Aahana Swrup
The myriad of mysteries that have built up in season 2 of ‘Mayfair Witches’ edge closer toward unraveling in the aftermath of Lasher’s revered wedding in episode 8, titled ‘The Innocents.’ Despite the bliss her son seems to have found in his marital life, Rowan remains suspicious of the intentions that Ian and the other Scottish Mayfairs harbor. However, with Lark as their magical hostage, there’s little the witch can do to move against her adversaries. Meanwhile, Julien—who has newly acquired the mortal body of the unfortunate Cortland— prepares to bring forth his infernal plans regarding a mysterious ceremony. Thus, all the board pieces seem to be preying on Rowan’s doom. Yet, never one to sit on her hands, the witch continues to blaze her own path, facing these challenges head-on with her allies by her side. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Mayfair Witches Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: The Innocents
After Lasher’s passionate matrimonial union with his mate, Emaleth, he finally finds peace of some sort for the first time since his human reincarnation. The couple makes plans to restore nature to its true glory by facilitating the overwhelming return of things like oceans and wolves—and even nymphs and the fae. Despite his wife’s confidence in building a life in Killbride, Lasher can’t help but feel on edge about remaining with Ian and his family. Instead, he wishes for him and his newfound family to return home with Rowan after Emaleth gives birth to their children—who share their father’s accelerated growth. Alternatively, things continue to devolve out of control outside the newlyweds’ chambers.
Rowan, still left guessing on Ian and Julien’s plans, allows herself to lean on Cortland. However, her timing couldn’t be worse since Julien is actually walking around in her disfavored father’s body. Consequently, right as Emaleth goes into labor—hours after her and Lasher’s union—Julien tricks Rowan into consuming a sedative that knocks her out cold. Afterward, he has the witch thrown into a jail cell in a nearby dungeon. Yet, fortunately for Rowan, her former lover, Ciprien Grieve, is in the same dungeon along with his Talamasca colleague, Polina. Better yet, the duo already have a plan to escape with the help of a chip that wins over the wearer’s trust.
Simultaneously, Moira—who has been locked up in a room with a guard so far due to her mind-reading abilities—finally manages to pull off her own escapes using her wit. Even so, as Moira and Rowan—aided by Sip and Polina—rush to escape their imprisonment, Julien’s plans for Lasher advance during Emaleth’s childbirth. Ian’s son informs the to-be father about a ceremony that the men of the family are undertaking in the woods to strengthen the women and children. To sweeten the pot, he even lies about Rowan’s exceptional presence at the ceremony.
As such, Lasher ends up making his way to the forest, confident for the safety of his wife and their kids. Ian and his sons—plus Julien—are awaiting the Taltos’ arrival, prepared to go through with the illustrious ceremony that is supposed to grant the Mayfair men incredible magic. Nevertheless, this ceremony doesn’t bode well for Lasher. As the congregated men begin their prayers, Ian uses the distraction to sneak up on the magical being with his sharpened knife. Inevitably, he slashes Lasher’s throat open, bringing Julien’s ceremony to fruition.
Mayfair Witches Season 2 Ending: Why Did Julien Have Lasher Killed? What Does He Want?
From the beginning, the overarching plot to bring Lasher—the deity haunting Mayfair women—to life has been a rather intriguing mission. This season reveals that Julien, Cortland’s father whose soul persists even in his death, has been behind the plot from the beginning. Eventually, the truth about Lasher’s identity as a Taltos—Saint Ashler, a life-giving deity—reveals itself alongside his apparent past life in the 1500s. Furthermore, the breadth of Julien’s plans widens with the planned union between Ashler and Emaleth, which is said to bring glory to nature and power to the Mayfair men. Still, the mechanics behind the latter remain ambiguous.
What exactly is the ceremony and the succeeding feast, and how will they help Julien to his nefarious purposes? As is proven by his seamless takeover of Cortland’s immortal body, the man hardly needed Lasher for his reincarnation. Therefore, there must be something else he wants. Once the ceremony takes off—ending with Julien collecting Lasher’s blood in a chalice—the puzzle pieces fall into place. Lasher’s blood contains incredible power due to his identity as a Taltos. In fact, it’s so strong that a drop of it effortlessly creates life—plants and flowers—even in the most barren of places. Naturally, this means it can also be used to strengthen the magic—even the faintest dormant tendrils of it—in people. However, Julien doesn’t simply plan to consume Lasher’s blood—not outright.
