Witches of East End - When a Mandragora Loves a Woman - Review

As the Mandragora ran rampant through town, secrets unfurled while new mysteries began in this week's highly suspenseful new episode of Witches of East End.  The battle to detach Ingrid from the dreaded blue beast left chaos in its wake as the Mandragora certainly was not willing to go down without a fight.

Joanna and Alex were very busy this week, from working with the rest of the Beauchamps to take down the Mandragora, to dealing with their own romantic baggage from the past.  It seems that Alex always thought Joanna broke up their relationship to protect herself from being hurt, but in reality, Joanna was trying to shield Alex from the pain that inevitably recurs every time Freya and Ingrid die.  Alex quickly shot that down by mentioning that Joanna wounded herself by ruining the "good thing" that they had together.  But by the softening of Alex's expression after Joanna's confession, as well as that charming last scene between the women (complete with another kiss!), we could see that there is certainly the chance that these two may rekindle their flame.  I'm really enjoying the complex relationship that Alex and Joanna share, and my favorite part might have been Alex proclaiming that Joanna "still talks too much" after Joanna finally opened up to her ex and apologized.  This is a delightful case of opposite temperaments being drawn together.

Also, the funniest part of the whole episode was Wendy seeing Joanna and Alex making out and murmuring "ohhh...." in sudden realization.

In order to save Ingrid from the Mandragora, her family had to create a special dagger to stab her in the brain and begin to break the connection with the monster.  But before her mother and Alex could enact this partial cure, the Mandragora managed to attack poor adorable Hudson, Ingrid's sweet, magic-believing library friend and send him to his deathbed.  Meh!  While I was glad to see my earlier prediction that Hudson's suspicions about magic would be confirmed before his eyes this season, I definitely did not want to see it happen this way.  What a heartbreaking turn of events.  Between Victor's death and now Hudson's, this season is piling on the shocking twists and horrifying consequences.  The stakes of these battles against the Mandragora, and whatever else Grandfather has in store, feel ever higher and more real, especially since WOEE is excellent at making character deaths as tear-jerkingly painful to the viewer as they should be.

Freya went over to Dash's to try and convince her ex-fiance to help out in the fight against the Mandragora.  While he seemed to be welcoming and eager to assist, Dash was infested with Mandragora trickery and soon began letting loose a terrifying surge of rage against Freya.  This part reminded me a little of the Angel episode wherein a not-himself Wesley turned psycho on Fred. But unlike Wesley, Dash already has a tendency towards occasional evil, one that made us question his every word and implication in his fight with Freya, as well as how much of Dash's awful behavior sprang from a subconscious truth he'd been repressing.  I believe Dash's residual resentment against Freya is real, but was taken way over the edge by the Mandragora's influence...and I did find him convincing when he said he believed Freya hadn't slept with Killian, as well as saying he'd never been ashamed of Freya's job or lifestyle.  And all that stuff about committing acts that would make Freya shudder...well, that was definitely true after Dash killed his blackmailer and then transferred a death spell over to a patient in the last few episodes.  And as per usual, Dash never met a lie he didn't like, so he totally told Freya there was no truth in his earlier words regarding his crimes.  After his vicious assault on Freya, it was awesome to see her put the smack down on Dash and regain control of the situation while also procuring the spell to exorcise the Mandragora from Ingrid.  Freya is a fantastic multi-tasker!

Somehow, Dash's affection for Ingrid seems to be his redeeming feature and the glimmer of hope that he might not be a completely lost cause.  Everytime these two see each other, there is an inexplicable glow that comes over them that is wonderful to watch.  It was also hilarious to see the Beauchamps react with confusion and "wtf" expressions at Ingrid and Dash's warm reunion embrace.  

Meanwhile, Killian realized that he can hear people's thoughts, and the patrons at the Bent Elbow do not have many pleasant contemplations.  He ran home to collect himself after the shock of this new power set in, and of course Eva was there to continue manipulating her new husband.  As she coerced him into slurping down another of her potions and then started a sexual marathon culminating in her dripping wax on him to enact yet another spell, Eva topped the whole rigmarole off by whispering that Killian will give her a baby.  The more over-the-top shameless and transparently nefarious Eva's behavior gets, the more unsettling and frustrating this plotline becomes.  I hope Killian catches on to his wife's scheming nature and probably villainous ways ASAP.

Frederick had a fascinating role to play this week, and watching this complicated character reveal more about himself with each episode is truly compelling.  While Wendy repeatedly questioned Frederick's intentions and whether he isn't still in cahoots with Grandfather, her nephew kept repeating a speech about how he's been doing nothing but protecting his family since he got back...Freya got to enjoy his monologue on the topic as well.  Wendy was brought around to Frederick's claims of goodness by his rescuing her from the Mandragora and subsequently killing the beast (right in the nick of time as the others burned away the creature's hold on Ingrid) in a moment of total badassness.  It was really nice to see Wendy and Frederick finally on good terms, though time will tell how long this tenuous new bond will last.

Later, Frederick had another seizure, and he called out to his grandfather that he knows he has disappointed him...but he will find another way to achieve whatever the Asgardian patriarch's plan is.  I have seen a fair amount of theorizing online, after this scene, that Frederick is just plain evil and always meant to kill his sisters, mother, and aunt on his grandfather's orders.  Yet I interpret Frederick's personality and actions differently.  I speculate that Frederick's life is being threatened by his grandfather's physical hold over his body, a fairly potent form of blackmail.  So even as Frederick has come here under orders to do mischief to his family, his better nature has him betraying that scheme - which we saw with him saving Wendy and killing the Mandragora.  I think Frederick has shown so much of his believable affection for his family - which we also saw at his relief when Freya forgave him - that it's hard to buy him as a complete villain.  In any case, Christian Cooke is doing an awesome job of bringing real depth to this so-far mysteriously motived character.

Don't forget to catch an all new Witches of East End this Sunday at 9/8c on Lifetime!  And if you haven't already, be sure to check out my fellow SpoilerTV writer Gavin Hetherington's excellent interview with WOEE writer/producer Maggie Friedman, which also included a question from moi.  Lastly, I'd love to hear what you thought of this episode in the comments!

About the Author - Virginia Mae Fontana

Virginia is happy to be reviewing The Vampire Diaries, Nashville, Beauty and the Beast, Witches of East End, Covert Affairs, and Continuum for Spoiler TV. She 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)