The Witching Hour – As the first episode of Mayfair Witches begins, Dr. Vernon Lamb (Billy Slaughter) meets with his patient while taking over for Dr. Stevens. He is told Deirdre needs her Thorazine shot now, but he wants to review her file first. While doing so, he sees a strange man through the window. Once he goes outside to look for the man, he doesn’t find anyone. The housekeeper claims to know nothing about any man. When Vernon is alone with the patient, he asks what happened to her. In a flashback, Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario) drives a boat.

Once she docks, she gets a visit from Ellie (Erica Gimpel) who tells her happy adoption day. At the hospital, Rowan prepares Joey (Carson Minniear) for surgery. When the boy asks about the adults freaking out, Rowan says she and Maya aren’t. Rowan says her instincts are telling her that he is going to be just fine. After she gets scrubbed and ready, Dr. Norman Keck (Jim Gleason) tells her he is taking over because the board wanted to sit in on a surgery today. She tries to tell him that the position will worsen his bleed. Keck reminds her they didn’t have to image the patient.

She is right and they have to flip Joey on his side. Maya (Danielle Lyn) is glad she was there because it could’ve been worse. Rowan urges her to keep her voice down because she’ll have Keck’s job someday. Moments later, Rowan learns that her mother was downstairs for her scan and it is back. Then, she tells Peck that the patient’s vitals are steady and he is already asking to play Minecraft. She mentions that Daniel Lemle (Tobias Jelinek) was in the gallery observing them today. Rowan has been keeping tabs on his company Revenia, its stem cell work, and the trial with cancer patients.

She explains she’d like to apply for the part-time job at Revenia so she can try to get her mother into the trial when possible. Rowan would like Dr. Keck to put in a good word for her, but he isn’t sure he can recommend a doctor who would be applying for personal reasons. He doesn’t think she can hide her arrogance and sense of superiority. Dr. Keck says she was lucky today and not ready to take the reins. Rowan gets upset and uses her power to cause him to pass out. In a flashback, Deirdre confesses to a priest. When asked about the man, she says she hardly ever sees him anymore.

He presses her on the matter until she admits he has always been around. Even when she was little, he knew how she was feeling so she believes he actually cared about her. Deirdre doesn’t think she needs him anymore though. She carves the name Lasher on the wood in front of her. When she leaves, she sees Lasher (Jack Huston) and tells him how she was just talking about him with Father Duffy. He tells her not to believe a word Duffy says about him. Deirdre is scolded for encouraging him and sent to her room by Carlotta when she gets home. She complains to Lasher in her room. Deirdre doesn’t want to play his games anymore.

She argues he knows how she feels about him and what she wants from him, but they both know it is impossible. Lasher says her mother would pull out the dress she had hidden in the back of her closet when she was her age. Then, she would disappear down the trellis to a party. Lasher reminds her there is always a party at Uncle Cortland’s place. Rowan tells Ellie what happened to Dr. Keck. She thinks she did it and remembers it happening once before when she caused a girl to have a seizure. Rowan admits she doesn’t know her genetics or who her parents were.

She might understand if she did. Ellie reminds her that it was a closed adoption and there is nothing they can do about that. She sends Rowan to get her a milkshake and thanks her for being with her today. Ellie calls the New Orleans office to speak to the person assigned to her daughter’s file. When the woman checks the file, she sees a picture of Ciprien Grieve (Tongayi Chirisa). Ellie leaves him a message saying her daughter thinks she has harmed someone with her mind. She wants the agent to go see if anything is different in New Orleans. At the pub, Rowan asks Max (Jordan Cox) about getting together after his shift, but he claims he has a date with someone who won’t kick him out before breakfast.

She begins flirting with another man to convince Max to go home with her. They have sex. Max thinks it is lonely how she keeps hooking up with different guys. She tells him how she used to think her shadow was a being and a part of her. He knew her biggest secrets and always loved her. Max tells her he hopes she finds him before leaving. Cortland Mayfair (Harry Hamlin) learns that the young gentlemen have arrived. He picks one of them and tells the young man he has a job for him. Courtland tells Deirdre he has thought about getting her out of that house many times, but it would only cause problems between her and his sisters.

