Three episodes in and Matthew and Diane are already crossing paths with historical figures and ending up on side quests that may prolong their stay in 1590. All this and more on the latest episode of A Discovery of Witches.
(Spoilers Ahead – You’ve Been Warned!)
A Game of Creatures (and Thrones)
Making peace with Lord Hubbard, Matthew manages to keep the peace. Meanwhile Diana is finding support and acceptance with her coven, as she finally begins to learn the fundamentals and limits of her magic. While there was some definite culture shock in the beginning, it seems like she’s finding herself right at home centuries ago.
Meanwhile, a rather famous figure is displeased with Matthew for not presenting his new wife at court. The two of them go before Queen Elizabeth I herself and apologize for keeping it a secret.
We see firsthand that Elizabeth is not only aware of the existence of vampires and witches, but gets involved in their politics, which has a myriad of fascinating implications.
Matthew strikes a deal to do her favor in exchange for forgiveness. And just when the 16th Century political situation can’t get more complicated, Matthew receives a note from his father demanding he come to France immediately or else. While this certainly seems like a side quest, it will hopefully result in a really fascinating next episode.
Finding a New Home
Perhaps it’s too early to call, but it wouldn’t be that surprising if Diana decided that she’s rather stay in 1590. Part of her initial attraction to Matthew in Season 1 was that she didn’t quite fit in with society around her, and she sensed that he was an outsider too.
But in Elizabethan England, she’s found a group to belong to that’s far less toxic and opportunistic as the Congregation had become in modern times.
The fact that there’s another Matthew to potentially cause a time paradox might be the only thing that gets her to go back to the present, but it won’t be an easy thing to do.
Re-Writing History
As previously mentioned, Elizabeth’s involvement with the inner politics of the “creatures” opens this series up to something really interesting.
As a history major in college, it was really intriguing to wonder what role witches and vampires played on things like the Spanish Armada, which only happened two years before this is set.
It begs a whole host of questions about how vampires and witches influenced history, and it makes the lore and world-building of this series all the more compelling.
What did you think of this week’s episode? What do you hope to see next week? Let us know in the comments!
A Discovery of Witches is streaming exclusively on Sundance Now and Shudder
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