Sorry, I couldn't resist the play on Matthew Goode's name. I think his performance is one of my favorite aspects of this series. He knows it's cheesy fare wrapped up with good production value (for the most part), "dark academia" cred and a bit of history, but he doesn't phone it in. He smolders just enough, buys into the character, but always manages to rein it in to the point of making his character worth taking (somewhat) seriously.

A friend recommended this to me, and after watching a few episodes with my husband (who likes it well enough) I texted her saying it was like "Twilight" for adults. I'm not embarrassed to watch it, but I still know there are aspects of it that are embarrassing.

The settings are enticing, the performances overall strong, and the historic Easter Eggs (especially about the persecuted 17th century American "witches") very fun. Lots of beautiful people....including Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop. She's problematic. She lovely, and sometimes delivers that combination of vulnerability and power that the character needs. But she's uneven and lacks conviction and confidence. I like her, but I would like to like her more. She's a green actress and it shows.

Overall, I think of this series as a kind of mashup of "Outlander," "Twilight" and some obscure Book Club read about academic women discovering their witchy selves. It's fun and engaging, but it's not brilliant.