Julien uses Lasher’s blood to bless his litter of children—all eight of whom Emaleth gives birth. As a result, the magic within these newborn Taltos babies, who are growing as rapidly as their father, becomes increased. From there, an even more menacing plan is put on course. All this time, Ian’s family and inner circle have been eagerly awaiting a “feast,” which is meant to follow Lasher and Emaleth’s union. As Moira snoops around undercover among the people preparing for this feast, she discovers the troubling truth of the menu for this meal. Julien plans on slaughtering Lasher and Emaleth’s children—just as he did their father—and then using their magically potent blood to distribute power amongst his family.
Is Lasher Dead or Alive?
Even though Lasher’s death as a part of Julien’s plan doesn’t come out of the blue, it certainly jolts the narrative with its gravity. The character has too much at stake to quit out of the story at this point. Luckily enough, Rowan seems to agree—though her reasons may be coming from a place of maternal instinct. As the witch finds her son’s body bleeding out in the forest ground, she concentrates all her magic on healing him. Her close proximity to Lasher, who has been a power source for her in a unique way since his rebirth, definitely helps. As such, after finding a viable heartbeat, she’s able to bring him back from the brink of death. In the aftermath, Sip leaves to recruit backup help from the Talamasca, while Rowan, Lasher, and Moira get to confront Julien and save the children’s lives.
The trio arrive at the sacrificial tent in the nick of time, right as they corral all the children—save for one Taltos, who is still with his mother, Emaleth. Consequently, their arrival creates enough of a distraction to delay the slaughtering, pulling Ian’s attention toward them. The man remains confident in his safety since he still has Lark as insurance. With the help of a handy stitching spell, he has made it so any injury that his family sustains will also be mirrored on Lark. Nonetheless, this failsafe crumbles once Julien reveals his true color. As it turns out, the old Mayfair has undone the spell on Lark to leave his own son vulnerable in favor of siding with his granddaughter.
In the time between Lasher’s death and reincarnation, Julien has consumed his blood raw. Thus, he has inherited magic that makes him remarkably powerful. Still, he wants more. Instead of sticking with his family, he wants to partner up with the magical goldmine that is Rowan. Therefore, in the battle that follows, he fights against Ian’s clan while also heralding Lasher’s children to safety. This also effectively ruins his Cortland disguise, revealing his true identity to everyone. During this violent altercation, which Lasher and Rowan fight fiercely, the former ends up on the receiving end of a dagger thrown by Ian’s wife, Amintha. Even though Rowan strikes the woman dead for her actions, it doesn’t do much to change her son’s fate.
Rowan attempts to heal Lasher once again. Nonetheless, this time, his demise seems to be much more final. That’s when Julien offers her an alternative. He wants her to drink her son’s blood and increase her already impressive magic. By doing so, he claims that Rowan would be able to perform any set of miracles—including raising the dead. Yet, the witch’s morals are too iron-clad for this moment of weakness. For the same reason, she distracts Julien by making him think she might go through with the ritual.
In the meantime, Sip and the Talamasca agents can rescue Lasher’s kids from Julien’s grasp. Ultimately, even though the latter catches up to this trick, the Talamasca are able to portal the kids away in time. As such, Julien’s plan fails as he realizes Rowan will never join forces with him. Therefore, as it stands, Lasher seems to truly be dead. Still, this is a fate he has faced before in his past life as Saint Ashler. Therefore, even though this life may have ended, there are always various ways that he can return to life in the future.
Why Does Rowan Drink Lasher’s Blood?
In the end, Julien’s plans are foiled, and Lasher’s kids are requested to safety under the Talamasca—with perhaps the exception of one of his kids, who was with Emaleth, whose fate remains intriguingly ambiguous. In this aftermath, Rowan returns to Lasher’s dead body, which is surrounded by a bed of flowers that have grown around him from his dying blood. There, after tearfully accepting her son’s death, Rowan drinks from the chalice of his blood, infusing herself with mystic power passed down from a Taltos. This arrives as a bit of a shock, especially after she had vehemently declined Julien when he advised her to do the same.
