Mayfair Witches Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Much Ado About Lasher

Critic’s Rating: 2.5 / 5.0

2.5

Mayfair Witches has a fantastic cast and a moody atmosphere, but it’s quickly becoming one of those shows where the characters make terrible decisions to advance the story. 

There was focus and cohesion on Mayfair Witches Season 1, which slowly introduced us to Rowan Mayfair and some of her family members who were very much against her. 

After Mayfair Witches Season 2 Episode 2, the series has written itself into a corner, and frankly, I’m struggling to care about where it goes next. 

The big flaw is characterization, which has led to the discarding of countless characters before they have anything of substance to contribute. 

Take Thora Birch’s Gifford, for example. She is a fantastic actress brought in for a handful of scenes only to find her character dead after giving in to Lasher’s temptations. 

On the surface, Gifford seemed too cool, calm, and collected for someone to just show up at her home in the dead of night, but Lasher had a way of making the Mayfair women crave his attention. 

Had Gifford been an established member of the show for more than one episode, her death would have been impactful and tugged at the heartstrings. Ultimately, her death feeds into the show’s wider issue of squandered potential. 

Bringing a seasoned actress like Thora on for such a ho-hum collection of scenes is a big waste, so hopefully, there’s a way for Lasher to reflect and maybe bring some of the people he killed back to life. 

Jack Huston stole the show in this episode because he can easily play every beat of the complicated Lasher.

Lasher is a difficult character to dissect because his actions don’t always align with his emotions, but he was struggling after killing Gifford. 

There’s a more significant reason for him being in the real world than what anyone is privy to, and the show needs to accelerate the pace and give some answers before the viewers that returned for Mayfair Witches Season 2 cut it loose. 

There’s so much great story to mine from this world and the broader universe, but for some reason, Mayfair Witches can’t tell a solid story to save itself. 

Alicia’s demise was unexpected, but in hindsight, it was the easiest way to allow Moira to trust Ciprian. 

Alicia has been a recurring player since the beginning of the series, so it was hard not to be miffed about her death. I’m more interested in how it will shake up the dynamics as the season progresses. 

Moira could blossom into the best character on the show because she’s proving to be the most intelligent person. I was impressed by how she immediately knew that Ciprian was associated with the Talamasca. 

Going into their meeting, I figured he would have all the power, but Moira can tell when someone is trying to pull the wool over her eyes, and she’s unafraid to say it. 

Moira will be a far more interested party in the quest to track down and kill Lasher now that he’s killed her mother.

Moira will probably struggle with a guilty conscience because of what she said to her mother the last time they spoke. 

But we’re learning that Moira left the family and New Orleans because no one wanted to carve out a bond with her. 

After all, she was able to read their mind. It must be hard for people to know that someone is inside their mind, but Moira seems to resent everyone who did it. 

I’m still not entirely sold on her joining forces with Ciprian, but at least it’s one of the more intriguing storylines. 

Then there’s Rowan, who is making bad decisions after bad decisions because she doesn’t know whether she could go through with killing Lasher.

He’s been this entity that has stalked the Mayfair women for generations, but his allure is rubbing off on her, too. 

Rowan felt guilty about Lucy’s death, so I can’t even begin to imagine how she’ll think that he’s now killed Alicia because her non-relationship with Moira will probably plunge to new lows. 

Then again, Moira may be able to convince Rowan that Ciprian and the Talamasca are in the right on this occasion because their focus is on saving people and preventing supernatural beings from causing chaos. 

Speaking of chaos, why did the show feel the need to bring Cortland back to the land of the living? 

He’s a despicable man with zero redeeming qualities, and nothing he tells Rowan about Lasher will have any root in reality because he wants to manipulate people. 

His episode-ending reveal that he wants to redeem himself was absurd because there’s no coming back from anything he’s said and done to his family over the years.

It’s hard to be invested in this storyline, and the sooner he’s gone, the better. 

Over to you, Mayfair Witches Fanatics! What are your thoughts on the show’s trajectory so far this season? Do you think it’s time to stick a fork in it? 

Cast your vote in our poll and share your thoughts below!

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