Witches of East End - The Son Also Rises - Review

This week on Witches of East End, we saw more evidence of Frederick's capacity for kindness and possible villainy.  Meanwhile, Wendy tried to investigate her nephew's true motives over Joanna's objections, and flirting some more with the cute EMT was on Wendy's to-do list as well.  Dash and Killian both grappled with the discovery of their powers in different ways, Ingrid made a bid for independence, and Freya bonded with her twin brother while finding Killian.

It was typically hilarious to watch Joanna try and break it to her daughters that she had kept yet another massive secret from them, and her lengthy introductory dialogue was interrupted by Wendy "ripping the bandaid" and simply revealing the existence and presence of their brother Frederick.  While the sisters seemed to take to their brother quickly and Joanna was overjoyed to have the family back together, Wendy was distrustful...and Frederick knew it, too.  While professing his devotion to the fam, Frederick also took the time to steal one of Wendy's earrings and put an ominous-looking spell on it.  He later returned the earring to Wendy, raising the question of what his plan is there...to magically coerce her to drop her suspicions of him, or to do some voodoo-doll type vengeance a la some of the stuff Joanna's evil doppelgänger got up to last season?  Either way, Frederick's sweeter side, however sincere it may be (at the very least, his closeness and protective attitude to Freya, as well as his fond reminiscences of times spent with his sisters in past lives, seemed to reflect genuine affection) is sharply contrasted by whatever underhanded business he has going on in secret.

Ingrid settled merrily into her new job despite her boss' doubts that she's actually qualified, and lo and behold: she found an awesome old witchcraft tome with a whole section about the Beauchamps.  The fabulously convenient pages included a big illustrated series of family portraits embossed with descriptive labels for each family member.  One female-looking individual was a mystery to Ingrid, while her own label of "the key" was more expected.  I would like to get a closer look at that page and am always intrigued to learn more secrets about the mythology of the Beauchamps and what it may reveal about their destinies.  After continuing to sleepwalk, Ingrid decided that this questionable habit was actually just her inner self trying to tell her to break free and move out of her mother's house.  Or, is the shadowy sex monster coercing Ingrid into isolating herself from her family?  Hmm.

Dash had to deal with a blackmailer who has no intentions of letting him off the hook anytime soon.  Since this person has video evidence of Dash's magical asskickery of Killian last year, the blackmailer might know about witches, no?  So unless they are also quite powerful, I think it may be unwise of the blackmailer to keep messing with Dash, who lashes out with greater shows of dangerous magical prowess each time he feels angry and threatened.   Although Dash confronted Ingrid about the similarity in their brain scan results, she was evasive and amusingly kept insisting on being totally normal in a completely unconvincing way.  Between that conversation and the total crash-and-burn of Joanna and Wendy's attempt to give him a truth-inducing pie as a "peace offering," Dash's interactions with the Beauchamps were highly entertaining in this episode.  

Off in his tropical paradise with Eva, Killian finally realized that he, too, has powers thanks to his new lady friend's performing a ceremony to make his bruja-ness all too apparent after he unintentionally injured a fellow gambler with his magic.  Killian's instinctive, emotional lashing out at the card game was actually very similar to the way Dash's powers first physically manifested - something the brothers have in common.  I wonder if identifying Killian as a witch was all Eva did with that spell, and what her intentions really are towards him.  He doesn't remember how he got to where he is -- how much of his life back in East End does he recall?  When Freya and Frederick astral-projected Killian's location (I love their twin powers!), they were warned off by a vision of the owl (i.e. Eva), who might be either a protector or a villainess but certainly seems to want Killian all to herself.  

During a 4th of July celebration back home, Wendy learned more about the EMT, Tommy.  Earlier, she'd turned into a cat and showed up at his place to discover he has a daughter and therefore comes with "baggage" (we later learned that Tommy and his wife are separated).  During an adorable chat at the festivities, Tommy asked Wendy out and reminded her that life is short, so maybe she should give him a shot (I agree).  Also, his line, "if you want to get together sometime, my number is 911," was too funny and showed that his flirtation game is solid.  Elsewhere, less fun was had as Dr. Foster showed up with bloody symbols etched all over his chest and a creepy warning for the crowd. Wendy suspects that Frederick had a hand in Foster's death, yet I'm more inclined to think it was the other creature who came through from Asgard.  Or could they be working together?  

As the Beauchamps watched a fireworks display back at their house, Frederick made a sketchy little speech to Wendy about how she thinks she knows him but she doesn't.  Is he really estranged from his grandfather, or is he on some kind of dastardly Asgard mission against his mother, aunt, and sisters? Whatever we learn, I'm really enjoying Frederick as an addition to the cast of characters this season; he brings a perfect smoldering blend of inscrutable intentions that keeps us guessing. 

After Ingrid's announcement about moving out, Freya received a flight confirmation to Santo Domingo that she failed to divulge to the others, which was interesting; she was actually rather quiet about her own issues in this episode aside from confiding in Frederick.  I really can't wait to see Freya and Killian reunited, and find out what happens when Freya and Eva cross paths (despite Bianca Lawson being as charming as ever, I don't trust Eva and kind of want her to take her hands off Killian!).  Closing the episode, as Dash took another demanding call from his blackmailer, he reacted by sucking up a whole lot of Electro-style power from his computer, and again, genuinely seemed like a person not to annoy, as well as an increasingly compelling character the darker and more desperate he gets.


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

Recent Reviews (All Reviews)