Tessa Mayfair, Cortland’s daughter, tells Rowan about a growing conspiracy against witches. Rowan discovers a way to potentially free herself from Lasher. Ciprien takes a trip.

This is an odd one, so much so that it almost feels like a second season opener. The anti-witch plot feels like it’s coming out of nowhere, but using the morgue attendant from earlier in the season as an entry point is smart. It’s also depressingly prescient, as the MRA and incel elements of the plot feel all too familiar.

The way the show uses it to expand the world, and cast, is fun though. Madison Wolfe as Tessa is excellent, and if you like her work here I’d recommend the excellent (and very poignant) I Kill Giants. She’s younger but also more grounded than Rowan, and they have a fun dynamic that the show uses to twist the knife. She’s both our entry point into the world and her exit point out of it, as she’s chosen by Lasher in the ritual, or, possibly does. There’s some interesting power dynamics to this which the show largely skips over in favour of a predictable but nicely handled collision between the plots. Lasher may not have jumped at all, and doesn’t come to Tessa’s aid when the Witchfinders attack her.

Meanwhile, in the past, because we can say that with this show, Ciprien uses magic to travel back to the dawn of the Mayfair family’s relationship with Lasher. To date, each episode has opened with a brief moment in the past and there’s never quite been enough to them to warrant discussion. That changes here as Suzanne, the initial Mayfair witch in 1681, summons Lasher as a last resort to save herself from the Witchfinders. He burns her town down to save her and there’s a beat that hints Lasher has chosen to be bound to them as much as being summoned. That, combined with Lasher’s necklace being passed to its new owner (or is it?) traps Ciprien in the past. Which is pretty much the best cliffhanger the show has done to date.

Verdict: This one is ragged but fun. Ciprien getting more to do is nice and the interactions between Lasher and the family are big fun but nothing quite feels like it has the room to breathe. Fun, but a little rushed. 7/10

Alasdair Stuart