Episode Guide
Episode 1 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 2 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 3 – | Review Score – 4/5 Episode 4 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 5 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 6 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 7 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 8 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 9 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 10 – | Review Score – 3/5 The first season of A Discovery Of Witches was a really pleasant surprise. The show embraced its fantasy world, producing 8 episodes of fantastical drama while interweaving a Twilight-esque romance between its two leads. Unlike the ideas in Stephanie Meyer’s books however, season 1 of A Discovery Of Witches played out its story much closer to the forbidden love angle in Romeo & Juliet. The result was something that balanced its romance and drama nicely without ever losing sight of the bigger war to come. The result was a pacey 8-episode thriller that set the scene nicely for a dramatic and action-packed season 2. After 3 long years, A Discovery Of Witches returns for a meandering story that, while engaging and interesting, quickly loses any ensuing excitement through its gimmicky time jump hook. The problems here fundamentally lie with the longer 10-episode plot, which focuses much of its time on Matthew and Diana in 1590’s London. On the run from Peter Knox and Gerbert, our duo set out to try and find the Book Of Life while avoiding suspicion from those around them. Together, their journey sees them jet off to France and Czech Republic to retrieve their treasure. Along the way, the pair meet various historical figures while trying their best to evade the impending threat of both witch trials and persecution. While this is going on, our present day storyline meanders around with many characters walking and talking, threatening each other with the impending war we’ve been patiently waiting 2 seasons for. Unfortunately these threats don’t correlate to anything substantial, keeping you hanging on without a suitable pay-off to reward your time spent with these characters. The result instead is another big cliffhanger, one with very little plot progression or character development preceding it. Aside from the 1590’s plot line, which involves Matthew’s dark past and Diana harnessing her magic, there really isn’t a lot else going on here. Even worse, the one big action scene feels like a mirror image of what we saw in season 1 with Satu. That’s before even mentioning that Satu herself shows up for approximately 10 minutes of screen-time. The other supporting characters don’t fare much better, with minimal roles to play for Marcus (who engages in his own romance this time) and Domenico, despite adopting much of the screen-time in the present. The result is a show that returns after a long hiatus with a whimper rather than a roar, a whimper that’s all the more disappointing given how long fans have been waiting for this follow-up. While the individual episodes are a fun ride in the moment, there’s also nothing here that really stands out as memorable or meaningful when you’re done with it. Sure, there’s a couple of big reveals and a few pockets of action, but A Discovery Of Witches nestles itself somewhere in the realm of mediocrity. Season 2 isn’t bad per-se, but it’s also one that fails to conjure enough magic to make it as exciting as what’s come before.
