Funerals have a way of bringing out drama in every family, but the Mayfairs are a special case. As Rowan meets the extended Mayfair clan in “Curiouser and Curiouser,” she begins to discover that not everyone in the family fears Lasher as more of her legacy comes to light. Carlotta makes her final stand against evil while Ciprien uncovers more about Lasher’s origins. Read on to find out what happened in this week’s episode of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches!
She’s Got The Power
In her dreams, Rowan and Ciprien have sex, only waking when dream-Rowan sees Ciprien wearing Lasher’s necklace and flashes to a vision of having sex with Lasher instead. In the morning, she wanders into the kitchen to find Ciprien making breakfast. Both admit to strange dreams as Rowan pushes for more information about him. He shares a bit more about his personal life, but all the details are fairly superficial compared to what she shared the night before. She practices her powers before they head out to Deidre’s funeral.
Your Love Is Killing Me
Ciprien’s bosses are on the trail of who killed Deidre, eventually finding a man whose mind appears warped. They bring in Ciprien to interrogate him. When he puts his hands on him, he sees that the man was hired to kill Deidre and was in control of himself during the murder. Now, however, some outside force is possessing him. When the man’s neck snaps without anyone touching him, Ciprien quickly touches him again to see Lasher leaving his body.
The Talamasca officials agree on the story that while the man was a hired assassin, his death came at Lasher’s hands as the creature sought revenge for Deidre’s murder. Ciprien is still unconvinced that this is the whole story, noting that someone wiped the elevator of memories before his arrival. His boss tells him that he’ll keep it in mind, but that Ciprien’s priority should be protecting Rowan. Taking that directive to heart, Ciprien goes to the archives to try to discover how the Mayfairs ever got involved with Lasher in the first place. As he finds a portrait with the necklace, Rowan texts him a photo of her wearing it. Making the connection, he rushes out to find her.
Family Affair
Earlier in the day at the Mayfair home, Carlotta goes to the basement to find Delphine’s mangled body. Lasher managed to escape, meaning their callous murder of the nurse was for nothing. Both Carlotta and Millie are far more concerned about Lasher’s escape than Delphine’s death, yet again prioritizing their family above all else.
Meanwhile, the extended Mayfair clan is anxiously preparing for Deidre’s funeral as it will be their first chance to meet Rowan — and win her over to their side. Cortland’s daughter Josephine urges him to make sure Carlotta doesn’t get to her first. The event is massive, with every Mayfair coming home from far away as a show of force. Cortland appears the most genuine in his grief — until he secretly cuts a lock of Deidre’s hair.
Rowan is immediately swarmed by curious cousins, with Carlotta appearing to guide her to the front with the immediate family. Cortland recognizes the maneuver as another way to win Rowan over. When Ciprien leaves to interrogate Deidre’s suspected killer, Rowan is left alone with the Mayfairs. Carlotta sweetly invites her to the Mayfair house for an intimate afterparty (read: excuse to get Rowan alone). She’s apprehensive about accepting without Ciprien there, but when Carlotta says there are items belonging to Deidre that Rowan should have, she opens up a bit. As the Mayfairs lay flowers at Deidre’s tomb, a mysterious man takes photos from a distance.
Carlotta talks to Rowan about Lasher, warning her that some in the family will tell her that Lasher is a gift. To them, sacrificing the women of the family is just the price that must be paid to have access to his power. She tells Rowan that she was able to reject Lasher as a child, implying that Lasher can be rejected with enough willpower. However, she also calls Deidre weak, an unfair characterization that Rowan picks up on. She is stopped from explaining more as Cortland arrives with the (uninvited) Mayfairs, ready to party and “celebrate” Deidre.
The other women poke and prod Rowan the entire afternoon, with younger witch Tessa especially excited. She casually mentions how rare it is to have such a successful woman in the family, referencing Rowan being a neurosurgeon. She also lets slip that she hopes that Rowan will use her “designee” status to make a real change and use her powers for good. Before Rowan can uncover what that means, Josephine rushes over to end that line of questioning and offer her a much needed drink.
Of course, that drink comes with a price as Josephine proceeds to explain what exactly a designee is. In the family, each generation of women hands down their inheritance (and status as family matriarch) to their daughters. Deidre was the designee, with Rowan now falling into that role. Most importantly, Carlotta does not own the house — Deidre did, and now it’s Rowan’s. She is the 13th generation. Now it’s clear why the Mayfair clan was so interested in Rowan’s arrival, and why Carlotta tried to shape her impression of the family. She holds their fate in her hands. Josephine also notes that the necklace each woman in the family portraits is wearing belongs to her too, leaving out the fact that it’s Lasher’s.
Cortland snoops through the house looking for Lasher’s necklace and instead finds his father’s old pipe. He gets Rowan alone and turns on the charm, offering her legal advice about the house and mentioning how overwhelming her new “gift” can be. She cuts to the chase and asks about Lasher, wondering how he could possibly be a gift. Cortland shares that Lasher is an extension of her, meant to serve her in every way. It’s clear that he views Lasher in a much more positive light than Carlotta. When she asks for more concrete details on what, exactly, he is, Cortland tells her to ask Lasher directly to get all the answers she’s seeking.
Sympathy for the Devil
Carlotta rushes in for the emotional kill, giving Rowan Deidre’s rosary to “protect” her. Cortland drops the Southern charm and informs Rowan that Carlotta held Deidre hostage using medication and that she was never really ill. Carlotta turns on the hysterics and claims that as a doctor, Rowan will see from Deidre’s records that she was afflicted with… a lot of things! So many afflictions! Even with her sympathy towards Carlotta, Rowan clearly has questions about what exactly kept Deidre disabled for years. Sensing that Carlotta’s upper hand is unstable, Cortland hands Rowan his card. He says that when she’s ready, they’ll go over the will… and “everything else.” The Mayfairs leave as Rowan is left alone with Carlotta.
While Carlotta prepares dinner, Rowan wanders through the house as she’s drawn to an upstairs bedroom. The necklace waits there for her. Slipping off the rosary, she puts it on and admires her reflection as Carlotta arrives to tell her that dinner is ready. Noticing that Rowan has voluntarily put the necklace on, Carlotta realizes she has lost the battle. There’s only one path left.
At dinner, rowan asks pointed questions about Deidre’s diagnosis. The gloves come off as Carlotta unloads on Rowan, telling her that Deidre’s “wickedness” tormented her for years. It’s time to end things for good. Setting the room on fire, she prepares to burn along with Rowan.
The doors are locked, but thankfully Ciprien realized where Rowan was and bursts in to save her. Unfortunately for him, Carlotta had unveiled a knife to finish the job on Rowan. As he bursts in the door, he runs into it by accident (poor Ciprien has now almost died twice in a Rowan-adjacent accident). Rowan helps him to the entryway while Carlotta stays behind. Lasher appears to her, smiling as he whispers, “She’s already mine.” He shuts the door to the house, laughing evilly.
Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. You can find our other coverage of the series here.
