‘A Discovery of Witches’ Recap: ‘Episode 3’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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When it comes to storytelling, there is an inherent danger present when a particular tale offers up too much, too soon. Because if you tip your hand too early, there’s little for the audience to chew upon or stick around for. But there is a counterpoint for that as well, in that, you also don’t want to sit through a story that takes way too long to get to the point because that’s downright silly and boring. Which means that balance is the key to keeping an audience riveted and all of this is on my mind today, because I won’t lie, I was a touch worried that the next episode of A Discovery of Witches was going to continue to reveal all the secrets of this universe, but thankfully, it turns out my fears were unfounded.
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Because ‘Episode 3’ took the time to truly slow things down and allow for us to properly explore our characters and the world of magic they inhabit. Case in point, the fact that we were able to explore the Congregation’s headquarters, which turned out to be quite the massive facility, one where it seems every creature meets under a banner of uneasy peace since there are vampire and demon representatives present in the building and it is also a place filled to the brim with great knowledge. For we also came to learn that an exhaustive library of files of just about every witch (and I’m certain every creature out there) are archived here and this ‘database’ is so detailed and important that others are interested it, such as our mysterious vampire friends who I now know are named Domenico and Gerbert and they are apparently not fans of Matthew and found his relationship with Diana to be…enlightening.

Speaking of Matthew for that matter, we also spent a lot of time learning about his past. In fact, we know now he’s originally from France, which is also apparently a place full of vampires, and that his last name is really de Clermont and he’s 1509 years told since he was born in 500 A.D. and was sired in 537, and that particular revelation, alongside his admission that he’s a fine observer of people and has made according moves from what he’s observed in order to keep a low profile, speak to a great many things about this man. It means he’s thoughtful, considerate and understanding and that’s downright refreshing to see in a series that features vampires since they are oft portrayed as cunning and twisted bloodsuckers who will use every ounce of their power to have what they desire. But Matthew is humble, and a good man and that point was hammered home in this tale by way of his desire to protect Diana at every single turn.

Which brings us to Diana, who we also learned a great deal about in this tale. For her journey in this story helped us to truly understand just how big of a heart she has and how progressive she is in her thinking, since she made sure to snap back at anyone who questioned her desire to be near and with Matthew and we also came to learn, that she is one powerful witch. Because Matthew was able to ascertain that her magic tends to work based upon necessity, she needed the book, ergo she conjured it and that also explains how she was able to deal with Peter in the last episode as well, because she needed him out of her head. But I made mention of great power, and that was put on display when Peter (who I might add is by far the creepiest character in this story) outright pissed her off in his latest attempt to get her to call up the book and for his bully-ish efforts, he was rewarded with a blast of Witch’s Wind, a powerful gust of air that hasn’t been conjured up in years, but it’s something Diana was able to make happen with a mere thought.

If anything, this episode also put on display the danger that Diana is in right now, since every creature has their eye upon her, her friends have betrayed her and Peter is now pulling out all the stops to get his hands on the book and well, that’s why the decision to run and hide in France makes total sense since the prejudices on display will keep the witches at bay and in the end, I was quite impressed with what this episode had to offer. Because it really immersed us in this incredible world, and showed us so much about what goes behind the scenes when it comes to magic and while this is a lot to process, it left me hungry for more, and I’m also quite curious as to what will come of the subplot involving the Demon who wants to bring his brothers and sisters together. Either way, I need to know more, which means I’ll be stewing over these little plot points for the next week, while I wait for this magnificent series to return. Until next time. 

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