As the third season of A Discovery of Witches begins, Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode) and Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer) return to the present as we see that Sophie Wilson (Aisling Loftus) has given birth to her baby. Emily (Valarie Pettiford) is sick in bed with Sarah (Alex Kingston) by her side. When Diana and Matthew are alone, she confides in him that she doesn’t know what to do. She can’t believe that Emily is gone. Matthew surprises her when he tells her there will be two babies. He believes these children are their future and the congregation will never be able to threaten them again. After the intro, Ysabeau de Clermont (Lindsay Duncan) greets Gallowglass (Steven Cree) as he arrives on his motorcycle. Hamish (Greg McHugh) also arrives on a helicopter. As everyone gathers around the dining table, Diana says hello to Gallow and hugs him.

Matthew stands at the head of the table and says this is the darkest of days. He begins talking about Peter Knox (Owen Teale) murdering Emily who was beloved and like a mother to his wife. He says Peter has brought about his own end since he murdered a woman under the protection of the Clairmont family. Ysabeau believes they should think about it and Diana says killing him would make him a martyr. When Diana says people need to know what he did to Emily as well as everything, Nathaniel (Daniel Ezra) says his mother is heading to Venice to tell Baldwin to hold an immediate meeting of the congregation. Agatha (Tanya Moodie) will tell them what happened before Peter can spin it to suit himself. Miriam (Aiysha Hart) is worried they’ll use what is happening in Oxford to make them look like the aggressors here.

Hamish explains there has been a series of killings that the press is calling the vampire murders. Miriam admits they’re right since the victims were killed by a vampire with blood rage. Ysa warns her son that this will be used against him. Once the group meeting ends, Phoebe Taylor (Adelle Leonce) introduces herself to Matthew, but Matthew already knows who she is to Marcus (Edward Bluemel). As Marcus enters, Matthew says he has many important responsibilities. Marcus says he is well aware of his responsibilities. Matthew reminds him he is responsible for upholding the sanctity of Sept-Tours as the Grand Master of Lazarus. Marcus and Phoebe make it clear that Peter didn’t walk in freely and Marcus could’ve been killed. Marcus says he is starting to realize that nobody is beyond reproach and that includes Matthew. He goes on to say the claims that blood rage is gone have been greatly exaggerated since there are two blood-raged vampires in this room.

Matthew admits he carries the disease but didn’t think there was a reason for Marcus to know this. Marcus argues that wasn’t his decision to make. Sarah finds a piece of paper outside. Later, Diana approaches her and finds out that Emily was at the temple because she had been having dreams and nightmares about the page. She thought they were premonitions. Sarah believes she needed Rebecca. They agree Emily thought witches shouldn’t play around with higher magic because they couldn’t handle it. They deserved to find out the hard way. Sarah reveals she was speaking from experience although Emily didn’t want Diana to know. She wonders if they could somehow use Diana’s power to ask her, but Diana isn’t sure she should use her power to change things in the past. Diana agrees that this wasn’t supposed to happen and Em was meant to be there with her.

She tells Sarah that she is going to have twins although she doesn’t know what they’ll be yet. While Diana says she is going to love them regardless, Sarah worries she won’t be able to keep them safe. Agatha arrives in Venice before everyone puts their key in the lock and steps inside. As the meeting begins, Agatha of the Demons stands up and starts talking. Gerbert (Trevor Eve) quickly interrupts to say they need to focus on the murders in Oxford. Baldwin Montclair (Peter McDonald) isn’t sure it is blood rage because they haven’t seen that since the 12th century. Domenico (Gregg Chillin) has been following the killer’s moments and he has killed six people during that time.

He doesn’t think it is a human since they wouldn’t have the strength to tear someone apart like that. Domenico claims he tracked and confronted the vampire, but he was fighting for his life and didn’t get to see his face. Since he didn’t recognize his scent, it isn’t a vampire he has met before. Satu (Malin Buska) and the others agree that this is going to put all creatures at risk. Gerbert reminds them that Philippe sat in Baldwin’s chair and pretended the disease was finished. Then, he complains about the creatures mixing and mating while claiming some people here are complicit in it. Peter Knox calls out Agatha and her family for breaking the covenant and tells everyone where they are. They tell Baldwin he should see for himself since he’d like to reunite with his brother anyway. Agatha doesn’t deny that they’re together and instead accuses Peter Knox of murdering Emily.

