A Discovery Of Witches – Season 2 Episode 9 Recap & Review

Deja Vu

Episode 9 of A Discovery of Witches Season 2 begins in London 1591 with Diana continuing to mull over the Book Of Life. Eventually, she hides it under the floorboards and speaks to Matthew about their time in London. Given they’ve failed the Queen, Matthew worries that Diana’s appearance could unsettle Elizabeth further. Instead, he tasks her with finding a way back to the present while he braces the Queen’s wrath.

Diana heads back to the coven and learns  Alsop is not doing so well. Her face lights up when she sees the Weaver though, as news comes in that Agnes has been tortured in her absence. The witch executions are spreading South and the witches are worried that their time is coming to an end. Goody suddenly stands up though and reveals that Diana is pregnant. Let’s just hope it’s not a ghastly CGI baby like in Twilight!

Anyway, Matthew and Diana realize they’re in uncharted territory and need to head back to their own time. In doing so, this would mean leaving Jack behind in this time. While Matthew heads off to court, Goody tasks Susanna with gathering the other witches to help complete Diana’s training.

Although Diana has untangled 3 knots, there’s still lots more to do. Now understanding the essence of this spell-making, Diana conjures the Rowan Tree again but this time a blazing phoenix bursts into her stomach and dissolves.

Back in court, Matthew bows before the Queen as she senses that he’s a changed man. She’s not happy that Edward is dead and instead asks for the book. Matthew refuses, telling her it was stolen. She doesn’t believe him though and immediately sets Cecil out to search his abode. As we know, it’s under the floorboards but we’ll have to wait and see if they find it. While this takes place, Matthew is forced to hang tight in court.

Diana realizes Matthew’s in trouble but Kit guides her down to the shore and encourages her to head off with him in a rowing boat for parts unknown. As they do, the Queen’s men scour the house and eventually it’s Cecil who finds the book hidden under the floorboards. Just as the soldiers take off, Gallowglass stands in their way and looks set to stop them. He eventually has second thoughts though and allows them to pass.

Back in court, Matthew helps with Elizabeth’s toothache and reveals the truth that Diana is a time-spinner. Elizabeth finally understands what he’s saying, having felt it in her heart, as the darkness lifts slightly and allows her to set Matthew free.

Unfortunately it’s not enough to stop Elizabeth’s men, led by Cecil, who happen to hold the book. Only, it turns out Jack switched the books over and the Book Of Life is actually safe. What’s less safe though, is Diana’s wellbeing.

Diana is taken to a secluded area with Kit where Louisa suddenly shows up and grabs Diana round the neck. There’s a sense of Deja vu here with this confrontation, especially given what happened with Satu last season. And just like before, Diana uses her magic to try and get out of this situation. Only this time, it doesn’t work.

Instead, Diana uses her words to get through to Kit as he stands with a gun up to her. Diana recites the words of his poem and promises to tell Kit everything about his future. Louisa senses he’s about to wane and instead shoots at Diana herself. The phoenix we saw before bursts out of Diana’s body and circles Kit and Louisa, engulfing them in a ring of fire.

When Matthew shows up with Hubbard, they manage to control Diana and stop her from doing something she’ll regret. Instead, Matthew struggles to control his blood rage as he holds Louisa up by the throat. Diana tells him to think about their future and eventually he lets her go.

That evening, Diana and Matthew lie in bed and decide to spiritually connect together. Matthew drinks from Diana, allowing there to be complete belonging. On Diana’s side, she gives him a witch kiss, which essentially allows her to see inside his soul. “You, only you.” Diana whispers, as the episode comes to a close.

The Episode Review

With Diana and Matthew now bound together spiritually, it seems like this couple have taken the final steps to become fated together for all of eternity. Whether their love will stand the test of time remains to be seen but their baby will undoubtedly be important for the upcoming war between the different sides.

Speaking of babies, there hasn’t been anything about Sophie and Nathaniel’s child this episode and one can’t help but feel this second season has struggled to balance the present and past storylines together harmoniously.

Early on, the season definitely started strongly with the opening 3 chapters but has seemed to meander on a little too long. Now we’re suddenly at the finale and faced with Diana and Matthew presumably jumping back to the present time again, finishing the season on another cliffhanger.

The incident involving Louisa and Kit felt very reminisce of that with Satu last season, right down to the fire and torture elements. And speaking of which, what’s happened to Satu? We’ve only seen her for one scene and I can’t help but feel she’s been really under-utilized this year.

Still, A Discovery Of Witches has done a pretty good job with its follow-up but fails to come anywhere near the highs achieved in the first season. Still, we’ll have to wait and see how this one finishes.