As the episode begins, Satu (Malin Buska) and Peter Knox (Owen Teale) try to figure out what happened to Diana and Matthew. Peter believes Diana wants them chasing their tails and they’re definitely around here somewhere. Gerbert (Trevor Eve) and Satu discuss the clothes they were previously wearing before disappearing. Gerbert wonders if they were going somewhere they couldn’t be seen in modern clothes before saying Diana is a time walker so they could be hiding in the past. Gerbert makes it clear that he intends to wait for them to return. Then, we jump back to 1590 London. A group of women gathers and one of them says she will come this year. She has watched the heavens and believes this is part of the All Hallows of the prophecy. She says their fearsome witch will arrive tonight.
Sure enough, Matthew (Matthew Goode) and Diana (Teresa Palmer) land in 1590 London. Diana asks where they are and Matthew says not where he had hoped. He takes her to a place he knows. After the intro, he tells Diana that the house is never empty. Diana is shocked when Kit Marlowe (Tom Hughes) appears behind her. Matt says the witch is with him but Kit doesn’t like the fact she is a witch. Two others enter and Kit tells them to send for Raleigh because Matthew is bewitched. Matthew tells everyone he is sane and that Diana is there as a lady of the house. Kit is surprised when Matthew introduces Diana as his wife. When they get a private room, Matthew says they should have arrived in the country but they’re 60 miles off course.
Diana wonders what she did wrong but Matthew thinks she did great by getting the right year and night. Matthew apologizes for Kit who can be protective and suspicious. Diana admits she can’t believe Christopher Marlowe is a daemon. Matthew warns her that the others will know he fed on her and they won’t understand it. He wants her to promise that she’ll always keep it covered up before they’re interrupted and told that Master Marlowe has sent for Sir Walter and the Earl of Northumberland. He asks Francoise to find something for Diana to wear before suggesting they pick some of Louisa’s old clothes. When they’re left in private, Diana asks Matthew about the Earl of Northumberland and Sir Walter Raleigh. She realizes he is Matthew Roydon. She says something about The School of Night.
He is the only member of the group they know nothing about. Matthew admits it was for a good reason and he must become Matthew Roydon again. She wonders if that will be so bad since being in the center of things will make it easier for them to find The Book of Life. He wants to get what they need and get out of there as quickly as possible before leaving to deal with Kit. When Matthew approaches, Kit asks him when he first crossed paths with Diana but Matthew says he is not under a spell. Kit smacks him across the face and can’t believe Matthew has married the witch. Kit says he is going to imagine he is a stranger. Seconds later, Francoise (Holly Aird) returns to Diana with clothes for her to wear.
Diana asks about Matthew’s sister but Francoise isn’t eager to talk about that. Francoise notices the mark on Diana’s back and immediately asks who did it to her. Diana says it was a fellow witch and it hasn’t been easy for them. Francois promises to have a nice new wardrobe for her soon. Then, she is introduced to Lord Henry Percy and Sir Walter Raleigh. Walter (Michael Lindall) and Henry (Adam Sklar) talk to Diana about where she is from and she says Cambridge. They have two matters to attend to. The first is that Diana is in need of a teacher. Matthew tells them about her being a witch and lacking training. He believes they’ll be able to find someone discreet to train her. Then, Diana says they need to locate a lost book, an alchemical manuscript. Kit knows the book by the name Book of Mysteries. The others are worried that people won’t take kindly to Diana’s presence and Kit warns Matthew to keep her indoors.
She agrees to lay low until she finds her feet, but she says no one is keeping her anywhere. When the others leave, Matthew tells Diana he needs to go out since there are certain people he must reach out to. She believes they’ll be able to find the book themselves as soon as she finds a teacher and learns to master her magic. Then, they’ll be able to go home and both are counting on that. Matthew goes out while Diana tries to sleep. Something bothers her so she gets up and goes downstairs. She watches as a woman walks past and tells the witch to come. Diana follows the woman until she turns around. Diana believes it is Sophie but the woman leaves in a hurry. Diana tells Matthew about the woman and says it has to be Sophie’s ancestor. Matthew wonders if the woman used magic to lure her, but Diana believes she had a new way of seeing and knowing.
She believes it is a good thing but Matthew argues she should’ve waited until he could protect her. They argue about Matthew going out on his own. Diana believes the witch could be the key to getting the book and returning home. Diana wants Matthew to find the witch or she’ll do it. In the morning, Matthew tells Diana to show him which building she came out of and he’ll get Walter on the case. While Walter searches for the witch, Matthew decides to show Diana something of the city. They joke about Diana’s wardrobe before Francoise helps Diana change into a new outfit. Matthew is impressed with the outfit. They head out onto the street together. As they walk along, Diana says London is tiny but there are so many people here. She admits she used to tell her students that cities of the past would’ve smelled awful, but she was wrong.
They spot Old St. Paul’s in the distance. She admits it finally feels real now. They continue until Matthew spots a guy who stares at them. Diana asks what is wrong and Matthew curses. The man reports to another man what he has seen. Diana wonders what has Matthew rattled but he is only annoyed because he was so careless. He needs to pay his respects now that they know he is in London. He won’t say who the man is despite saying he is an associate of Kit’s. Matthew says he’ll take his chances, they’ll get her a teacher, and they’ll find the manuscript. He tells Dianna not to leave until he returns. He tracks Master Pole (Simon Meacock) to the pub and asks what he was doing out of London. He explains that the rumor was Matthew was sent up north to Berwick. The Scottish king has his hands full rounding up witches.
