Created by Michelle Ashford and Esta Spalding
1.04 “Curioser and Curioser”
Teleplay by Lindsey Villarreal
Directed by Axelle Carolyn
Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Tongayi Chirisa, Jack Huston, Harry Hamlin
Available on Sundays AMC/AMC+

by Sam Morris, Staff Writer

After last week’s episode, I decided to write one more entry about this week’s episode, which marks the halfway point of the season, and then one more at the end of the season. I made that assumption partially based on a second assumption that the end of the first season would mark the end of the series… because who could possibly want to renew this shambling disaster of an adaptation for another season?

The answer to that question is AMC. AMC would and did want to renew Mayfair Witches. Cut them some slack, though, because, as Variety reports, Mayfair Witches has been watched by more people than Interview with the Vampire, or any other show that has premiered on AMC+. As we have learned from so many classic episodes of The Twilight Zone, the bad guys aren’t always who we think that they are. In fact, the reason that we’re getting more Mayfair Witches is apparently because of YOU!

And, I expect, some contractual business with the Rice estate.

“Curioser and Curioser” is better than the previous episode, “Second Line.” Not enough to right the ship on its own, but the showrunners drop a few breadcrumbs in this episode that makes me think that there might be some good things to come. The episode revolves around Deirdre’s death and the wake that Cortland throws at the Mayfair house. But that isn’t where this episode begins; no, once we dispense with the perplexingly boring and unnecessary detour into Scotland, the episode proper begins in Rowan’s dreams.

Is it too soon for Rowan to be having vivid sex dreams about Ciprien? Of course not! Dreams don’t care about anyone’s sense of propriety. Also, in the novel, Rowan begins thinking about having sex with Michael roughly five seconds after she meets him the second time—the only reason she doesn’t go there on the occasion of their first meeting is that she’s busy saving him from drowning. She does get to first base with him that day, though, when she administers CPR. Anyway, I’d be remiss if I didn’t add here that I think that this scene also has something to do with the show’s renewal.

This is probably as good a time as any to say what I’ve been hinting at all along: The Witching Hour is, at times, downright pornographic. The question that I’ve had since the beginning is how far AMC will go down Rice’s erotic road. The potential problem is that the story falls apart if the adaptation is too chaste. That is, I submit, the reason for the show’s lack of coherence and quality in episodes two and three. This dream sequence offers some tantalizing possibilities, but there’s going to have to be a lot more where that came from.

Let’s move on to stately Mayfair manor. Even though Carlotta has banned Cortland from the house, the party most assuredly doesn’t start until he walks in. If I had “Uncle Cortland” in my family, I’d definitely go to him for all my party planning needs. For what it’s worth, he is about as welcoming and reassuring to Rowan as any creepy uncle could possibly be. Before Rowan comes face-to-face with Cortland, though, she meets cousins Josephine and Tessa. Tessa is eager to meet Rowan, no doubt hoping that the prodigal witch will become her new BFF. Tessa unknowingly (it would seem) spills the big secret: Rowan has inherited everything. Everything.

Which comes as a shock to Rowan. Josephine dismisses Tessa and proceeds to explain to Rowan that the Mayfairs are a matrilineal line and that Rowan is the thirteenth woman in that line, which started with—gasp—our friend in Scotland! Josephine shows Rowan the portraits of the first eleven witches—er, women—in the family line. Interestingly, Josephine namechecks Katherine Mayfair, but the camera does not cut to Katherine’s painting. That was a huge disappointment for me until I realized that that probably means that they’re saving Katherine’s appearance for a big reveal later on. If Ashford and Spalding commit to Katherine Mayfair’s story, I will be back to write about it.

For now, let’s focus on what Rowan does see in the portraits that are revealed to her and to us: the necklace. Rowan is left conveniently alone to go on a search for it—that is, until she runs into Cortland. Now it’s time for Harry Hamline’s scene of the week: Uncle Cortland storytime. He explains to Rowan more about what it means to be the family “designee.” I’m not sure that Mayfair Witches has done a very good job of establishing the scope of the Mayfair family wealth. The Mayfairs are old money, and they very likely have as much or more old money than your average billionaire has new money. That means, in addition to actual dollars, the Mayfairs have enough cousins, connections, and clout to do literally anything. If you’re wondering what Rowan is going to do with the money, go back and listen to Tessa give that away too.

Carlotta reappears to chase Cortland away; before he goes, he entreats Rowan (in a relatively non-creepy manner) to visit him at his office to go through the details of just what being a “designee” means. Not to be outdone, Carlotta insists that Rowan join her at the house for dinner. She also gives Rowan a rosary. Now, a different show would have strung this family quarrel out for much longer, but that is not the path that Ashford and Spalding take here. Carlotta’s invitation is, obviously, a trap. Inexplicably, Rowan gets even more alone time in the house, finally discovering the necklace, trading it for the rosary around her neck.

Realizing that things aren’t going her way at all, Carlotta does the next most sensical thing: she tells Rowan about all the evil things that she did to Rowan and her mother. When Rowan doesn’t react well for some reason, Carlotta decides that her next move is to burn it all down, literally. This would be a great time for Ciprien Grieve, supernatural private detective, to finish what he’s been up to (which totally doesn’t matter) and save Rowan. Unfortunately—and who didn’t see this coming—he bursts in at exactly the wrong time and ends up with a knife in his gut.

Cliffhanger, anyone?

Okay, that’s it for the next few weeks. I’m still going to be watching Mayfair Witches, and I’ll be back for a wrap-up of the season finale. In the meantime, here are a couple of things to consider.

1. “Curioser and Curioser” could have been the first season finale. It could have also been the series premiere. The Witching Hour begins with a bunch of disparate chapters that could function by themselves as short stories. These chapters introduce us to some of the characters and themes of the larger Mayfair story and create suspense around who Lasher is. The next part of the novel is the full Mayfair history; interspersed with that history is Rice’s accounting of the machinations that get everyone everywhere where they need to be for the real story to occur. The third part of the novel is the real story, everything from the funeral forward.

In other words, we’ve skipped very large portions of what Rice originally wrote to get to the end of the novel during the middle of the first season. Based on the first half of the season, I have no idea how much backtracking that the showrunners intend on doing, but there’s a lot of good stuff that has seemingly been left in the dust.

2. As I mentioned earlier, the dream sequence points toward an important element of The Witching Hour and what Rice is very comfortable doing as an author. How much of that is AMC comfortable with? I said last week that I don’t find Alexandra Daddario to be up to the role of Rowan Mayfair. I’m not ready to take back what I said just yet, but it will be interesting to see just how much eroticism finds its way into the next four episodes.

Let’s see where this wild ride of a show takes us over the next four weeks!