S01.E04: "If I Can't Reach You / Let My Song Teach You"

[chitowngirl]

The Coven faces their second trial on the Witches’ Road.

Episode drops October 2nd 9:00 ET.

Edited October 3 by chitowngirl

[Sakura12]

So Rio is the one who took her son. So

Funko did ruin it. She is THE Earth Witch. That's where we go when we die.

It seems like she did/does love Agatha but had to her job. 

Agatha did think Teen was her son. She didn't give him up willingly. And makes think she was gathering all the power to try to bring him back from death. I watched Wandavision again and after she killed Sparky, Billy and Tommy begged Wanda to fix death. Agatha broke character and said "you can do that?".  She wanted to see if Wanda can fix death. Everything was about bringing her son back. 

I did like the coven sharing their stories. Lilia knew the Hansel and Gretel witch and fought a vampire. Lorna died from the curse and Jen lost her magic from someone with no power. 

And much more future info from Lilia. Something happens to Agatha and Alice. 

[Morrigan2575]

Rio is totally a demon right? She definitely had a history with Agatha and it's most likely related to Agatha losing her son.

It's so funny last week it was all they're dropping the Teen is Agatha's son Anvils so it's obvious he's not her son!  Now, they flat out state he's not her boy and I'm like oh that just means he is 😆

Actually I'm guessing her son is long gone but, maybe this is a descendent (some witchy thing)? 

I know Teen's identity was leaked by Funko but, i am currently avoiding the spoiler. 

As for the rest of the episode,  some curious moments like why did Agatha say "i didn't think you had it in you" to Mrs Hart's body?

Also, why does Rio want the bodies? That's why I think she's a demon. Especially since she doesn't have physical scars.

Last thought,  they totally did Pattie Lupone dirty with the 70s look. Everyone looked great but her makeup/outfit/hair was just bad, IMO.

I seriously want the soundtrack to this show.

Edited October 3 by Morrigan2575

[Rahul]

I was looking forward to this 70s rock themed episode the least from the trailers and so far, I has been the episode I liked the least. I felt like the trial wasn't particularly challenging and was too simple with an abrupt ending.

If Rio's true identity is 

Spoiler

Death

did Agatha know this before entering a relationship with her? 

[Nacos for Rufus]

I am loving the complexity of the relationships on this show. There’s clearly distrust, but I like seeing those moments of vulnerability and shared empathy between them. I really want to know what those premonitions Lillia keeps having are going to build up to!

[Brn2bwild]

1 hour ago, Morrigan2575 said:

As for the rest of the episode,  some curious moments like why did Agatha say "i didn't think you had it in you" to Mrs Hart's body?

I think she was referring to 

Spoiler

Rio going through with killing Mrs. Hart/Davis, if Rio is in fact Death.

What I'm wondering is why Agatha wanted to walk off so quickly after Sharon was buried.  Was she afraid of Rio appearing?  If so, why did she then agree to summon a green witch and did she seem confident it would not be Rio?

[arc]

This trial was very unsatisfying. TBH I think the writers thought the song would carry it, but maybe it's just me not being into that style of music. If the song wasn't killer,then the whole thing about defeating the curse by singing the song felt just a little too arbitrary.

The stuff on the road was fine though.

I wonder if someone will have to be carried out of each trial house. The show has done it two out of two times so far.

[Sakura12]

Lilia keeps talking about rumors and misconceptions about witches. I think Agatha is mostly rumors and misconceptions. She probably never walked the road and now I think her son just died. Her witchcraft couldn't save him so she went on a power trip to find a way to bring him back and getting the darkhold was one of them.

I think she killed a lot of witches to do it, that part is true but the y is not where they think. 

I also like that we know why Agatha left Jen alone. She was a midwife, she was helping mothers. 

And Rio

was in the neighborhood because Sharon just died. Did Agatha not think that would be a possibility? Or does she not think of her as a witch. I also think Rio can't kill people its not allowed. She can cause chaos that can lead to death but she can't finish the job, she only collects their souls.

 

 

[baldryanr]

8 hours ago, Brn2bwild said:

What I'm wondering is why Agatha wanted to walk off so quickly after Sharon was buried.  Was she afraid of Rio appearing?  If so, why did she then agree to summon a green witch and did she seem confident it would not be Rio?

The simplest explanation is the obvious one - Agatha (who, as the show keeps reminding everyone, is not a good person) wants her powers back and taking the time to mourn someone she doesn't care about is a waste.  Plus it provided a contrast to how much she freaked out when Teen was bleeding to death.

