This season of “Mayfair Witches” is moving a lot slower than expected. The first episode had beautifully set the stage for the rest of the season, but Episode 2 and Episode 3 have not really kept up the momentum. When adapting a story for the screen, it is always a matter of deliberation as to what scenes are required and what aren’t and how these elements can be woven together to create a world of mystery and intrigue. “Mayfair Witches” is really missing the mark when it comes to that. But today, through our recap of the events of this episode, we are going to speculate as to what could have been done differently to make the episode more interesting and give it more depth.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens After Dierdre’s Death?
The third episode of “Mayfair Witches” starts with another flashback to the 1600s in Scotland. We can tell that’s how the rest of the episodes are going to start now. Our guess is that by the season finale, we will have an explanation of how the Mayfair Witches came to be. Coming back to the episode, Aoife has been attacked by a boar, and she is carried back home. Her daughter, Suzanne, wants to treat her, but Aoife tells her to give her an herb that would help her die faster. Suzanne refuses, but her mother tells her that her job as a midwife is not just life but also death. Suzanne is torn because she has never believed in the supernatural or in the concept of heaven or hell. Her mother understands and tells her, in old Scottish words, that she is not a sinner but a pragmatic person. From what we can understand, Suzanne gives Aoife the herb she asks for, and we will get confirmation of that in the coming episode. Additionally, please note that just like Aoife and Suzanne, Rowan is also a doctor.
In the present day, Rowan is found in the lift with a dead Dierdre. She is completely disoriented by the shock when she sees Carlotta through the haze. When she is a little bit more collected, Carlotta introduces herself to Rowan and tells her that the woman in the lift was her mother, Dierdre. She asks her to come with her, but Rowan spots Ciprien and rushes to meet him. He takes her to his place, where he answers her questions about the house in the photograph she had previously found. He also tells her about Lasher, and Rowan is shocked at the information about the supernatural. The scientific part of her brain is unable to grapple with it all, whereas her lived reality and her experiences force her to open her mind a bit more. She comes to know about Cirprien’s organization, Talamasca, which was protecting her, and others like her. She also realizes that her mother knew what she had been going through her whole life and had just chosen to shut it out.
While Rowan freshens up, Ciprien leaves to for an investigation. While Rowan is waiting for him, she meets his sister, who is a surrogate for another couple. As they talk, there is a fire emergency in the building, and they have to vacate. Once outside, Rowan makes her way toward the Mayfair house but comes across a carnival where a woman gives her something to drink. After some initial resistance, Rowan takes it, but we don’t think it is alcohol. Whatever was in the drink, Rowan is a lot less cautious and somewhat delirious. In that state, she meets Lasher, who starts flirting with her. While we know that the purpose of this interaction was to get Rowan to start allowing Lasher into her life, there was a particular line that had us confused. She tells him that she is from San Francisco without him asking, and he tells her that she has read his mind. Lasher would never wonder where she is from, which means that the drink he gave her might be controlling her thoughts. The entire purpose of Rowan’s interaction with Lasher, who later met her as her mother, was to make himself known to her and maybe brainwash her a little. We feel like the scene could have been crisper. Instead of this, they should have given us some more backstory on Carlotta and Lasher. It is not always the withholding of information that creates a mystery. Relaying it can also add to the intrigue if done correctly.
Meanwhile, Carlotta wants to protect Rowan, so she is trying to think of a way to do that. She struck us as someone who is ruthlessly pragmatic but not very intelligent or empathetic. Her solution is to make Delphine wear Dierdre’s necklace and lock her in the basement. We know that Dierdre’s mother bound Lasher to the necklace, but if it was just a question of the ornament, why didn’t she try to pass it on years ago instead of trifling with Delphine’s life now? It proves to be disastrous as Delphine starts banging her head against the wall of the basement. The women upstairs think of it as an experiment to see whether Lasher can accept her wearing the necklace. But from what we see, Delphine banging her head doesn’t seem to be of her own free will. While it is not shown whether her actions are being controlled by anyone else, speculation would lead us to believe it is Lasher.
As for Ciprien, when he visits the elevator that Dierdre died in, he cannot find any memories of the place when he touches it. Therefore, he goes to the morgue, where Dierdre’s body is placed. When he touches her hand, he sees her past, which brings tears to his eyes. While leaving, the morgue attendant gives him a leaflet inviting him to attend the meeting of a brotherhood that believes that the Mayfair women are witches. Ciprien scoffs at him, but he pockets the leaflet.
‘Mayfair Witches’ Episode 3: Ending Explained – What Is Cirprien And Rowan’s Vision?
When Rowan reaches the Mayfair house, she meets what she believes to be the spirit of her mother, who tells her that she can find her roots “through him.” That immediately alerts Rowan, and she realizes that it wasn’t the spirit of Dierdre she was talking to, and she immediately leaves. When she does that, she wakes up and realizes that she has never left the place where she had taken that drink from the old lady. She rushes back to Ciprien’s house, where he fills her in on his discoveries. He tells her that Dierdre never wanted to give her up, and losing her daughter caused her great heartbreak. He also tells her that he saw a man enter the elevator with Dierdre before she died.
Now, regarding this man, we have a certain suspicion. In our recap of the last episode of “Mayfair Witches,” we were under the impression that Lasher might be Rowan’s father, but that theory is not sitting right with us. In this episode, when Lasher meets Cortland, he looks furious at him. Cortland tells him that he loved Dierdre as well, and when we think back to before she got pregnant, she had told Lasher that she liked him. Lasher could have been with her, but instead, he chose to send her to a party. Was it because he wanted her to have a good time as a teenager, or was he in cahoots with Cortland to get her pregnant? Our guess is the latter because Cortland seemed to be aware that his niece would visit him, and he also mentioned something about Rowan being the 13th witch, who is going to serve some purpose of Lasher’s. Lasher needed Dierdre to get pregnant, but exactly how far he was involved in the plot remains to be seen. But the way he approached Cortland is making us think that the latter might be Dierdre’s killer.
Coming back to Rowan and Ciprien, he tells her that Lasher lit the fire in the building to get her out. He tells her that he can help her understand how her power works by slowing down the moments when she has felt its force. By this time, Rowan trusts Ciprien, and she is ready to understand herself better through him. When they hold hands, he goes back to the moments to figure out her triggers and the process through which she channels them. That was their vision.
What To Expect From ‘Mayfair Witches’ Episode 4?
We know that in the next episode of “Mayfair Witches,” Rowan visits the memorial service that is held for Dierdre. Her great aunt Carlotta might try to corner her at this time, but Rowan would be wary of her, considering her knowledge of how she was taken away from Dierdre. She might also get to know a bit about her history. Now that she has figured out her powers with Ciprien, she will start learning to control them better. We are looking forward to her meeting with Cortland. Whether that helps her solve some of the mystery behind her mother’s death is what we want to know.
