A desperate Suzanne Mayfair’s cry for help changed everything for the place the Mayfairs call Donnelaith. The branch that moved to First Street, New Orleans, might’ve been swept away by the shifting tides of time, faith, and politics. But the branch that stayed have been living their lives in the name of the Taltos, the source of all their mystical gifts. Episode 6 of season 2 of Mayfair Witches is a faithful initiation to the murky Pagan branch of the Mayfairs. It’s here that you get to see how closely bound this bloodline is to the magic of the old gods. And you also perhaps start to wonder if they even have the choice to back away after all. So without further ado, let’s look into the recap of all the important events of Mayfair Witches episode 6.
Spoiler Alert
The Mayfairs of Donnelaith
Is there a game plan? I don’t think so. But I bet it’s reassuring for Rowan to know that her powers act as pretty steady trackers for Lasher. Lark seems to have really gotten comfortable with the idea of being in love with an actual witch who’s looking for her not-very-human son. And Cortland, well, his thoughts and intentions are about as stable as you’d expect them to be. But the shift in his loyalties, however fickle it might prove to be, is pretty real. As long as Moira’s around, no one’s playing games and getting away with it. When they get a flat and they’re stranded about two miles out of a weirdly festive Donnelaith/Kilbride, you know that Ian Mayfair and his clan have something to do with it. It’s not that they’re not wanted there. I very much doubt that Ian would’ve let them walk into the village if he hadn’t intended for that to happen. But Rowan and co are in the dark about every morsel of the curious spectacles that Kilbride’s Michaelmas celebrations involve. A quick chit chat with some of the lesser-frightening locals does give them a vague idea about the supposedly Catholic event to worship the archangel Michael. But things look a bit too rustic and Pagan for Rowan to buy that the Abrahamic God has anything to do with whatever this is. Since we’ve already seen Albrecht die a quick death at Ian’s hands, we know that Rowan’s been played when she finds someone who looks like Albrecht and follows him into the crowd. That’s some pretty potent magic at play here. But what’s the purpose of tricking Rowan like that? The answer to that lies in the turn of events surrounding Moira’s inexplicable separation from the group. Moira sees a guy in a red hood with thoughts of the Taltos crowding his mind. Distracting Rowan was the only way to make sure that Moira would follow that guy. Seeing as this mysterious guy walks into the same pub where Rowan met Julien, it’s evident that this was no coincidence. The Mayfairs of Scotland wanted Moira to be separated from the group. They likely own that pub too. And let’s be honest, Rowan’s hands are pretty much tied without her trusty mindreader.
It’s like any other family reunion, really
Nothing happens in Kilbride without Ian Mayfair’s say so. And that can only mean that he’s the orchestrator of the less-than-ideal circumstances Rowan and her buddies have found themselves in. When she’s told that Hamish will give them a ride to a hotel, Rowan’s already suspicious that someone’s trying to keep her from finding Moira. And when Hamish drives Rowan, Cortland, and Lark to Ian’s house, they get the answer that they’ve been looking for. Having Moira around would’ve been a major hindrance in their path to achieving their goals. Ian and his family need the New Orleans Mayfairs to trust them. And one look at their minds would’ve told Moira just how unreliable these people were. But Rowan doesn’t need Moira’s mind reading powers to know that Ian’s bad news. Her options are scarce. And playing nice with Ian might be her only shot at finding Lasher and saving her family. Rowan isn’t confused when this little Mayfair girl, Bonnie, tells her all about the coming of Kilbride’s savior–Saint Ashlar. She’s aware that this supposed saint is her son, and she’s just found out that this whole Michaelmas shindig is a village-wide preparation for a very important wedding.
