"A Discovery of Witches" | S2:E8 | An Analysis (contains details of E8)

The following analysis is solely my own. Some of it offers an opinion while recapping portions of the episode. The focus is usually on a particular aspect of the story or aspect of a character. Anything in this post is created by the blog's author who is an inspired fan wanting to promote the work. Feedback is welcome. Let me know if you like or don't like something. Please leave a comment here or on Instagram @thataddamsgirl.

For those keeping track of the directors and writers of season 2 episodes:

Directors: 

• E1, 4, 7, 8: Farren Blackburn 
• E2, 3, 5: Philippa Langdale 
• E6: Jonathan Teplitzky

Writers:

• E1: Sarah Dollard
• E2: Susie Conklin
• E3: Polly Buckle
• E4, 6, 8: Peter McTighe
• E5: Lisa Holdsworth
• E7: Joseph Wilde

Shudder TV episode description: Matthew worries the Book of Life is making Diana ill. Marcus isn’t ready to give up on Phoebe.

If you haven't watched episode 8, you will be spoiled if you read any further. I'll only refer to the book when it is significantly relevant.

The description of episode 8 makes us think that we'll have more of London, 1591. Except for a short scene at the beginning and at the end with Matthew and Diana, the episode continues the story of the characters in Oxford, Venice and Sept-Tours in the present day. 

The episode opens with Diana alone in the bedroom of the Hart and Crown in London, 1591. She's looking at The Book of Life aka Ashmole 782 and none of it is making sense. Matthew appears and tells her that she has to eat something. She says that she isn't hungry. She wants to understand the book, "The harder I try, the stranger I feel." Matthew thinks that the book is making her sick and sends her downstairs to eat.

Alternative dialogue: "Food, Diana, remember food?"

Near the end of the episode, while Matthew reads in the dim light, Diana is sleeping and has her right hand touching the book. Flying over a lake, approaching a tree surrounded by the water. It turns from green to silver with clusters of blood dropping down from the branches, splashing into the water below. Figures of hairless creatures wrap around the trunk and are woven together as branches. The creatures are screaming, as if in pain. The sound is a rushing wail that comes to a halt with a flash of white light. She wakes up. Diana looks unsettled. Matthew asks her if everything is alright and she responds, "I don't think so." Clearly, her nightmare is so horrific that she looks as if she's about to wretch. The irony of The Book of Life having been created from dead creatures is, indeed, becoming more like the book of death, like what Matthew said at the end of episode 7 when they were fleeing Prague.

I was hoping for a more exciting action-filled episode, for instance, continuing on with the blood rage murder theme that occurred earlier in the season. We saw Peter Knox (Owen Teale) at the end of episode 7 getting the scoop about The Book of Life from Edward Kelley's letters, which mention the three pages torn from the book. He's meeting with Gerbert D'Aurillac (Trevor Eve) and he says each of the three pages represents the daemons, the witches, and the vampires. He tells Gerbert that he's investigating where the witches page is while we see Emily (Valarie Pettiford) holding the Ashmole page of the wedding couple. She's at Sept-Tours under Ysabeau's protection; studying it in her hands because she is using higher magic to call upon the spirit of Rebecca, Diana's mother, to find out more.

Sarah (Alex Kingston) actually discovers Emily during the night performing the spell to summon Rebecca (Sophia Myles) and they have a dispute over her addiction to magic. Later in the episode, they both go to the sacred site for the goddess Diana, which has weathered considerably over 400+ years. Emily performs the spell again as Sarah watches. Sarah is so taken with emotion upon seeing Rebecca's face manifest out of the smoke that she walks right through the figure of Rebecca. The smoke dissolves and the spell is over.

Alex Kingston as Sarah Bishop

After the opening credits, it is morning in the townhouse in Oxford. We hear "True Faith" by New Order playing; the same song from episode 4 (copyrights to songs can be expensive). "That my life would depend on the morning sun," is a lyric from the song. It reminds me of when Baldwin in episode 4 told Marcus he was living in Matthew's shadow, whom we learn was indeed a "mourning son" of Philippe. Episode 6 saw the faith of Diana and Matthew's relationship to each other tested and Philippe found that they were each ready for the commitment of marriage. Yes, a little too literal, however, it's appropriate for the scene with Marcus in the mirror. We soon learn that he is getting ready to go see Phoebe at the auction house. Is their relationship back on again? I see that Marcus wants her badly and he's got an idea.

