Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Season 3 of A Discovery of Witches.In the third and final season of the drama series A Discovery of Witches, adapted from Deborah Harkness’ best-selling All Souls trilogy, sees vampire Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode) and witch Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer) returning from 1590 to the present day, where they must deal with a growing list of enemies. To protect their family as well as all creatures, the duo searches for a new way to unite their power that will successfully ensure their survival.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Palmer talked about how her first day on this series compared to her last, what she did to emotionally prepare herself for the end of this story, the effect grief has on Diana, how Peter Knox (Owen Teale) compares to Benjamin (Jacob Ifan) on the villain scale, what it’s been like to have Goode as a partner throughout this experience, that everything comes to a head in Season 3, and whether she’d consider ever returning to this character in the future.
Collider: I love this show and I love the look of this show, with the atmosphere and vibe that it has. When you went into your first day on this series, what were you most hoping for? What were you most looking forward to and what was your hope for what it would be?
TERESA PALMER: Day one, I just remember being riddled with nerves. I was so nervous. I never sleep the night before the first day of a job. It’s just my thing. I just don’t sleep. So, I probably had about 15 or 20 minutes of sleep the night before. It was that excited anticipation of what the series could be, how it would unfold, and how we could really bring these magical, pardon the pun, words to life that Deb Harkness had written. I was just filled with so many different emotions, but mainly I would say the prominent feeling was being nervous because there’s such a huge fan base of the book series and I knew there’d be a certain expectation on me, coming from those fans.
But honestly, none of those nerves needed to be there because I was so warmly embraced and encouraged and supported to forge my own version of Diana. I had massive hopes for the show, and my hopes were completely exceeded when we found out the numbers. And then, when Season 2 and Season 3 were ordered before we had finished filming Season 1, that was really overwhelming and certainly just a very exciting time in my life.
Diana seems like a character that you became very comfortable living with. What was your last day like? By the time you got to the end of this, how different did it feel?
PALMER: I think I had been really anticipating the end because I’m a sensitive individual and I was navigating so many big emotions, thinking about departing this world and these characters, and then the crew and the cast. So much of it was mental preparation. Once I got to the final last two months of filming, I just switched gears and was like, “All right, this is my final goodbye. How can I weave in those moments of grieving the character, every day, so that the last day I’m not completely falling apart.” And I wasn’t.
By the last day, I think I had stretched out the grieving process, so that by the last day, I was excited. I was excited for everyone’s journey, moving forward. Some of the cast have booked new things. Everyone felt like it organically came to an end, where we all were okay with letting it go. Certainly, it was bittersweet, but I love where Diana finishes this series. Her growth is so immense, from the first time you see her on-screen to the last time you see her, that it felt like she’d come full circle and it was time for her journey to come to a close on-screen. I felt at peace, in many ways.
At the beginning of this season, Diana is dealing with grief over the loss of a family member. What does the loss of Emily mean to her? How will that guide her actions this season?
PALMER: I think the first two episodes really beautifully take a look at the grieving process and how it affects everyone very differently. To Diana, it’s a profound loss. It’s not unlike when she lost her parents, many years ago, when she was younger. I found it really hard, personally, because we were grieving Emily, but we were also grieving Val [Pettiford] because we didn’t get to work with Val anymore. So many of my real emotions were coming through with that. We’d come to the end of our Valarie journey, and she was such a ray of sunshine and such a bright life in the cast.
It really profoundly impacts Diana and gives her this burning drive to find justice. And also, it’s that final moment of, “None of this is okay.” The separatism and the violence and the anger is completely backwards and now people are being killed, including her loved ones. There are innocent people caught up in the chaos of what the congregation is doing. They’re being involved in a way that is just. So then, there’s that burning desire to seek justice, but also to put a stop to all of the wrongdoing. I think she’s she oscillates between deep grief, and then wanting to seek her revenge.
It definitely feels like this is a season where everything has to reach some kind of turning point and there’s no way to avoid it or put it off any longer. What can you say about the type of villain that someone like Peter Knox is, in comparison to the danger that someone like Benjamin represents?
