‘A Discovery of Witches’ Recap: ‘Season 3, Episode 5’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 305 of ‘A Discovery of Witches’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Normally when a child is born, a grand celebration takes place and understandably so. For that child could grow up and use the life lessons and sound moral core that will be instilled in them over their first eighteen years… to make the world a better place. So, there’s no better reason to toast to a baby and place our hopes in their future. But while the vast majority of us see the arrival of a baby as a wonderful gift to the world… not everyone shares that view. For nouveau parents that aren’t ready are terrified when the day comes, and some do indeed lament the child that’s entered their lives. But what on earth could motivate a person to be genuinely sour on a baby being born? Well, that’s a question that was easily answered in the next episode of A Discovery of Witches. Shortly after exploring the wonder of children of course.
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For when we catch up with Diana and Matthew in this week’s episode, they’re back at Sept-Tours and preparing for a grand christening of Philip and Rebecca. For this is indeed a joyous occasion, for the family has grown and the potential of what these children could accomplish is endless and for a time… it seemed as though sour notes weren’t going to be explored in this tale. Since everyone rallied around the babies and celebrated their wonder and mom, and dad even came to learn a few things about their little ones. Such as the fact that Philip exhibited traits of a witch and was quite the cute charmer and Rebecca… well she was a hungry little vampire that needed a taste in infancy to stay healthy. But alas, that joy simply wasn’t designed to last… and outside of the castle walls, we came to learn why people would fear and lament the birth of a child.

Because the Congregation made it clear, that a union between vampire and witch… one that brought forth offspring, represented a powerful threat to the natural and archaic order of the monsters of the world. And the potential upheaval in monster-society, combined with a lack of understanding of what children from two worlds could do… left everyone in the room terrified of their existence and eager to either rid them from the world or treat them as science experiments. Which in turn led Baldwin to return to Sept-Tours on the day of the christening… to basically ruin it. Because not only did he demand having the children turned over to him while spouting a bunch of nonsense about the old ways, but he also picked a fight with his brother. One that required Diana’s intervention and guarantees… so that the Scion could finally be formed and so the family could be left alone. Demands that Baldwin did indeed agree to.

Which meant that this episode should have ended on a fairly upbeat note since peace was to be found. But alas, there was more trouble to be found in this tale. For Benjamin set his plans in motion. The kind that involved sending a broken messenger to Sept-Tours to remind Matthew that Benjamin was still out there and still waiting for the opportunity to settle scores and sadly… Matthew realized he needed to answer that invitation and face his greatest mistake and his greatest enemy. But before preparations were made to execute that grand showdown, the family’s defenses needed to be strengthened. For more assaults and pushes from the forces of evil and ignorance are undoubtedly waiting in the wings and that prompted everyone to join the Knights of Lazarus to prepare for war. 

If anything, this was another powerful episode when all is said and done. Since a fear of innocent and cute babies can reflect mankind’s collective fear of change and the future, and how so many believe that the only way forward is the old ways because it makes people comfortable. Plus, this episode made it inherently clear how great Matthew and Diana are as parents. Since they quickly risked their lives to ensure the safety of their babies and there’s just something uplifting about that. But what matters most, is that the tension is rising, and the stakes continue to get higher and that’s important, because it means that this series is building toward one hell of a finale. One that is hinting at an ending that will wrap up every plot thread through big moments and epic showdowns, and that potential and the fight that is clearly awaiting Matthew next week (thank you, teaser!) is going to make the wait for the penultimate episode… downright excruciating. Until next time.

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