Mayfair Witches Star Teases Higher Stakes in the Rest of Season 1

Sunday’s episode of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches marked a major turning point in the first season of the AMC series. After Carlotta Mayfair’s (Beth Grant) attempt to stop Lasher (Jack Huston) from getting to Rowan (Alexandra Daddario) went up in flames — literally — episode 5 “The Thrall” saw both Rowan and Talamasca agent Ciprien Grieve trapped in the Mayfair house, manipulated by Lasher until Rowan ultimately gives in and plays his game. It’s an episode that appears to set the stage for everything else coming in the final three episodes of the season and Tongayi Chirisa, who plays Ciprien in the series, says that the stakes just keep getting hotter and higher from here.

“Now that you’ve seen episode five, the stakes keep getting hotter and hotter and higher and higher,” Chirisa told Entertainment Weekly. “This is the beginning of the end in so many ways, I think people’s true characters and intentions are now starting to reveal themselves. Anybody could be the victim and the perpetrator of what’s about to happen next, so stay tuned.”

And Chirisa isn’t the only one who sees “The Thrall” as a major episode for the series. Huston told ComicBook.com that it’s also the episode where we start to see Lasher’s complexity — as well as just how important Rowan is to him.

“Episode five is that moment where you realize, or what he wants Rowan to realize, is as much as he is this entity that is able to control things and do things everything is actually through her. He wants her to understand that it’s her choice and he wants to empower her, but that’s not without the subtle manipulation that comes with that, with Lasher,” Huston said. “I think Lasher does have ulterior motives, but don’t we all? I think he’s a very complex character because his existence is purely based on the witch who he’s attached to, so he doesn’t exist without them, and they aren’t the all being, all powerful, which Rowan especially doesn’t know at this point, without him. What he’s saying is, if we work together, we’re capable of anything, but also without me… it’s that famous old saying, it’s very warm under the wing of the devil.”

Will there be a second season of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches?

Last week, AMC announced that Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches has been renewed for a second season. Production on Season 2 of the series is expected to begin later this year in New Orleans.

“What a start to our Anne Rice Immortal Universe, with two series that are driving cultural conversation, attracting significant linear viewership and now stand as the top two new series in the history of AMC+,” Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, previously said. “We are grateful for the way fans have responded to these shows and to the creative teams that delivered on the promise of these stories and characters in new and highly engaging ways. Thanks to… the entire cast of ‘Mayfair,’ led by the remarkable Alexandra Daddario, for delivering an entertaining and highly watchable series and putting firmly in place another key foundational element of this dynamic universe.”

Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC and AMC+.