PALMER: Benjamin is purely dark. He’s just one of the most horrifying characters that I’ve seen on screen, that’s pure evil. It doesn’t feel like there are many colors to his character, in that way. He just seems like a terrible individual. With Knox, it’s complicated because there were moments for me, in Season 1, when the complexity of Knox, as a character, made me feel for him, in some ways. A villain is done really well when a character is colorful enough that, whilst you don’t agree with their choices, you can understand where the trauma’s coming from and why they’re triggered in the ways that they’re triggered. He gets really out of control and out of hand in Season 3, but to me, he’s a more likable villain than Benjamin.
What has it been like for you to have Matthew Goode as a partner in all of this? I’m guessing that the two of you started this journey as most co-stars do, as strangers, and you’ve obviously gotten to know each other, as actors and as people. So, what has it been like to have someone to work alongside and to take this journey with and to find that dynamic with?
PALMER: It’s funny, the very first day we met was at the audition for A Discovery of Witches. He had been cast already and he was reading with his Dianas. Three different girls came in to read with him, and I was one of them. And actually, from the moment we met, we just had this incredible banter, back and forth, laughing and chatting. I now have four kids, but at the time, we both had three kids. We were deep in parenting jokes, connecting and having fun, and that was just the audition. In fact, the casting director was like, “Hey, guys, I love that you’re connecting and having laughs, but we should probably put something down on tape.” We were like, “Oh, my gosh, I’m sorry.” And that really set the tone for the whole show.
He was my partner in laughter. He’s so cheeky and funny and brilliant. He really advocated for the story and these characters, as did I, so we became a team. It was him and I, working through the script and coming up with ideas together for scenes and how we wanted to play things. I always felt really safe in his hands, as a performer, in general, and we had each other’s backs. We always did. It was him and I together, as partners. It was wonderful because it mirrored their journey in the show. They really just have each other and they have their amazing little gang of people around them who are supporting them, and that’s how we felt.
It was him and I, every day. From the moment we got to the set to the end of the day when it wrapped, it was him and I, in most of the scenes. We had this beautiful little family of cast around us, but if he and I didn’t function, then the show wouldn’t work. It was lovely to have that kind of camaraderie with him. Sometimes it got us into trouble because we were giggling too much, in front of the camera. He would give me the giggles, and then I couldn’t stop. He would start it, but then I’m the one that can’t stop giggling, so they’d be like, “Come on, guys!” There’s tons of footage out there of us in a scene and we’re both losing it and really trying hard to keep a straight face. That just made it so fun. It was a wonderful experience working with him.
How do you think fans will feel about where the series ends? Will they be happy? Will there be a sense of satisfaction? Will they be left wanting more? What emotions do you think they’ll have?
PALMER: Knowing our fans, it’ll be a combination of all of what you just said. I read all of the comments on Instagram, whenever I post about A Discovery of Witches, and I love engaging with the fans about the show and their feelings. The general sentiment is that people are feeling sad that Season 3 is the end of the journey, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt such anticipation for a season. Everything comes to a head in Season 3 and there’s just so much to unpack and explore. It’s a very dynamic and fast-paced season, and I think there’s gonna be utter satisfaction at the end, obviously mixed in with those bittersweet feelings of wanting more.
Is this a character that you would be open to returning or want to revisit, at some point? If there was ever a spinoff or more of the story told, would you want to go back to her at all?
PALMER: I absolutely would. Having said that she’s come to her organic end, there’s certainly room for more. Deb has written other books. I just wonder what that story would be. What would it delve into? How would the world change? I feel like it comes to such a beautiful conclusion and there’s so much hope for the future for creatures. It’s a beautiful life lesson, the idea of togetherness. That we are stronger together is one of the main themes of this show. So, I would certainly be open to it. I would just have to read the scripts and see what’s happening. It’d be great to see her as a mother. I have older children and babies. In Season 3, you see her with babies, but I also am mothering teenagers. I’ve got a teenage stepson, and I’ve got an eight-year-old and a five-year-old. To me, personally, it’d be really lovely to see Diana as a mother with some children and revisit her family life. I think that would be intriguing.
A Discovery of Witches is available to stream at Shudder, Sundance Now and AMC+, with new episodes out on Saturdays.