Talamasca: The Secret Order: Hookups and Horrors

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I wouldn’t say “A Wilderness of Mirrors” is a good episode, but it’s definitely a big improvement over “We Watch and We Are Always There.” It’s much more streamlined and easier to follow.

This episode significantly tones down the show’s usual style. There’s none of the campiness or playful energy we’ve seen before, and it avoids fan service moments like the appearance of Daniel Molloy. The episode focuses entirely on a spy thriller format. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the spy thriller style from the earlier episodes that hinted at multiple formats for Talamasca, it’s a positive change that the episode is now much more focused and straightforward. You know exactly what kind of story you’re getting.

I mentioned in my last review that I wasn’t really feeling Guy Anatole, the main character. Nicholas Denton played him as a bit of a stereotypical teen drama guy, and honestly, it felt a little flat. But after this episode, you definitely get a sense of who Guy is, and it’s… well, he’s not the brightest bulb! “Wilderness” really shows that his defining characteristic is just how surprisingly clueless he can be.

The Talamasca organization itself seems partly to blame for recent events. The episode begins with a disturbing scene showing the aftermath of Soledad’s death – a character we met last week, and unfortunately, the only Black character named so far, whose story ended with a graphic and unnecessary display of violence. Afterwards, we see Guy undergoing training with the TM Corp. He’s being sent to London, secretly replacing Soledad, and the mission is so urgent that a year-long training program is condensed into just one week. This training, as shown, involves surprisingly basic skills like using a code to look up information in a book and typing in a password. It’s left to the audience to figure out how this could possibly take a year. During his flight to London, Guy reviews case files using special X-ray glasses provided by the Talamasca.

Once he arrives in London, he’s completely on his own, relying only on his skills to stay safe. Following Helen’s directions, he takes a job announcing shows in Soho, lives in a dingy, anonymous apartment – the yellowish light suggests it’s intentionally bleak – and wanders the city streets in several dark, blurry scenes. At work, he experiences men’s unwanted sexual thoughts, which seems to be the closest the episode gets to exploring queer themes. He tries, without much effort, to copy a file about his birth mother onto another laptop, but is interrupted by a message from a colleague at the Talamasca; apparently, they didn’t teach him how to use Airplane mode during training. However, before the interruption, he discovers that his mother had a date when she was, seemingly, killed. That’s a fascinating detail!

The next night, things start to happen for Guy. He’s at a fancy restaurant, eating fish and chips with a beer, when a glamorous woman in a fur coat immediately starts flirting with him. She asks personal questions, notices his American accent, and generally seems very interested. As a viewer, it’s pretty clear this woman, Kevis, is trouble, but Guy doesn’t seem to get the hint. Even when he sees a mysterious, important-looking book in her bag, he still agrees to take a photo with her and later goes to the nightclub she recommends. The club is full of people wearing sunglasses indoors, hinting at something strange, but Guy walks right in. He kisses Kevis, then another woman covered in jewelry, and even watches them kiss each other. Finally, while standing there, the other woman whispers a warning to Guy – he’s in serious trouble.

Even so, Guy continues to bring Kevis back to his place and sleep with her. Honestly, I’m amazed by how consistently bad his decisions are, but it does give him a consistent personality trait, I guess. After Guy falls asleep, Kevis quietly tells him she’s broken every rule, then leaves before he wakes up.

Returning to work the next day, and still thinking about the strange sight he saw during lunch, Guy receives his first mission through a secret delivery. He’s tasked with following Archie, a problem-solver for the London branch of the organization. Dressed casually, Guy spots Archie at an upscale restaurant, where he’s dining with Jasper – a vampire from a previous encounter who can control monstrous creatures with a simple clicker. We learn Jasper has secretly taken over a position within the London Talamasca, and is up to no good. While eavesdropping on their thoughts, Guy hears Archie nervously repeating “Don’t mess this up,” but then – surprise! – Jasper directly addresses Guy with a mental “Who is this?” Now Guy is in trouble, and it’s unclear how he’ll escape this unexpected encounter.

The question Archie was asked was never meant to be answered. The scene quickly shifts to Archie leaving dinner, and we don’t find out what Jasper discovered about Guy’s plan. Guy trails Archie through London, nervously wiping his mouth, before watching Archie enter an old factory. A loud argument erupts inside, ending with a slap and a power outage. Guy rushes in to find what appears to be Archie’s body with a fatal neck wound, and Kevis hanging nearby. The show lingers on disturbing close-ups of Kevis’s bruised and swollen face, which feels particularly grim given the only other graphic death scenes involved the remains of Soledad. Guy briefly tries to lower Kevis’s body, then gives up and discovers, to his surprise, that Archie isn’t actually dead—just severely injured. Archie manages to move, points to Kevis’s backpack, and then dies.

Guy found himself alone with a crucial piece of evidence he was told to examine, but inexplicably, he chose to leave without it. This behavior is perfectly consistent with his usual pattern.

Observations of the Order

I left out the show’s opening credits in my previous recap because they’re pretty generic. However, I did notice a quick image in this episode – a dental chart of a vampire! I think it’s a fun detail and makes me wonder if there are dentists connected to the Talamasca.

I wish the character Guy had a different name. It’s confusing because when I take notes – like “Guy is talking to Helen” – I sometimes forget which Guy I’m referring to: Guy Anatole, or just a random male character.

Okay, so this guy… he’s got a thing for really weird apartment layouts, and it drives me crazy as a viewer. I mean, he’s a psychic – he hears everyone’s thoughts if they’re nearby. So why on earth would he put the head of his bed right under a ground-floor window? It’s not like he’s living in a tiny space; he could totally rearrange things! It just feels like a deliberate setup for… something, and it’s constantly bugging me.

During the flight to London, Guy’s laptop screen showed what looked like a close-up of bees swarming out of a hole – unless you had special glasses! From now on, if I see anyone watching a seven-hour bee video on a long flight, I’ll suspect they’re up to something more than just enjoying nature documentaries!

This week’s most delightfully cheesy line on The CW is a tie! “Right the ship? A pirate ship is what it is!” takes the prize for clever writing, while “So, about a million lies led us to where we are now” wins for actor Denton’s spot-on impression of Damon from The Vampire Diaries when delivering the line.

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2025-10-27 05:58