The episode begins in New Orleans, Louisiana as Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode) listens to Marcus talk to Geraldine Newcopse (Genesis Lynea) from outside. Inside, she tells Marcus (Edward Bluemel) she is worried about his mental wellbeing because he is turning up there week after week. He wants them to listen to what they have to say although Geraldine claims they already know about Matthew’s scion. She has already heard about the blood rage and suggests the Congregation doesn’t about them regardless. Geraldine encourages Marcus to go home and tell Matthew he did his best since there isn’t a vampire in the family that hasn’t heard his pitch. When Marcus says there is one, she tells him not to even think about that. He follows her outside to say they only want him to listen to them. Geraldine recommends leaving New Orleans although Matthew isn’t going to do that until he has spoken to Ransome.
Ransome (Parker Sawyers) has said that only one of them will walk away if Matthew comes to him. Matthew wants her to threaten him, but she won’t. Geraldine reminds him that Ransome was there after Matthew killed everyone to help them dig graves and clean up the mess he left. Again, she says there will be no scion so they should just go home. After the intro, Marcus argues that he was making progress with Geraldine. Matthew believes Ransome should lead without hiding behind his surrogates. Marcus offers to approach him to ensure he hears what he needs, but Matthew says no. Then, they find out that Jack has flipped out again. While Matthew goes inside to look for him, Marcus calls Celine (Francesca Henry) to ask for a seat at the table tonight. Matthew goes to the nearby cemetery to look for Jack and eventually finds him. He grabs Jack and instructs him to use what they practiced to control the blood rage.
Once Jack gets control over it, he sits down and says he tried to stop it. The music and breathing didn’t work. Matthew asks if Benjamin’s film triggered it. Jack says it feels like he has infected him with it. Matthew insists it wasn’t his fault because Benjamin took the control away from him. After he admits he couldn’t leave him in London, Matthew is told Marcus’s family will never join their scion if they find out about Jack. He is wishful there will be a cure. At the lab, Miriam (Aiysha Hart) tries to call Matthew only to get his voicemail. Christopher (Ivanno Jeremiah) again reminds her that they aren’t going to have any success without more samples. She knew New Orleans would never be easy because Matthew ripped Marcus’s family apart out there. Matthew thought he was doing the right thing by removing blood rage from the world and can’t bear the idea of the twins going through what he did. Once he listens to everything she has to say, Chris says they should work with what they’ve got.
Diana (Teresa Palmer) works with Phoebe (Adelle Leonce) to track down the missing pages of The Book of Life. Diana still thinks there is a possibility that Kelley hid one of the pages in a book at Dee’s library. She is shown a list of books that were in Dee’s library at some point although they’ve already ruled most of them out. Sarah (Alex Kingston) interrupts to ask if they’d like something to eat, but they stay busy instead. Diana asks about the Book of Soyga which went missing from Dee’s library in 1583. That would be after he met Kelley, but before they went to Europe. It is a hiding place in itself since it is full of cryptic signs and symbols. Phoebe uses her computer to find out that the book was returned to Dee in 1595 and it is now in the British Library. Diana says she’ll go tomorrow so Gallowglass (Steven Cree) just wants to know what time. When she says she knows her way around, Gallowglass claims they’re Matthew’s orders.
Marcus shows up at the card game where Baptiste (Ben Wiggins) and Celine are playing. Although they’re reluctant, they eventually agree to let Marcus play with them. Later that night, Diana sits down with Sarah and admits she can’t sleep either. They talk about the old days when Diana used to stay up late studying and Em used to make her sandwiches. Sarah explains that a good spell needs good instincts so she needs to trust her intuition and intellect. Marcus tells Baptiste and the others that he has missed this although he is used to a slightly warmer welcome. Baptiste says there are limits to hospitality while Celine claims they’re just waiting for the bodies to start turning up. Marcus insists they all need the scion. When he suggests Ransome won’t see them, he is told Ransome won’t see Matthew.