[lovett1979]

I wonder what (if anything) Katherine Hahn was told back when they were filming the dead Sparky scene in WandaVision. At the time, her reaction did seem a little odd, though we chalked it up to just her trying to figure out Wanda’s powers. But now it seems like it was much deeper than that. 
 

I was a little confused when Agatha said “don’t” to Rio after they carried Teen out of the house. In the first episode, Rio is shown to have healing powers (she licks the wound from her dagger on Agatha’s hand and it goes away). So I thought that’s what Agatha was saying “don’t” about and that didn’t make sense. I see the speculation about Rio, though, and her story later on, so I now understand the “don’t.” But could she not have healed him the way she did Agatha?

[arc]

2 hours ago, lovett1979 said:

But could she not have healed him the way she did Agatha?

She directly wounded Agatha with her dagger. Teen was almost definitely wounded by the Wu curse. Maybe Rio’s healing trick only works with wounds she inflicts?

[Bruinsfan]

14 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

As for the rest of the episode,  some curious moments like why did Agatha say "i didn't think you had it in you" to Mrs Hart's body?

I think that's because she may not have really expected to open the gate to the Witches' Road at all, and was just using that as an excuse to gather covenless witches and steal their powers. Turns out Sharon was close enough to a witch to get them on the road after all.

[Sakura12]

 I guess it turned out Sharon was witchy enough to join the coven.

 

Edited October 3 by Sakura12

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, Bruinsfan said:

I think that's because she may not have really expected to open the gate to the Witches' Road at all, and was just using that as an excuse to gather covenless witches and steal their powers. Turns out Sharon was close enough to a witch to get them on the road after all.

Oh yeah, that does make sense

[AmigaJoe]

On 10/3/2024 at 12:12 AM, Brn2bwild said:

'...agree to summon a green witch...'

I believe it's pronounced 'grenich'.

😉

 

[Featherhat]

On 10/3/2024 at 3:54 AM, Morrigan2575 said:

It's so funny last week it was all they're dropping the Teen is Agatha's son Anvils so it's obvious he's not her son!  Now, they flat out state he's not her boy and I'm like oh that just means he is 😆

Actually I'm guessing her son is long gone but, maybe this is a descendent (some witchy thing)? 

I know Teen's identity was leaked by Funko but, i am currently avoiding the spoiler. 

 

I know, that made me be like, "oh, there's going to be a twist where he somehow is her son partly." 🤭It definitely seems like Agatha didn't give her son up willingly in an exchange for power. It's possible she went full evil after losing him and that's how she ended up with the Darkhold. But maybe it's too close to Wanda for them to do that again. 

I thought the trial was fairly boring to be honest. The song is great and it's nice to hear it in so many different versions but eh. I thought it was pretty clever that it was a protection spell for Alice and that it was so popular with Lorna's fans that someone in the world is always playing it. So at the beginning Alice felt lighter because the curse was on someone else right then? 

What really made the episode is Agatha and Rio's interactions. I have read the spoiler and they dropped a lot of hints in that direction this ep. Loved the "I was in the neighbourhood" I wonder why Rio? And "ferried the most appropriate candidate down. Or Up!" Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza have such great chemistry. I'm glad they aren't really being coy about them being exes. 

Jen was being pretty sensible staying in the protection spell. And she is also some flavour of queer "do I hate her or do I want her phone number?" Yep, I get that. And Alice agreed so she might also be queer. 

I enjoy Lilia spouting future lines but I wonder if we're going to get them all in context before the show ends. It was interesting watching her tear up as she looked at all the horrible ways witches have traditionally executed, she probably lost a lot of friends with all of them. 

It was really nice to see the coven bond a bit and I love that Jen is also a midwife. Nice to see that she definitely has layers behind that Goopy Kale Kare hustle. Lilia hates all the misconceptions that people have of witches but Agatha embodies them and probably created more than a few of them. But the nice moment probably means more tragedy coming their way next episode. 

Edited October 4 by Featherhat

[thuganomics85]

As I suspected: with Mrs. Hart away (or dead, to be exact), it's Rio's time to play!  Figured she was going to be the replacement going forward and I'm already digging the vibe and interplay with the rest of the cast.  And, of course, the scenes with her and Agatha are filled with a lot of hate/lust, which I'm sure will annoy some on the net, but I'm digging the chemistry between Aubrey Plaza and Kathryn Hahn.  Definitely seems like we're only scratching the surface of their relationship: not only does Rio consider Agatha her "battle scar" in some way, but she was involved with whatever happened to Agatha's child?