He alleges Emily was practicing higher magic and it overwhelmed her. As for Marcus, Peter claims he was attacked and had to defend himself. Agatha moves for Peter Knox to be removed from the congregation for his crimes. Knox says she can demand whatever she wants, but it won’t work without cooperation from a witch or vampire. Baldwin seconds the motion since it is an act of war for a witch to enter Sept-Tours without invitation, but they’ll still need a majority. Peter reminds everyone how he has served the council for a long time before the vote begins. Surprisingly, Satu votes against Peter and that gives them enough votes to remove him. Peter gets upset and warns them that this won’t keep their family or the people at Sept-Tours safe. Agatha calls Nathaniel to tell him to leave and hide because Peter is dangerous. Later, Diana, Matthew, and the others hold a ceremony for Emily. Sarah isn’t sure she can do it so Diana takes her place.

However, Diana begins crying midway through it. Sarah joins her and helps her finish the speech. Back inside, Ysabeau tells Marthe (Sorcha Cusack) it didn’t feel right to attend the ceremony for a witch because of her history. They agree to relight the fires and say a prayer for Emily. Sarah apologizes to Diana for what she said regarding the babies and admits she was lashing out. Then, she gives her the paper which Emily wouldn’t let fall into Peter’s hands. Diana promises to make him pay. Baldwin visits and asks Matthew where they were. Matthew lies and pretends they were in London. He admits they were in London a few centuries away and there is no end to his wife’s talents. Baldwin is surprised to learn that Philippe was at the wedding and gave her his blood vow. He warns Matthew that they can’t be positive that everyone will be safe here. Matthew is adamant that Peter deserves justice for what he has done.

Baldwin tells him that Peter was removed from the Congregation, but Matthew doesn’t think that is enough. He tells Matthew he can’t have it both ways. If Diana is Philippe’s blood-sworn daughter, she’ll have to answer to this family and him. Baldwin orders them to leave Peter alone since he thinks they need to focus on the blood-raged vampire. He wants the responsible vampire found and killed. They’ll discuss how to undo the rest of the damage over dinner and Baldwin will decide if Diana is a de Clermont. Miriam, Hamish, and the others have dinner while Baldwin discusses matters with his family. Baldwin hopes there will never be a time when they can’t sit together at a table. Marcus wonders if that means their guests can’t join them, but Baldwin isn’t going to apologize for observing the Covenant. He still believes it keeps them safe and that their father always had the best intentions. He knows the world has changed since Diana is at the table with his father’s blood vow.

Diana calls his mark an honor and a privilege. She is more concerned about the creatures that don’t have that. When she alleges the Covenant has outlived its usefulness, Baldwin becomes angry and says ridiculing the Covenant in Philippe’s house is inexcusable. Sarah, Hamish, Marthe, and the others agree to dine in honor of their lost friend Emily. Baldwin says they should look to brighter things before toasting to his brother’s mate and their children whatever they may be. He remembers a vampire mating with a witch before. The witches banished the witch and child which likely died in the desert. That was around the time he sired Benjamin. Gallow says they did that because of ignorance and superstition. Baldwin admits everything has got him thinking about Benjamin. Matthew and Diana decide to call it an early night because they’ve had enough of Baldwin. Before they go, he tells them that anyone who isn’t a de Clermont should leave the house by morning. They will uphold Philippe’s Covenant since the Congregation is watching.

In private, Matthew tells Diana that they should leave. When she asks about Benjamin, he says Philippe wanted to establish a homeland for creatures at the end of the first crusade. To do that, they’d have to reveal themselves to some humans they thought they could trust. Ben was one of them, but he eventually threatened to expose them and that destroyed Philippe’s dream. Matthew admits he lost control. Diana believes she met Benjamin in Bohemia. He called himself Fuchs (Jacob Ifan) and claimed he could hear Philippe’s blood vow. Matthew makes it clear that Benjamin is not his son. He wanted to punish him. Since death would be too quick, he made him a vampire. That ensured he couldn’t expose them without exposing himself. Then, he abandoned him as a new blood-raged vampire. He thought it would kill him or get him killed eventually, but that was a terrible miscalculation.

