A Discovery of Witches Season 2 Episode 5 Recap: In Which Diana Meets Philippe

February 14, 2021February 14, 2021 ~ Metacrone ~ 2 Comments

After leaving Gallowglass at Mont Saint-Michel, Diana and Matthew spend much of season 2 episode 5 traveling through 16th century France to Sept-Tours. Along the way, the stress of the journey and Matthew’s anxiety about seeing Philippe again affect their relationship. Once they reach Matthew’s ancestral home, Philippe is suspicious of Diana, but surprisingly honest with her.

Between this episode and the next, the biggest things that Matthew has been hiding from Diana are about to come out, kids. Grab your popcorn and lets get started.

Recap

We rejoin the gang on the row boat that’s dropping Matthew, Diana and Gallowglass off on the beach at Mont Saint-Michel, in northern France. Philippe has sent a welcoming party of armed men riding black horses to escort them to the de Clermont family stronghold at Sept-Tours. Matthew explains that the guards are meant to both protect them on the dangerous roads and to make sure they don’t change their minds about answering Philippe’s summons.

They say goodbye to Gallowglass, who is continuing on ahead of them to Emperor Rudolph’s court. He tells Diana, “Just follow the trail of vanquished enemies and satisfied women.” Then he warns Diana, again, to be careful not to lose Matthew or herself while with Philippe.

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Snowpiercer Season 2 Episode 2: Smolder to Life Recap

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 ~ Metacrone ~ 5 Comments

In season 2 episode 2 of Snowpiercer, we discover that when Melanie explained why she left Wilford on the side of the tracks 7 years ago, she underplayed how terrible life under his rule would be. In fact, I have a feeling we’ve only begun to learn how much worse life on Big Alice has been than life on Snowpiercer. Wilford appears to be a combination of a bloodthirsty cult leader like Charles Manson and a ruthless tech billionaire who only values competition and his own desires.

Smolder to Life brings us a hostage exchange, a promotion, a summit meeting, a death, a resurrection and a maiming. Ruth finally comes face to face with Wilford and LJ learns the value of work as a commodity.

Pay attention the characters’ hands in this episode. There is a strong motif focusing on hands as the symbols of the person and the body. Individual passengers, cars and mechanical parts make up the train as a whole and losing even one can make the crucial difference to the survival of the train as a whole. In the same way, hands are a crucial extension of each human mind and body. Losing all or part of a hand makes a huge difference in an individual’s life and potentially in the life of the entire train. Taking away the thumb of the wrong passenger could someday mean the difference between the life and death of everyone on the train, when they aren’t available to provide their expertise.

This is also a bloody episode. Following the trail of blood gives insights into character motivations and blind spots. Early on, Mel speaks about fire while there’s also blood in the room. The two are often symbolically linked, since both are red and blood contains the spark of life.

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A Discovery of Witches Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: In Which Marcus Visits an Auction House

February 5, 2021July 17, 2021 ~ Metacrone ~ 4 Comments

Season 2 episode 4 is spent entirely in the present day, where the vicious killer vampire strikes again, causing concern among the de Clermonts as well as Gerbert and Domenico. Domenico continues his investigation into the murderer, which leads him to cross paths with Marcus.

Much of the episode follows Marcus as he attempts to make a purchase from a high end auction house for Ysabeau, then becomes romantically involved with Phoebe Taylor, a human associate at the auction house. He must reconsider his priorities as de Clermont secrets that he’s kept and those that that have been kept from him begin to take center stage in his life.

Recap

We begin back on the Oxford campus in the present day, following a young man (Tom Byrne) riding a bike. He reaches his destination and locks up his bike, then walks down a secluded alley. He’s startled by the noise when a vampire circles the block, trying to escape the threat. Before he’s gone more than a few steps, the vampire attacks him, moving almost faster than the eye can follow, biting and ripping at him savagely.

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A Discovery of Witches Season 1 Episode 3 Recap: In Which Diana Discovers a New Talent

January 30, 2021January 30, 2021 ~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

In episode 3, Peter and Gillian push Diana for the Book of Life until she reaches a breaking point. Matthew helps distract Diana from Peter and Gillian’s machinations by showing her one of his old homes. Diana reciprocates by cooking him dinner. Marcus convinces Diana to let the vampires test her blood.

