Mayfair Witches – Double Helix

By: Mariah Thomas

The episode begins with more insight into the relationship between Rowan (Alexandra Daddario) and Lark (Ben Feldman). In a flashback sequence we see the moment that kicks off their break-up. Lark applied for a job in New York without telling Rowan. His reasoning was he hadn’t anticipated getting it; however, it is what he wants to do. They both were set to start residencies in San Francisco together. Lark doesn’t see himself becoming a surgeon and is more interested in the study of genetics. Rowan feels blindsided that this was not an ongoing conversation between them before he decided to drop out of the program and apply for a position in New York. She tries to reason he can find a job in San Francisco, but he’s set on New York as it is the best. She goes to walk away, and he pleads for her to talk to him but she says, “There’s nothing to talk about. You made that clear.”

The memory fades into Moira (Alyssa Jirrels) waking Rowan up. She tells her to clean up her mess and the memories of the prior night come rushing back. Once downstairs, she sees Jojo (Jen Richards) and Daphne (Olive Abercrombie) still stuck in the loop she put them in. She attempts to pull them out and it begins to work, however she grows too weak to continue using her powers. She gets a phone call from Lark concerned for her wellbeing. The previous night, they made plans to meet up. She insists she is fine and will meet him soon. Moira remains upset that Rowan hesitated to kill Lasher (Jack Huston) before he was taken away. In return, Rowan is upset that Moira had been filling in the Talamasca.

Cip (Tongayi Chirisa) goes to check on Lasher in the Talamasca’s holding cells. However, the guard is insistent he is not there. He lets him walk into the holding area and examine each cell. This gives viewers a deep look at the work the Talamasca does as he peers into each cell. Cip immediately goes to speak with Albrecht (Dennis Boutsikaris) as he had not been answering his calls. He is able to track his car and finds it abandoned under a highway. He brings a team to examine the scene thinking he may have been taken. Cip has the gift of memory within touch. As he drags his hand across every inch of the car, he cannot see a thing. Meaning, it was intentionally wiped.

Moira searches the house for Daphne as she and Jojo  are still stuck in the loop. As she is, a light blows out. Upstairs, Cortland (Harry Hamlin) tries to get out of the room he was locked in. However, previously his father has sealed the lock with a spell. His sister, Millie (Geraldine Singer), comes to him in her ghostly form to taunt him.

Rowan sits with Lark for breakfast at his hotel. Lark makes a joke about the reason she won’t let him the house is for poor decorating skills. The pair easily fall back into conversation on the past. As they reminisce, Rowan gets a phone call from Moira telling her she needs to come back. She encourages Lark to go home to New York and makes a baseless promise to come visit to finish their conversation.

Once she returns to the house, it is revealed to be falling apart. Magic is so fundamental to this family and the house that has existed for generations. With Lasher further away, it begins to deteriorate. Moira’s concern is what will happen to her sister and Jojo if it continues. Rowan asks if she has been able to get ahold of Cip and Moira says the call should come from her.

Back at the scene, Cip finds the tiniest bit of a memory embedded in the seatbelt. The memory is of Albrecht telling Lasher his home is not with Rowan, and he knows where he belongs. Cip realizes Albrecht went rogue and took Lasher with him. This case has been close to Cip his entire life, so it comes as a deep confusion. In his processing, Rowan calls. She begins to attempt small talk and he is not having it. She asks if he can bring Lasher near the house so she can pull Daphne and Jojo out of the loop. He informs her that Lasher is gone and asks to speak to Moira. He tells her more details on what A did. He promises to bring Lasher in if he can be found and requests her help. Moira and Rowan then head upstairs to see Cortland, who Rowan reveals to have forgotten about locking upstairs. As they walk, the two butt heads again on if they can trust the other. The trust is minimal, but it is beginning between them. She asks Cortland where A would take Lasher and Moira reads his mind. She says he doesn’t know. Moira is able to uncover that A and Cortland haven’t been the ones working together. It has always been him and Cortland’s father, Julien (Ted Levine). Once he died, Cortland took over but was never fully trusted. Rowan inquires if there is a way to speak with his father and Cortland insists he will tell her if she lets him out. In order to block Moira from reading his mind, he begins to sing to himself. Rowan takes pity, and opens the door.