He notices the necklace she is wearing and says it belonged to her mother. She says her aunts never talk about her mother. Courtland calls them wicked. As for her mother, she was full of life and mischief. When he says she paid for her high spirits, Deirdre doesn’t believe she jumped from the balcony. The young man, Patrick (Sam Evans), interrupts and tells Deirdre his friend dared him to ask her to dance. They dance outside while Lasher watches from a distance. She ends up sleeping with someone in a mask. In the morning, she tries to wake the man who she calls Patrick while a body is taken away outside.

She is told her aunt is waiting for her outside. Ciprien goes to the house and touches the fence to see what happened. He calls Ella who wants to know if anything has been disturbed or if anything is different. Ciprien believes the man is near. He thinks that is good news since the man is so far away from her daughter. Ella wants to know what will happen the next time he calls her and no one answers. He says he is the one who will keep her daughter safe. Rowan attends a speech by Daniel Lemle. He comes over after it ends and they begin talking about the position she applied for.

Daniel knows about her mother and the fact that Rowan wants her in one of their trials. He tells her to come downstairs so he can show her where she’ll be working. Daniel uses the bathroom while she is standing nearby. He tells Rowan that he is tough so she’ll have to think like a killer. Rowan is asked to pick a name so they can remove that person from the trial to add her mother. She doesn’t want to do that. She gets mad at him and calls him a man-child. Rowan looks into his brain again and causes him to pass out. She rushes back to her mother to tell her what happened. Rowan worries she has some kind of monstrous power.

Ella tells her otherwise and urges her not to give in to this twisted thinking. Father Duffy visits Deirdre who is pregnant. She believes Patrick is dead because Carlotta killed him, but Duffy doesn’t want to believe it. Deirdre asks if he was the one they called when her mother was pushed from the balcony. He says she jumped. Duffy says he suspects there was no man at the party and this happened because of the man. Deirdre wants to get out of there before something else happens. She believes he is scared of them like everyone else so she screams for him to leave.

Once he leaves, Deirdre goes out on the balcony to jump only for Lasher to stop her from doing so. He tells her she knows where to find him before opening the door so she can leave. As she tries to escape, she hears her aunt praying and saying she fears what they may have to do. Deirdre asks for one good reason to live. Lasher tells her the baby is coming. He claims she’ll change her life forever, but Deirdre believes she’ll be stuck with them like she is. Lasher says he can take them away from there because he is hers already. The necklace she wears binds them together because her mother made that choice for her.

Now, she can choose to bind with him of her own free will. He offers to show her who he really is. If she is strong enough to face it, he’ll be hers entirely. Once he shows her, Deirdre puts the necklace back on. Lasher says she is his witch now. The baby comes. A priest prays for Ella as the baby is delivered. Deirdre screams for Carlotta to bring the baby back, but she keeps on walking. Carlotta takes the baby to Ella and tells her never to reveal the baby’s identity because it’d be too dangerous. Before Carlotta leaves, she reveals that Deirdre wanted to name the baby Rowan.

Deirdre is told the baby had a malformed heart so the doctor said she couldn’t have survived. In the present, Dr. Lamb removes the necklace from Deirdre and puts it in her pocket. He tells her they’re going to share a secret. Vernon leans over to tell her he isn’t going to give her the Thorazine shot today or tomorrow, but he will come every day because he wants to know who she is without the drugs. When Ciprien learns Lasher is on the move, he says he needs to call Rowan’s mother. Once he calls, he doesn’t get an answer. Rowan finds herself on the boat during a thunderstorm and Lasher outside her window.

 

Mayfair Witches Review

AMC’s Mayfair Witches is based on Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy, but there are stark differences between the two. Since the story is based on successful novels, the series should’ve been a no-brainer. Nevertheless, viewers will likely be less than optimistic after finishing the first episode for a handful of reasons.

Mayfair Witches is plagued by some of the same issues that haunt other modern television shows with the most notable being the time jumps. If viewers aren’t familiar with the story, they’re going to have difficulty keeping up with the characters and the events happening in each period as there seems to be more than a couple.

The story wasn’t gripping in the first episode perhaps because the episode was divided between so many characters, events, and time periods. The casting choices are equally disappointing along with the performances and CGI. The opening episode of Mayfair Witches doesn’t provide a lot to be excited about nor will it cast a spell on viewers.

The story may save the series in future episodes, but the pace will have to pick up quickly and find a way to gloss over the less-than-perfect performances. The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Mayfair Witches are available on Reel Mockery here. Want to support our work? Learn how to do so at this link. Advertising opportunities are available on Reel Mockery here.