Summary
Mayfair Witches Season 2 is already sagging, and Episode 2 has precious few highlights, despite an effectively grisly subplot.
There’s one decently nasty scene in Episode 2 of Mayfair Witches Season 2, but beyond that, the whole thing feels scattershot, directionless, and – this in a bit of a whisper – a little boring. “Ten of Swords” lacks most of the gothic atmosphere that the premiere was able to create, and instead settles into an odd rhythm of concurrent storylines, some real and some more esoteric, none of which are especially interesting.
I should definitely care more than I do about Lasher, for instance. He’s on a Mayfair-scented killing spree, but wheeling out new members of the family just for him to give hemorrhages to isn’t the best way of creating a sense of danger around him. I do like the detail of him being ravenous for milk because he’s technically a toddler, and the fact his very presence seems to render Rowan toothless, in terms of her powers, is an intriguing wrinkle that could be read as a motherhood metaphor – a parent’s inherent weakness for their child, no matter what kind of person they turn out to be – even if it probably isn’t intended as one.
There isn’t a great deal of urgency around Rowan’s search for him, either. There’s a plot-convenient ticking-clock element, sure, but it hardly seems like she can be bothered. This is partly a consequence of the structure, or lack of one. Rowan keeps being pulled on personal side quests when there are other things to be focusing on, and while I get researching Lasher’s DNA is kind of important, it doesn’t feel like the thing that would take up most of her time, given the circumstances.
Lark taking his secret mission from Rowan so seriously that he turns on her doorstep feels like less of a welcome complication than a bit of an annoying hiccup. Rowan’s forced to be so vague about her reasoning for the request that it’s almost preposterous Lark isn’t calling the FBI. This, and the fact when he turns up Rowan is on the roof conjuring a storm in the hopes that the inclement weather will obscure the Mayfairs from Lasher’s finely-tuned nose. It’s another example of a nice idea with the dullest possible execution.
And none of this prevents Lasher from claiming another victim – Moira’s mother, Alicia, whom she finds at home in a pool of blood (after their previous interaction was somewhat less-than-cordial, which is sure to sting.)
A still from Mayfair Witches Season 2 Episode 2 | Image via AMC
I did mention in my recap of the premiere that Moira was the most interesting thing about it, and that remains true here, even though her role feels lessened here in “Ten of Swords”. As predicted, Sip presents himself to her here in order to begin the process of compelling her to be a Talamasca double agent, but it does put him in a semi-interesting moral quandary.
Moira can’t read Sip’s mind, which immediately reveals him as a Talamasca agent, so he has to decide whether to manipulate her by force or by opening up and allowing her to read him. Of course, her delving into his thoughts proves that he has good intentions, but we already know that he’s earnestly trying to save Rowan. The fact he means well doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll have any facility for actually protecting the Mayfair clan from Lasher, which Moira astutely points out.
Rather improbably, all the best stuff in Mayfair Witches Season 2, Episode 2 involves Cortland. Before Rowan defrosts him from the petrification that is keeping him rooted to the basement, we get to see him amble around in a kind of purgatorial dreamscape where he’s haunted by his abusive father, Julien. This works as a metaphor – Cortland’s willing to give any part of himself to satisfy his father’s endless gluttony, whatever could it mean? – but also on a superficial level, because it’s the only time that “Ten Of Swords” becomes effectively gross and horror-like, which I find is when it’s at its best.
Cortland hacking off his own hand to feed to Julien on a silver platter, and him devouring it with a knife and fork, is pretty good stuff. I’m certainly not sure to what extent it’s connected to Lasher’s plan or whether it’s just cracking a window into Cortland’s psyche, but either way, it’s a jolt of energy that the episode needs. The disappointment is that Rowan frees him from his torment to interrogate him. I hope he finds his way back there to give him something to do.