Coming to Ian, I wouldn’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth. So however sincere he might be when he bonds with Cortland over their shared hatred for their very abusive dad, I doubt that Ian feels any connection with his estranged brother. He’s likely playing Cortland like a fiddle. And what’s worse? He’s convinced the entire village that a marriage between Lasher and someone special to Donnelaith’s lore will bring forth an endless spring. What makes it even more difficult for Rowan to put Ian through the grinder is the strange way the family’s tied together by a single string of magic. If she hurts Ian, she hurts the little girl, Bonnie. And since she doesn’t even know that Ian’s killed Albrecht, there’s a pretty big chance that she’s underestimating his capacity for violence. Speaking of Albrecht, working alongside him has caused Sip a lot of grief. But like I said, the Talamasca can’t stay mad at him for too long. At the Amsterdam office, another pointless reference to “Interview with the Vampire” gets Sip closer to the Talamasca’s core. If they’re so busy handling the aftermath of Daniel Molloy publishing his riveting tale of vampires, why are they even trying their luck with someone as stern and righteous as Sip? He’s never going to bend to their will and help them unless he gets some clarity about what he’s fighting for. And Amsterdam’s mindreader Anamika is not too keen on sharing the secrets just yet. More important figures of the organization need to pitch in when it comes to hiring someone to replace Albrecht. But something tells me Sip might be a shoo-in.
Did Hamish betray Rowan?
You know what’s actually kinda heartbreaking in all this? No matter what he might’ve done before achieving his physical form, the Lasher we know now was born innocent. He’s cursed with some ominous power that’s killed the Mayfair women–deaths that weigh heavily on his newfound conscience. So all he feels now is lost and alone. His status in the village doesn’t excite him even when Ian’s son Abel tells him that he’s their savior–the last of the Taltos. The Taltos were evidently extremely powerful. They even come up in Ian’s chat with Rowan. Though I gotta say that I don’t really know how humans drove these magical beings to extinction. In any case, since Lasher, or as the Scottish Mayfairs know him, Ashlar is Taltos, they expect him to carry the species forward. He has a bride who’s been waiting for him for 500 years, someone Marguerite must’ve known too. When a restrained Lasher meets his bride, Emaleth, from a distance, he feels a surge of electricity in his blood because, well, they’re kind of meant to be together. She’s Taltos as well. Lasher being a whole other species explains why being intimate with him killed the Mayfair witches. They were simply not strong enough for someone like him. But Lasher still doesn’t quite understand what happened to them. And he’s quite wary of marrying Emaleth because he’s terrified that he’ll hurt her too.
Since Abel has this secret way to smuggle Lasher in and out of the house, we’re bound to trust Hamish when he tells Rowan about the secret tunnels under the basement. But that’s not the only reason we’re leaning towards a more positive opinion about Hamish. Despite being Ian’s son, he’s treated kind of like the errand boy by the family. He’s got dreams of his own, dreams that have been strangled by the family’s history before they could even see the light of day. So it makes sense that he’s inclined to help Rowan. Lark’s positively terrified of Ian’s family after finding out that making masks out of human faces is no big deal to them. In fact, I’m pretty certain that the human skin mask that creepy guy was flaunting was Albrecht’s face. But while it makes sense for Lark to be scared for his and Rowan’s lives, Rowan doesn’t really have the option to leave, no matter how dangerous Ian Mayfair’s family turn out to be. Without Lasher, the Mayfairs don’t stand a chance anyway.
In the ending of Mayfair Witches episode 6, Rowan gambles on the information she got from Hamish and goes down into the tunnels. Turns out, she shouldn’t have trusted Hamish Mayfair after all. She should’ve been more guarded, especially since she heard Ian brag about how tight his family is. Even if Hamish is a tortured son, he must’ve seen trapping Rowan in the tunnels as his way to bag some appreciation from his dad. But let’s not forget that the tunnel was where Lasher last was when Abel and his buddy were trying to tame him. The Scottish Mayfairs may not know that Rowan gets a big boost of power in Lasher’s presence. If they’re planning to get them in the same room, that might just end up working in Rowan’s favor.
