Matthew and Diana
have gone on holiday to France to the ancestral castle where everyone knows
them. Matthew assures him that his mother is totally looking forward to meet
her
Unshockingly she
really isn’t
In addition to find
warm bloods poorly educted mongrels who can’t speak classic French, she’s also
super super not into witches. And she hates change as well. Diana is as welcome
as that bloke who knocks on your door at 8:00am on a Sunday morning to tell you
all about Jesus.
We also have Marthe
who seems to be the family servant and/or exposition aide.
Back in Oxford
Juliette shows up looking for Matthew and after slapping Marcus around and then
getting set down hard by Miriam she asks after him. Miriam snarks about
Juliette chasing a man who doesn’t want her for all eternity and it’s a
definite good hit. Go Miriam.
So why does Ysabeau
hate witches? Well Matthew’s step dad died in world war 2 - by “her kind”.
Matthew insists that she can’t blame Diana for what other witches did and both
angrily and sadly laments that once she used to love all people for how they
were
Aunt Sarah and Ann
hear that Diana is in France and insist she leave because Ysabeau is a renowned
witch killer who slaughtered entire covens in South America. Of course Diana
stays and isn’t even overly freaked out by this news. She does ask about
Phillipe’s death and does put 2 and 2 together about some witches working with
the Nazis (this may also make Ysabeau’s little rampage more… targetted since
historically fleeing Nazis did run to South America such as Mengele and
Eichman. So maybe Ysabeau slaughtered those covens with good reason)
What she is freaked
out about is the revelation that her parents were murdered by other witches -
Matthew found evidence of a magic circle on the photographs.
Since Diana has a
death wish and kissing the vampire who craves her just isn’t getting the job
done she tries plan b: asking Ysabeau about how those witches murdered her
beloved
This woman wants to
die. There is no other explanation.
But her appeal that
she’s a good person, that her dead parents are good people and the existence of
some evil Nazi witches does not, in turn, make witches evil - and adds that
she’s doing her utmost to not judge Ysabeau despite the things she’s heard
about her. Point to Deathwish Diana.
Ysabeau has some
advice for Diana - get revenge. Sure it doesn’t make pain go away, but it
helps. And points to this show for breaking the trope where eveyrone who has
killed in vengeance is supposed to tell us all how it’s totally a bad idea.
Nah, Isabeau has Zero Regrets.
They have dinner and
while it starts awkwardly, eventually everyone thaws and and there’s happiness
and dancing which leads to Diana glowing in happiness. Literally. They got for
a midnight walk and there is kissing
From this happy scene
we have everyone gathering at the Congregation (with Agatha, a Black woman,
happy to see a new female witch delegate since the vampires are all about the
old white men) and Knox goes for his witchly ploy and accuses Matthew of
kidnapping Diana which is a naughty naughty crime. Gerbert and Dominico, two of
the vampire representatives, don’t like witches much but are happy to leap on a
chance to pile on Matthew. The third representative, Bernard, is Matthew’s
brother and part of his vampire family and decides to do some research.
Discovering that she
went of her own choice and, oh yeah, she can find the book of life which the
witches totally didn’t mention. The demons note this and Agatha is quick to
seize on this and point out the book matters to all the races not just witches.
Further upsetting
Knox’s plans is that Satu challenges him on how he tested Diana as a child and
decided she was like totally weak when clearly this isn’t the case. Instead of
answering her, Knox magically seizes torments and threatens her. He expected a
loyal sycophant, not a member in her own right.
Agatha meanwhile
calls her daughter in law about that weird vision she had about a giving a
statue to someone - putting together her visions Agatha realises she’s speaking
about Diana. And I guess that concludes Demons do have visions and she isn’t
delusional. Agatha wants to stay well away from Diana because she’s in bad trouble
While, in Oxford,
Gillian and Silvia have received orders to find out what Matthew is up to, what
he wants. Gillian is sympathetic about Diana who maybe just doesn’t know how
important the Congregation is - while Sylvia cares less since the whole reason
Diana is ignorant is because she has actively chosen to isolate herself from
her people
At the congregation
Gerbert and Baldwin spar but it is decided to send someone to investigate
Matthew. And it will be a vampire. Knoxx is probably not thrilled
So they send Dominico
who catches up with Diana to ask her to attend the Congregation. She tells him
to go away and how she doesn’t have the book. Matthew and co arrive to be very
menacing and a united front (and Diana definitely isn’t following anyone’s
instructions to go away). And while they deny that she has the book or has
anything to answer for. Except she and Matthew are clearly A Thing
And one of the many
rules of the Covenant is no interspecies nookie.
Matthew unleashes
some violence against Dominico and they get rid of him to talk. Ysabeau puts a
spanner in the works by pointing out that they should do what the Congregation
says or they will come back and it will be bad, Very bad
So Matthew decides to
call off their whole relationship. More he’s going to Oxford to check what the
witches are doing to his lab and leaving Diana in the care of his mother. Diana
is outraged and refuses to let it go and certainly doesn’t appreciate being
ignored. She declares she loves him
DIana…. You’ve known him
for like… a week. You wonder why he’s running to a different country? You don’t
drop the L word that soon
She is duly ignored
anyway despite declaring they have a bond and that she’s not going to be bound
by centuries old out of date laws - and off Matthew goes, leaving his beloved
to be eaten by his mother. She also cries very sadly about this. Which causes a
rain storm which everyone is very very impressed by. I think it’s a balance
between her very powerful magic and her doing it accidentally
On that note can I
say again how the idea of her not using her power because she feared her
parents were killed by witch hunters falls apart epically when you have so
little control and leek random weather effects. Also, again, 2, maybe 3 weeks
they’ve known each other. Having piteous tears that cause the skies themselves
to weep over that seems… excessive. And Matthew saying she doesn’t know him may
be an attempt to do the “I’m going to be mean to you to drive you off for your
own good” thing - but it’s not wrong. Or him saying that he doesn’t want to
cause a multi-side civil war between the Creatures because of a 3 week old
relationship… this is too rushed to have the emotional impact it deserves