Speaking of which, it seems like they are moving pass the idea of the Teen being Agatha's son, which isn't too surprising.  But I also won't be surprised if there ends up being some kind of connection there.

The 60s getup was fun and I liked this variation of the "Down the Witches' Road" song, but I agree that the trial itself was disappointing.  I did like the idea that Alice's mom made this rock theme as a way to protect Alice from the curse, since the song would always be playing somewhere in the world due to its fame.

Loved the fireside chat with all of the witches and getting more backstories.  And Lilia ranting about all the inaccurate tropes about witches.  Reminded me a bit of that line from Good Omens about how most witchcraft books claim witches work naked but that's because most books on witchcraft were written by men.

At least no one died this go around!  But we still got more episodes for that to happen!

[tennisgurl]

I love that the challenges of The Road are basically really dangerous magical escape rooms. You have to find clues, you have to figure out what the room wants you to do next to get to the next clue, there is always a theme, I love it. The Fleetwood Mac style 70s vibes were fun, even if poor Lillia really got screwed over with the costumes. Everyone else looks full rock star glam while she looks like the "I'll drink to that!" lady from Schmigadoon. 

Alice's mom performing her son as a protection spell for Alice was a nice reveal, and pretty obvious when Alice started actually looking at the lyrics. In general I love those "characters bond over backstories by the campfire" sort of scenes, its nice to get to know the characters better. A lot of good little character bits, like Jen's reaction when she saved Teen and Lillia tells her that she saved him, she looked like she had a moment where she was happy finally losing her knowledge to actually help someone and not to scam them.

Not too surprised that Rio is here as our Green Witch, she's a fun addition to the dynamic even if she's also pretty creepy. Is she more of a demon than a witch? She and Agatha clearly had a romantic relationship at some point and she was possibly involved with whatever happened to Agatha's son. So not only did the audience guess right away that Teen was Agatha's lost son, but so did Agatha. Rio might have said that he isn't hers, but I'm still not so sure.

Lilia has had such an interesting life, she was apparently a young noble in the 1500s in Italy, she's pals with the witch from Hansel and Gretel, she's pretty much always seeing random bits of the future, she fought vampires, I'm going to need more flashbacks.

[Night Cheese]

I thought Lilia's costuming was supposed to evoke Liza Minelli in her Cabaret/Studio 54 years. I thought they did ok dressing her since Patti Lupone is probably in her 70s and may not have been able to pull off the Stevie Nicks vibe. 

[PurpleTentacle]

I liked this episode a lot. Yeah, the trial itself was a bit short, but the song did work for me and with that so did the conclusion of the trial. Also this episode was more about the relationships anyway and I liked that.

 

On 10/3/2024 at 4:04 AM, Sakura12 said:

Spoiler

Funko did ruin it. She is THE Earth Witch. That's where we go when we die.

Spoiler

Aubrey Plaza as literal Death is an inspired choice though. I know Marvel shows are technically of no consequence, but characters can still show up in the movies later and I hope she will.

 

On 10/3/2024 at 1:22 PM, Sakura12 said:

And Rio

Spoiler

was in the neighborhood because Sharon just died. Did Agatha not think that would be a possibility? Or does she not think of her as a witch. I also think Rio can't kill people its not allowed. She can cause chaos that can lead to death but she can't finish the job, she only collects their souls.

Spoiler

I think Agatha knew full well that that was a posssibility. Which is why she wanted to get away from Sharon's body as fast as possible. She made multiple attempts. The coven was just not having it.

Knowing what we know, I assume the summoning ritual did nothing and Death just took the opportunity to insert herself into the situation. I doubt you can just summon somebody to the road after you've started walking it.

 

10 hours ago, Featherhat said:

I know, that made me be like, "oh, there's going to be a twist where he somehow is her son partly." 🤭It definitely seems like Agatha didn't give her son up willingly in an exchange for power. It's possible she went full evil after losing him and that's how she ended up with the Darkhold. But maybe it's too close to Wanda for them to do that again. 

I think they are going for "a mirror across centuries"-thing with her and Wanda.

[lovett1979]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Lillia really got screwed over with the costumes. Everyone else looks full rock star glam while she looks like the "I'll drink to that!" lady from Schmigadoon. 

Was that intentional? Do you know all the layers of meaning you just said? Maybe you do, but I'm not sure. So I have to make sure you, and everyone reading this, gets it.

