Married At Last
We begin episode 6 of A Discovery of Witches Season 2 with Matthew prying the bloodied sword from Diana’s hands. Apparently Philippe planned all of this as he didn’t trust her and wanted to test Diana’s loyalty. Diana is not happy but as she walks away, Philippe notices Ysabeau’s ring on her finger. Diana is haunted by her actions, especially as she actively wanted to kill the man. “What am I becoming?” She asks Matthew, as she walks away. Back in the present, Ysabeau finds the two witches near the books and reveals that the books were a way her husband used to leave her notes and letters, meaning Philippe may have left a note for her. Together with Sarah and Emily, they begins searching through the various texts. In 1590, Philippe confronts Matthew about Ysabeau and the ring. He realizes that he’s dead in the present and wants answers. Matthew refuses to acknowledge details of the future, eventually leading to the duo engaged in a sword fight. While they duel, Diana heads inside Philippe’s chamber and notices a map marked with all the different witch covens. Touching the map, Diana channels her energy and somehow manages to move the ink markers to random locations. It seems like Diana is changing time! Anyway, the fight eventually spills inside as Philippe tells Diana about his son’s blood-rage. Matthew refuses to divulge the truth about how his Father dies, eventually collapsing on the ground in a heap. Now Diana understands why they can’t truly be mated, especially because of the blood-rage. Diana doesn’t care though and comforts her lover. Together, Matthew divulges the truth that Philippe was using Matthew as an assassin to take out his own kind. Diana is furious and confronts Philippe about what he’s done. However, she’s caught off-guard when Philippe kindly tells her he did this to try and make their faith unwavering. As Diana lectures Philippe about his legacy, she eventually tells him that she’s worthy of bearing his son. As lightning crackles all around her, Diana shows off her power before eventually admitting to him that she loves Matthew, and that should enough. After proving their love to one another, Diana and Matthew talk in private. It turns out Philippe was taken in World War II and held in the Nazi Death camps. They used witches to extract his memories and tortured the vampire to such a degree that he eventually begged for death. It’s a horrendous way to go – especially after a 3 month period of torture – and Matthew was the one to grant this small mercy. Philippe takes Diana and Matthew to an ancient site and tells the duo that they’re to be wed in two days’ time. Placing their hands in the middle of a broken stone pillar, a stag shows up and seems to give its blessing toward the union. As it walks away, Philippe explains that Artemis has accepted their gift and now they can be married. And married they are. The ceremony goes off without a hitch and the pair eventually sleep together. After their night-time antics, Matthew and Diana part ways with Philippe after he accepts Diana into his family as a daughter. He even forgives Matthew too, before watching them ride off. As the episode closes out, Ysabeau finds a note left behind by Philippe, one that confirms he’s found peace. He reveals that Matthew and Diana are journeying to Bohemia and fears there are difficult times ahead for the pair. He knows that he and Ysabeau are parted in the future but promises to hold her close to his heart.
The Episode Review
A Discovery Of Witches crosses the halfway point of its runtime with an episode that finally sees Diana learn the truth about Matthew. Seeing his blood-rage first-hand and learning that Philippe was just testing their resolve all this time is certainly a nice touch. It’s also one that reinforces that the pair are destined to be together. In fact, Matthew and Diana are finally wed and with the ceremony going to plan with no hitches, most of this episode sets up the foundation for the second part of this journey to come. It seems likely now that the series will return to focusing on the Book of Life, with Diana and Matthew journeying up to Bohemia to try and retrieve it. I’d imagine Diana will also channel her portal-powers to get back to the present time. Given how inexperienced she is with conjuring this sort of magic, it remains to be seen if there’s consequences or not. In the meantime, the final message from Philippe to Ysabeau is a great touch and a heartwarming way to end things. While the show has suffered a little by slowing its pace right down during these middle chapters, hopefully the show can pick up steam moving into its third act.
