Witches of East End - A Moveable Beast - Review

Witches of East End returned Sunday night with an awesome season premiere full of all the aspects that make this show such a fun dive into escapism: the family bonds of the Beauchamps, the sexy romance and mysterious baddies stalking through the woods; the fallout from Dash and Killian's issues; and beguiling hints about the characters' Asgardian roots.  Plus, mainly thanks to Wendy's seemingly endless stream of witticisms, the laughter came as frequently as the scares and swoons.  

While Joanna and her daughters weren't exactly sure what had come through the door to Asgard that Ingrid opened at the end of Season 1, the consequences of this world breach and the battle with Penelope were palpable immediately.  Joanna was suffering from a severe poisoning and only some horrible leech-like therapy applied by Victor (albeit in a very seductive setting) was keeping her alive, though greatly weakened.  Victor assured his previously estranged wife that he is there for her and he also seems close now with his daughters.  It's nice to see him back in the fold.  The most poignant part of Joanna's struggle against the poisoning, though, was her scene with Wendy where she tried to come to terms with her impending demise.  After the sisters tearfully reaffirmed how much they love each other, Wendy cut the tension by asking if she could have the ring Joanna was going to leave for Ingrid, which was hilarious.

Ingrid made a big deal about not wanting to be the dependable one in the family, which was kind of interesting.  I know she's a goody two shoes in this life, but in flashbacks to her past lives, we've seen a rebellious streak in Ingrid a mile wide.  I don't see her as all that dependable; out of the Beauchamp women, she's probably the most volatile and unpredictable in some ways.  It's also been established that Ingrid is enormously powerful.  There's an unsettling contrast between her external peacefulness and the internal storm that could rage forth at any moment.  In this episode, Ingrid had her heart set on a job curating a collection of conveniently specific-to-her-interests witchcraft books, but the position required a PhD.  She let her adorable library pal Hudson (I bet he'll find out this season that magic is real), along with Freya, talk her into casting a spell to get the job anyway.  Between that and the drunken topple at The Bent Elbow, Ingrid let go of her inhibitions and acted out, but this was nothing compared to her nocturnal encounter in the woods for the final scene.  It seems that the shadowy figure which Wendy glimpsed in the woods was not Frederick, but a strange, tentacled man-beast sort of fellow with whom Ingrid has been hooking up while sleep-walking.

Speaking of Frederick, he returned to Earth from Asgard and took some time to wander around and get his memory back before seeking out his family.  While Joanna believed her son's story, especially once he healed her sickness, Wendy reminded her sister that they haven't seen Frederick in a very long time - and that the last time they did see him, he was standing against them with his grandfather.  However, Frederick implied that he has since fallen out with the Asgardian patriarch, since he himself has been poisoned so often that he's built up an immunity that let him take on Joanna's illness without peril to himself.  At the outset, Frederick seems intriguingly conflicted.  His desire to reconnect with his family appears genuine, but he's hiding something as well.  

Dash was still in shock from attacking Killian with his powers, and was haunted by the "spirit" of his brother, or more like the specter of his own guilt, since we found out that Killian is still alive.  An MRI scan Dash did on himself revealed that he has a similar abnormality to one discovered in Ingrid as a child, which means his interest in Ingrid just went up considerably, and we'll see where that leads.  Disoriented and disturbed though Dash was, he wasn't too distracted to show up stubbornly at Freya's workplace, then turn around and tell her to stay away from him.  Dash is such a hot mess, though admittedly I find him much more attractive since his dark side came out - I found him boring when he was "good."  His powers seem to manifest instinctively whenever he's angry, and since his capacity for anger is quite strong, this is clearly a problem.

Killian, meanwhile, despite turning up still devoted to Freya in her dream-vision, is actually far away cavorting with Eva, a new character who seems to be protecting him, though it's unclear what her motives are.  Killian stated that there's nothing left for him back home, and between this feeling and gratitude to Eva for rescuing and nursing him, he was easily swept into her embrace.  Still, I doubt he'll be away from East End and Freya for too long.

Overall, "A Moveable Beast" was a great way to kick off the second season, with an enticingly dark, brooding, dangerous atmosphere, particularly in the forest-set scenes (hence, the "darkness is rising" promos).  I have noticed some fans online noting the weirdness of how none of the characters seemed to notice or care about Penelope being gone, which is valid though it didn't bother me that much.  Along with solid acting and rich, engrossing storylines, WOEE has its cheesy aspects, and perhaps the occasional plothole that may or may not be explained later.  Ingrid got a lot of attention in this episode with some fascinating developments, and I hope to see more from Freya next week as well.  I loved Wendy's meet-cute with the herb enthusiast / medic, and found their antagonistic flirtations delightful.  As you can probably tell, I can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds for Witches of East End!

What did you think of this episode?  Share your thoughts in the comments!

About the Author - Virginia Mae Fontana

Virginia is happy to be reviewing The Vampire Diaries, Hart of Dixie, Nashville, Beauty and the Beast, Witches of East End, Covert Affairs, and Continuum for Spoiler TV. She is a college English instructor and enjoys obsessing over films and pop music - in addition to tv shows, of course! You can find her blog, SugarRushed, at http://virginiamaeblog.blogspot.com/ and her Twitter handle is @SugarRushedBlog

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