"A Discovery of Witches" | S2:E4 | An Analysis (contains details of E4)

The following analysis is solely my own. Some of it offers an opinion while recapping portions of the episode. The analysis below is intended to focus on a particular aspect of the story or aspect of a character. This may or may not recap every moment and may not cover every character of the episode. Anything written for this post is created by the blog's author who is an inspired fan with the intention of promoting the work. If you enjoy reading this, please leave a comment here or on Instagram @thataddamsgirl.

Episode runtime 44 minutes including the recap.

Shudder TV episode description: Marcus tracks down evidence of Matthew & Diana’s journey. Gerbert & Knox scheme together.

If you have not watched episode 4 of season 2, please do not read further to not be spoiled.

The episode takes place in the present with some subtle nods to the characters not featured in this week's episode. 

We watch a young man riding his bicycle through the Oxford University area, and we cannot help but think of the introduction to Diana Bishop in the first episode of the series when she rode her Dutchie bicycle through Oxford University's main campus. The man even parks his bicycle next to a couple of others with baskets on the front of each of them just like on Diana's bike.

The viewer has the "God" point of view looking down on him walking through a narrow alley. The man is isolated from sight between two buildings and there doesn't appear to be CCTV cameras in the area to capture anything if something were to happen.  

A perfect place to be eviscerated.

This is the first time in the series that we see how a vampire feeds on a human; not simply to bite them in the neck and gain insight into their secrets. It takes a few seconds to attack. The vampire feeds on this man and mutilates the body. The sound is like that of savage beasts eating freshly caught prey in the wild. Tearing flesh from bone and chomping on the cartilage gouged out of the rib cage. The movement is at such a high speed that the detail is not clear. This vampire is a tall man, but there's not much else to see.

Vampires are very fast eaters when they're out of control. Don't expect them to linger over each bite.

"Easter Egg" -- fondly remembering Diana's Dutchie bicycle (left). 
Oxford police officer, played by Tosh Wanogho-Maud,
is about to phone Domenico Michele about
finding another body; another uncontrolled feeding.

Diana's Dutchie bike from E1 S1.

Gazing upon a full moon, shadowed by the clouds over Venice, Gerbert D'Aurillac (Trevor Eve) answers Domenico's call. Another murder. "Track the scent. Find the killer. There has to be a link." 

A mysterious, dark figure speeds by Domenico as he stands outside of the auction house. Did he blink and miss the thief? Domenico, being a vampire, could hear the security guard being attacked, but he didn't react as though he saw anything.

While this investigation into the new attack in Oxford is going on, Dr. Marcus Whitmore (Edward Bluemel) goes through the process of purchasing at an auction the miniatures to bring to Ysabeau (Lindsay Duncan). He's living in Oxford and is intent on taking the miniatures home immediately, but can't. He wins them, has to wait for the payment to clear, and then that's when they are stolen after the break-in as depicted in the photo above.

Marcus (Edward Bluemel--right) let slip a hint to Domenico (Greg Chillin--left); the idea that something went missing. He also suggested that Domenico suck on some Altoids.

Domenico's contact with the police finds that, indeed, there was a theft and the report displays the miniatures that were stolen. The description of them being from the 16th Century is a big lead, but he doesn't reveal the miniatures or any other detail over the phone. Domenico appears to keep this information from Gerbert.

Domenico's computer screen shows the auction house's miniatures entered as stolen items on the police report and also, Domenico has made hotel and flight reservations. Is he on his way to Venice or Sept-Tours? How he searches and finds out where Matthew and Diana went could put him in a powerful position.

In Venice, Peter Knox (Owen Teale), always the scheming witch, who killed Diana's parents, meets with Gerbert, and tells him about a witch fessing up to him. It's obvious that Peter used some form of pressure to get information out of one of the witches who is part of Sarah and Emily's coven, just as Sarah Bishop had suspected could happen (Sarah talks of a witch who she didn't trust to keep the secret of them visiting Sept-Tours during E2). He tells Gerbert that daemons and vampires were at the house in Madison. Here Peter calls it forming a cabal between the witches, daemons and vampires, working together in secret. 

Peter and Gerbert consult a map that has a great amount of detail about what is known about Ashmole 782 aka The Book of Life. It shows that they know about its history with Roger Bacon, Edward Kelley, Emporer Rudolph, John Dee, and the connection to Oxford, France and Prague.

In France, Ysabeau shows the miniatures to Sarah (Alex Kingston) and Emily (Valarie Pettiford) at Sept-Tours saying, "They made it." It's just before the break-in at the auction house. Soon after the theft, Ysabeau is taking a stroll with the two witches on the castle's grounds. Sarah and Em want to go to Oxford themselves to talk with the local coven. Ysabeau won't let them so she can always protect them at Sept-Tours. Sarah has her hair pulled up and held in place with a knitting needle. It would be interesting if it was a choice made so she always has to hand a weapon in case she needs to defend her or Emily. Ysabeau says Gerbert may have been watching Sept-Tours already, so everyone has to remain inside from now on. It sets Sarah off.