Matthew was allegedly keeping him focused on his other affairs instead of what they’re doing down here. Next, Matthew visits Lord Burghley and reminds him he asked him to stay in Berwick until his errand was concluded. He goes on to say that the seeds of chaos are sown, the Scottish courts are in disarray, and the witches are divided. Matthew couldn’t stay longer because he would’ve been caught. The Lord tells Matthew they’ll have to wait and see how this chaos of his plays out. He also wants to use Matthew more since his methods of persuasion have been missed. Later, Diana goes through some of the belongings and finds a letter with the royal seal. She reads the letter and finds it calls someone their trusty shadow. She continues and finds a hidden room. She looks through the room which is filled with papers while Matthew walks through the streets.
Diana finds two crosses before Francoise catches her and says she hopes she wasn’t unwise to play her trust in her. Francoise wants to make sure that Diana doesn’t tell anyone about Matthew being Catholic. Diana promises she wouldn’t before admitting she didn’t know Matthew was a spy working to identify Catholics. Francoise admits he is betraying his own people and his faith. Matthew returns and finds Diana at the table. She tells him he looks older before he admits he remains convinced for now. When asked why he does it, Matthew says it is his duty to his father. He says his dad is in France and they won’t encounter him. He says his father needed a spy in the English court and he fulfilled that need and did very well. Diana wants to know more but Matthew encourages her to come to bed and says she is the only thing that makes sense here.
The following day, the witch is brought to Diana so she can see if she is a witch. The woman claims that Dianna is no witch. She has to use another technique to test Diana’s powers. Kit and the others watch as Diana fails to use her magic to light the candle in front of her. Diana asks to try once again and she uses her magic to seemingly age a bowl of fruit. The witch says they can keep her money because she will have no part in this. Diana chases the woman down and confesses she doesn’t know what that was. She says she needs her help but the witch says powers like hers is why they’re hunting witches in Scotland. She says this is why they have no peace from people like her husband before running away. Matthew joins Diana outside and is promptly asked who else thinks they’re married. Then, Matthew catches a young boy trying to steal money from Diana.
She stops Matthew from punishing the boy and they bring him inside. Diana talks to Jack about his parents and family but he doesn’t have any. She wants to know what Jack has heard about her and he admits they think she is a witch. Jack isn’t afraid since he knows there is no such thing as witches. When questioned, Jack says he knows where the rumors started. He says it was in The Lamb tavern which is on the corner. After that, they meet with Henry and Walter to make sure they’ll still help them find the book. They ask Walter about drinking at The Lamb, but he says Kit is the one who never leaves the place. At that moment, Matthew tells Henry and Walter he’ll see them tomorrow so he can talk to Kit in private. Matt tells Kit not to deny it but he claims he has no reason to deny it.
He says he would do the same again before Matthew begin choking him and asking where his loyalty is. Kit warns Matthew that he isn’t himself and he wasn’t supposed to be there. Diana wants to tell Kit the truth about everything or he’ll keep causing trouble for them. She turns to Kit and tells him about being from a colony in the New World. She is forced to tell him about the future but Kit doesn’t believe in the time spinner story. Kit wonders where the Matthew from their world is located but they’re not sure. They’re confident that things will return to normal when they leave. Matthew wants Kit to be his friend and accept them. He threatens Kit and tells him not to tell anyone a word of this. Later, Francoise takes Matthew a note from one of Cecil’s men. Matthew goes out on a boat.
He gets out of the boat and walks through a tunnel. Diana begins looking for him but she only finds Kit. He tells her that Matthew went out before offering her a cup of wine. They sit in front of the fireplace and Kit tells her she deserves a warning. He goes on to say that Matthew is different and gentler. He says Matthew coming back will change him and he won’t be her Matthew any longer by the end of it. He says he has seen Matthew at his worst and he believes Diana is out of her depth but she reminds him he doesn’t know her. He believes Michael singled her out and she was entirely uncommon and exceptional in a way he couldn’t define. Although there was a darkness in him, it seemed as though she always knew him. Kit tells Diana she shouldn’t assume to know him.
Matthew visits a prisoner. He gives the guard the go-ahead and he begins torturing the man.
A Discovery Of Witches Review
I enjoyed the first season of A Discovery of Witches so I hope the second can be just as entertaining. I appreciate that the second season brings Tom Hughes to the equation. I have normally liked Tom Hughes and most everything he appears in. I hope the second season of A Discovery of Witches can meet my expectations.
The opening episode was okay but really didn’t do much in terms of pushing the story forward. I am not sure the time jump was a good idea. I can’t believe Kit just accepted that story so easily. Or, maybe he didn’t?
I am a bit confused as to what the story is about this season. I know Matthew and Diana are looking for The Book of Life but I wonder if anything else is going to happen. What will come of Kit? What about Matthew’s work as a spy? I really hate to say it but the opening episode felt uninspired honestly.
I hope I am just setting my expectations too high and it’ll get better with time. I’ll have to wait and see how it turns out. The opening episode scores a 7 out of 10. You can find previous recaps of A Discovery of Witches on Reel Mockery. I do apologize for any errors/mistakes above but I don’t have the energy tonight to doublecheck everything.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
