A Discovery of Witches Review (TV Series, 2019) #31DaysofHorror
content warning: gore, sexual content
A Discovery of Witches is an urban fantasy/romance/horror series about witches, vampires, and demons in academia. Dr. Diana Bishop is a historian specializing in the history of alchemy. She is also a non-practicing witch who doesn’t always have control over her powers. She takes a position at Oxford to continue her research and manages to recall a book from the library that has been missing for centuries. Now every witch, vampire, and demon in the world is after her for her ability to find a book that could explain the creation and destruction of vampires.
A Discovery of Witches is based on historian Deborah Harkness’ All Souls trilogy. This style of urban fantasy is my favorite. I enjoy stories of creatures of folklore and urban legends living normal lives in modern society. Their powers are altered slightly to allow them to pass unnoticed by most of society. Vampires, for example, are perfectly capable of being out in the sunlight in this series. All of the characters look like regular humans but possess extraordinary powers.
The TV series is a lot of fun. There are some genuinely scary moments. In the first episode alone we see Diana’s interaction with the book cut the power in the library. The pages start to dance under her hand, showing hidden messages within the pages. She reaches to touch it and is branded by the outline of a symbol from the book. The pulse of energy to create that burn is strong enough to seemingly alert every witch, vampire, and demon in the world of a disturbance.
One of the more remarkable aspects of the series is how suspenseful it is. This is a show about doctors and professors trying to out-research each other in a restricted library. The story is told through books and academic writing. Credentials are weaponized against each other. Respectability politics still define their lives and careers if they wish to maintain their reputations in academia.
When the gore and violence hits, its brutal. No punches are held. The first introduction to vampires is a particularly bloody hit and run accident. A powerful witch adversary demonstrates her abilities by sending a witch hunt straight through the earth. The vampires of Oxford work in blood research and science, the demons work in local government, and the witches work in history.
The core conflict of the series comes down to this. Witches and vampires can coexist in the world, but they are not meant to interact. They are long time enemies. Diana forms a bond with another professor, Matthew Clairmont, who is a vampire. He is the first one to find her after she recalls the missing book. They come to realize that they can help each other, but also pose a threat to each other. Both have the power to destroy each other in an instant whether they mean to or not.
A Discovery of Witches is a great horror series that’s easy to watch. The eight episodes of the first season flow well together. I’m not as big a fan of watching a series straight through and I was able to finish this show in a day and enjoyed the quicker pace. The writing and directing just push the show forward with a sense of urgency that creates a lot of suspense.
A Discovery of Witches is streaming on Shudder.