Back inside she and Emily are discussing a spell to learn more about The Book of Life for which Sarah tells Em she had better not be contacting the dead. Well, it's a little late, because she had already, and does so again in trying to reach Rebecca, Diana's dead mother. Sarah reminds Em about how contacting the dead didn't work out so well for her in the past. Recall that they live in a haunted house (S1 E7, E8). I'm just guessing something may have stayed behind as a result of spells performed. Only contact spirits of the dead if you know what you're doing. Plus living in a centuries-old castle -- do you really want to upset any ghosts that may still be lurking around Sept-Tours? Later in the episode, Em can bring forth the spirit of Rebecca, but just for a few seconds before the face of Rebecca dissipates. What was Rebecca trying to say? Is it a warning? I only caught the moment she said, "Emily" or "Em."

Gerbert arrives at Sept-Tours and is only allowed to see Ysabeau outside. He accuses her of letting the witches live there. Again, the Covenant forbids interspecies consorting, even just letting other species into the house. Ysabeau is adept at throwing the crap back at Gerbert and doesn't answer questions. It'd be beneath her to let him demean her. She answers with, "Next time, send an e-mail." Gerbert's questions are about what Matthew and Diana doing while hiding in time. He should know based on the map we saw, but he's fishing.

Trevor Eve as Gerbert is sinister, conniving, and villainous, so he coldly breaks the news of the Oxford murder cases. "A vampire infected with blood rage," says Gerbert. "There were always rumors about your infected bloodline." But she has a great face for being indifferent, and then she turns and leaves. She'll never side with Gerbert.

The writing is incredible with how the blood rage angle unfurls and fuels so many tales to be told. Go back to S1, E5, when Ysabeau mentions what happened to Matthew after she sired him in answering Diana's question about how he took to becoming a vampire. She's recalling back to 537 A.D. or thereabouts. We always were given the impression he was easily triggered into acting on predator instincts when he smelled adrenalin; a racing heartbeat with the smell of fear. Ysabeau explains that "Matthew was in a rage, his need to feed was endless... Matthew was in a dark place doing things Philippe didn't want my eyes to see."

Baldwin de Clermont (Trystan Gravelle), Matthew's brother sired by Philippe, and head of the de Clermont family visits Marcus in Oxford throwing down the newspaper.

DRAC THE RIPPER
"VAMPIRE" TARGETS OXFORD

He is really there to talk to Miriam Shepherd (Aiysha Hart) about the murders on behalf of Ysabeau. It may infer that Miriam knows more about blood rage than we have previously understood since she seems to be in charge of the lab at Oxford where she and Matthew study the DNA of the creatures. 

Why wouldn't Ysabeau include Dr. Whitmore? Oh, right, he is the Grand Master of the Knights of Lazarus, plus he's got the miniatures that have gone missing to deal with after the security breach at the auction house. One may remember the line from Ysabeau in S1 E4 when she talks about the desire to have the horses be "biddable" or "docile." "As I get older, I find that quality admirable in horses," and Matthew says, "and in sons, too." Technically, Marcus is her grandson, but remember what Ysabeau finds "admirable" when Baldwin says she wants Marcus to go see her at Sept-Tours. Can she guide Marcus on the right path out of this mess?

Of course, Baldwin is jealous that Matthew gave the responsibility of Grand Master to Marcus instead of him. He accuses Matthew of purposely using Marcus to get to Baldwin -- "I'm Philippe's last surviving blood son." He doesn't like that Philippe gave the responsibility to Matthew, overlooking Baldwin, worse now that Marcus is leading the Knights, but we don't know what they really do today, yet.

Marcus with Ysabeau at Sept-Tours and Lindsay Duncan is having a great moment again with her disdain for the humans. More on that later. We understand better now that Ysabeau confirms that Marcus is Grand Master to protect the family's position--position on The Congregation. Marcus wants to use the Knights to make a difference. Ysabeau says, "Don't tear down the establishment without finding out how it was built or understanding its principles." This can apply to many world policies of today, but for this story, the Order's role in the 21st century hasn't been explained; they're quite mysterious.

She tells Marcus that the future of the family is threatened. I take it Gerbert said enough to startle her into setting up a defensive or offensive strategy. If Gerbert takes down the de Clermonts with the angle that they caused the Oxford murders -- game over. The Congregation would slaughter every member of the de Clermonts. Marcus didn't see it coming and she just spills the whole bloodline backstory starting with, "Philippe formed the Knight and The Congregation to ensure the survival of our species and to protect me." She's the carrier of the infected bloodline. Oh, and by the way, Matthew is "fully afflicted" and therefore, whomever Ysabeau or Matthew turns into a vampire can also present tendencies to "rage" even though she is asymptomatic. Most importantly, Diana does not know Matthew can act as savagely as the vampire killing people in Oxford. [Rob Lane's tense music score in this scene wonderfully adds to the drama so we're on the edge of our seats with every word out of Ysabeau's mouth. Here is the Spotify link for this song, "Blood Rage."] 