Marcus wonders what would happen if he approached Ransome. Baptiste says it is too late because he picked a side and brought the devil back to town. Gallowglass follows Diana to the British Library where he has to wait in the lobby because he doesn’t have a reader’s card. Diana goes in alone, gets the book, and begins reading it. The woman in the front pays particularly close attention to her. She uses her magic to conceal her actions before using it to find out who had the book previously. An H appears on her wrist leading her to believe Hubbard had it. Peter Knox (Owen Teale) visits Father Hubbard (Paul Rhys) in London to say he found a letter from Kelley about passing on a page to someone he called the Angel of Death and Angel of Life. He believes that was a good description of Hubbard.
Peter recommends turning over the page if he has it. He warns him that possession places him under scrutiny and he knows how much he values his invisibility. Hubbard knows about him being removed from the Congregation. Peter tries to attack him but gets choked against a column. Hubbard says he won’t make it out of this building alive if he tries to use that. When Peter puts it back in his pocket, Hubbard lets him go with his blessing. Sarah tells Fernando she thinks it is time for her to go home, but he says she’ll be all alone. Although he says that would be the worst possible thing for her right now, Sarah suggests otherwise because Em will be part of her life again. He relents and agrees to grab her bag and drive her to the airport. When she goes downstairs, she is confronted by Gallowglass who asks what they should tell Diana. Sarah doesn’t think Diana needs her.
Gallowglass says he has watched Diana read book after book until she got things straightened out in her head. Then, she should always go to Sarah and Em. He is confident Diana is going to need her again. Sarah knows, but she isn’t sure why he knows that. They tell her about Philippe asking Gallowglass to keep an eye on Diana for him. He continues trying to convince Sarah to stay while arguing Diana is going to need her. Diana visits Hubbard to ask him about the page. He admits he has one page and Peter was already there to get it. He isn’t positive he is going to give it to her though. She warns him that the page could put him and his flock in danger since Peter isn’t going to stop. Diana says Knox believes the book is the first grimoire and capable of restoring the witches’ waning power. Knox thinks that will tip the balance in their favor. As for Gerbert, he thinks the Book holds the origins of vampires and it could give them supremacy.
Diana asks whether he’d rather trust a member of the Congregation or a member of his own flock with the book. Hubbard wants to be sure that his flock isn’t going to be collateral damage in the struggle the de Clermonts are engaged with. She can’t promise that, but she claims there will be no chance for creatures to live in peace if they lose. There will be no need for Knox or Gerbert to continue saying they’re all equal. She alleges they’re already using the Covenant to divide them. Hubbard retrieves the page and gives it to Diana while saying he is trusting her to have the courage to do what needs to be done. She promises not to betray that trust. Matthew finds Jack outside drawing where he has been for hours. As he begins looking through the drawings, Jack confesses he can’t stop seeing the faces of the people he killed.
Matthew hasn’t found a way to express that so his victims are always with him. He pleads with Jack not to bear the guilt for what Benjamin made him do. When Matthew says Jack was Benjamin’s weapon, Jack suggests Matthew was Philippe’s weapon because he was good at it. Phoebe calls Marcus to see if they’ve got anything done. Marcus says Matthew would rather die than admit he is at fault. He promises to be careful just before the call ends. Marcus visits Geraldine to say he wants to see Ransome and he isn’t there as Matthew’s messenger. He goes on to say he is there as Ransome’s sire. Marcus approaches him and suggests Ransome already knows why he is there. He believes Marcus wants them to sign up for their war against the Congregation. Marcus says Matthew is developing a scion to ensure they don’t become the sacrificial lambs again although some members of the Congregation want to use blood rage to grab power.
