A Discovery of Witches Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Out of Time
Carissa Pavlica
at
.
Other creatures need to catch onto the idea that magic is ruled by a witch's heart before attacking anyone Diana loves.
On A Discovery of Witches Season 1 Episode 8, Juliette discovered that nugget the hard way when she tried to put an end to Matthew out of spite and jealousy.
What Juliette did to Matthew was worthy of Diana's best magical retaliation, but nobody expected her powers to keep growing.
Like Villanelle on the Killing Eve Season 2 finale, Juliette didn't let love get in the way of her vengeance over getting spurned.
She literally tore right into Matthew, leaving him for dead. Taunting Diana that her magic wouldn't save Matthew didn't earn her any extra points, either.
Diana might not have a full understanding of her magic, but when the situation arises, she pulls all of the elements together and finds a way to persevere.
Diana: Maiden, mother, crone, I call you. Goddess, help me! I will do anything to save him.
Goddess: If I help him, there will be a price.
Diana: I will give anything, anything that you want. Anything, just save him!
Goddess: Give him life.
How did Diana even know she could call to the Goddess in the sky for backup? That was stunning, and even more that the answer was to trust Matthew as she had grown to do so she could save him with her life.
Diana told Ysabeau on A Discovery of Witches Season 1 Episode 5 that if she could save Matthew with her blood, she would, and she got the opportunity to prove herself.
Miriam: What she did was unspeakably courageous. You might not have been able to stop drinking.
Matthew: I know.
Miriam: She certainly is full of surprises. Witch fire? It wasn't in her DNA markers.
Even Miriam now has a grudging respect for Diana, something that she earned and then some.
That set the tone for the hour that things were progressing faster than they could control and the realization that the only way for them to survive and keep their friends and family safe was to disappear for a little while.
Bishop House offered to Matthew the idea they needed to take advantage of Diana's magical abilities to fully escape the wrath of the Congregation.
I could use a house as helpful as Bishop House. Can you imagine a house revealing to you things you'd lost when you needed them the most?
Killing Eve Season Finale Review: You're Mine
The Congregation didn't even know about Juliette's brush with Diana in Madison, but after Satu revealed Baldwin's betrayal of the group, they were hell-bent on making Diana and Matthew pay for their indiscretions anyway.
Gerbert: Baldwin de Clermont, you have committed treason against the Congregation. Your punishment is death by beheading and fire.
Baldwin: That is a punishment suited for the 14th century, not the 21st!!
Gerbert: It comes from ancient testimony. There is no newer one to replace it.
Agatha: There is one Congregation rule we mustn't overlook. Each of us has one vote on every decision in this chamber.
Baldwin survived with the help of fellow secret keepers Agatha and Baldwin, but they didn't have a lot of time to prepare their loved ones for the eventual wrath of the Congregation.
Thankfully, everybody was already en route to Madison to offer help to Matthew and Diana in any way they could.
Diana had to train herself to time walk at will instead of just disappearing at random when her moods dictated. That allowed for a lot of fun scenes, and the couple even got the opportunity to revisit one of the best nights from A Discovery of Witches Season 1.
Time walking is unique in the world Deborah Harkness created, as the people doing the walking can step right into their own skin without running into themselves.
Fixing that time paradox is very clever and erases the headaches caused on shows like The Flash when there are sometimes handsful of Barry Allens in any given place in time.
I'm going to delve deep into the books this summer, and I hope the concept is covered in more detail there.
What I'd like to know is if their memories from that night when the danced, for example, are changed in any way as a result of reliving the experience.
A Discovery of Witches Review: Madison
It seems like it wouldn't be as enchanting the second time around. You could even tell by the look on Diana's face when she was watching Matthew dance with Ysabeau that she was aware of what was ahead.
I'll have to watch the first go around with this understanding to see if the scenes are identical.
Getting all of the so many people together under one roof was greatly appreciated.
For a series that only had eight episodes, the cast got quite sprawling and hooking them into the same story opens up the possibilities that can get further explored while Matthew and Diana are away without them ever feeling unnecessary.
Harkness does a wonderful job of making sure none of the characters got introduced without a purpose that can live outside of Diana and Matthew's direct involvement.
And I also very much appreciate that in doing so she's ensuring the need for the Congregation becomes more questionable every day.
