‘Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches’ Recap: ‘The Second Line’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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It is definitely safe to say that when life pours dark moments upon us, we want but one thing. Peace. Peace from the pain life is creating in our hearts and our souls and peace from the chaos that accompanies that pain, and when that ache is at its absolute worst, we will do anything we can to obtain that peace. Which is why we work hard to distract ourselves when the moment gets overwhelming or why we sometimes turn to ugly vices. But the fact of the matter is, sometimes what we want is unattainable in the moment, and all we can do… is live and do our best to ride out the pain until we come to a point where we can logically think about how to heal.

But that is of course, no easy task when we hurt, and really… the wild nature of trying to find peace when we are emotionally wounded in the moment is top of mind today, simply because that is the journey that Rowan went upon in the next episode of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches on AMC. For ‘The Second Line’ is a story that picked up immediately after Rowan saw her wounded mother in the elevator and sadly… there was no happy ending to that surprise. For Diedre died in that elevator and that left Rowan in an even darker place than she was in before she landed in New Orleans. For now, she had in essence, lost two mothers, and despite meeting more family in the chaos following Diedre’s death, and enduring their demands to spend time with them, she turned to Ciprien for immediate help.

Because there was familiarity with him around and some semblance of safety since he didn’t demand a thing. And while he did offer Rowan a peaceful place to clean up and relax, it wasn’t enough to cool her ailing soul. For she was truly broken in this moment and scattered and unsure of what to do next, and she was of course, desperate to feel something beyond sorrow and pain. And while there was danger abound since Ciprien and others pondered upon the reality that Lasher had crossed the line and done something awful, that didn’t stop Rowan from succumbing to the need for peace and heading out into the world when the opportunity presented itself via a fire alarm. And that led, to a sorrowful journey for Rowan for certain.

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One that did indeed see her succumb to pressure from others to enjoy the moment and lose herself within it and that put her on a wild trip through New Orleans. Wherein she was high as a kite and numb to her pain and oddly… in the company of someone concerning. For Lasher found her in her altered state and began to test her mettle. To see if by chance she would let him into her heart since she was closed off to that possibility. Thankfully, she stayed that way and eventually made her way back to Ciprien’s with the knowledge in her heart at last that there was little she could do in the moment but listen to her new friend’s advice, and rest, and just ride the pain until it subsided. Giving rise to another very real sequence in this story since we’ve all been in Rowan’s shoes or will be. But we would be foolish to not point out that Lasher’s actions here and Cirprien’s, Carlotta’s, and Cortland’s journeys… helped to move the plot along while Rowan tried to heal.
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Because clearly, something very sinister is happening in the Big Easy and it is all related to Lasher and the Mayfair family line. Since Ciprien’s work to try and understand who crossed the line with Diedre yielded little to no results. Simply because someone was covering up what happened in that elevator, to the point where Ciprien’s gifts were nullified from revealing any truths, and clearly… the family is up to something as well when it comes to Lasher. Since Carlotta tried to get Lasher to attach himself to Deidre’s personal nurse, a move that ended in a horrible fashion, and even Cortland was quick to try and appease this spirit when he came calling. Citing that Lasher would soon have the 13th Witch he so desperately sought. Making it clear that Lasher has some kind of hold over this family and will flex hard to get whatever it is he wants from the Mayfair line and clearly… Rowan is part of this mess.

All of which, raises the stakes for the story since real trouble and real evil is brewing behind the scenes, and while we don’t know what exactly Lasher has planned for Rowan or what he wants from her, it is only a matter of time before the story reveals that to us. And while we wait for those answers, we can celebrate another emotional journey from this series. One that once again explored the power and nature of grief and its impact upon the human psyche, all while doing a wonderful job of setting the stage for things to come, and truly… this episode will make the wait for next week’s episode quite difficult. Because we know now, this story is building toward something big, a showdown of sorts between Rowan and the evil that is lurking behind the scenes, and we truly cannot wait to see that fight come to fruition. Until next time.  

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