The Puppet And His Master
Episode 2 of A Discovery of Witches Season 3 begins with Chris continuing his work on uncovering a cure to Blood Rage. The thing is, the vampire gene is complex and with only two scientists, a cure could be years away. The only solution is to hire more researchers. They also need extra samples of blood too, which includes Matthew visiting New Orleans and gaining samples from Marcus’ children. As they leave, Father Hubbard approaches with grave news – and a surprise. He’s been keeping Jack safe all this time since the 16th Century. Hubbard turned him into a vampire in order to save his life, and save the boy from starving to death. The thing is, Hubbard also has another secret that he’s keeping. Benjamin has been sniffing around trying to find Matthew and Diana. For now, he keeps them safe and doesn’t reveal their location. However, he does learn some of Diana’s secrets, given she gave him a drop of blood. Matthew is not happy when he finds out. In Venice, Knox continues to try and find a way to thwart Diana and the other witches. A letter from Edward Kelley about missing pages from the Book of Life could well be the key here, and it’s important to note most of the season does seem to revolve around this. Three pages have been torn out and given to three different recipients. If they could be reunited with the book, it could tip the balance of power back in Knox’s favour. He wants Satu’s help with this but she refuses to be controlled. Thankfully, they’re not the only ones aware of this. Marcus and Phoebe continue this story over in London, with the latter tracking down the current location for magical and alchemical books. Baldwin shows up in London but unfortunately crosses paths with Jack. When he confronts the young vampire, Jack lashes out and bites the man’s neck. Matthew immediately senses this and heads downstairs, where Baldwin drinks Jack’s blood and sees his history flash before his eyes. This sparks Diana into action, magically wrapping a chain around Baldwin’s neck. Matthew convinces her to stop, but in doing so their worst fears are revealed. Jack is unveiled as the blood raged killer. His silenced shame to this revelation is enough for Baldwin to force Matthew to kill Jack. Only, Jack hurries away before the killing blow, partly thanks to Matthew’s hesitation. When Matthew heads back to see Hubbard, he learns that Benjamin resurrected him and is the one who spread the blood rage across to Jack. Benjamin wanted Hubbard to stand against the De Clermont family, intending to use Jack as a weapon, with Hubbard turning him in a bid to transfer the blood rage. Well, it seems to have worked and Jack has been Benjamin’s pawn this whole time. This puts Matthew at an impossible choice. On the one hand, the families could hold tight and wait for a possible cure for blood rage. On the other hand, they save Jack by giving him mercy – killing him. Matthew chooses the latter option and heads out to find Jack, who happens to be in the underbelly of London, struggling to control his illness. As they talk, Matthew has a change of heart and decides to try and help him. Given Matthew has helped others to control their blood rage, why not Jack? At least until a cure is created, of course. In Venice, Domenico arrives to see Gerbert. As he does, Benjamin reveals himself to be working in the shadows with him. This whole ordeal has been a big plan from Gerbert to gain revenge on Matthew and bring down the De Clermont family. Matthew finally decides to bring a team together, and with all these students having signed Non Disclosure Agreements, he debunks the vampire myths by presenting himself as an actual vamp. Meanwhile, Marcus packs up his things, ready to convince his family left in New Orleans to help join this scion. Matthew joins him on this trip, convincing his blood brother that he needs his support. Marcus is a tough cookie to crack but only when they’re living freely does he promise to be on Matthew’s side. While sitting at the airport, Benjamin rings Matthew and tells him to check his email. A video attachment shows Jack killing. It’s incriminating evidence and could be enough to topple the family completely. Bound to Benjamin’s will, Matthew listens as Benjamin decides they should bring the whole family together.
The Episode Review
The second episode of A Discovery Of Witches starts to deepen the ties between characters, with Jack’s surprise return and Benjamin’s involvement in all this as puppeteer revealed. Only, he’s also having his strings pulled by Gerbert. It’s quite the surprising turn of events and it helps to align the previous seasons together for this third chapter. There’s a really nice bit of dialogue in here involving Chris and Matthew talking about the horrors of humanity. It’s one of the best bits of dialogue in the show up until this point, subtly bringing up racial issues without smacking one over the head with social messaging. It also simultaneously establishes a level of respect between Chris and Matthew too. As someone who hasn’t read the books, I can’t say how well this has been adapted but this season has been really engrossing and very watchable so far. There’s a war brewing in the shadows, and you can feel the tension start to rise between the two races. With Gerbert intent on destroying Mathew’s family, and Domenico continuing to scheme, the odds are stacked against our vampire and witch duo. Can they come out on top?
