The Book of The Kingdoms
Episode 2 of Luna Nera starts with Tebe and Janara heading to the communal grave to collect Natalia’s body. As they bring her back in the ancient house, Ade looks at it and is shocked as she turns into her mother, Antalia. Meanwhile, Cesaria and Spirto head to Ade’s house to look for the book Sante is after. They find it under the floorboards but are unable to free it from the roots due to the spell Antalia has cast. They return home with Valente’s strange drawings and tell Sante that they’re unable to burn them. However, Pietro arrives and proves them wrong, burning the roots and desperate to prove witchcraft doesn’t exist. Back in the ancient dwelling, Tebe talks to Ade about the past as they all used to live there in harmony with many others like them. Antalia, Janara and Tebe were the most gifted and the only ones taught how to use the Book of the Kingdoms (which is the one Antalia hid). One of the boys, Marzio, wanted to be taught but Diotima refused and sent him away. One night he sneaked into the room to read the book but got caught by the witches. A confrontation arose and because of Antalia, he was able to escape but not before killing their teacher, Diotima. After that, the dwelling was sealed and Antalia was chosen to look after the book. Abe also reveals that the book speaks of the chosen one, which she believes is Ade. The next day, Janara heads to Antalia’s house to retrieve the book but is unable to go in as Sante and his men are trying to free it from its roots again. In the evening, Leptis and Tabe discuss the latest events in bed while Ade and Persepolis clash again. Back in town, Sante talks with the priest who reveals that it is His Eminence who is after the book. After Sante demands money and horses, we see the Benandanti setting off to look for Ade. In the dwelling, Ade finally finds out more about Persepolis after she tells her about her past and her connection with Spirto as they finally bond together over their respective love interest. The next day, Ade sees the fountain turn red, which was the sign Pietro promised to give her to meet him. With the help of Persepolis, she leaves the house and finds Pietro who she immediately embraces. After finally telling each other their names, they kiss. This touching moment doesn’t last though as he warns her that she’s being hunted. She replies that she found a safe haven but tells her not to trust anyone. As she finds out that everyone believes she’s a witch, Pietro tells her that he doesn’t think they exist, prompting her to storm out after revealing that she’s unsure of who she is. At the dwelling, the witches find out that Ade has left to go to the fountain which prompts Janara and Leptis to go after her while we see Ade arriving in her old house to retrieve the book. She recites the spell, freeing it from its roots but as she leaves with it, is caught by one the Benandanti. Janara and Leptis arrive and a fight ensue between all of them. As Leptis gets the better of one of them, she stops herself when she sees that it’s a woman, Cesaria, who in turns finds the book and runs away with it as the episode closes. Aside from the confrontation towards the end of the episode, not a lot happens in the follow-up episode of Luna Nera. The drama changes its darker tone as it veers towards the romantic side of the story; the main couple being Ade and Pietro who seem to have fallen in love quite quickly. We do find out about the past and what happened to the witches though which gives some depth to the narrative but compared to the first episode, things appear to have slowed down. Luna Nera does have some interesting ideas surrounding witchcraft and how men are always scared of the unknown. While this episode is weaker than the first, I am hoping we will see more of this topic explored during the episodes to come, as the show has the potential to be an enjoyable supernatural series.
