Mayfair Witches Season 1 Episode 3 Review: “Second Line”

We’re three episodes into Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches and in “Second Line” we see Lasher (Jack Huston) start to really sink his teeth into the new designee, Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario) 

(OK, maybe he’s not sinking his teeth like a certain trio of vampires over in the French Quarter, if you know what I mean…)

I had a chance to screen the first five episodes of Mayfair Witches back to back prior to its premiere, and since that time I’ve now also seen the sixth episode. I can tell you that it was the third episode when I started to connect with the series. Until that point I’d connected with individual characters and actors but was still hoping to see more direction from the show. 

Rowan meets Carlotta (Beth Grant) for the first time and quickly makes it clear she’s not playing by Carlotta’s rules. She tells Ciprien (Tongayi Chirisa) that she’s her own person. Until this moment, Rowan has always been subject to the whims and desires of others, whether she realizes it or not. She has been trying to please her mother and her bosses, frequently putting her own needs to the side. 

But not anymore. 

“Second Line” cemented my hope that the show is building toward something very special. There’s something about Huston’s Lasher that I want to see more of; he oozes mystery and danger, and oh-so-much charm. It’s hard to get a read on what Lasher is and what he wants. If you’ve read the books, you know the answers to these questions, of course, but I’m of the opinion that showrunners Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford are tweaking his character for the show in a way that will lead to big surprises down the line. 

When it comes to Mayfair Witches, I’m actually fine with straying from the source material. The Lives of the Mayfair Witches is a massive story that spans three books and literally thousands of pages—over a thousand pages in The Witching Hour alone—and many of the stories would be very difficult to tell on television without significant revision. (Case in point, I’m much happier with the show’s version of Cortland Mayfair, played with finesse by Harry Hamlin)

I obviously can’t (and won’t) spoil what’s coming in the next few episodes, but let me tell you that “Second Line” is a turning point for the season and things are about to heat up in New Orleans. 

Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches airs Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on AMC, and is available to stream early on AMC+.