Recap

Matthew scouts out the Bodleian Library early in the morning, before Diana is even up, and finds that it’s already teeming with creatures hoping to be there the next time Diana summons Ashmole 782. He meets Diana outside her dorm and offers to take her on a day trip instead, since it’s unlikely she’ll be able to concentrate with so many eyes on her in the library.

Diana is wearing another amazing blue coat, this time a sky blue, mid thigh-length fuzzy number that she’s paired with a thick, cable knit, cream-colored sweater. It’s as if she knew Matthew would be waiting downstairs and wanted to look as huggable as possible. It worked, too, because he caught himself in the middle of ordering her to go with him and actually asked.

Before she can answer, Gillian (imagine me saying it the way Seinfeld says “Newman”) interrupts with, um, an urgent matter that she just thought up while she was following that vampire over from the library. She’s terribly worried that Diana is angry with her for betraying her to Peter Knox and needs to explain herself, right here on the street. Diana has realized that of course it had to be Gillian who told the other witches about Ashmole 782.

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Snowpiercer Season 2 Episode 1: The Time of Two Engines Recap

January 28, 2021 ~ Metacrone ~ 2 Comments

Snowpiercer is back for season 2, with a bang, a few crashes, some frostbite and a bottle of Mr Wilford’s favorite Scotch. With the addition of supply train Big Alice to the Tail at the end of season 1, Snowpiercer is now 1034 cars long. The class wars continue, with a new twist- Mr Wilford has brought a class of elite tech geniuses with him who use scientific innovations to raise their possibilities above even the 1st class of Snowpiercer.

The crisis forces Snowpiercer to continue under martial law, but Andre still depends on and delegates to his council of advisors and department heads, so a democratic process is developing on its own, even without formal meetings. Thanks to Melanie’s tolerance of Snowpiercer’s trainwide black market and the Tailies’ development of independent governance, the train has always been more democratic than it appeared at first glance, especially economically, which means it already has a foundation to build from.

Snowpiercer’s population puts those skills to use now as they approach the need to become a unified population while facing a common enemy, in addition to coping with post war resource shortages and infrastructure damage. But will their numbers and sheer determination be enough to outwit Mr Wilford’s ambition and improved technology?

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A Discovery of Witches Season 2 Episode 3 Recap: In Which Diana Meets the Queen and Plans a Journey

January 25, 2021 ~ Metacrone ~ 3 Comments

In episode 3 of Matthew and Diana’s big adventure in the 16th century, Diana begins her magic lessons with Goody Alsop and the local Gathering of witches, with surprising results. Matthew continues to deal with the chaos caused by his sudden disappearance from Berwick and reappearance in London with a witchy wife. He turns to his religion to help him cope with the murder he committed in episode 2 and finds a new target for his anger. But he has to appease the Queen, who isn’t okay with his recent activities.

These troubles are offset by a visit to the Queen’s astrologer, Dr John Dee (Struan Rodger), who gives Matthew and Diana a lead on the location of the Book of Life, and a visit from Matthew’s vampire nephew. The long-awaited and much-anticipated Gallowglass (Steven Cree) is finally here!!

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A Discovery of Witches Season 1 Episode 2 Recap: In Which Matthew Visits a Daemon and Diana Is Betrayed

January 24, 2021January 24, 2021 ~ Metacrone ~ 2 Comments

In episode 2, Matthew and Diana go their separate ways for a bit. Matthew takes a trip to visit his daemon friend Hamish to hunt and gain some perspective. Diana continues her research while the other witches try to convince her to give them the Book of Life. We’re also introduced to the vampires of Venice, where the Congregation is located.

Recap

We begin the episode on location in Venice, Italy, home of the Congregation, with vampire Juliette Durand (Elarica Johnson) sipping an espresso at an outdoor cafe next to one of the canals while Haley Reinhardt’s version of White Rabbit plays. This is peak, atmospheric All Souls Trilogy, my friends. Drink it in. I’m writing this in late January, 2021, after almost a year in COVID lockdown. Shows like this, that give us beautiful views of the wider world without the troubling aspects of reality, are a lifeline right now.

