A Discovery of Witches: Season 1/ Episode 4 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
The congregation has an emergency session and their decision may threaten the freedom and life of Matthew and Diana. [adinserter name=”General Ads”] Network Sky One Director(s) Alice Troughton Writer(s) Kate Brooke, Tom Farrelly Air Date 10/5/2018 Characters Introduced Ysabeau Lindsay Duncan Baldwin Trystan Gravelle Sophie Aisling Loftus Images and text in this post may contain…
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The congregation has an emergency session and their decision may threaten the freedom and life of Matthew and Diana.
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| Network | ||
| Sky One | ||
| Director(s) | Alice Troughton | |
| Writer(s) | Kate Brooke, Tom Farrelly | |
| Air Date | 10/5/2018 | |
| Characters Introduced | ||
| Ysabeau | Lindsay Duncan | |
| Baldwin | Trystan Gravelle | |
| Sophie | Aisling Loftus | |
Images and text in this post may contain affiliate links which, if a purchase is made from those sites, I may earn money or products from the company. Most affiliate links contain an upward facing, superscript, arrow.
The Dark King & White Queen: Agatha, Sophie
Agatha’s daughter in law has spoken of this piece handed down generation to generation once or twice. It hasn’t been something taken too seriously but with all Agatha hears during her council visit, now talks of a Dark King and White Queen makes sense. A little bit too much and with it being clear other species are keeping information to themselves, so does Agatha.
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Commentary
Could Sophie’s knowledge tip the scale? It seems vampires have long ruled the congregation, with witches gaining in power, as demons are represented solely to keep them calm. Yet, with tale of a Dark King and White Queen, could Agatha undo the balance? It isn’t 100% clear, just from watching the show, what this all could lead to but considering how powerful Diana gets episode by episode, clearly, Sophie has a job to do. One it seems Agatha does not support.
The Decision of the Congregation: Peter, Gerbert, Domenico, Baldwin, Satu, Matthew
With it being clear Peter and Domenico both have hard-ons for Matthew, Peter accusing him of a crime makes their lives easier. Now it is a witch that is causing the problem so all they have to do is proceed with the process. Something Baldwin, Matthew’s brother, recognizes must be done but he doesn’t want to weaken his family’s power. So he tried to get Matthew to see to reason but Matthew is a stubborn ass.
However, as all this goes down, it is revealed that Peter knows about the book of life and that gets the whole congregation into a tizzy. Leading to distrust even internally from Peter learning Satu is looking into the death of Diana’s parents. Pushing the idea something definitely wasn’t proper there and Peter would prefer no one knew. Hence him threatening to crush Satu’s skull for her to understand: You are a loyal minion, not my equal.
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Commentary
So, let’s break this down, each segment, Demon, Vampire, Witch, has three members that participate in the congregation. There is one lead, seemingly of the strongest family or coven, and two allies. Got it. Next thing to wonder is, how is the leader chosen and their allies? We’ve seen that there are multiple covens throughout Europe, and maybe are some in the Americas. Question is, between age or power of the coven, which matters more? How do demons choose? What about vampires? Also, how do they handle disagreements? While the demons aren’t touted as being that powerful, clearly they can cause enough of a raucous to have a seat at the table. So is the threat of mutually assured destruction the sole thing maintaining this balance?
I ask since there is so much backstabbing going on that the congregation almost seems like a farce. Baldwin and Gerbert seem on the verge of fighting, Peter may have a strong control over most witches but Diana’s insubordination challenges him. Then, with the demons, while Nathan isn’t making much of a stink now, with him wanting demons united, he surely will be a rebel force with time.
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So should we expect, either this season or next, an all-out war which brings each sect out of hiding?
Matthew’s Response: Diana, Domenico, Ysabeau, Matthew
As you can imagine, with being a bit of a rebel, Matthew has very little care about Domenico and the congregation. He barely cared about his mother, Ysabeau, being uncomfortable with a witch in the house. Yet, it seems with the threat to her life being clear, and the last being broken into, Matthew feels the need to step back a tad.
This is not easy for Diana to handle. For while Ysabeau eventually decides to be kind to Diana, as they share stories of loss, she wants to be with Matthew. She loves Matthew. However, with the covenant being explained, so comes her too wanting to be a rebel. Yet, with Matthew not willing to join her, this triggers Diana for the second time that night.
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The first time came from them dancing and Diana glowing. I’m talking in waves of light that made her seem ethereal. The second time is after Matthew leaves her and she makes it rain then, as she regains her composure, has the water droplets lift up. Thus making Ysabeau realize this is far from an ordinary witch.
Commentary
What empowers Matthew? Is it because he was sired by Philippe, who seemingly was a central power to the creation of the congregation? Because the way he moves about, despite not being part of the congregation, leads you to believe there has to be more to him than a brother with a seat. He is able to force his mother to take care of a witch. He is able to threaten a representative of the congregation with death without much fear. So surely there must be more than meets the eye right? The family is noted to not be untouchable but it seems, like the covenant not being broken, the congregation actually dishing out punishment must be rare too.
With that said, what are the limits to Diana’s power? She can use Witch’s Wind, which still gets touted as a big deal, can control the weather, so what’s her next feat? Taking over a mind? Reading one? Teleportation maybe?
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Other Noteworthy Facts & Moments
- Apparently, Diana smells sweet and green, like spring.
- Witches sided with Nazis in WWII. Thus explaining Peter Knox’s attitude.
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Why did Matthew sire Marcus and Miriam? Also, did he sire Juliette?
- How old can witches get and is there a rule to keep them from finding ways to live forever?
- Did Peter order the hit on Diana’s parents?
Highlights
- The demons having information which could tip the power balance towards their favor.
- Diana growing stronger and coming to the point she accepts her magic wholly.
- Getting to see the congregation in action.
- The social structure of vampires being revealed – to a point.
On The Fence
- The villains of the show, Domenico and Peter, are becoming slightly cartoony to me. In terms of them being very whiny and underhanded than formidable.
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