Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Episode 8 of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches.The penultimate episode of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches was explosive. Literally. Tessa (Madison Wolfe) was close to being burned alive by the witch hunters, but Rowan (Alexandra Daddario) managed to swoop in at the last minute and kill the group using her mind powers. Tessa was freed and handed the necklace back over to Rowan, but Keith (Ian Hochs) shot her in the neck before they were able to get away. The episode ended with Rowan cradling a bloodied and dying Tessa in her hands before calling out to Lasher (Jack Huston). It’s time to unpack Episode 8, “What Rough Beast.”
The Season 1 finale starts off on foot, with Rowan chasing Keith through the woods. Lasher appears and says that he will do the work for her, and locates Keith hiding in a shed. Rowan and Lasher’s eyes turn white and Rowan gives Lasher permission to end Keith, which he promptly does by setting the shed on fire. Rowan lies in the muddy grass with a smile spreading across her face. Meanwhile, Jojo (Jen Richards) and Cortland (Harry Hamlin) receive the devastating call that Tessa is dead along with the people who kidnapped her. All roads lead back to Rowan, and Jojo finally asks Cortland why he seems so fixated on her. Jojo deserves answers, as she’s gone against her conscience to use her gift to give Cortland a peak at the future, so when Cortland remains tight-lipped, Jojo grows furious.
Did Albrecht Kill Deirdre?
Ciprien (Tongayi Chirisa) and Albrecht (Dennis Boutsikaris) are still on the bridge and Albrecht speaks on the phone with Cortland. Feeling betrayed, Ciprien removes his glove and manages to get a handshake out of Albrecht, which enables him to use his power with the intention of diving into his memories. But, Ciprien’s efforts fall flat as he realizes Albrecht does have a power: the power to erase. It turns out Albrecht was the one to erase the memories in the elevator where Deirdre (Annabeth Gish) was murdered. Did Albrecht kill Deirdre? No, but Ciprien believes that Cortland was the one to order the kill in order to fulfill a prophecy. Albrecht attempts to erase Ciprien's mind, who counters by saying he is part of the prophecy because Rowan is having his child.
Rowan is both out of it and one with nature. With Lasher at her side, she looks at her should wound and is transported into a vision with him. It’s a place we’ve seen in Rowan’s visions before, but just haven’t fully explored. He takes her into a room “where it all began.” A room that looks like the one from 1600s Scotland. All this is happening in Rowan’s head as her body remains on the forest floor. At Ciprien’s apartment, his sister Odette (Keyara Milliner) comes across a business card for the Talamasca’s New Orleans office and tries to get answers about her brother’s job. She even tells the receptionist that she knows the entire thing is supposed to be a secret, but she’s worried about his safety. The receptionist won’t budge, but when she hangs up, she announces that there was a breach.
Lasher and Rowan Cement Their Bond With Each Other
Ciprien heads to Cortland’s and meets Jojo, who connects the dots that he wants Rowan. Ciprien then touches different items in Cortland’s office and looks into some of the memories. Back in the Scotland house memory, Lasher explains how he made a pact with Suzanne (Hannah Alline) the first Mayfair witch. She and Lasher developed their own language, and he says that she left markings on the wall for Rowan. As Rowan touches the markings, her wounds heal, and Lasher explains that she is the only Mayfair that has that power, but she can heal others if she chooses. Lasher and Rowan have sex, cementing their bond and trust in one another.
At Cirprien’s apartment, Odette tries to hack into her brother’s computer. Albrecht arrives and tricks Odette into thinking he will tell her where Ciprien is, but he actually erases part of her memory to alleviate further questioning. Ciprien uses his power to read a party mask, and is disgusted and horrified at what he sees. In the memory, he sees Cortland (wearing the mask) choking a man and then approaching Deirdre as she slept. Jojo catches Ciprien’s horrified look and wants answers as to what her father has been up to. Ciprien explains that the memory revealed that Cortland actually raped Deirdre so that Rowan would be born. So, Jojo and Rowan share the same father. And then, he had Deirdre killed so that Rowan could come into her power. Following sex, Lasher is nowhere to be found and Rowan’s pregnancy accelerates, which is hardly the wildest thing to come from Anne Rice's novels. Rowan can’t understand what is happening as black spreads across the walls. Rowan is overwhelmed in the vision by a ticking sound as she approaches the witching hour. Meanwhile, a man drags her unconscious through the woods.
Jojo gives Ciprien the relic that has a piece of all the Mayfair women. He sees a memory of Lasher in Scotland speaking about the witching hour and mentions something that was “over the bones.” Jojo takes him to the mausoleum, which she claims is the most sacred place. Dolly Jean (Charlayne Woodard) gets wind that they are speaking of the prophecy and says that Lasher “ripens” by the hour, and while Cirprien heads out, she asks Jojo to fill her in on everything. Ah, so who was dragging Rowan through the woods? Cortland! Rowan’s bloodied, muddied, and pregnant body lazily rests in the back seat of his car.
What Happens to Rowan's Baby?
In the memory, Rowan runs through the cellar of the Mayfair home and notices a woman named Antha sketching clocks. As Rowan makes it upstairs, Deirdre tells looks at her watch (which reads midnight) and tells Rowan that Lasher is coming. “He’s run out the clock. It’s the witching hour. He will be embodied,” Deirdre explains. To make things even more strange and complicated, Deirdre says that Lasher is already with her…as her unborn child.
In the real world, Cortland brings Rowan’s unconscious body to the Mayfair mausoleum. Dolly Jean tells Jojo that Cortland’s been selfish since he was a child. Rowan finally wakes up in the mausoleum and is approached by the spirit of Suzanne, who induces labor and helps deliver her baby as Cortland watches in the shadows.
Ciprien calls Albrecht and explains how he needs to protect Rowan from Lasher and is frustrated that Albrecht limits them to “observing.” In the mausoleum, Rowan gives birth ad Suzanne severs the umbilical cord. If Rowan accepts her son, then he will give her a lot of power. The baby’s head begins to stretch like a bubble, and Rowan panics and hands the baby away. As Rowan runs through the place, the baby is suddenly old enough to crawl after her. Cortland bumps into Rowan as he tries to kidnap her child, saying he did all of this “for the family.” Rowan calls him out on his selfishness, and he tries to convince her to go back to San Francisco and leave the child to him. Cortland tells Rowan to kill him since he’s going to die anyway, but her powers won’t work. That’s because Cortland is now immortal—or so he thinks. Before leaving with her baby, Rowan turns Cortland to stone.
The episode ends on a rainy and mysterious note, leaving us with more questions for Season 2. Ciprien meets Rowan outside the mausoleum and is introduced to their son. Rowan wants to go back to the house just the three of them, and Ciprien offers to hold their baby since Rowan is tired. Suddenly, Rowan gets the feeling that she is being watched or followed. She asks him if the Talamasca is waiting for him, but he denies it. “Just someone who helped me find you,” he explains. Rowan’s having a hard time trusting Ciprien, who tries to convince her that Lasher is in her head. “Because he’s part of me,” Rowan says defiantly. A horrified Ciprien does his best to convince Rowan that she’s going down a dark path by listening to Lasher, but she tells him that she’s controlling her own behavior, not Lasher. Rowan doesn’t want Ciprien to take away her child as they did to her mother when Rowan herself was born, but Cipirien tries to explain that he is just going to manipulate her. “You can’t control him,” Ciprien pleads, with Rowan responding, “You can’t control me.” Where is Rowan going with her baby?