Or maybe lifeline isn’t the right word, since we’re currently on vacation with a mentally unstable vampire. Chances are, as long as your name isn’t Matthew, you’ll be fine. 😘

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A Discovery of Witches Season 1 Episode 1 Recap: In Which Diana Summons a Book and Meets a Vampire

January 22, 2021January 22, 2021 ~ Metacrone ~ 3 Comments

This is a recap of season 1 episode 1 of the TV series A Discovery of Witches. My season 1 review/book vs TV series comparison can be found HERE. All of my A Discovery of Witches posts are listed at the tag, HERE.

Let’s take a trip in the wayback machine to season 1, when Matthew and Diana began their journey together. I’m enjoying writing about S2 so much that I’ve decided to give S1 a try, since I’ve also had some requests for it.

Season 1 of A Discovery of Witches is based on the book of the same name by Deborah Harkness, which is the first book in her All Souls Trilogy. The story follows Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer), an American witch and historian currently working at Oxford University in the UK. She’s never been comfortable with her magic, but after she discovers a mysterious, ancient book in one of the university’s libraries and meets Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode), a vampire who studies the biogenetics of creatures (witches, vampires and daemons), a whole new world of possibilities opens up for her.

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A Discovery of Witches Season 2 Episode 2 Recap: In Which Diana Tries Again

January 20, 2021 ~ Metacrone ~ 2 Comments

Disc of Witches S2Ep2 Diana Passes Test

In season 2 episode 2 of A Discovery of Witches, Diana finds the powerful witch who’s meant to teach her how to use her unique magic. With Kit’s assistance, Matthew attempts to navigate the treacherous political waters of the day while convincing everyone he’s Matthew Royden, but not becoming lost in his old persona. As old enemies surface, the strain of keeping up with his own difficulties in addition to monitoring Diana’s progress shows.

Recap

We begin with a check in at present day Sept-Tours. Sarah is worrying about whether or not Diana and Matthew arrived safely in the past, whether their coven can be trusted not to betray them to Peter Knox and anything else she can come up with. Em is countering Sarah’s fears with facts and trying to divine some useful information from the Ashmole 782 page Diana’s father sent her by way of the Bishop house in season 1.

Downstairs, Marthe prepares a family dinner for the four of them, but Ysabeau isn’t sure she’s ready for that kind of closeness. Marthe tells her that since Matthew has evolved past his hatred of witches, they need to make an effort to do the same.

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A Discovery of Witches Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: In Which Diana and Matthew Timewalk

January 16, 2021January 26, 2021 ~ Metacrone ~ 2 Comments

Hello, witches, daemons and vampires! The long-awaited second season of A Discovery of Witches is finally here. This is my favorite book in Deborah Harkness’ series, so I’ll be attempting to keep up with weekly recaps this season. Besides having Diana and Matthew’s timewalk to Elizabethan England to enjoy this season, at long last we’ll meet daemon playwright Christopher Marlowe (Tom Hughes), James Purefoy as Matthew’s father Philippe, Steven Cree as Gallowglass, Sheila Hancock as Goody Alsop, Adelle Leonce as Phoebe Taylor and Barbara Marten as Queen Elizabeth I. If you haven’t read the book, I’ll just leave you to wonder about the unfamiliar names for now.

On with the show.

Recap

We open in the room where we left off, minutes after Diana (Teresa Palmer) and Matthew (Matthew Goode) timewalked out of the old Bishop house in upstate NY on Halloween night. At the end of S1, Gerbert (Trevor Eve), Satu (Malin Buska) and Peter Knox (Owen Teale) were breaking into the house, ready to capture and torture Diana the same way witches did with her parents. Now, they’re examining the remnants of Diana’s magic, trying to figure how she and Matthew escaped.

Though Knox always presents himself as the leader and magical expert, it’s Satu and Gerbert who closely examine evidence Diana and Matthew left behind, then quickly solve the case. Meanwhile, Peter stands off to the side, assigning his own motivations to the missing couple. Satu asks if Peter can feel the power in Diana’s spell, but he doesn’t directly answer her. I don’t think he senses it the way she does.

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