As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I am a fan of the All Souls Trilogy of books by Deborah Harkness. I found out about it when I discovered that Matthew Goode, one of my favorite actors, is going to play the lead in the TV adaptation of the books. As soon as I started reading, I could not put it down until I read and finished the last book. After that, I started watching A Discovery of Witches as soon as it was released on the Fox TV app.
Starring Teresa Palmer (Diana) and Matthew Goode (Matthew Clairmont), the first thing that I noticed with this series was the remarkable cinematography. Every scene was picture perfect, something that would make you want to travel and see the places shown in the series. It makes the show very memorable in my eyes.
Another thing that I noticed was that there were only eight episodes for the first season. As much as I wanted a series that didn’t drag things along too much, I felt that the number of episodes was too short. As soon as I watched the first episode, I knew that I wanted more and I was sad the entire time thinking that there would only be a few episodes left for me to watch. I wish there were at least ten or a little more than that. Considering that the books are all very long, it was a surprise to me that they would make such a short first season, with the first season being the first book.
The lack of enough episodes was obvious to people like me who have read the books. I recognized the various scenes that were compressed together to make sure that they could fit in the relevant scenes into every episode. To the viewers who are new to the story, I think what would be more obvious is how fast the lead characters fell in love during the course of their story. In the books, their relationship grew gradually, not with the sudden attraction that the characters had for each other in the series.
Apart from the lack of enough episodes and the way the book was compressed into just eight episodes, the series was very good. The special effects and the acting were not too over the top compared to other shows that featured supernatural creatures such as vampires and witches and the like. It was a good introduction to the show that humanized these supernatural creatures for the viewers and the power struggle that they had with each other. I love how there were scenes that alluded to how man was destroying the environment and ultimately the planet and how the struggle between creatures mirrored the struggles that people go through to overcome racism.
As far as the acting goes, I loved the casting. Everyone fit into the roles as I imagined them from the books. Seeing what I’ve read come to life in these characters who fit in so well was the most enjoyable part for me about the series. I am looking forward to the second season to see the whole new batch of characters who will be playing the people that the leads will meet in their journey to Elizabethan England. Hopefully, there will be more episodes for the second season because Diana’s growth as a witch had a series of events in the book that I feel would be disappointing to see as a compressed version in the way that the first season was done.
If you read the books, this is worth the watch. If you haven’t, it still is worth the binge-watch, considering that there are only eight episodes for the first season with a good cast and amazing cinematography. Check it out on the Fox TV app!
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