Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

A Discovery of Witches: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 7, 2021

Harry Potter and The Twilight Saga have a little competition in the "cobbled together from" category as A Discovery of Witches wends its way through its second season. Since A Discovery of Witches was culled from a series of novels by Deborah Harkness called the All Souls Trilogy, far be it from me to suggest that the television series', um, Outlander-esque turn of events in its second season is a deliberate attempt to copy the success of that time travelling love story, though some curmudgeons may come to the conclusion that Harkness may have been reading the Diana Gabaldon books that inspired the Scotland set show, books which pre-dated Harkness' own by some two decades, at some point before embarking on her own writing enterprise. Now, lovers of the once and future United Kingdom will no doubt be quick to point out that England and Scotland are two very different places, and the historical time periods that the two exploit are also separate entities, but for anyone who has been watching Outlander for years and who just kind of stumbles upon this second season of A Discovery of Witches, a certain feeling of déjà vu may ensue.

For those wanting a written version of the "previously" preludes that begin this season's episodes in lieu of the it begins with conceit the first season employed, our A Discovery of Witches: Season 1 Blu-ray review can provide at least a bit of context.

In an attempt to elude capture by The Congregation, Diana (Teresa Palmer) and Matthew (Matthew Goode) utilize Diana's ability to "timewalk" to travel back to late 16th England, though Diana's still nascent skills end up depositing the duo smack dab in the middle of London rather than out in the country where Matthew would have preferred to land. Matthew's 1590 identity is rather quickly disclosed, and Diana is privy to a number of interactions with the likes of Walter Raleigh (Michael Lindall) and Christopher Marlowe (Tom Hughes). If Matthew reintegrates into his former personage over the course of the season, sometimes to the detriment of his relationship with Diana, Diana herself is kind of stranded in the era, alone and struggling to toe the line between her academic interest in the period's history and the "fact" that she can't come off as a pushy, overly intelligent woman, what with simmering fears of witches in the populace.

Much as with Outlander, a star-crossed romance in an unsettling historical milieu provides a lot of the content this season, though ultimately "present day" affairs also start to play out simultaneously (?), with efforts by a coterie of different species attempting to revoke the so-called Covenant, which has kept the magical groups apart from each other for centuries. Meanwhile, back in Merrie (?) Olde England, Diana and Matthew are on the hunt for the Book of Life, and the mystery of the three missing pages is addressed in both time periods, albeit from radically different perspectives.

As if A Discovery of Witches weren't trifurcated enough with daemons, witches and vampires, a new "subspecies" comes to the fore when Diana is schooled in her own "particular skill", which is called weaving. She receives both technical and perhaps emotional "instruction" from Goody Alsop (Sheila Hancock), who had considered herself one of the last remaining weavers before Diana showed up. Diana's weaving abilities of course become all important in a variety of ways that involve the sacred text and even plans to return to contemporary London.

Kind of oddly, A Discovery of Witches has a couple of last minute surprises up its ornate sleeves, but it doesn't really build to a traditional cliffhanger in quite the same way the first season did. Instead, there are all sorts of implied threats, and maybe even some implied subterfuge, but the perceived danger is kind of pervasive this time out instead of aimed directly at Diana and Matthew.

A Discovery of Witches: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Discovery of Witches: Season 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of RLJ Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1. Kind of amazingly given its absence of technical data on various seasons of television series, the IMDb overtly lists Arri cameras as having been utilized for both season one and season two of this show, though there's no information imparted about the resolution of the DI. This season is kind of a tale of two cities, or at least two lighting regimens, with the "olden days" material frequently looking like it was meant to be offering only natural lighting sources like candles, and which is often therefore pretty murky and ill defined at times. Even some outdoor material in the historical milieu is noticeably dark, with fine detail levels ebbing as a result. While the present day sequences can also offer a surprising amount of dimly lit material, there are some more brightly lit moments, especially in some outdoor material, where the palette finally pops and detail levels get a little more breathing room to strut their stuff. With an understanding that certain stylistic choices have been made to keep this season "dark" (in more ways than one), the presentation here is enjoyably precise looking, though CGI, especially establishing shots of historical London, aren't especially well detailed.

A Discovery of Witches: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Discovery of Witches: Season 2 features an enjoyable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that, much as with the first season, tends to provide the most convincing immersion and surround activity in some of the effects scenes, as when Diana really starts to manifest her powers back in 16th century England. Some of the bustling outdoor activity in the "olden days" also provides good opportunities for well placed ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout the season. Optional English and French subtitles are available.

A Discovery of Witches: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Story of A Discovery of Witches (HD; 6:30) gives a brief overview of things courtesy of interview segments with Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode, among others. There's a recap of some elements in the first season before things move on to some unavoidable spoilers for this season.


• Can Love Survive? (HD; 5:23) finds the same interview subjects and even a few of the same interviews, , now ostensibly discussing the romantic angle between Matthew and Diana.


• Creating Elizabethan London (HD; 5:45) looks at the production design of this season.

Note: All of these supplements can be found on Disc Two of this two disc set.

A Discovery of Witches: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite parts of this season coming off as a weird echo of parts of Outlander, A Discovery of Witches continues to provide a rather artful blend of fiction and real historical characters, and this season has some interesting if hardly revelatory things to impart about how a strong willed 21st century woman (witch or not) has to learn to cope in an era where she's consigned to being a second class citizen (at best). The series continues to offer some nicely interwoven characters and subplots, and the production design this season is especially evocative, with some impressive sets and costumes. Technical merits are generally solid, though this season has a lot of dimly lit or just downright dark scenes. With caveats noted, A Discovery of Witches: Season 2 comes Recommended.