Gallowglass talks to Marcus about Baldwin who can be a real bastard at times. They agree that Philippe wasn’t always easy to get along with and that is why Gallow’s father and Fernando decided to step away on their own and form a scion. Gallowglass wonders if history should repeat itself. They go inside where Marcus discusses forming a scion with the others. They’ll be able to take everyone they’ve sired and the children. Gallowglass warns that Baldwin will never see the problems the Covenant has caused them. He will never stand up to them as well. Marcus says they can create a scion and chart their own path. Matthew says that means he’ll have to disregard his family and history. He says no because they have enough problems already. The next day, Baldwin and Ysa watch as Marcus, Matthew, and the others leave in the helicopter. Baldwin warns her that he won’t protect Matthew if he crosses the line. He warns her that this isn’t going to end well.

We jump over to London, England. Once Matthew and the others arrive, Fernando (Olivier Huband) is there to greet them. He says he knew he could count on Matthew and thanks him for being there when they lost Hugh. Diana tells Sarah that he was mated to Matthew’s brother Hugh. Matthew tells Miriam the page is made from the skin of creatures so they should try to extract DNA from it. He suggests it could tell them more about the evolution of creatures and blood rage. If they can find its origin, they might find out why it lies dormant in some vampires and what activates it. They agree they’re going to need a lab somewhere discreet and Diana thinks she can help with that. We jump over to South Kensington, London where they meet with Christopher Roberts (Ivanno Jeremiah). Diana hugs him before he asks where she has been. Chris is introduced to Matthew and Miriam and learns that Diana has married the Frenchman. Miriam quickly changes the subject to the lab and tries to rush them along.

Once they enter Chris’s lab, Miriam asks if the equipment is well maintained. Chris says it is state of the art. He wants to know more about their research before agreeing to let them use his lab. He looks at the information on their tablet and realizes this isn’t something he has seen before. Sarah talks to Fernando and alleges the vampires always look after their own. As she sits down, Fernando begins telling her about Hugh who happened to be Philippe’s oldest son. They were mated for six centuries, but Philippe refused to recognize their union. When Hugh passed away 700 years ago, Fernando’s grief wasn’t acknowledged. After she apologizes for his loss, Fernando admits the grief never really goes away.

Although it slows and goes away sometimes, it also comes rushing back like the sea. He says the de Clermonts accepted her and Emily and recognize her loss. Sarah agrees they should recognize his as well. Christopher isn’t eager to believe their story about witches and blood=raged vampires without any evidence. Diana uses her magic to manipulate the water faucet and water nearby. Chris runs his finger through the water flower she manifested before she makes it disappear. Matthew explains all creatures are suffering a decline because vampires can no longer sire and demons seem to be slipping into actual mental illness. Plus, there is a killer on the loose so they’ll need to find a cure for blood rage. Chris promises to give it his best shot. Baldwin visits Domenico in private and learns that the blood-raged vampire committed murders close to where Diana and Matthew had been in Oxford. He has an envelope with pictures from the crime scenes.

Baldwin believes this is an attempt to smear the de Clermonts, but Domenico says the killer stole their portraits painted in the 16th century yet nothing else was taken. When Baldwin asks why he denounced him previously, Dom denies it and says he only denounced the blood-raged killer. Before Dom leaves, he tells Baldwin they don’t have to be enemies and gives him the crime scene photos. A man who might be Benjamin gets a call learning they’ve come back. He promises to come right now. As he walks away from his computer, we see that he has been researching Diana online. Baldwin looks through the photos as Benjamin leaves his motel room which is covered in blood and has a dead body on the ground. He speaks to the cleaner in a different language. He smirks as she enters the room, finds the body, and begins screaming.

 

A Discovery Of Witches Review

The third season of A Discovery of Witches started out on a high note since the episode quickly established the main storylines and introduced the newest characters. It was a bit odd to see Peter McDonald take over the Baldwin role, but he did very well with the role. It is nice to see him tackle a unique role like this. Matthew and Diana are just as dynamic as they were during the first season many years ago although Matthew might be a little more intense now. That makes sense now that he has a wife to protect.

The show wasted no time allowing the characters to scheme against one another. Satu voted against Peter Knox, Marcus and Gallowglass want to separate from Baldwin and develop a scion, and Domenico is secretly working with Baldwin. It’ll be interesting to see where these decisions lead us. Anything could change in the next few episodes, but it looks like this is going to be a gripping season of A Discovery of Witches and a must for those who’ve watched the first two seasons.

The opening episode of season three deserves an 8 out of 10. Past and future recaps of A Discovery of Witches will be available on Reel Mockery here. If you like what we do here and want to support Reel Mockery, send us an email using the contact form here.