Netflix’s Colombian drama series Delirium revolves around Agustina and her troubled past that her husband, Aguilar, must uncover to fully grasp the reason behind her delirium. Aguilar was a professor at a public college and the driving force behind students’ protests when he crossed paths with Agustina, a dreamy young girl who offered tarot readings at the demonstration sites. There was something about Agustina that immediately attracted Aguilar, and even though she’d warned him that there would be days when she might just disappear and not be her usual self, he chose to be by her side. But things soon got complicated when, one day, Aguilar received a call from a hotel asking him to take his wife home. How did Agustina end up there? Who was the random stranger who was with Agustina when Aguilar arrived? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Was Agustina a victim of generational trauma?
As Aguilar struggled to understand the reason behind his wife’s declining mental health, her aunt, Sofia, discussed with him how the trauma has been passed on for generations. Sofia and Eugenia (Agustina’s mother) grew up on a farm. Their father was a terrific musician, though he often complained about hearing noises that no one else could. As he silently suffered, he found comfort in his student, Abel. Sofia remembered their father inviting his lover to his wife’s birthday dinner, and the whole ordeal left the sisters scarred. Eugenia woke up that night to strange noises, and she saw her father and Abel share an intimate moment together. She was surprised when she saw her mother drinking alone in the living room. She tried to understand what was going on, but her mother ordered her to go to bed. Eugenia noticed everything, but she was repeatedly told that silence was the answer to every problem. One morning, when they found their father’s body in the lake at their farm, their mother told them to simply forget what they’d witnessed. Instead of ever discussing why he chose to end his life, they were instructed to always stick to the story that he went to France and never returned. While Sofia grew up to realize that suppressing the truth was never really the answer, Eugenia became just like their mother. She never confronted the truth and preferred to keep appearances.
Even when Sofia and her husband, Carlos Vicente, had an affair, Eugenia chose to ignore it. Sofia had told her about their relationship, but Eugenia begged her to keep her out of it. She strongly believed she couldn’t raise her children on her own, so she needed Sofia. As long as Sofia stayed and performed her duties as an aunt, Eugenia was happy. She even decided to take her children to the farm every weekend so that Sofia and Carlos could spend some time together. The illusion of a happy family was all that mattered to Eugenia, but her children soon started to see the cracks. As a little girl, Agustina noticed her father’s affection for Sofia, but she didn’t know how to feel about it. Carlos was always abusive towards his younger son, Bichi. He was effeminate, and Carlos was determined to make a ‘man’ out of him. One morning, when Bichi was dancing with his mother, aunt, and sister, Carlos slapped him. Bichi was done tolerating his temper, so he decided to expose his father’s secret in front of the family. He showed Eugenia sensual photographs that Carlos had taken of Sofia. But once again, instead of admitting the truth, Eugenia chose to hide behind a lie. She scolded her elder son, Joaco, and accused him of using his father’s camera to take photographs of the maids. Bichi couldn’t believe how sick his mother was, and he realized that he had to leave the house to escape from the madness.
Sofia left with Bichi; he was still a minor, and she knew he would need guidance. Neither Sofia nor Bichi ever returned to the house again. And it was only after she’d learned of Agustina’s declining health that she decided to show up. Most of her life, Agustina was controlled by her parents. Her mother shamed her for her choices, and she was told she would end up like her father’s sister, Ilse, if she messed around with boys or touched herself too often. She feared intimacy because she believed sexual pleasure would one day lead to insanity. From a young age, Agustina had had a vivid imagination, and she had grown up to fear anything that was not considered ‘normal’. During her teenage years, her father made it very clear that she was not to date someone who didn’t meet their status. She could never really exercise her free will, and that resulted in frustration.
What was Agustina’s relationship with Midas?
Freddy Rodriguez, aka Midas, was Joaco’s friend from school. He was academically brilliant and had won a scholarship to study at an elite school, where he met Joaco. No one really knew where Midas lived except Agustina. He feared he would be judged for his modest upbringing, and he knew Agustina was an exception. At a young age, Midas had realized that the world only cared about wealth, and his only aim was to strike it rich. He started working for a gangster, Misterio, and while initially he sold drugs to teenage boys, as he grew older he encouraged his privileged friends to invest in the drug business, promising them an impressive return. The scheme worked, and the business thrived. Midas was living the dream before everything came crashing down.
From his school days, Midas had had a crush on Agustina, and she liked him back. But Agustina’s parents were against their relationship; even though her father was ready to do business with him, he refused to let his daughter be with a man who didn’t come from wealth. Midas tried to stay away from Agustina, but it had almost become impossible. They both craved each other’s affection, and one day Midas decided to listen to his heart and not his mind. He showed Agustina his house, and he took her to his cousin’s birthday celebration. They ended up spending the night at Agustina’s, and she realized how calm she felt around him. He was a safe space, but not for long. Agustina got pregnant, and her mother advised her to get an abortion. Midas was ready to raise their child together, but Eugenia forbade Agustina from meeting Midas ever again. Even though it was an agonizing decision, Agustina didn’t have a choice but to go ahead with the abortion.
