WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Lovecraft Country Season 1, Episode 7, "I Am," which aired Sunday on HBO.
Ever since the start of Lovecraft Country, the mysterious Christina Braithwaite has taken on an unhealthy interest in Atticus Freeman and his friends, pursuing them across the country. Eventually revealed to be the daughter Caleb Braithwaite, the leader of the sinister cult the Sons of Adam, Christina followed Atticus back to his hometown of Chicago after her father's death. And as Ruby Baptiste stumbles across Christina's bloody secret, the young woman reveals her motivations and occult machinations as the series moves into the final act of its inaugural season.
After Ruby discovered that her lover William was actually an elaborate disguise gruesomely worn by Christina similar to Ruby's own bloody disguise as the unassuming Caucasian woman Hillary Davenport, Christina takes Ruby to the locked basement of her home. Inside, Ruby is shown the bodies of the true William and Hillary, both apparently comatose and harvested for their blood for Christina use to develop the transformative serum she and Ruby use to take on their forms. While Ruby is initially horrified, Christina claims that both individuals were dead before she began to use their blood in her twisted magic.
Christina reveals that she had indeed grown close to William as he appeared to claim when Atticus had first met him at the Braithwaite Estate in New England. However, her domineering, abusive father Samuel hadn't approved of the relationship and had William killed while he was continually disappointed that Christina hadn't been the son he desired to keep the Braithwaite line moving forward to continue the cult's activities. Christina notes that ever since William's death, she has sought revenge against her father and the Sons of Adam, alluding to the cult's ritual backfiring when attempting to open a portal to the Garden of Eden.
She already manipulated Ruby into moving against the Sons of Adam, having her infiltrate a gala thrown by the Chicago Police Department disguised as a server. The Chicago Chief of Police had previously been revealed to have been part of a splinter faction from the main Sons of Adam branch, resentful at the Braithwaite family for a past slight and wary of Christina after detecting her arrival in the Windy City. While Ruby is still understandably reeling from the revelation that her lover is actually a woman in disguise, Christina assures her that her feelings for her have been true all along as she asks for her continued support against the Sons of Adam's activities in Chicago and her desire to recover the pages to Titus Braithwaite's occult text.
Exposed and vulnerable, Christina has finally pulled back the curtain and confessed her motivations and secrets to Ruby as the true nature of the two's relationship has been revealed. Given Christina's previously demonstrated aptitude towards deceit and strategic manipulation of others, it's unknown if she is actually telling Ruby the truth but the developments of the first half of the season are consistent with Christina's claims. And while Atticus is preoccupied with other concerns out of town, Ruby may be the one maneuvering to recover the translation from the lost pages from Titus' ancient book. Atticus' translation contains the cipher towards unlocking the language of Adam, giving Christina the means to succeed where her father spectacularly failed.
Starring Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett, Aunjanue Ellis, Abbey Lee, Jada Harris, Wunmi Mosaku and Michael K. Williams, Lovecraft Country airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.