Over breakfast Cortland tells them about how when he was turned to stone, he was able to speak with his father. He is willing to go back under the condition he can trust to be brought back to life. While eating, he sees Jojo and Daphne walk by and learns they are trapped. Rowan pieces together the record player that always played when she would read family journals, was owned by Julien. Dolly Jean took it with her the previous night, so they headed to her home to find out why.

Back in his hotel room, Lark bags the tea cup Rowan used for her DNA. He then makes a call to his place of work to see if there are connections for him to work out in New Orleans. He is able to get into a local lab and swabs Rowan’s cup to be tested. When he gets the results back, he sees Rowan has the same DNA abnormality that Lasher’s sample did.

Cip breaks into Albrecht’s office and again touches every surface hoping to find memory fragments. Once again, everything has been wiped. With the exception of a wine bottle left with his name on it. Albrecht left him a message that says he will have a bright future with the Talamasca. He bids him farewell and the memory ends. He continues his search of the office and finds a piece of a burnt letter only to be startled by another voice. A woman and a team of men behind her enter the room. She introduces herself as someone investigating why Albrecht would go rogue. It is clear she thinks Cip knows more than he is letting on. He expresses he is just as confused as everyone else, but is still taken in for further questioning.

Moira and Rowan show up to Dolly Jean’s (Charlayne Woodard) home. As they wait they grow impatient that she is seemingly not home. They spot her in the window dancing in her living room, unaffected by their attempts to gain her attention. The pair go around to the back door to find it open. As they enter the house, Dolly continues to dance in what appears to be a trance. Moira stops the music to try and read her mind. Their confusion has turned to concern. As she does Dolly’s sister, Evelyn (Deneen Tyler), appears and tells them not to touch her. Rowan and Evelyn finally meet and there is clear tension. Moira realizes Dolly’s consciousness is inside the record player with Julien. Evelyn reveals before Julien died, be bound himself to the object so their passion could live on. There is an hourglass on the table that is almost up. Evelyn rushes to pull Dolly out and reveals Julien gets angry whenever one of them has to leave. Rowan asks what would happen if not pulled out in time, and Evelyn simply says she doesn’t know and doesn’t want to find out. In the process of pulling her out, Evelyn warns them not to do anything as she needs her full power. Evelyn’s true form is shown and she looks much older than she presents. Moira whispers to Rowan that it is Evenlyn’s gift and she is actually Dolly’s older sister. Evelyn tells them once Dolly is out that you cannot leave the land of the dead on your own and need someone to throw you a rope. She is Dolly’s rope and Dolly’s is hers. Meaning, they monitor the other and stand by closely to help bring the other out safely.

The four ladies sit at the dining room table to discuss the current state of the family. Dolly says she took the record player to speak with Julien in private as she had questions for him. Questions she suspects are the reason Rowan made the trip over. Dolly says if she intends to visit Julien, do so in her own home where she is most powerful. Moira goes to pick up the player and immediately is thrown into a trance of reading Julien’s mind. She begins chanting what sounds like nonsense and Rowan pulls her off of the player just for her to fall and begin to have a seizure. Since her healing powers no longer work, she is insistent on taking her to a hospital.

Once there and things have calmed down, Moira and Rowan have a heart to heart. Their trust finally builds up in the other when they believe they are on the same page. They both had the same end goal, but had been playing different games. This is revealed when Rowan says she plans to go in and speak to Julien while Moira offers to be her rope. Once she is cleared from the hospital, they return to Dolly Jean’s for her to speak to Julien. Knowing how awful his father was, Cortland offers once more to take her place and speak with him. Rowan insists she needs to be the one to go. The episode closes out as she enters the record player and approaches Julien.