Holy Asgard! Retrospective: Witches of East End “Oh, What a World!”

Season 1, Episode 10

Airdate: Sunday, December 15st, 2013 10/9c on Lifetime.

Rating: ★★★★★

[important]Spoiler Ahead For Those Who Haven’t Watched Yet.[/important]

It’s the season one finale of Witches of East End and all the trials and tribulations within the Beauchamp camp reach a breaking point in “Oh, What a World!” There are so many twists and turns; you’ll be left in awe. Make no mistake, when the Witches of East End throw a finale, they throw down hard.

Déjà Vu, Sort Of…

The opening scenes of “Oh, What a World” pick up from the end of last week’s “A Parching Imbued.” We have Killian’s (Daniel Di Tomasso) heartbreaking confession of love to Freya (Jenna Dewan-Tatum)—who still believes he’s the “Trickster” set to destroy her; the ongoing tête-à-tête between Mike (Enver Gjokaj) and Ingrid (Rachel Boston) as he tries to convince her she is the key to unlocking the portal to Asgard; and finally Wendy’s (Mädchen Amick) exploration of Fair Haven which reveals there is more going on with the portal. With so much going on, what else could possibly be happening? For instance, we see Victor (Joel Gretsch) have an odd sense of recognition when he sees Killian with Freya. It makes you wonder what daddy dearest may know about the Gardiners. Then there’s the issue about the gateway to Asgard. Apparently, the silvery ooze is “argentium” – a poison that could actually kill Joanna (Julia Ormond).

Wendy: “It’s worse. Now there’s argentium leaking out.”

Victor: “All on its own?”

Wendy: “Yeah.”

Joanna: “That means someone is trying to create a rift between the two worlds.”

It’s great watching Joanna, Wendy, and Victor throw theories around, but even more so when Victor is the first to actually point out the obvious, “Has it occurred to either of you that the portal is under the house where Freya is getting married tomorrow?” It’s refreshing getting an outside opinion during these sort of crises.

Speaking of crisis, Penelope (Virginia Madsen) cooks one mean spell which is part Snow White & The Huntsman and part Wizard of Oz when she conjures up bad luck for Freya. The scene is beautiful as it is haunting, with a cauldron boiling, and pieces of what looks like Freya’s lovely dark hair thrown into the witch’s brew. Just when the scene can’t get any more dramatic, Penelope clasps her hands tightly, says a few words, and when she opens her hands, a flock of black birds erupt, soaring into the night sky. Madsen does an amazing job playing up Penelope’s special brand of crazy. She easily makes Penelope a character you love to hate.

A Little Bit of Angst with a Side of East End Afterglow

Sunrise, and the day of Freya’s wedding arrives. It’s bittersweet and beautiful. The direction of this moment is captured in such a thoughtful sort of way; you don’t need words at all. The cast does a brilliant job of letting their expressive faces convey what words cannot. Dash (Eric Winter) looks at the rings he is about to exchange with Freya yet he seems worried. I think at this point, we all know he should be. You kind of feel bad for the poor guy. The next scene transitions over to a boat, where we spy a half-naked Killian drinking coffee all by his lonesome and looking like he has seen better days. I’m pretty sure a lot of the viewers didn’t mind. Then, of course, Freya’s slow walk down the stairs from her home appearing solemn and deep in thought. It’s going to be painful seeing how this love triangle will play out at this point.

But just when you think we’re through, the final scene ends with the beaming smiles exchanged between Joanna and Victor as they awake up together in bed! Oh yes, Ms. Beauchamp has got her groove back!

What I love about “Oh, What a World” is the way it really embraces the journey of its characters. It’s not going to be all hearts and flowers, but at least they give viewers a chance to let the weight of Freya’s wedding play out without any short cuts or gimmicks. It’s easily one of the reasons Witches of East End strikes a chord with many viewers. This is the season finale, and it feels like we know the main characters thoroughly. We understand what motivates them, and it makes viewers care; caring is what creates a loyal following.

Not In the Clear Yet

Penelope’s spell causes not only concern but commotion as many bad omens come out of the woodworks. There are dead black birds, and a sudden rain storm. Although Wendy and Joanna are determined to keep Freya in the dark about it, they decide to combat the dark magic with some light.

Meanwhile, Ingrid goes to Mike’s motel lair where we find he has a crazy Beauchamp bulletin board; the center reads: “A Parching Imbued.” Yeah, it doesn’t look too good, and when Mike finds Ingrid has broken into his place, he begins to make threats.

