A Discovery of Witches season 1, episode 7 recap

Diana explores the extent of her power throughout this episode of A Discovery of Witches.

After finally unbinding her powers, Diana now has more questions to answer. The only people could be any help happen to be in Wisconsin, so it’s time for A Discovery of Witches to take us to a different continent. It’s fun to see a glimpse of Diana’s childhood in this season, especially when we’ve spent a lot of time with Matthew’s family. It also gives Sarah and Em the chance to interact with their niece in person rather than hurried phone calls.

Minor spoilers below for the novel: A Discovery of Witches.

The Haunted House

It turns out Diana’s childhood home is actually haunted. Thankfully, it mainly consists of rattling doors and minor ghostlike behavior. Matthew and Diana don’t spend that much time getting reacquainted with the house though since they have more pressing issues. When Sarah and Em arrive, Diana angrily confronts them about her spellbinding. Sarah is horrified and vehemently denies knowing anything.

Em comes clean and admits she had always suspected it. The group takes the conversation inside the house where Diana wants to know what’s wrong with her. While Em tries to console her, Diana winds up wanting to storm away. However, as she’s about to get some fresh air she’s treated to a memory of sorts. The house projects a memory which allows everyone to see exactly what happened.

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One night, Rebecca and Stephen woke their daughter in the middle of the night to perform a binding spell. Rebecca distracted a young Diana with her favorite story about a girl with magical ribbons and a Shadow Prince. Seeing the threads weave across Diana’s body, it’s clear the story was meant to rationalize the decision they’ve made. While Rebecca thinks it might have been a mistake, Stephen believes it was necessary. When Knox visits later, he is unable to detect any of Rebecca’s magic.

Knowing their daughter is safe, Rebecca and Stephen leave for a mysterious mission. Rebecca is clearly terrified but she refuses to tell Sarah why. Unable to cope with the new knowledge, Diana runs off into the woods for some privacy. However, Matthew follows closely behind and the two realize the binding was somehow tied to him.

A Discovery of Witches doesn’t explain this as well as the book but just generalizes that Rebecca knew this Shadow Prince would play a part in Diana’s story. In the source material, a young Diana was experiencing premonitions of her own future in her dreams at night. Rebecca read her daughter’s mind and realized exactly why Matthew would be important in the future. In the current day, the two lovebirds share a kiss and Diana can see the ghost of her mother smiling at the two.

Magic School

Sarah thinks Diana’s top priority should be learning basic spells to gain control. However, Matthew thinks defensive and offensive spells will be the most useful. As the two bicker in the kitchen, Diana settles on a compromise. She’ll go back to studying with Sarah and begin training with Matthew so she can be prepared in every aspect. Unfortunately, magic school doesn’t come as easily as expected on A Discovery of Witches. She struggles with basic spells and lacks complete control. Eventually, she grows frustrated and rebuffs Sarah’s help before they argue.

Diana throws her hands up in the air and disappears. Everyone begins to worry but Matthew keeps an even head. He’s able to hear her nearby and discover she’s in the barn. Turns out, she’s just time walked for the first time! It’s a trait her father had and it seems like Diana has inherited.

They don’t linger on this long before Matthew begins some combat training. He wants her to be aware of danger before it’s able to strike. However, he runs by her once and accidentally knocks her down. The scent of her blood is overpowering but Matthew immediately assures her that he will not harm her. Diana looks at him incredulously since she never feared for a second that he would. She then thrusts her bleeding hand into his face with a mischievous smile.

Baiting a vampire? Not the smartest move ever but Diana has a plan. She begins to run and Matthew can’t help but chase after her. The added danger helps her powers manifest and she’s easily able to escape unscathed. To celebrate, the two share a passionate and intimate moment. A Discovery of Witches doesn’t bring up the awkwardness of the situation though. This is a small house, which means Em and Sarah can probably hear everything. Not to mention, it’s a haunted house and we’ve already seen the ghost of Diana’s mother lingers there. Probably not the best time for some one-on-one time with your boyfriend.

Private Agendas

In The Congregation, agendas are being formed with each passing episode. Baldwin is able to stall the members by making it look like Satu still has Diana. Peter is clearly embarrassed by this turn of events and has resorted to drinking constantly. Gerbert has avoided the place in general because of his part in this situation. Meanwhile, Agatha can barely hide her desperation regarding the whereabouts of Diana Bishop.

Satu does return to Knox and apologizes for her betrayal. Her magic has disappeared and she’s worried it won’t return. Knox encourages her to rest and the two agree they need to separate Diana from Matthew by any means necessary. Gerbert loses an ally in this episode, as Juliette finally rises against him to follow her own dreams.

As for Agatha, she confides in Hamish about Sophie and Nathaniel. She’s the only one who seems to want to book for truly noble causes and not just for unlimited power. Unlike Baldwin, who suffers from insubordination from his other two Congregation vampires, Agatha also has genuine friends.

Finally, Domenico comes out on top throughout this episode by slowly playing everyone. He offers Juliette a file on Diana so she can track down Matthew’s new girlfriend. This leaves Gerbert vulnerable and allows him to make a play against Baldwin. Domenico captures Satu and decides to keep her as leverage to eventually gain favor with the Congregation.

An oncoming storm

Matthew is anticipating the worst so he calls Miriam and Marcus to Wisconsin. The former is completely uneasy staying at the house of a witch and hopes to view this as a professional courtesy. Marcus, on the other hand, is excited to meet everyone. He nearly charms Sarah as well, since he knew the original Sarah Bishop way back in the day.

However, two more vampires in her house is enough to make Sarah crack. She calls out Matthew for pretending to be respectful but then doing whatever he wants. As tension rises, the house decides to help everyone out. It shoots one of the missing pages from Ashmole 782 into Diana’s hands. It’s in a package addressed to her parents but on the back is a short message from her dad. Diana realizes he also wrote one of the introductions in the Book of Life. What did her dad know about Ashmole 782?

Sadly, A Discovery of Witches puts this on hold because Diana has a new problem to face. Juliette has also arrived in Wisconsin and wants her revenge. When Diana accidentally seeks her out, Juliette finally has the upper hand. Maybe Matthew should’ve dealt with his crazy ex a few decades ago rather than ignore her.

What did you think of this episode? Be sure to tell us in the comments below!