Weekly coverage of A Discovery of Witches continues as characters from 1590 pop up to cause new problems.
Let’s bitch it out…
Missed a Review?
- Season 1 (Links to Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr podcast)
- Season 2: 2.01 / 2.02 / 2.03 / 2.04 / 2.05 / 2.06 / 2.07 / 2.08 / 2.09 / 2.10
- Season 3: 3.01
Plot:
As Matthew (Matthew Goode) and Diana (Teresa Palmer) settle back into the present, an unexpected visit from Andrew Hubbard (Paul Rhys) reveals that their adopted son Jack (Toby Regbo) is not only still alive, but a vampire infected with Blood Rage. After initially struggling with Diana’s betrayal, Matthew ultimately decides to protect his son when Baldwin (Trystan Gravelle) orders Jack killed.
A temporary solution presents itself when Miriam (Aiysha Hart) and Dr Christopher Roberts (Ivanno Jeremiah) confirm that to find a cure they will need more samples from Matthew’s bloodline. This reignites the conversation about forming a scion, so Matthew, Jack, and Marcus (Edward Bluemel) travel to America to recruit Marcus’ children.
Characters:
The last time we saw Jack he was a little boy (played by Joshua Pickering) so it’s fun to see the character as a young man, as well as how the age difference does – and doesn’t – affect Matthew and Diana. The character’s Blood Rage (yes, it’s confirmed that he’s the killer, though Jacob Ifan‘s Benjamin is also infected) introduces additional conflict between the de Clermont brothers and raises the stakes in the search for the cure.
All in all, this is a pretty clever way to reintroduce a character.
Stray Observations:
- One of the biggest twists is that Hubbard was turned into a vampire by Benjamin, who hoped to recruit the man of God in his war against the de Clermonts. When Hubbard refused him, Benjamin set his sights on Jack, convincing him to give into his lust for violence and death.
- While Benjamin’s hatred of Matthew and Philippe makes perfect sense, the idea that he’s been actively trying to destroy the family for hundreds of years does not. Why has he waited until now to begin exacting revenge? What has he been doing all of these years?
- While Benjamin’s end of episode recording of Jack murdering an old couple in a car is suitably chilling, it’s hardly surprising (Hubbard already told Matthew and Diana this was happening). No wonder Benjamin has made so little progress defeating the de Clermonts all of these years; if this is all he’s capable of doing, he needs to step his game up!
- Baldwin is a fantastic foil on the show, which is why seeing Diana use her powers to strangle him is all the more satisfying. As a side note: the series tends to focus on its vampire characters, so it’s always nice when we see Diana do something powerful. Considering how powerful she is, everyone should think more strategically about how best to use her strength.
- Another unexpected development is the revelation that Gallowglass (Steven Cree) was assigned by Philippe to watch over Diana since her birth. This speaks to the bond that the patriarch developed with Diana in the past, but is also incredibly creepy when you consider that some Scottish dude has just been shadowing her her whole life.
- Phoebe (Adelle Leonce)’s contribution this week is using her curatorial skills to assist Diana in tracking down the two missing Ashmole pages. This makes sense given the character’s background, but it still feels like A Discovery of Witches doesn’t entirely know what to do with her. Time will tell if this TV series created-character was worth introducing.
- Last week I complained that Matthew and Diana let Dr Robin in on their respective secrets too quickly, so it’s somewhat gratifying to see Matthew hum and haw over letting the research assistants know. Really unsure how else they would be able to do their work otherwise, but it’s pretty fun seeing Robin’s big smile as he reminds his assistants of their non-disclosure agreements before Matthew, Miriam and Diana make their big reveal.
A Discovery of Witches airs weekly on Fridays on Sky One (UK) and Saturdays on AMC and Shudder (in North America)