Discover this second spellbinding season
History calls on bewitching duo
A Discovery of Witches Season 2 Sky One
●●●●● As anyone in a marriage will know, you sometimes get talked into doing something you’re not overly keen on by your other half.
One such example for me was watching the first season of A Discovery of Witches (I guess I couldn’t complain too much having dragged my wife along to football matches, among other delights).
She is a massive fan of the Deborah Harkness All Souls trilogy of books this Sky production is based on and, to be fair, I enjoyed the first run of episodes.
For this second season, our forbidden lovers, witch Diana (Teresa Palmer) and vampire Matthew (Matthew Goode), are transported to 1590 London as they try to trace an ancient magical manuscript and avoid their enemies.
Diana is an unusual witch – a weaver – with the ability to control all four elements, but she needs to find a teacher in Elizabethan England to help her learn to control her untrained gifts.
Matthew is forced to see his father again after losing him in WWII, which turns into a very daunting experience for him.
Series two introduces Queen Elizabeth (Barbara Marten), Christopher “Kit” Marlowe (Tom Hughes, who is used to periodical escapades after playing Prince Albert in Victoria), Walter Raleigh (Michael Lindall) and Emperor Rudolf II (Michael Jibson), which for any history buff is in interesting on-screen experience.
We also meet more of Matthew’s De Clermont family including patriarch Phillippe (James Purefoy), cousin Gallowglass (Steven Cree) and Matthew’s unruly sister Louisa (Elaine Cassidy).
Palmer and Goode shine in their portrayals of their roles and cover a wide range of emotions as they explore the time period together.
This second season was every bit as enjoyable as the first – but I could have done without my wife’s constant analysis about what had been done differently from the book and excited non-spoiler revelations about what was to come! However, her infectious enthusiasm was bewitching.
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Raymond Bell said: “I really like an Australian TV show called Secret City; it’s well worth a watch.”