‘Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches’ Recap: ‘Ten of Swords’

1/13/2025

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Alexandra Daddario as Dr. Rowan Fielding in Episode 202 of ‘Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches’ – ‘Ten of Swords’. (Photo Courtesy of Skip Bolen/AMC.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 202 of ‘Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches’. To revisit the Season Two Premiere, click here.

One particular moment that no parent ever wants to face, is to learn that their beloved child… is an outright monster. Because in that moment, there is nothing but conflicted emotions. The kind that extends sympathy to those that suffered at the hands of their child, along with shame and a sense of failure. For it is the goal of every parent to raise a good human being who would never make the six o’clock news in a devastating manner. But some parents face that, and of course, disappear shortly after to likely learn to live with the outcome, and the weight of possible inaction. Since they will undoubtedly wonder if by chance, there was more, they could have done to prevent such a tragedy from ever taking place.

The fact is though, they likely could not. Since so many children conduct these acts at a point in life where they are capable of making their own decisions and harbor their own moral core, and that question is designed to help people cope really. But it does leave one to wonder… what would happen if a parent knew of the evil in front of them. Would they step in and try and stop suffering from taking place? Well, the next episode of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches on AMC poses the answer that, yes, a parent most certainly would step in and try to stop their wicked child from doing harm. But would they be successful? Well, ‘Ten of Swords’ explored that too, shortly after we caught up with an unleashed Lasher in this tale, and it did not take him long here to find another Mayfair woman and seduce her and outright kill her.

Which in turn, rattled Rowan and prompted to jump into action quickly, and do something, anything. So, she decided in that moment… it was best to try and bring down her son once and for all. Which led to a harrowing sequence of events where we learned just how powerful Rowan has become, since she was able to summon bolts of lighting and fireballs, and she harbored the ability to bring down the world around her to try and end Lasher’s life. But alas, she could not bring him to his end, and he soon found himself on the street, hurting, confused and eager to find peace and well… only two things could bring him that. Specifically, more cold milk and more of the lifeforce of the Mayfair family. Which once more brought him to a victim and that brought forth even more death and suffering for the family.

Tongayi Chirisa as Ciprien ‘Sip’ Grieve in Episode 202 of ‘Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches’ – ‘Ten of Swords’. (Photo Courtesy of Skip Bolen/AMC.)

Yet, while all of that was happening, Rowan found herself in quite the reflective place. Because despite understanding she’d helped to create a monster, it was still her son, and the ghosts of Mayfair past pointed out that she held back and could have stopped him if she actually wanted to. Which hammered home, that a parent would try to stop their child from evil, but it is up for debate if they could finish the job. For various reasons, such as how a toxic relationship is hard to quit, something that was further explored by Cortland here. Since Rowan was pondering deeply upon letting him free, and that was a kind thought to harbor. For in that strange space, he found himself within, he came face to face with his father as he explored it. Wherein we learned that toxicity spans generations in this family, and that Cortland’s poppa, Julien, was strong with it. As evidenced by his terrifying conversations and demands, and Cortland’s incredible obedience. Even going so far as to feed his starving dad his own arm to please him.

But thankfully, Cortland was freed from that unsettling nightmare, in an effort to try and find another way to stop Lasher, and he wasn’t the only one called into service on this matter. Because Moira spent a little time with Sip in this tale, as part of the Talamasca’s plan to bring Lasher into their stead, and at first, it seemed as though Sip was wasting his time talking to her. Because she saw right through his attempts to curry her favor, in an effort to use her to capture Lasher. But seeing the devastation that Lasher put forth, firsthand, changed her mind on such matters. For she called Sip to come by and touch the fallen. To see exactly what they could learn from loss. Giving rise to the reality that now more are in on the hunt for this monster and that those closest to him, may continue to give him power because it seems impossible for a mother to cross that ultimate line, despite knowing what she knows.

But then again… she might. It may take time. Or perhaps a little more grounding from Lark. Who arrived with unique genetic results to try and help his friend. For that helped to remind us that Rowan is caught up between two worlds. The world she left behind and the world that gives her power, and objectivity might help her stop a monster. All of which gave rise to a fascinating story. One that pondered upon some unique concepts regarding parenting, and it also leaned into horror hard, courtesy of Ted Levine’s performance as Julien Mayfair, and it will be interesting to see how he pops up again down the line, since he hinted at that, and see how the hunt for Lasher goes as season two of this dynamic show continues along. Until next time.

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