Marcus Whitmore (Edward Bluemel) changes his shirt three times. We know that he's been given the honor by Matthew to be the Grand Master of the Knights of Lazarus, also likely he is still feeling jilted by Phoebe (Adelle Leonce) -- she left after he told her he was a vampire. And then he found out that he carries blood rage just like Matthew, but it lies dormant in him. Everyone such as Miriam, Matthew, Baldwin, and Ysabeau kept this information from him. I predicted Miriam to have had this secret back in episode 4.

Miriam (Aiysha Hart) comes over and she tries to explain that Philippe made Matthew his assassin to execute any of the vampires that had blood rage so humans wouldn't know that vampires existed. How this was to protect Marcus is anyone's guess. Matthew wouldn't follow Philippe's orders to kill all of the vampires so Marcus lived. 

Marcus and Nathaniel (Daniel Ezra) are talking when Sophie (Aisling Loftus) appears saying that her baby is coming. Sophie and Nathaniel, the daemon couple residing with Marcus, give birth to their witch. They call her Margaret. Miriam and Marcus confirm that the baby is a witch because they hear her blood "singing." Marcus plans to get them to Sept-Tours to hide them from the Congregation. Ysabeau is already protecting Sarah and Emily, Diana's aunt and her partner. Room for three more, Marthe?

Marcus returns Phoebe's silk butterfly scarf to her at the auction house. He hands her the Knights of Lazarus medal to investigate as proof of him being a vampire. When Domenico (Greg Chillin) sneaks up on her in the vaults, she's suspicious because he is not actually the detective that he presumes to be. I really wanted some actual danger here, but her boss shows up. She tells Domenico that she knows that Marcus is the Grand Master and he leaves them. 

Later, Marcus explains to her who Matthew and Diana are in the miniatures artwork. She's figuring out he's a vampire, that he was born in 1757, became a vampire in 1781. She asks if he likes being a vampire. He tells her it can be lonely. She presses him about his human friends and asks if they know what he is and he says, "Only you," and then he makes her feel his heartbeat very slowly. She even asks him how he chugs blood, but he tells her that he drinks it from a mug, "I'm not a heathen." After several more minutes of her interrogation, which parallels how Diana was when she first spent time with Matthew, they get under the covers for more get-to-know-each-other sex. Hilarious moment, though, when she times him dashing out and back for ice cream. Roundtrip in 56 seconds. [By the way, 56 seconds is 6 seconds longer than the love scene on Matthew and Diana's wedding night.] Phoebe then tells him that he's a doctor to help humans and that he'd be turning his back on creatures if he gave up being the Grand Master. "Use the Knights to help everyone for future generations," she says.

Knights of Lazarus medal/pendant

Marcus gets himself over to Venice rather quickly, and tells Baldwin (Trystan Gravelle) he's not giving up being Grand Master. But then he screws it up and tells Baldwin about the witch so that he can ask Baldwin to help protect her and the family of daemons. The Congregation wants to have witches raise her. Baldwin says that they already have to deal with the blood-raged killer; that Marcus is spending too much time with humans; calls him "soft and stupid." He won't respect Marcus's wishes. Baldwin tells Marcus he should have been one of the ones "culled." Marcus tells Baldwin that this is why Philippe was "so disappointed in him." 

Marcus, who should be much more covert in his travels, is spotted by Gerbert and Domenico. Gerbert approaches Baldwin suspicious that he has knowledge about who is committing the murders. Essentially Baldwin changes the subject and drops the news about the new witch up in Oxford. Gerbert is obviously going to tell Knox, but I doubt the blood rage is going to be put on a back burner. 

Meanwhile, at the dock, Domenico accuses the de Clermonts of having something to do with the murders, mentioning that he knows the miniatures of Matthew and Diana came from the 16th century. Marcus says he's got nothing and leaves. 

As expected, Peter Knox shows up at the hospital uninvited, uses his weird gadget to put the parents to sleep, and "reads" the baby girl. Nathaniel's mom, Agatha (Tanya Moodie), who is a member of the Congregation, appears and threatens to kill Knox if he comes near her granddaughter again. She should really go after Baldwin de Clermont because he was the one to divulge the secret about the witch infant to Knox. 

What is going to happen with the book as well as Matthew and Diana now that they are back in London? Is the book harming Diana's magical abilities or will she find a reason to use her magic to understand the book? I also expect that Knox is going to follow the trail of the daemons to Sept-Tours and try to breach the walls of the castle to get to the Ashmole page. Ysabeau doesn't take threats lightly, though. Two more episodes left -- 88 minutes in which the pace will not be a gentle journey to a conclusion of the second season in the All Souls Trilogy TV show universe.

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.

"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.