Time travel is usually a cheap plot device. Most shows use it to fix a mistake or see a dinosaur, but A Discovery of Witches Season 2 decided to use it as a claustrophobic pressure cooker. Honestly, when Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont stepped out of the present day and landed smack in the middle of 1590s London, the stakes didn't just get higher. They got weirder.
It was a pivot. A huge one.
We went from the sleek, academic libraries of Oxford to a world that smelled like rotting fish and woodsmoke. If you watched the first season, you knew the romance was the hook. But the second season? That was about identity. It was about Diana finally figuring out that she wasn't just a witch who couldn't control her power, but a Weaver who could reshape reality itself. It’s a lot to process while trying not to get burned at the stake by a suspicious neighbor or a bored monarch.
Why A Discovery of Witches Season 2 Flipped the Script
The show didn't just stay in the past for a cameo. It lived there. Based on Deborah Harkness’s second book, Shadow of Night, this chapter of the story forced the audience to deal with a version of Matthew Roydon that we hadn't met yet. He wasn't the refined, brooding geneticist from the All Souls Lab. He was a spy. A killer. A member of the "School of Night."
Matthew Goode plays this duality with a sort of twitchy brilliance. In the present, he’s controlled. In 1590, he’s barely holding it together because he’s terrified of his own history. You see him slipping back into old, violent habits, and it makes you wonder if Diana is actually safe with him. That's the nuance people miss. It’s not just a "star-crossed lovers" trope. It’s a "can you love the person someone used to be" dilemma.
The Problem with the Book-to-Screen Jump
Readers of the All Souls trilogy know that Shadow of Night is a massive, sprawling tome. It’s dense with historical footnotes. When the production team at Bad Wolf took this on, they had to trim the fat.
Some fans were genuinely annoyed. They missed the long, winding conversations about alchemy or the specific details of every meal Diana ate. But television moves faster. The show focused on the "School of Night"—that legendary group of thinkers including Christopher Marlowe and Mary Sidney.
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Tom Hughes as Kit Marlowe was a stroke of genius. He played the poet as a jealous, obsessed, and deeply tragic figure. His dynamic with Diana wasn't just "mean girl" energy; it was a fundamental clash of worldviews. He loved Matthew. He hated that this woman from the future was changing the man he knew. It added a layer of queer coding and emotional complexity that the first season lacked.
Understanding the Weaver Magic
Diana’s journey in A Discovery of Witches Season 2 isn't just about finding a teacher. It’s about the "Tenth Knot."
Most witches in this universe use structured, predictable magic. They follow the rules. But Diana is a Weaver. She creates her own spells. Finding Goody Alsop—played by the late, great Sheila Hancock—was the emotional heartbeat of the season. Goody Alsop didn't just teach Diana magic; she gave her a sense of lineage.
- The Rowen: A symbol of protection and connection.
- The Knots: Each one representing a different elemental force.
- The Familiar: That fire-breathing dragon (Corra) wasn't just CGI fluff; it was the manifestation of Diana's internal fire.
Think about the scene where Diana finally weaves the tenth knot. It’s loud. It’s chaotic. It’s not "pretty" magic. It looks like the world is tearing at the seams. That is the core of the show’s appeal—it treats magic like a physical burden rather than a convenient superpower.
The Political Minefield of 1590
Let’s talk about Queen Elizabeth I. Barbara Marten’s portrayal was terrifying.
She wasn't the "Gloriana" we see in textbooks. She was an aging, paranoid, and incredibly sharp ruler who knew Matthew was hiding something. The tension in the court scenes was thick enough to cut. Every time Diana opened her mouth, you felt like she was one syllable away from being sent to the Tower.
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The show did a great job showing the "Congregation" in its infancy. In the present, the Congregation is this shadowy board of directors. In the 1590s, the power was raw. Philippe de Clermont, Matthew’s father, looms over everything.
The Philippe Factor
James Purefoy as Philippe de Clermont was, quite frankly, the best casting decision in the entire series. He dominates every frame. The relationship between him and Diana is where the season finds its soul.
He tests her. He marks her. He forces her to prove she’s worthy of the de Clermont name.
When he realizes she’s a "Blood-Sworn" wife to his son from the future, the shift in his demeanor is haunting. It’s a weird, time-loopy father-in-law dynamic that shouldn't work, but it does. It grounds the fantasy in a very human need for family approval.
The Subplot Nobody Wanted but Everyone Needed
While Matthew and Diana were playing dress-up in Elizabethan England, the "present day" story kept moving. This was a risky move by the writers. Usually, when a show splits its timeline, one half feels like a chore.
Watching Marcus (Matthew’s vampire son) try to navigate the modern Congregation while falling in love with Phoebe Taylor was the palate cleanser we needed. It kept the stakes grounded. We needed to remember why Diana and Matthew went back in the first place: to find the Book of Life and save their species from extinction.
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The genetic subplot—the "Blood Rage"—starts to become the primary antagonist here. It’s not just about bad guys in suits; it’s about a sickness in the DNA of vampires. It turns the show from a romance into a medical thriller.
Technical Mastery: Costumes and Sets
You can't talk about A Discovery of Witches Season 2 without mentioning the aesthetics. The costumes weren't just "period-accurate." They were character-driven.
Diana’s transition from wearing stiff, restrictive Elizabethan gowns to her final, more "warrior-like" attire mirrored her confidence. The set design for the Old Lodge and the streets of London felt lived-in. It didn't have that "clean" look that many BBC or Starz period dramas suffer from. It looked damp. It looked dark.
The Reality of the Ending
The finale of season 2 didn't give us a clean resolution. It shouldn't have.
Diana is pregnant with twins. They’re leaving the past behind, but they’re leaving a trail of bodies and changed history. The tragedy of Kit Marlowe and the death of Philippe are heavy weights. When they finally "timewalk" back to the present, they aren't the same people.
Diana is now a formidable power. Matthew is a man who has faced his demons and realized they’re still there.
Actionable Steps for New and Returning Viewers
If you're looking to get the most out of the All Souls experience, don't just binge-watch and move on. The lore is too deep for that.
- Watch the "making of" featurettes. The production team actually consulted with historians to ensure the alchemical symbols used in the background were authentic to the period.
- Compare the Philippe scenes to the book. James Purefoy’s performance adds a layer of warmth that isn't as obvious in the prose. It changes how you view the de Clermont legacy.
- Track the "Blood Rage" symptoms. Pay close attention to Matthew’s micro-expressions in the scenes with Kit Marlowe. The show does a lot of "showing, not telling" regarding his condition.
- Revisit the Season 1 finale. Before starting Season 2, re-watch the final ten minutes of Season 1. The transition in lighting and sound design is a masterclass in establishing a "time jump" without using a caption on the screen.
The series proves that "supernatural romance" doesn't have to be shallow. It can be a lens to look at history, genetics, and the terrifying weight of the past. It’s not about the magic spells; it’s about what those spells cost the people who cast them.