He reveals Baldwin could order another massacre tomorrow since he has already instructed Matthew to kill one vampire in his line. Matthew has refused because he is trying to find another way to deal with it. It starts with finding a cure for blood rage. Marcus believes they can help find out why they’re not afflicted. Ransome wants Matthew to own what he did. He is glad he found his conscience although it is far too late. Next, Ransome approaches Jack in the cemetery. He wonders why Matthew wanted to keep him hidden. He keeps jumping around so Jack tells him to stop doing that because he doesn’t want to hurt him. Ransome learns he is the blood-raged vampire Baldwin wants dead, but he doesn’t know what is so special about him. He must be special to still be alive since Matthew killed everyone else. When Jack returns to Matthew and Marcus, he says Ransome knows about him, what he is, and won’t trust Matthew after this.
Marcus gets a message confirming Ransome has agreed to meet Matthew at last. Although Marcus and Jack believe they should go with him, Matthew is intent on going by himself. Phoebe thinks she has found something because the Book of Soyga passed through several hands before it reached the British Library. After Dee’s death, it went to someone named Thomas Allen who Diana knows as an astronomer and mathematician. Then, it went to Kenelm Digby. After Diana says he was likely a demon, Sarah says the other pages ended up with a witch and a vampire. Next, it went to the first Duke of Lauderdale, John Maitland. Other items from the Lauderdale estate were sold in auctions. About 30 years ago, someone named TJ Weston bought an illustrated page from a book described as an allegory of a tree with a written motto. It says something like they all wait silently connected by secret knots.
They agree they need to find TJ Weston. As Matthew leaves, Jack says he has a bad feeling about this. In Venice, Benjamin talks to Gerbert about Diana being pregnant. Gerbert doesn’t believe this should’ve happened at all. Benjamin wonders if they should act now since they’ll be so vulnerable. He is told to wait because the rift between Matthew and Baldwin is widening every day. They shouldn’t interrupt their enemy when he is in the process of destroying himself. Ben admits he likes doing the destroying. Matthew arrives at the club for his meeting with Ransome. Matthew says a lot has changed so he hopes blood rage can be cured. Ransome asks if Jack is under control since it is his duty to kill him according to the Congregation. Matthew says he’ll have to kill him too. Ransome gets angry and calls him a hypocrite. Matthew quickly explains the Congregation will gladly wipe them out. It has nothing to do with blood rage and everything about making sure they live in fear.
He says he is risking his life for the belief that they should live with truth and hope. When he asks what Ransome needs, he is told they need remorse. Matthew begins talking about the people he killed including Malachi Smith, Suzette Boudrot, and Sandrine Lachellier. Ransome threatens to kill him himself if he misses anyone out. Matthew continues naming names until he comes across Jacqueline Lascelle who was Ransome’s mate and the love of his life. He confesses it is her face he sees the most although they all come back to him. Matthew knows he can’t change it, but he is sorry for what he did. Ransome agrees to join his scion. Once he leaves, he calls Diana to tell her he has their support.
She says they have two pages in their possession and one in their sights. Matthew returns to Marcus and Jack to say they have a lot to do to gain their respect. He tells Marcus he deeply regrets what he did here. Benjamin visits Satu who says vampires are not welcome here. He introduces himself and says he is the son of Matthew because he sired him out of hatred. Ben believes it is time for Matthew to get what he deserves. He wants Satu to join him so she can finally take on Diana. Satu says she will come to understand she is not the only one who has come to understand her power the next time they meet. That meeting will be between Diana and Satu alone. Benjamin doesn’t like hearing that. He leaves as the episode ends.
A Discovery Of Witches Review
Although this season of A Discovery of Witches has been entertaining so far, it is starting to slip into the same rut as the previous season. There are only seven episodes this season, but the pace has slowed too much. It feels like little of significance happened during this episode as the story jumped between London, the lab, and New Orleans and attempted to cover so many characters.
I hope more starts happening in the next few episodes because it needs to. At this point, Benjamin doesn’t even seem like a formidable enemy since he has only been shown from time to time. There is still a lot to cover with only four episodes left so I am getting concerned that we’re going to get a rushed finale that leaves too many questions unanswered.
The episode deserves a 7 out of 10. All recaps of A Discovery of Witches can be found on Reel Mockery here. Want to learn how to support the Reel Mockery project? Find out how to do so here.
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.