Marcus sired humans and made them into "raging" vampires for which Philippe had them killed to stop the transmission of the infection. Matthew kept the blood rage a secret to protect him, but this seems oddly contradictory in protecting the species. Matthew just used an excuse that it was irresponsible to make humans into vampires, which we haven't been privy to any details other than the first episode when Marcus attempts to turn his friend James into a vampire after a fatal hit and run. It's clear now that Ysabeau needs him to save the family. Two families, if you consider the daemons he's protecting, too. We haven't yet seen Marcus be completely heroic on his own other than fetching blood for Diana when she saved Matthew's life. He needed help from Miriam to fight off Juliette in S1, too, when she arrived in Oxford searching for Matthew. He lives "in the shadow" of Matthew in the eyes of Baldwin and now the spotlight is on him.

How does this news take into account that Marcus just met a fabulous woman named Phoebe Taylor (Adelle Leonce)? I suspect that he has more than an interest in only having a one-night fling with her. Phoebe is the auction house contact he made in seeking a way to acquire the miniatures. This is a side of Marcus we haven't yet met. He's got a thing for 80s music and charms her into going out to dinner. Wherever they're dining, it's been a while since I've dined out and was served a generous glass of rich red wine like we see served to Marcus. Phoebe's served a glass of gin, possibly a drink called a Gin French (Lemon twist, gin, dry vermouth and the lemon peel in the glass). When he returns from the conversation with Domenico, she says, "You better catch up." Hilarious; vampires are not affected by alcohol the same as humans are, Phoebe! But, indeed, he did catch up on other things while he up on the roof with Domenico.

Adelle Leonce as Phoebe Taylor

Phoebe: The fact that you're owning your terrible taste in music is kind of attractive.

Marcus: Kind of? (that's his face in reacting to her)

Negging a few hundred-year-old vampire, smooch him, and disappear in a taxi. She's not just any human woman. She's Phoebe Taylor.

And she leaves, but then returns because she "hates mysteries." Seriously, all of the women characters in "A Discovery of Witches" feel in control or seek control if they don't have it. Love it. The writers are not dragging out this courtship. Matthew and Diana didn't kiss until the 3rd episode.

Marcus and Phoebe get it on. But then she is thirsty so she finds the under-the-counter, dorm-style refrigerator because, in a very stylish house, there's a tiny refrigerator. Furthermore, Marcus chills his clearly-labeled blood supply in the same fridge. Phoebe's desire to solve the mystery includes snooping into closed boxes, and yes, it didn't say "do not open," so she opens it, finds photos of Marcus from decades ago. And then she finds that this is too frickin' weird when he confesses to her that he's a vampire. Why wouldn't he tell her the truth? Oh, wait, you are not supposed to let humans know that vampires actually exist. 

"Well, now you'll have to kill her," says Granny Ysabeau. This line is delivered so dry that you can't help but have a moment knowing she's actually serious! The whole way his night turns into a worst-date-ever -- the walk in the middle of the night, confessing that he's really a vampire who has lived through the history she studied. It doesn't turn out to be romantic when she suggests that he needs help;  thinking he might be sick. When she called New Order "old man dance music," he didn't run in the other direction. On the contrary, he asked her to dinner, and you can bet he's going to lay the charm on even thicker when he returns to Oxford. If only Ysabeau didn't tell him that the de Clermonts could be wiped out because of blood rage.

Before we end this recap and analysis, let's expand on the daemon, Sophie Wilson (in S1 she gave the chess piece to Diana to take back to 1590), the descendant of the witch Susanna Norman. She is pregnant and is married to a daemon named Nathaniel. Nathaniel's mom Agatha also lives in Marcus's house with them. Marcus is protecting this family from The Congregation because Sophie suspects she's giving birth to a witch. They wanted a home birth, but there's a heart arrhythmia happening with the baby so they'll be having the baby in the hospital. Planting the idea of using a hospital out of caution is just fine until you mention The Congregation and interspecies conflicts, nevermind them living with a vampire. Agatha is a member of The Congregation, so if they discover that her granddaughter is a witch, they'll take the baby. Marcus, being the Grand Master of The Knights of Lazarus continues to reassure Nathaniel that they "protect those who can't protect themselves." Nathaniel is a skeptic and tells Marcus that they "need a rebrand" because the stuff that's happening in the world doesn't show that they have done much about famine, refugees, etc. He tries to pull that same kind of line on Ysabeau, and well, we heard what she thought of his idea to make a difference.

The House of Marcus; Nathaniel (center--Daniel Ezra) and Agatha (right--Tanya Moodie).

Next week is episode 5, the half-way point in S2. Diana and Matthew will finally reach France. Episode 5 is probably one of the most anticipated episodes because so much has been said about Philippe (James Purefoy) that his reputation truly does precede him. Perhaps we'll learn more about the Knights, his forming The Congregation, his wife Ysabeau, and what reuniting of the father and son -- having not seen Philippe in more than 70 years -- does to Matthew. What will tip Matthew over the edge? 

Screen capture that previews E5, the arrival at Sept-Tours

You can watch the show on Shudder or Sundance Now. In the U.S., subscribing to AMC+ provides four networks in one bundle that includes those two mentioned as well as AMC and IFC Films. More photos, videos, and other updates on the A Discovery of Witches Facebook site.