So, "I'll drink to that" is a recurring lyric in the song "The Ladies Who Lunch" sung by the character Joanne in the 1970 musical Company. In Schmigadoon, Cinco Paul is referencing that famous line by having that lady say it all the time. Many performers have taken on that song and role, from Elaine Stritch who originated the role, to PATTI LUPONE who most recently appeared on Broadway in the part, winning a Tony for it in fact. So for you to say that Patti looks like the lady who is modeled after a part that Patti is famous for playing is kind of breaking my brain.

Back to the show, her look is definitely inspired by Liza Minelli in the 70s, a different kind of glam, I guess.

[PurpleTentacle]

Oh I forgot to mention. Rio looking directly into the camera. Seems like she can break the fourth wall, at least to some extend. The only other characters, we know of, who can do that, are She-Hulk and Deadpool.

At least some indication that she is special.

Also speculation in realtion to the spoiler discussed above:

Spoiler

Rio is the one witch that survived the road with Agatha, last time she walked it, and she became death through the power the road gave her.

Not sure if that makes total sense yet, but it feels about right.

 

Edited October 4 by PurpleTentacle

[Brn2bwild]

Based on the road shifting reality and causing each witch to face their worst nightmares, I'm wondering if the road was formed with chaos magic.

[Sakura12]

With the road being purple now, it seems like Agatha's trial is next. They seem to be about whatever is holding them back. Jen's was about learning she still has her knowledge, Alice's was about learning what her mom did for her, and Agatha's will probably be about her son. 

Are they ever going to let Patti LuPone sing lead? I know this is Katherine Hahn's show and she is doing amazing, but why hire Patti Freaking LuPone and have her sing back up. 

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, Sakura12 said:

Are they ever going to let Patti LuPone sing lead? I know this is Katherine Hahn's show and she is doing amazing, but why hire Patti Freaking LuPone and have her sing back up. 

Sadly, i think when Patti gets to sung lead it will be her death episode 😢 

[Mvnl]

10 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Oh I forgot to mention. Rio looking directly into the camera. Seems like she can break the fourth wall, at least to some extend. The only other characters, we know of, who can do that, are She-Hulk and Deadpool.

At least some indication that she is special.

Also speculation in realtion to the spoiler discussed above:

  Hide contents

Rio is the one witch that survived the road with Agatha, last time she walked it, and she became death through the power the road gave her.

Not sure if that makes total sense yet, but it feels about right.

 

 

Would that mean no death existed before that moment? Where did the old Death go?
I think we need to let go of the idea of Agatha and Rio having any kind of human relationship. Agatha just has.. a complicated relationship with death.

Edited October 5 by Mvnl

[Sakura12]

I saw a post on threads that said Alice asked for advil. Rio's last name is Vidal, which is an anagram of advil. So even that summoned her. Lol 

I think

 

that Rio has always been death, 

her and Agatha met when Agatha killed her coven. Being around Agatha is good job security for death.

They had to say bodies

 

instead of souls, because then we'd know who she was. For me the other witches call Agatha infamous because of all the terrible things she may or may not have done. When all along she got the ultimate power move by getting death to fall in love with her. 

 

 

 

Edited October 5 by Sakura12

[Vikitty]

I'm so glad I was right when I picked up on the vibes/UST between Agatha/Rio. I am not at all mad because they have so much chemistry.

The songs continue to impress. Seriously, they are all fantastic.

[PurpleTentacle]

12 hours ago, Mvnl said:

Spoiler

Would that mean no death existed before that moment? Where did the old Death go?
I think we need to let go of the idea of Agatha and Rio having any kind of human relationship. Agatha just has.. a complicated relationship with death.

 

Spoiler

It's not that unprecedented in fiction. Most fiction has death being a static being that is never changing and constant, even more constant than god. But there are some where the job of death is changing hands from time to time.

For example the new season of The Legend of Vox Machina just started. There the matron of ravens used to be a mortal who used a powerfull spell (presumably a version of Karsus's avatar, but it's never confirmed), to become the god of death. In that instant all the depictions of the previous god of death in all the temples changed to hers, nobody could remember the old name anymore and her mortal name also nobody could remember. Though people know and remember that there used to be a different god and that she used to be a mortal.

It just seems a bit too much of a coincidence that exactly one witch left the road with Agatha last time. If that wasn't important, I think they would have Agatha show a zero, because that would have even more impact than one.

Guess we'll see. Like I said, I'm not a 100% on this theory either, but it seems to fit so far.

 

[Sakura12]

I'm wondering if it was Rio that threw Teen through the sound booth to see how Agatha would react. We know she has that ability.