TV Review: A Discovery of Witches Season 2 Episode 1

After two years and a lot of waiting, the second season of A Discovery of Witches has arrived. Based on the second book in the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness, Shadow of Night, as the books do the first episode picks up where the season 1 finale left off - with Diana and Matthew's arrival in 1590. And when you consider how well the first season opened and that the second book opens better than the first, this premiere episode fell flat. And not for the usual reason I criticise this series - instead of moving too slowly, it felt extremely rushed.

The great thing about the first season was that even though it followed the events of the book, step by step, they still adjusted it in a way that helped the story move along at a quicker and better pace that would keep your interest.  The second book moves faster than the first and the second season has two episodes extra so you'd think that there would be a similar balance but there isn't, it goes a couple of steps too quickly.

Diana's introduction and first interaction to members of the School of Night - Sir Walter Raleigh and Christopher "Kit" Marlowe - and Henry Percy, the Earl of Northumberland, was so quick and brief that if I didn't know who they were supposed to be, I would have barely registered it. It seemed that within seconds, they had been introduced, were asked to find the Ashmole manuscript and were on their way. In both scenes that they feature in. The only member of the School of Night there was any focus on was Marlowe, otherwise known as Kit. As it goes in the book, we find out immediately that Kit is a daemon and takes an immediate disliking to Diana, which is what his scenes focus on. This focus is understandable and I believe necessary because of how it plays a role in events that play out during Diana and Matthew's time in 1590. And Tom Hughes portrays it so well you feel his dislike as a viewer - good to see him on screen in a role that suits him well after the fate of ITV's Victoria seems to be in limbo.

Despite all this, it doesn't mean there weren't some highlights in the episode. For one, the opening scene was wonderful. A brief introduction to the witch that will become Diana's mentor, Goody Alsop. It's the night of All Hallow's Eve and two witches sit by her while the others celebrate, there to listen to her words about the visions she has seen of the fated Bishop witch that would come to them and be a beacon of hope to the future of their kind. Goody Alsop's role has been well solidified early on. It's one of my favourite things about books being adapted to TV, that you get to see the other characters in other places beyond the main narrative running through the book. Take The Witcher books as an example - you only ever hear about the Battle of Sodden Hill after the fact from Geralt's perspective but in the Netflix adaptation, you see the battle itself, you see Triss and Yennefer fight alongside countless other sorcerers and sorceresses. The introduction of Goody Alsop also builds some anticipation for more of her after the issue of finding a witch mentor for Diana becomes more of a priority sooner than it did in the book.

It was a joy to see Jack's introduction much earlier too, I do hope they keep him around. Jack's presence had a positive effect on Diana and Matthew in the book, I think it helps remind them that there are other people who can't take care of themselves that are relying on what they do but it also helped keep Matthew from spiralling into his blood rage. Jack's presence may help focus Matthew's narrative while they're in England as he seemed to be spending a lot of this episode running around to ten different places constantly saying he has people to reach out to. It got tiresome more than feeling as secretive as it should have, we know that he may revert to who he was in 1590 but it isn't coming across very well. Even though I read the book just a month ago, his constant flighty behaviour often didn't make much sense.

I think I have to mention my favourite line of the episode from Diana that stood out - "You don't protect me, Matthew. We protect each other." This line is one of the reasons I really did like Diana since the first book - it's that she isn't someone to let others coddle and shield her from everything, she is determined to fight her own battles, take care of herself and those she loves. She is immediately and always brave, always seems to live without the fear you'd expect her to. In her relationships, she demands that she gives what she gets without any hesitation. Diana thinks of the other people around her as important as she is but it doesn't burden her and it's one of her most admirable traits.

I think a lot of what they've done well so far is what I criticised about the book - the movement of the plot is being brought forward and weaved in with their earlier experiences in 1590.

Reasons to Recommend:

• We get straight into the story arc of season 2
• A soft introduction to Elizabethan London
• Introduction to the School of Night, who will become very important

Overall, I would rate the episode as a 3/10. Though the episode fit in what it needed to, it felt so rushed and could have been done much more smoothly at a better pace without losing anything important in there. I'm looking forward to the introduction of Gallowglass and Phillipe who were given early mentions in the first episode. I'm hoping the season will pick up in quality and doesn't feel as rushed as this episode did, especially since they have more episodes than the first season to tell the story of Shadow of Night.