Luna Nera – Season 1 Episode 4 Recap and Review

Gathering the Forces

Episode 4 of Luna Nera begins with Pietro on his mother’s death bed, crying with Sante as he greets people there to pay their respects. In the dwelling, the women discuss what they have just learned and wonder if her death was caused by Sante. Worried about Pietro, Ade decides to go after him despite Persepolis warning that it would be too dangerous.

During the funeral, the priest denounces those who chose science over religion, which angers Pietro. As he says goodbye by her grave, Ade arrives to speak to him. He tells her she shouldn’t be there and when she tries to explain herself, he reveals that he doesn’t understand what happened to his mother as she was getting better thanks to his medicine. He then tells her that his place is with his Father right now and says farewell.

In the dwelling, the witches try to convince Ade to use her powers again to find the other women. As they all recall what happened to them in the past, Ade finally starts distinguishing the screams. We then see them heading off to rescue each of the women Ade has been hearing while the Benandante get ready to hunt witches.

In the evening, Sante returns to Serra with three women and tells his men to make them talk. His son confronts him about his actions, telling him it wont bring back his wife while back in the dwelling, the women tends to their new guests. Tebe speaks to them and explains that they are not alone anymore.

Meanwhile, Pietro drowns his sorrow in a bar and causes a commotion when the barman tries to get him to leave. Cesaria arrives to take him away but a fight ensues. However, they end the conversation with a kiss but Cesaria quickly stops him for now.

In the dwelling, Ade tells Tebe that she’s ready to use her power and now understands what she needs to do. Leptis relays to Tebe that they’re now arresting any women with no distinction and wants to save them too. However, Tebe insists that they have to concentrate first on the ones like them or they will not stand a chance.

Marzio calls Sante to tell him there’s a way for him to see his wife again but he needs to bring him Ade. Sante tries to protest as it will be difficult, so the priest promises to grant him great power if he does. In the evening, Pietro gets initiated into the Benandanti while the witches gather and perform a ritual to rebirth the lost cities. We then see both leaders of each group initiating members as they prepare for the upcoming battle. They finish with Ade and Pietro each receiving a medallion. However, the latter has a change of heart and throws his on the floor as the episode closes.

As we reach the second half of Luna Nera, we are starting to see more of a plot heavy in feminism as the show develops its story and characters more. While I don’t have any issue with that subject being tackled, it does feel a little forced and on the nose, which hurts the integrity of the show a little. Another issue stems from the first episode, which promised to tackle the difference between science and religion but this has so far felt a little under-developed as the chapters have ticked along.

It’s not all bad though, seeing the witches rescue their own was quite the interesting touch and the last scene was certainly the highlight of the episode as we see the contrast between both groups getting ready for the upcoming confrontation. Luna Sera certainly has the potential to be a decent supernatural series but thus far hasn’t quite reached the high that series like the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina have set for this genre. Whether the last two episodes manage to improve the story though remains to be seen.

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