Mayfair Witches Season 1 Episode 7 Review: Tessa
Rowan backtracks on her decision to free Lasher after an unfortunate set of events on Mayfair Witches Season 1 Episode 7, “Tessa.”
The season one penultimate episode focuses on thrusting Rowan’s storyline further in an advanced fashion in preparation for the finale. However, in doing that, “Tessa” highlights the flaws the series has sported since the premiere.
When Rowan begins to feel off after the ritual, she seeks out Tessa, discovering that she’s nowhere to be found. In turn, this leads to events that immerse Rowan into the Mayfair ranks again. But this time, as an outcast that nobody wishes to associate.
After all, they did go to great lengths to ensure she could leave for San Francisco freely. But Rowan insists she can help, and as it turns out, she’s right. Her blood eventually leads the family to Tessa’s whereabouts after a scry’s previous failed attempts.
Without waiting for backup, Rowan bursts through the doors to Tessa’s rescue, almost succeeding. After killing what she thinks are all of the captors, they begin to walk out when Keith comes from behind and shoots Tessa. It’s a jaw-dropping moment, but certainly not one of the more notable scenes of the season.
Meanwhile, Lasher spends the entire episode apart from Rowan and Tessa, taunting Ciprien at his leisure. Towards the end, it’s revealed that Cipren is actually stuck in Lasher’s memory rather than the necklaces.
When Lasher decides to return to the mortal plane, everything around Ciprien vanishes, leaving viewers on the edge of their seats. The series has proven that it has no qualms with killing off characters, so fear of Ciprien’s demise is plausible.
Thankfully, Ciprien makes his return thanks to Arjuna. Nevertheless, he quickly realizes that his boss, Albrecht, has been secretly working alongside Lasher and Cortland the entire time. Like Cortland, he wants the prophecy to come true, and keeping Ciprien separated from Rowan is the only way.
As a viewer who has yet to read the book series, it’s a pleasant surprise to know that my theory about Albrecht has been correct since the beginning.
One crucial debilitating factor that’s highlighted is how incredibly sped up the story is. And honestly, it feels weird to say, considering the many moments throughout that felt incredibly slow. But, with “Tessa” being the next to last outing of the season, loose ends have to be tied up one way or another.
We’ve spent a fraction of the time with Tessa’s character, not giving the audience enough time to form an emotional connection. Understandably, the episode revolving around Tessa is a way of integrating Rowan into the family altogether.
That said, it doesn’t make the situation more enthralling or emotionally provoking. Tessa’s death is a somber moment that evokes Rowan’s rage and emotion, convincing the audience there’s no other way for revenge. Nevertheless, the action falls short of delivering.
Tessa’s death is not the catalyst that should have pushed Rowan to the edge. It’s a poor excuse for her to be once again tied to Lasher when all she has to do is chase after Keith. Keith’s head start was around five to ten seconds, so using him as the justification for Rowan’s decision is sloppy.
To tell a fully fleshed-out story, Mayfair Witches deserved a minimum of ten episodes. Instead, the series is forced to cram so much information into these forty-five-minute timeslots that it’s obvious the writers are struggling to include everything needed for the storyline to make sense.
Stray Thoughts:
- The family is already on the fence about trusting Rowan, so I doubt she’ll be any more welcome after Tessa’s death.
- I genuinely hope in Season 2 we get more than eight episodes. We needed episodes dedicated solely to Ciprien in the dream world and Lasher’s origin story. Doing so would have given them more time to focus on other aspects of the story and break it down further.
- I’m intrigued to see how the series tackles Rowan’s pregnancy in Season 2. I haven’t read the books, but I know enough to know what’s soon to come.
What did you think of this episode of Mayfair Witches? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Mayfair Witches airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.
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Cade Taylor
Cade Taylor is a television and film critic living in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV. His love for television developed at a young age, with a concentration on queer stories, sitcoms, teen dramas, and science fiction thrillers. In addition, he works full-time as a news producer, telling the stories of Missourians and helming "Produced in the Bi-State," a segment spotlighting actors, musicians, and entertainers from the St. Louis area. He can be reached by email at cade@telltaletv.com.
2 comments
Didn’t you notice that Rowan was shot in the shoulder, something she appears in danger of bleeding out from next episode?
Addionally, from the book she can heal. That may revealed to her from Lasher. Tessa might be dead after. Regardless the family not respect Rowan but most importantly, will fear her.
Tessa is gagged, blindfolded, and her wrist bound … in front of her. If she can reach out to shake the cage door, she can reach up and remove the gag and blindfold. Stupid writing.
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