In this week’s episode of A Discovery of Witches, we return to Sept-Tours for the christening of Rebecca and Philip. It’s nearly a devastating affair when Baldwin arrives, but following a promise from Diana to keep those with blood rage in line, he finally acknowledges Matthew’s scion. Meanwhile, Benjamin begins to set his twisted plans into motion, and the Knights of Lazarus gain a few new members.
Return to Sept-Tours
Everyone returns to Sept-Tours in anticipation of Rebecca and Philip’s christening, and Ysabeau is pleased to finally meet all of her grandchildren, including Jack. It’s difficult for Sarah to be back there, though, and she brings flowers to the site where Em died.
Diana is up late in the evening with Rebecca, and she tells Marthe that she’s always hungry. Whenever she drinks milk, it just comes back up again. Marthe tells her that it may not be milk and she needs, so Diana feeds her blood from her own hand instead, which seems to do the trick. Matthew smells the blood and races across the house; he’s not happy at what Diana has chosen to do. The two begin to argue over the dangerous logistics of raising vampire children that may be afflicted with blood rage. Diana feels confident that they can handle whatever happens, and Matthew eventually calms down.
Afterward, Matthew finds Jack rocking Philip back to sleep. Jack tells him that he can hear the baby’s blood singing, and he asks if he’s a witch. Matthew says that it’s not that simple, but his witch DNA does seem to be dominant.
Benjamin sets his plans into motion
In Berlin, a witch walks out of a club to have a cigarette. She can’t find her lighter, so she discreetly uses magic instead. She passes by a man leaning against a wall; it’s Benjamin. He kidnaps her and takes her to an old, dilapidated building in Poland, where he handcuffs her to a bed and tells her that they’re going to do important work together.
Later, when he’s distracted by another woman that he has also kidnapped, the woman from the club frees herself from her restraints using a spell. She steals Benjamin’s jacket, and he steps out into the hallway as she’s leaving and says, “That’s it. Straight to Matthew.” It was all a part of his plan.
The christening
Friends, family, and supporters arrive at Sept-Tours for the christening, including some of Marcus’ children from New Orleans. One familiar face is missing though: Gallowglass. Fernando tells Sarah that he declined his invitation. Ysabeau heads upstairs to talk to Diana and Matthew before they head to the chapel, and they share a heartfelt moment as she says how remarkable it is that she — a vampire — has now come to think of Diana — a witch — as a daughter. Her only regret is that Philippe isn’t there with them (and it’s bittersweet knowing that she missed the wedding, and now he’s missing the christening).
When the priest asks who will stand as godparents for the children, Fernando, Sarah, Phoebe, Marcus, Ysabeau, Jack, Miriam, Chris, and Hamish all come up to stand with Matthew and Diana. Sarah then announces the children’s full names for the very first time — Rebecca Arielle Emily Marthe and Philip Michael Addison Sorley. The peace in the room is then broken when Baldwin finally arrives. He offers his congratulations and then states that the children must be brought to Venice for assessment, because the Congregation needs to know what they are. Matthew states that Baldwin wouldn’t be required to do this as the head of the de Clermont family if he would just recognize their scion. But he refuses. Neither Matthew nor Baldwin will stand down, so they begin to fight, but Diana eventually breaks it up with a terrifying show of her power. She swears to Baldwin that if any members of the scion act on their blood rage, she will spellbind them. If the spellbinding fails, they will submit to the Congregation. Baldwin relents and agrees to her terms, announcing that he now recognizes their scion. As such, Matthew is now responsible for everyone he has sired and everyone they have sired … Benjamin included.
The Congregation meets to discuss the twins
The Congregation holds a meeting to discuss the fact that Matthew and Diana have broken the covenant. Gerbert is angry when he learns that Baldwin has now chosen to recognize Matthew’s scion. When Domenico asks if Jack has been dealt with, Baldwin tells him of Diana’s promise to spellbind him if he becomes a problem. Satu is disgusted by this, telling the room that no witch would afflict that kind of powerlessness on another creature. Agatha speaks up to defend Matthew and Diana as the arguments continue back and forth. Finally, Gerbert states that because the Congregation no longer has effective leadership, the vampires will take this matter into their own hands.
An unexpected guest
The witch that escaped from Benjamin, Lena, finds her way to Sept-Tours so that she can warn Matthew and Diana. She tells them that Benjamin said he wants to open up the truth of witches and see inside of them. He talks about a witch with the power of life and death. He wants children. Lena turns to Diana and informs her that he also talks about her; he’s infatuated with her. After they have given Lena a room to sleep in for the night, Matthew finds a watch in the pocket of Benjamin’s coat with the following inscription: To Philippe, 1922.
Later, Diana tells Matthew that she wants to help him in his fight against Benjamin, but he doesn’t want to even entertain the idea. It’s too risky. He asks her to promise that she won’t go after Benjamin if anything happens to him, but she refuses.
The Knights of Lazarus
In light of all that has now happened, Marcus decides that they need to strengthen the Knights of Lazarus in order to adequately defend the scion. And so Chris, Jack, Sarah, and Miriam are all sworn in. With Matthew and Diana’s permission, Rebecca and Philip are as well, because the Knights are sworn to defend one another. Thus that signals to the Congregation that if they take on one of them, they take on all of them.
Afterward, Fernando turns to Matthew and tells him that he’s also with him in this fight. After Hugh was killed, he was happier to remain on the outside of things, but that’s not good enough for him anymore. He wants to be a part of Matthew’s scion and a member of his family.
Don’t miss the next episode of A Discovery of Witches next Saturday, February 12 on AMC+, Sundance Now, and Shudder. Follow along with all of our coverage on the series, including episodic recaps and more!