Agustina eventually decided to move out and build a life of her own. She chose not to get back with Midas because she’d realized that he’d spent most of his life trying to become like the people she despised the most. His scheming attempts to climb the ladder would’ve turned him into a heartless man, and she decided it was best for her to find her own path. And she was right. After a failed shipment, he was under pressure to convince his batchmates to keep investing. He paid Jenny, an erotic dancer who was in love with him, a good sum of money to entertain one of his partners, Arana. If she could get him aroused, Arana promised to triple his investment. Arana ended up murdering Jenny, and he didn’t feel an ounce of guilt. Midas maintained silence for the sake of his business. Misterio realized how easy it must be to manipulate Midas’ partners. Instead of offering good returns, he threatened them for more investment. He had his men tie up Arana when he refused to invest more money, and while he’d agreed to pay the sum, Misterio knew that these young men were completely drained of their wealth and he didn’t have any use for them.
When Misterio left Midas with a gun and asked him to decide what he wanted to do with Arana, he chose to kill him. He knew how ruthless Arana was, and he could never forgive him for murdering Jenny. Things got complicated between Midas and Misterio when Midas denied his wife and daughter entry to his gym. Misterio was about to shoot Midas when the cops arrived at the scene and killed Misterio. Midas ended up a wanted fugitive. His desperation to make it big in a hurry resulted in his downfall. He lost the love of his life, and he couldn’t live in peace.
How did Agustina end up at the hotel room?
Delirium’s ending finally reveals the reason why Agustina ended up in that hotel room. Agustina was at home alone when she received a call from her mother asking her to join her birthday celebration at the farm. She strongly believed in tarot reading, and the cards told her she must go. The farmhouse reminded her of the childhood memories she’d chosen to bury, and the experience was discomforting. Immediately after she arrived, her mother commented that her clothes were inappropriate and she must wear the dress Eugenia had selected. Agustina didn’t protest. She later overheard a conversation between Joaco and Eugenia; he told his mother that he’d invited Midas because he’d come to realize that he needed his friend. He added that Bichi had contacted him, and told him that he wanted his part of his father’s inheritance. Joaco was of the opinion that he was the only one who deserved to inherit his father’s wealth, not his queer brother or his ‘lunatic’ sister, because he was the only one who’d stepped up to save their family business and he was not ready to give in to his brother’s demands. Agustina was devastated, and when she stepped out of the house, she crossed paths with Midas. He stated that one of the main reasons why he’d come was because he’d heard Agustina would also attend the party. They deeply cared about each other even though they knew they didn’t have a future together.
When Agustina revisited her childhood room, she was reminded of the constant fear she lived with. She once again imagined the insects creeping onto her body and walking all over her bed, as if the pain that she had carefully bottled away had been let free all over again. When she returned to the party, Joaco made his wedding announcement. He spoke highly of his family and he mentioned his grandfather who ‘went to France’ and his mother and father’s magical romance—he described Agustina as a ‘little girl with unique challenges,’ and he chose to leave out Bichi altogether. He spoke about the farm with pride, and when he stated that they were facing challenges at the moment, Agustina couldn’t control her laughter. Agustina decided to spill all her family secrets because she was tired of the pretense. She didn’t hesitate to remind her brother that the only reason their mother had survived was because of their aunt, Sofia, who took care of them because Eugenia spent most of her waking hours drunk or high. Eugenia tried to change the conversation and decided to introduce Joaco’s fiancee, Mariana, to her guests. When her mother encouraged the about-to-be-married couple to have children, Agustina reminded Eugenia about the abortion she was forced to go through. To further add to the humiliation, Agustina mentioned Bichi, and Mariana didn’t seem to have any idea who he was. Agustina had a breakdown; she wanted the guests to know that everything was pretense and her mother and Joaco were trying really hard to impress Mariana because she happened to be the last hope in keeping the ‘happy family’ illusion alive. She also added that Joaco was essentially broke because he’d spent all his money on alcohol and drugs and that was why they were desperately trying to marry into a rich family.
Mariana and her family were embarrassed, and they left the party in haste. Agustina’s mental breakdown resulted in her having visions all over again. She left the party, and Midas followed her. He took her to a hotel and asked one of his men who worked at his gym to contact her husband. The confrontation had led to a decline in Agustina’s mental health.
Did Agustina and Aguilar end up together?
Agustina and Aguilar had faced challenges in their relationship, but he firmly stood by her always. She was in pain when they lost their unborn child, but he noticed that instead of talking about her feelings, she chose to bury herself with different projects. He didn’t understand her at the time, but gradually, the more he learned about her, the better he understood where she came from. After Agustina tried to physically hurt herself and asked Aguilar to leave, he decided maybe their relationship was not meant to be. He stayed the night at his ex-wife’s apartment, and he was surprised when Agustina came to visit him the next morning. When she woke up the next day, she searched for Aguilar, and she was heartbroken when she didn’t see him around. It took her time to process her feelings and accept that many aspects of her life were broken, and it was only then that she finally gathered the courage to heal. She narrated the entire incident to Aguilar. She remembered Midas had asked her to meet him at his house if she wanted to see him, and while she chose not to do so, she asked Aguilar to tell him that she was well. Aguilar noticed Midas stepping out of his house, and he started following him. Midas recognized Aguilar and asked him how Agustina was; he was relieved when he learned that she was doing alright. Before leaving, Midas requested Aguilar to care for her. He had come to accept that they were never meant to be together.
In Delirium’s ending, Aguilar and Agustina returned to their apartment. Even after the tumultuous time they’d been through, Aguilar chose to stick by her side. Before rebuilding their lives all over again, Agustina wanted Aguilar to address the cracks instead of ignoring them and have the courage to build something from scratch knowing that everything might break apart once again. Aguilar promised to never abandon her. He’d seen it all, but he believed in the love they shared, and it was worth every fight.