Philippe undoubtedly had some good in mind when he established it, but they're very quickly learning that creatures keeping their distance from one another isn't the necessity they once believed.
Sophie, a daemon born of two witches, is married to a daemon and they're going to give birth to another witch. It's shocking, but highly interesting to the vampires who study creatures.
A Discovery of Witches Review: Spellbound
Miriam, who initially seemed too intent on her science at the cost of interpersonal relationships with her subjects is gaining a new respect for the knowledge she seeks.
She and Marcus are making friends with people who can help them better understand all of it, and it should solidify their purpose to discover the meaning in their research because they are personally invested.
Marcus and Nat got very chummy while Sophie got promised the support and protection of the witches.
The big dinner scene was beautiful, proving that you can choose your family, and I hope the story will continue as if they've all become extensions of each other.
It seemed like such a short amount of time to accomplish so much, but the group made a lot of plans to cover for Matthew and Diana while they are away.
And I have to wonder if when they eventually return from the 1500s if they'll pop up again to what is the present now or even a little earlier to keep things from getting as far as they have already.
In other words, is what they've come to know so far going to be erased by their time walking?
Hamish appeals to Matthew to return and to bring with him the Book of Life that might provide answers to the potential end of the creatures.
Thinking of that and the research Matthew does makes me wonder why the Congregation, which is made up of all three types of creatures, hasn't yet figured out that the way to save their collective species as creatures is to combine forces on a greater level.
A Discovery of Witches Review: We Will Always Be One
How can they be in command of all creatures if they're so blind to creatures as a whole and still in it for each individual species?
I assume I'll get that answer as time continutes.
Parentage of vampires isn't as definitive as with humans and other creatures, so it's sometimes easy to forget Marcus is Matthew's son.
But the scene between them when Matthew was appointing Marcus as the new Grand Master for the Knights of Lazarus was incredibly moving.
Marcus: I can't follow in your footsteps.
Matthew: My son, you are the only one that I trust to do the job.
I'm excited to see where all of the various storylines go in the wake of Matthew and Diana's time in the past, so I hope they aren't abandoned when another short season is upon us.
The possibilities that arise as a result of Sarah and Emily going to Sept-Tours to spend time Ysabeau and Marthe are endless.
A Discovery of Witches Review: Bound Together
Ysabeau is so refined and Sarah so brash that it's almost hard to imagine them sharing the same room let alone a house (even if it is massive).
Saying goodbye to everyone didn't feel as significant as it no doubt is for everyone, and that's because their time together was so special.
Ending the season on Halloween is such a fun choice given the cliches surrounding all things that go bump in the night.
It allowed for a beautifully filmed scene with Diana tossing witch fire from her fingertips to light pumpkins on fire, too.
I could have done with a little more canoodling between Matthew and Diana before they had to rush off into the past, but at least we got to see them in their vintage nightwear.
The ending was quite tense as Satu, Knox, and Gerbert descended upon Bishop House. It all happened so fast!
Why didn't the house know what was coming? It seems like Bishop House can foresee the future, so giving Matthew and Diana a heads up that trouble was coming might have helped them make a clean getaway.
But surely the first book in the series didn't end with Diana turning around to the sound of the slamming door. Right?
That has to be a cliffhanger for the series because ending a book like that would be too cruel.
Matthew can't time walk without Diana, so what the heck happened?
Get Sundance Now via Prime Video Channels for Proof that Entertainment doesn't have to be Mindless
I did a little digging and discovered the end of the book suggests they both walk back to 1590, but now I need to know if this was part of the process.
And if Satu is Diana's opposite in many ways, will we have a situation where she does the time walk with them? Can she find them in the past?
Who can find them in the past?
Getting away is never as easy as it sounds, even when it's already as complicated as traveling centuries into the past.
What I do know is that the wait for A Discovery of Witches Season 2 will only be manageable because I have not yet read the books.
I'm one of the lucky ones who gets to continue the love story before it resumes on screen again. That will make the wait a little more palatable.
Still, watching it and reading about it are two different things. This amazing cast brought to life a beautiful story even more elegantly than I could imagine.
Whether you're a book reader, have already watched the show numerous times online, or just finishing up the first season right now, weigh in below with your thoughts on all things related to A Discovery of Witches.
It will be a long time before we do it again!!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
