‘A Discovery of Witches’ Recap: ‘Season 2, Episode 5’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 205 of ‘A Discovery of Witches’.

While there are a great many moments and elements in life that we work to forget and step away from, for various reasons, there is one aspect of human existence that we simply cannot walk away from or forget, and that is family. Because our parents and our siblings and other blood relatives have a profound impact upon our lives from beginning to end. For not only do these people help to nurture us into adulthood, their actions and their teachings help to form some of our world views, and they are also designed in instill within us a moral compass and a sense of pride, one that is fulfilled when we show them that they all did a wonderful job in raising us to be more in this world.
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But while that particular view of family life is somewhat cheery in nature, what we don’t acknowledge enough is that family can also have quite the lasting negative impact on our lives as well. Because sometimes family is something that can be quite toxic in nature, and free from direction and anything healthy emotionally. Or it can also be quite traumatic in nature, to the point where reflecting upon our youth or that moment, puts us in a poor emotional state. The kind that leaves us wishing we could find closure to the moment in question so we can finally, and properly move on from it and really, the negative side of family and our desire to make peace with it is relevant to our discussion today, simply because it served as the focal point of this week’s episode of A Discovery of Witches.

For this particular tale transported us back to 1590, just as Matthew and Diana and their entourage arrived in France to make their way to Sept-Tours to meet with Phillippe de Clermont and well, being back home at this particular time and knowing full well he was going to face his father once more… put Matthew in quite the tough place mentally. For now, Matthew would have to stand toe to toe with a man that clearly had some kind of negative impact upon his mind and his soul and despite his best efforts to appear as though he could handle something this powerful and impactful, it quickly became obvious that all of his negative emotions were slowly bubbling to the surface and putting him quite the ugly place, to the point where he eventually just lost control, and outright lashed out.

For he was mousey and snippy after dear old dad saw right through the both of them and was able to pinpoint where he and his bride came from, and he even outright hurt Diana with his petty machinations. But what truly made his journey so fascinating, is that it became apparent that he and his father actually had a healthy relationship in 1590, meaning that the real trauma related to Phillippe is coming down the line, and that Matthew hasn’t dealt with it in the slightest and that revelation, allowed for some fascinating commentary on the human condition to come forth. Specifically, that we can in fact, resolve our past trauma with family… when we choose to acknowledge it happened and make peace with the fact that we cannot change anything about it, before taking the necessary steps to heal. And that really was quite the surprise to find within the framework of a story about vampires and witches and other creatures that go bump in the night.

If anything, such a surprise serves a fine reminder that this is no ordinary horror show, and that its tie to humanity over the monstrous side of the genre is what makes it stand out above the rest and it will be interesting to see what will come from Matthew’s mistakes in this tale and the other surprises this episode featured. Such as the fact that Phillippe will indeed cause trouble for Diana despite his kindness, as evidenced by his actions at the end of this story. And of course, we are all quite curious as to where the plot thread between Kit and Matthew’s sister going to take us, since they are clearly an unhealthy duo when together and well, all this episode does is leave us hungry for more. Because once again, we were treated to a dynamic and engrossing tale, one that leaves you eager to spend more time with these dynamic and powerful and oddly relatable characters. The kind that we hope will rise above their pain and accomplish wonders. Until next time.  

‘A Discovery of Witches’ is streaming now on Sundance Now and Shudder.

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