character's Death Could Be Reversed
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Spoilers for anyone who isn’t yet caught up with Agatha All Along, the most enjoyable series to theorize about in the 2024 TV schedule thus far, so be warned!
I don’t know about you, but I’m still feeling the sting of losing Patti LuPone’s Lilia after Agatha All Along’s time-jumping ep “Death’s Hand in Mine.” Her doomed fate was made all the more intriguing by revealing how her seemingly random outbursts connected back to her youthful years in Italy, and with the reveal that Lilia was the first witch (beyond presumably Agatha) to grasp Rio’s true identity: Death. But what about the details that weren’t revealed in the episode?
With only two installments left to go in Agatha All Along’s standalone season, the stakes are higher than ever for the struggling coven. But I now believe that Lilia may have worked some unseen magic that could result in the return of at least one thought-dead character: Ali Ahn’s Alice, who was turned into a shriveled husk in Episode 4. Let’s discuss:
I Believe Lilia Made A Deal With Rio To Bring Alice Back
Like many Agatha fanatics, I’ve been harboring confusion over how this series could just do away with Alice Wu immediately after she discovered and then vanquished the family curse that essentially ruined her mother’s life, as well as their relationship. And like many, I’ve also been hoping beyond hope that characters’ deaths on the Witches’ Road didn’t mean they’d actually be dead in off-Road reality, allowing for Alice to live anew.
But the events depicted in Episode 7 seemed to heavily imply that line of thinking is all wrong, or else Lilia’s big sacrifice would have been cheapened if seen as not so selfless an act. Which then led to the line of thinking that maybe taking on the Salem Seven along — an outcome that drew my first big complaint about this show to date — wasn’t even her only altruistic move near the end.
RELATED THEORY-READING
One huge moment that Agatha All Along doesn’t fully show audiences is what happens immediately after Rio introduces her true self to Lilia just after she fell through the mud with Jen. We get the death reveal, and then nothing. Considering that happened before Lilia and Jen went on their underground trek to find the others, though, it stands to reason we missed out on quite an interesting and non-lethal conversation.
During that talk, I believe Lilia somehow convinced Rio to not just spare herself from death, but also Jen, and on top of that, I think she figured out a way to have the O.G. Green Witch reverse the effects of Agatha’s power-suck so that Alice can return to the story to offer her protection and fire powers for whatever the show’s final confrontations are. Well, I guess the better bet would be on Lilia making a deal with Death, as opposed to making demands.
Given the bouncing from timeline to timeline, I can only assume that Lilia didn't know exactly what her fate would be, but either way, I do wonder if she possibly promised Rio the Salem Seven's bodies, as well as her own, since that higher intake seems like the only bargaining chip that would have been significant enough to convince Rio to go along with it.
The Alice Shot From Previous Trailers Would Finally Make Sense
Even beyond the general idea that Alice is a cool character who deserves to remain alive within the MCU, some fan theories about Alice not being all the way dead stem from the shot seen above, which appeared in one (or maybe more) of Agatha's trailers. The character is pretty clearly laying on the floor of the recording studio where the Trial #2 took place, though no longer all withered and sucked dry, as a hand boasting long black fingernails caresses Alice's face.
Those suspecting Rio of being a Death-mongering character have been convinced that this shot proved Alice would be back before the end, but without a whole lot to go on as far as why Rio would bring her back. Especially in an episode where she fully laid out the plan for Agatha to take the powers while Rio takes the bodies.
But now that Episode 7 hinted at a mystery conversation between Lilia and Rio, I feel all the more confident in believing that discussion is the missing link needed to fully justify believing in Alice's eventual return. Plus, it would also possibly explain why Rio remained gone after Agatha emerged from the mud and had her big revealing talk/argument with Bily.
Now, does that guarantee that Rio will bring back the same bristling-but-loving Alice that fans grew to love in her scant few episodes? Not in the slightest. Rio could very easily resurrect both Alice and Sharon to be her mindless minions or some other dangerous threats, though I'm not sure to what end beyond just trying to amass other corpses.
Though I was only hypothesizing above, I do also legitimately wonder if Sharon could return to the land of the living for the same reasons. I could easily see Lilia attempting to save both her fellow sister in witchery as well as the one non-witch who got dragged into a completely unfamiliar situation, and then died almost immediately. Justice for Sharon!
Hopefully this theory doesn't get instantly upended as soon as Agatha All Along's final two episodes arrive on Disney+ on Wednesday, October 30, starting at 9:00 p.m. ET. Fans need more treats than tricks as the series reaches the end of the Road.