Mike: “I don’t care what you are, I’m not afraid of you. You’re not going to hurt me. You’re too sweet. I will do whatever it takes to open that door.”

It’s not such a good idea going against a witch when you’re mortal. And Mike learns the hard way that Beauchamp women are not to be trifled with:

Ingrid: “I’m not as sweet as you think I am. And if I were you, I’d get the hell out of town. You shouldn’t mess with me, Mike. I’m a witch, remember?”

It was only a matter of time before Joanna caught on, and the identity of Penelope puts a lot at stake, namely Joanna who gets captured by Penelope (disguised as Wendy). Just as we brace ourselves to Joanna’s fate, the next bombshell comes from Victor himself.

After Freya convinces Victor to walk her down the aisle, they meet at Fair Haven. While there he clearly looks uncomfortable. He tells Freya there is something she needs to know about Killian.

This isn’t the first lifetime Victor has met with Freya. In fact, they have met over several lifetimes. Victor tells her Killian is Henry, a man from her past life in San Francisco, which is about the same time when Ingrid was getting it on with Mr. Archibald Browning (Matthew Del Negro). Coincidence? Not so sure.

Victor: “You were happy, Freya, truly happy.You’d been the happiest I’ve ever known you to be. You told me you were in love.I said it’s nothing new, but I realized pretty quickly this time it was different.You finally found your other half. His name was Henry, he was a musician, and you were his muse. You lived in a tiny apartment above the bar. He wrote his music, and you made your drinks. And you were happy. Then you died in the Great Earthquake.Your funeral was the last time I saw Henry until yesterday when he was standing in the front hall of your house.”

This doesn’t bode well for Dash. Knowing what she does about Killian/Henry, Freya changes her mind about getting married. As expected, Dash doesn’t take Freya’s decision very well. Immediately, he accuses Killian as being the real cause for her sudden change of heart. Dash orders Freya to leave Fair Haven, but not before telling her that never wants to see her again. Even though Dash and Freya’s scenes were difficult to watch, I understand that it was necessary. Freya needs to make a clean break of things now than live a lie.

Hell Hath No Fury Like A With

Penelope continues to hold Joanna captive but not before torturing her with some of that argentium from the portal. They exchange words, mostly about their children. We discover Dash and Killian have…well, had magic, but Mommy Dearest stole them for herself. Nice.

Joanna: “Dash isn’t really your son?”

Penelope: “Oh, he is! I just borrowed his powers when he was a baby…and Killian’s too. I haven’t told them but I will soon enough.”

Worried about a missing Joanna, Wendy ventures down to the Fair Haven catacombs where she learns of Penelope’s true identity! A major fight quickly ensues, and like history repeating itself, Wendy is getting strangled by another Browning. Luckily for her, Joanna is released from her binds and what happens to Penelope is quite alarming. With Penelope’s unfortunate demise, it will be fun to watch what happens next when all the magic she stole is released back to their original owners.

Meanwhile, Wedding Crasher Mike gets his just desserts after forcing Ingrid to open the portal; setting in motion a chain of events that will be a game changer for season two. Not to mention, the fallout between Killian and Dash whose final scenes will leave many with questions and very few answers until the next season.

Final Thoughts

Witches of East End is a total surprise. Most literary adaptations to screen fail to capture the heart of its original story. For author Melissa De la Cruz, it seems the stars aligned with her Witches of East End series. Lifetime has done a great job of assembling together a great cast, crew, and enthusiastic team of writers. Maggie Friedman, and company, have created a wonderful foundation in its debut season with plenty of room for exploration in their second season.

As far as the character development, the first episode of Witches of East End leads you to believe Freya will be at the heart of all the loving, but that wasn’t the case at all. Ingrid is the most developed character of the series thus far. Not only did our shy book worm kick some butt with her mad magic skills, she also got more love on the side than Freya! This is in large part due to Boston’s wonderful portrayal of the not so timid librarian. Of course, her performance is a product of a great ensemble cast and dedicated production team.

All in all, Witches of East End accomplished what it set up to do from the start by creating a rich story full of wonder, magic, and laughter. Now that Asgard is close at hand, we can only anticipate how many more threats and allies are at the Beauchamps’ door!

Tune in to Witches of East End in 2014 for its Season 2 Premiere, only on Lifetime.

Follow the series on its official site: http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/witches-of-east-end/, where you can also watch full episodes.