Episode 7 of "The Changeling" opens amidst the chaotic aftermath of Apollo's mysterious disappearance on the island, drawing us into a whirlwind of concern and urgency. Lillian Kagwa (portrayed masterfully by Adina Porter), Apollo's frantic mother, dashes through the bustling streets of New York City, her eyes scanning every corner in hopes of catching a glimpse of her beloved son. As a storm begins to rage fiercely in the heavens above, she seeks refuge within the decrepit walls of the Elk Hotel, a place steeped in neglect and a familiar, albeit unwelcome, stink.
Lillian is no stranger to the hotel's worn pillars and cracked seams; her past encounters here have left an indelible, yet unremarkable, mark. Her previous stay was but a fleeting memory, one that would barely merit a mention in the annals of her life's narrative if she ever chose to pen it down.
However, what unfolds next within the bowels of the Elk Hotel is nothing short of a poignant recital of Lillian Kagwa's life story—a tapestry woven with both fantastical flashbacks from her past and whispers of a future yet to be unfolded. She is confronted with the myriad life choices she has made and the tumultuous journey that propelled her to the shores of America. This introspection forms just a fraction of the tempest of emotions that assail Lillian on this fateful night.
At the core of Lillian's recollections lies a tapestry woven with bittersweet moments intertwined with Brian, a former policeman whose presence this season has been but a fleeting shadow. The fragments we piece together hint at a relationship that concluded on a sour note, with Lillian guarding Apollo from Brian's grasp…until deeper revelations unravel their true nature. Lillian embarks on an emotional odyssey through her past, engaging in a diverse array of exercises meticulously crafted to transport her back to those moments—both cherished and otherwise. She dons old dresses that whisper stories of bygone eras, slow dances to a haunting melody amidst the preparation of nostalgic dishes, and the surrealism of her reliving these memories seeps through the screen, enveloping viewers in a mesmerizing whirlpool of sentiment and memory.
She lost her beloved brother, Arthur, in the heart of Uganda, vowing to transform Apollo's life for the better. Yet, in America, Lillian felt like an alien, compelled to abandon her cultural identity to fit into a foreign land. Amidst this turmoil, we finally piece together the intricate puzzle of their marriage's demise: Brian was undeniably bipolar, his moods shifting unpredictably like the tides, frustrating Lilly and rendering his actions erratic.
Suspicion then clouded Brian's mind, as he convinced himself that Lillian was betraying him with her boss—a man whom we had witnessed being summarily rejected in episode 5. Her ties to the Elk Hotel resurfaced, haunting Lillian and ultimately sealing the fate of their marriage. Imagine her dread upon returning home one day to find smoke billowing from beneath her door—a sign of Brian's simmering fury, now reaching its boiling point.
Rushing inside, Lillian witnessed a harrowing scene: Brian attempting to drown Apollo in the bathtub. Unlike her helplessness with Arthur years ago, she acted swiftly to save her cherished child. With a blunt force to the back of his head, Brian collapsed to the floor. Lillian sought to turn the page, burying the horrors of Brian's violence along with his remains, as she embarked on a new chapter with Apollo.
At one dark moment, she even contemplated suicide, yet an inner voice stayed her hand. She constructed an alternate reality, a fiction she clung to so tightly that Apollo had no reason to doubt it. The episode concludes in a mesmerizing twist: all these events transpired solely within Lillian's mind.
The hotel, long deserted, stands as a hollow shell of torn carpets and unkempt rooms. In a moment of betrayal and shocking revelation, the hotel's check-in register confirms that Charles and Lillian did indeed have an affair—proving Brian's suspicions right. Furthermore, there's a slim chance that Charles might be Apollo's true father. The episode closes with a haunting image: Lillian discarding her "red suitcase" of secrets into the water (presumably with Brian's body), while a mysterious creature reaches out for it—mirroring the opening shot of the previous episode.
