'Agatha All Along': The Four Popculture Witches The Coven Appear As In Ep 7, And What They Mean For Each Character

WARNING! SPOILERS for Agatha All Along 1x07, 'Death's Hand In Mine'

Episode 7 of Agatha All Along, 'Death's Hand In Mine', delivered an epic pay off for fans as the odd outbursts plaguing Patti Lupone's character, the Divination witch Lilia Calderu, all come together in a Tarot Card trial, with some big reveals, epic character insights, and a death that will likely be remembered as one of the MCU's most heartwrenching.

Inside the episode's Tarot Card trial, each surviving member of the coven appears in the guise of a famous witch in popculture. It is possible that each of these disguises reveals something about the character who embodies them.

Let's discuss.

Lilia Calderu as 'Glinda, the Good Witch of the North'

While the show is called Agatha All Along, 'Death's Hand In Mine' is unquestionably Lilia Calderu's episode, and a tour de force for her already iconic actress, Patti LuPone. Within the Tarot trial, a test of Lilia's own abilities, she appears as The Wizard of Oz's Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.

Lilia, who has openly expressed disdain for the commercialization/cultural appropriation of witches in mainstream media, immediately despises the outfit. However, it is worth noting that Glinda is probably the least stereotypical in appearance of the popculture witches used in the episode, making her an oddly fitting choice for Lilia.

In The Wizard of Oz, Glinda is the one to provide Dorothy Gale with the information that she needs to find her way home. Lilia Calderu does the same for her coven, giving each one something they need to make their last push towards the end of the Witches' Road. Then, in her final heroic sacrifice to take out the Salem Seven, She proves herself a 'Good Witch' in more ways than one.

Agatha Harkness as The Wicked Witch of the West

Upon entering the trial, Agatha, unlike Lilia, is quite pleased with her own character, classic Wizard of Oz villain The Wicked Witch of the West. She even boasts to Billy that the character had been inspired by her. At first glance, this seems fitting. Agatha for the most part is disliked by other witches, both due to her own devious actions, and a series of dark rumours surrounding her past.

However, there may be a deeper meaning behind Agatha's character. Gregory Maguire's novel, Wicked, and the hugely popular stage musical it inspired, give the Wicked Witch a name, Elphaba, and reimagine her as a far more sympathetic character.

In the musical, Elphaba is an outcast in her own family after being born with green skin. She eventually discovers the Wizard of Oz is a powerless fraud, with plans to experiment on and silence Oz's talking animals. After launching a one-woman campaign against the Wizard to reveal the truth and free the animals he keeps captive, Elphaba becomes the victim of a widespread propaganda smear campaign, denouncing her as wicked and an enemy to Oz.

Interestingly, Agatha is also considered an outcast. Some fans believe that having her appear as the Wicked Witch/Elphaba is a hint that some of the rumours surrounding Agatha may not actually be true, and her sometimes abrasive personality has formed as a way of proteccting herself.

Jennifer Kale as the Old Hag from Snow White

Jennifer Kale appears in the Old Hag form with which the Evil Queen disguises herself in the Disney classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, best known for tricking Snow White into eating the poisoned apple. Like Lilia, Jen dislikes the outfit, but chooses to set her feelings aside, as passing the trial is more important.

The reasons behind Jen appearing as the hag are less clear cut than the other disguises. It is perhaps as simple as Jen being the coven's potions witch. Alternatively, it could reference the fact that back in the real world, Jen is facing charges over her products poisoning customers. However, given the show's portrayal of witches as having been unfairly persecuted through history, and Jen's very clear instructions to the customers she was speaking to prior to Agatha and Teen's arrival to recruit her in episode two, we can probably assume the poisonings are not Jen's fault, but a consequence of her products being misused.

Billy Maximoff as Maleficent

The Tarot trial transforms Billy Maximoff into Maleficent, the villain of the Disney classic Sleeping Beauty, who curses the film's heroine, Aurora, after being slighted by her parents for not inviting her to the baby Princess's Christening. Billy is perhaps even more pleased with his outfit than Agatha, happily declaring:

"Well, if the cheekbones fit.."

The name Maleficent was chosen because it was a derivative of the word malefica, which translates as 'witch'. However, despite her outwardly rather witchy appearance, Maleficent is technically a Dark Fairy.

Maleficent's status as a fairy rather than a witch is expanded upon in the live-action film Maleficent and it's sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. The film's reimagine Maleficent as an anti-hero, her curse on Aurora only occurring because Aurora's Father, King Stefan, betrayed Maleficent by stealing her wings.

Some fans think Billy appearing as a fairy is a nod to his sexuality, 'fairy' being a common slang term for a gay male. However, it is also possible that Billy appearing as a character who is witch-like while not actually being a witch hints that he is suffering from imposter syndrome, having felt on the outer with the coven in earlier episodes, and now expressing uncertainty over whether he is Billy Maximoff or William Kaplan.

Hopefully, he will get his answers in the double-episode Agatha All Along finale.