I have to be honest and ask if this series needs to be 9 episodes long. While it kicked off with an intriguing premise, and gathered a quirky, dysfunctional coven of mediocre witch people, we seem to be repeating a formula for each character's trial. Episode 3 was a scavenger hunt of common household items. This episode involved nothing more than singing a song. While it was a competent performance with the occasional dramatic moment, that was it. Trial complete and let's move on.
In performing the song, Alice discovers that her mother composed it as an expression of love for her daughter. It also functioned as a spell of protection over Alice, saving her from the fire that killed her mother. So, the tin-man finds her heart when before she was empty of belief, and had numbed her emotions (except anger) having never got over the loss of Mommy. It's a redemption arc, neatly summed up in the title of this episode.
We also learn that each trial represents an element that will kill the aspirants on the Road should they fail. The previous episode threatened them with drowning, while this one would have offered them to the flames. So far, both causes of death are common means employed to execute witches.
Perhaps the depiction of Alice's trial had to be shortened for scenes of the coven members starting to respect each other and begin the process of bonding over past trauma. But I feel that Sharon "Mrs Hart" Davis deserved better than a simple burial, which while mostly respectful was unceremonious. To also have her immediately and dramatically replaced by Rio Vidal (which was not unexpected) did her dirty. I suspect we're not quite done with Sharon yet, though. She's had too much build up to not return in perhaps a different form later.
As for Agatha, Rio more or less confirms our suspicions of her intentions towards the members of her current coven. As for Agatha's seemingly maternal behaviour towards Teen, Rio seems sincere in informing Agatha that Teen isn't Agatha's. But Rio also looks to be carefully curating these information drops, so if she inadvertently lets a proverbial cat out of the bag, it was perhaps no accident.
Overall, I found this episode exposition heavy while going through the motions of yet another trial. A show loses its fun factor when it repeats formula and becomes predictable Here's hoping that Episode 5 will do something crazy, or at least different, to throw my expectations for a refreshing loop..