Even though Rowan’s true motive remains ambiguous for now, there are a number of speculations that can be drawn up. First, it’s possible that the witch’s driving motivation behind drinking Lasher’s blood was to actually bring him back from the dead. Her relationship with him has always been complicated—not least because of their convoluted history as lovers before Rowan became the vessel who gave birth to his human form. Even while he was her son, she never knew for certain if she feared his powers, coveted them, or loved him truly as her son. Fear is taken out of the equation once his identity as a Taltos—bringer of life—is solidified. Yet, the question remains of whether Rowan loves him because he’s her son or a magnificent power source—or both.
If Rowan’s love for Lasher is so vehement that she’s willing to bend her morals, there’s always a possibility she may have drunk his blood to attempt his reincarnation. Still, it remains unknown whether or not this feat would have even been possible without Julien. Furthermore, no-screen necromancy happens as far as one can tell. Instead, after the witch drinks her son’s powered blood, she floats into the allowing flowers to bloom around her. Therefore, it’s possible that Rowan simply drank Lasher’s blood to grasp onto the powers of the blood of Sanit Ashler. The Taltos diety is a healing agent—which aligns with the witch’s lifelong commitment as a neurosurgeon. With her new powers and the standing job offer at Mayfair Medical, she can cure many diseases and save numerous lives. Not to mention, since she plans on going after her apparent grandfather—Julien—she can always use a boost of magic.
Do Rowan and Lark End Up Together? What Happens to Lark?
After wrapping things up in Killbride, Rowan and the others prepare to take the ferry back home. She still has to return to her dilapidating house to save Jojo and Daphne from the thrall she has put them in. Lark, who isn’t aware of his girlfriend’s recent powered blood intake, worries that Lasher’s bottled-up blood will be strong enough to get the job done. Furthermore, he’s worried about what exactly the witch is planning to do with the substance in the future. Lark is fairly new to the world of witches and the supernatural. Therefore, it’s understandable for him to have lost his footing around Rowan, especially after understanding the potential for power that she actually holds.
Then there’s also the fact that Lark has recently taken his first life by killing one of Ian’s goons in a self-defense stint. Given his entirely mundane background, it’s unsurprising that the doctor is lost about what a new life with Rowan would entail. Even though the pair had jumped into rekindling their old flame, neither had really considered the implications of continuing a relationship with the other. In fact, days ago, Rowan was considering erasing all his memories of her to keep her witchy secret safe. Nonetheless, when it comes down to it, Lark ends up requiring the spell of his own accord.
Lark loves Rowan—who had been an integral part of his life even before this maddening adventure. However, he simply can’t be by her side as she lives in the supernatural world and hunts down her evil grandfather. He isn’t cut out for this kind of world. For the same reason, the couple comes to the conclusion that they must part ways. Rowan prepares the memory-erasing potion for her boyfriend, which will vanish any and all memories he has of her. Their final goodbye is bittersweet, and Lark still hopes for a reconnection in a nebulous future. Nonetheless, Rowan ultimately watches him drink the tea—returning in an instant to life away from magic and its menacing truth.
Why Does Julien Help Rowan? What Does He Want?
Eventually, Rowan and Moira finally make their way back home. Thanks to her enhanced powers, the former is able to quickly undo her thrall and pull Jojo and Daphne out of their accidental imprisonment. All along, she holds onto the tub of Lasher’s blood as a cover for her newfound powers. However, it isn’t necessary for everyone to buy that story—especially when it comes to Julien. Apparently, Julien has followed her granddaughter back to her hometown, where he spies on her house and witnesses the gravity of her powers. Considering his extensive knowledge and experience, it is likely that Julien will recognize Rowan’s true source of power. Previously, he wanted Rowan to drink Lasher’s blood because he wanted to create a mirror for his own abilities.
If Julien has a mirror, he can use their combined powers to create an endless power multiplier. As a result, he and Rowan can be masters of unimaginable power. One of the notable things he wishes to do with this power is to raise an army of the dead. Specifically, he has plans to reincarnate the previous generation of Mayfair witches, including Rowan’s mother. For now, the other witch seems to be pretty adamant about not joining Julien. However, if he knows that she has consumed the Taltos’ blood, then it’s likely that he will grow even more dedicated in his attempts to convert her to his side. Simultaneously, he will be on the hunt after Lasher’s kids, who offer their own source of power. Thus, it seems Julien has a menacingly riveting road ahead of him for potential future seasons.
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