Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches deserves a shot

I’ll be the first to admit that Mayfair Witches isn’t the obvious hit that Interview With The Vampire was. With only a few episodes under its belt, it hasn’t panned out quite like the first of AMC’s Anne Rice Immortal Universe series. The characters aren’t quite as vibrant yet, and the charming sense of snarky indulgence, sympathetic emotionality, and New Orleans magic was largely missing. That’s all true, but I’m not ready to throw in the towel just yet. We don’t get to get The Office and Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ juggernaut Yellowstone well to begin with. Sometimes things take time to gel.

However, there are bits that give me hope. White Lotus Emmy nominee Alexandra Daddario is just as well cast as Rowan. But for now, her gorgeous blue eyes are puzzling. She is a figure of suppressed feelings and growing worries. Daddario is an excellent actress who is very good at playing unemotional anger. She bursts and bursts with anger, resentment and hope, but everything is done with the cold emptiness of a fish.

That’s how it’s designed. Rowan is a force of nature who is only now understanding how dangerous that can be. She was previously unaware that she could kill someone with just a thought and chose to control her temper as she works in a male-dominated field and needed to avoid being labeled a hysterical woman. Now that she knows, her fear is messing with her control. A lot is quickly thrown at Rowan and Daddario is smart to let her develop organically.

Not everyone needs to exude sex appeal or anger right away. Yellowstone’s Beth has grown into the powerhouse she is today. Kelly Reilly had her gradually transform from a stubborn hot mess to a complex character who is brilliant and daring, but still mesmerizingly messy. Rowan isn’t much of a character, but given the chance, Daddario could easily develop her version of the witch into someone just as sexy and strong as the trilogy. Character arcs and dynamics are essential to a plot. Without highs and lows and growth, the story would stagnate. Daddario’s slow rollout of Rowan will bring significant benefits to those patient enough to stick with it.

Lasher is the other lightning rod in the television series. The Lasher we see in the television series is played by Jack Huston from Boardwalk Empire Season 4 of Fargo and Antebellum. He’s an interesting choice with which I understand viewers’ frustration. With only two episodes airing, he’s not the Lasher of the books. That Lasher sparkles and radiates sexuality and menace. He seduces and purrs, strokes and cheats.

This Lasher hasn’t had enough screen time yet to give us the full malevolent power of the magical shadow creature bound to the Mayfair women. However, Huston does good long-suffering characters. In both Fargo and Boardwalk Empire, he is tortured and emotional. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read the books, but Rice’s Lasher is both tortured and tortured quite a bit, which makes him immensely entertaining. If Huston can tap into his inner Joe Goldberg from You, he could be the spark the show needs to dial in the sex.

Fans of The Lives Of The Mayfair Witches novels have understandable issues with casting and story changes. The ever-present incestuous angles have been glossed over a bit in the early episodes, but who can blame them for getting us into the horror of the Mayfair family? Rice writes well about sex (seriously, read her Sleeping Beauty trilogy under the name AN ​​Roquelaure), but let’s face the facts, some of it may be too much for those unprepared.

Incest isn’t sexy, it’s disturbing, but in Rice’s world, the undercurrent of taboo passion and abuse is a crucial sensual plot beat that the whole story hangs on. That doesn’t change in the series, but it will be adjusted to make it more palatable for a wider audience. That means murkier early days when we get to develop relationships with all the protagonists before they hit us on the head with the wave of family curses, betrayal, and forbidden sex.

Showrunner Esta Spalding and writer Michelle Ashford left out key parts. They just camouflaged them a bit. In the first two episodes, we see Rowan’s mother being impregnated by a boy who may have been her uncle in disguise and being seduced by a magical creature much older (don’t even get me started on how much older) than she is. . It’s all very smoke and mirrors though. There is a hint of what happened, but it is not described. Mayfair Witches isn’t showing all of its cards yet. While those who read the books know what is happening, there is a sense of possibility that hangs over the series. Interview With The Vampire changed the characters and story for the better. Why can’t Mayfair Witches do that too?

I’m optimistic that what we’re seeing now are growing pains. Mayfair Witches finds herself. Like Rowan’s powers, there are glimpses of what the show can become. Tried and true Harry Hamlin camps with the best of them as Uncle Cortland. His affluent party boy with hideous motivations will be fun to watch. New addition Ciprion (Tongayi Chirisa of Another Life and iZombie) gives us another “good guy” to root for. He’s little more than a question mark now, but the mysterious agency he works for and his inevitable relationship with Rowan will be intriguing to explore.

Rowan has barely touched the ground in New Orleans, and things have already taken a bloody turn. The change of setting is good for her and the series in general. Like Interview With The Vampire, the city is its own character to be exploited and showcased. There’s so much of this world we haven’t seen yet and other parts we’ve only gotten incoherent glances at. It’s still early days, and I have no doubt that the nuclei of genius I see every now and then will crystallize into a new story that’s true to the source material, but different enough to leave us wondering what will happen next .

Have patience. Give it a chance. Mayfair Witches has all the ingredients for an intoxicating spell. Confusing, enticing, horrifying and thrilling, AMC’s series has potential. So let it wash over you and stop obsessing over the book. Have faith that it will all come together. I do. New Mayfair Witches episodes are released weekly on AMC and AMC+. Look here for all our coverages.