Episode 2 is the second episode of the first season of A Discovery of Witches.
Synopsis[]
Blind to the interest she has stirred amongst creatures, Diana fights an increasing pull towards the magical and turns her back on her witch heritage, but matters take an unexpectedly dark turn when Satu is sent by Peter Knox to intimidate her.[1]
Plot[]
Sitting by the canals in Venice, vampire Juliette Durand overhears a group of French tourists calling the name Matthieu. She follows them and lures Matthieu away, sexually engaging with him and then feeding on him.
Matthew drives to the Scottish highlands to hunt on the estate of his friend Hamish Osborne, a daemon. He tells Hamish about Diana, whom he is craving, and the appearance of Ashmole 782. The book is known to daemons as well, and Hamish hopes that discovering its secrets will help his kind understand their origins and push back against their lack of status relative to vampires and witches.
Diana awakens from another dream involving webs and spiders. She finds that Matthew has returned her jacket to the mailbox outside her building. The Bodleian is crowded with supernatural creatures, as Matthew warned her. Peter Knox approaches her there, saying he was friends with her mother. He invites her to tea and interrogates her about Ashmole 782, which he has tried and failed to retrieve. Diana finds his arrogance and bigotry toward vampires distasteful and leaves, prompting Knox to tell Satu they may need to use “firmer tactics”. Satu later approaches Diana while she is running and attempts to detect her magic, but finds her shielded in some way.
Domenico Michele, a vampire, visits the morgue in Venice to investigate the body of Matthieu, found completely drained of blood. He detects Juliette’s scent and pays a visit to her vampire sire, Gerbert d'Aurillac. Gerbert feeds on Juliette to read her memories and confirms that she was responsible, and that her obsession with Matthew Clairmont is what drove her to it. He imprisons her at their home, as she cries out in protest that he was the one who made her crave Matthew.
Diana confides in Gillian, who tries to convince her to cooperate with Knox. She then calls Emily, who confirms her suspicions that Knox is not trustworthy. At a faculty party that evening, Knox corners Diana again and projects his voice into her mind. She responds with a burst of power that shatters a window. She then discovers Gillian’s betrayal and seeks out Matthew at his apartment, just as he returns to Oxford.
Matthew tries to calm Diana down, as her rapid, adrenaline-fueled heartbeat causes him distress. He shows her an inscribed copy of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, engaging her interest as a historian. They visit Matthew’s lab, where Diana meets Miriam and Marcus and learns the purpose of their research. By examining the DNA of creatures, they hope to understand why vampires are failing to sire, daemons are suffering from an increase in mental illness, and witches’ powers have faded significantly over the generations. Matthew walks Diana back to her apartment, and she shares with him the few details she was able to observe about Ashmole 782. Matthew thanks her, kissing her on the inside of her wrist.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Matthew Goode as Matthew Clairmont
- Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop
- Edward Bluemel as Marcus Whitmore
- Louise Brealey as Gillian Chamberlain
- Malin Buska as Satu
- Gregg Chillin as Domenico
- Aiysha Hart as Miriam Shephard
- Elarica Johnson as Juliette Durand
- Greg McHugh as Hamish Osborne
- Valarie Pettiford as Emily Mather
- Trevor Eve as Gerbert D'Aurillac
- Owen Teale as Peter Knox
Guest Starring[]
- Tomiwa Edun as Sean
- Sadie Shimmmin as Head of Faculty
- Michael Culkin as Professor Marsh
- Freddie Thorp as Matthieu Beny
- Imogen Comrie as Female French Student
- Joe Grossi as Mortician