The Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice marks the halfway point on AMC and AMC+ this week with the fourth installment of the series, “Curiouser and Curiouser,” finally bringing Rowan (Alexandra Daddario) straight into the Mayfair family due to the death of her biological mother, Deirdre (Annabeth Gish) on the end of episode two and a disorienting encounter with Lasher (Jack Huston) in episode three. While this week’s episode is very much about Rowan meeting the family thanks to Deirdre’s funeral and wake, quite a bit about Carlotta Mayfair is also revealed in the episode. So far all viewers have seen Carlotta framed by her relationship with Deirdre, but “Curiouser and Curiouser” takes us deeper into Carlotta’s own story and history with Lasher and according to Beth Grant, who brings Carlotta to life in the series, is it’s Carlotta’s own history that makes her relationship with Rowan even more complex.

Warning: spoilers for the fourth episode of The Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice“Curiouser and Curiouser”, past this point.

In this week’s episode, while sitting with Rowan at the Mayfair House during Deirdre’s wake, Carlotta reveals that she was approached by Lasher when she was just eight years old. However, instead of being seduced by Lasher, Carlotta rejected him and has been trying to protect the women of the family ever since. As Carlotta explains it, protecting the family – and Rowan – is what drives her actions, including sending Rowan away as a newborn. When asked in a recent interview by ComicBook.com how the revelation that Carlotta was also approached by Lasher to be his witch at one point affects her relationship with Rowan, Grant said it was complex.

“Well, I think it’s complex. And speaking only for myself as a woman who is conflicted in many ways with her sexuality, about her power, I feel like she wants to protect Rowan in every way she can, that’s why she gets her from New Orleans,” said Grant. “She doesn’t expect to come back, but here she is. I mean, how amazing is Alexandra Daddario? I mean, to look into her eyes, to work with an actress like that, she’s so easy to love that I feel there’s a maternal quality and a protective quality.”

Grant also had high praise for Lasher actor Jack Huston, acknowledging the attractive qualities Huston brings to the mysterious and slightly sinister entity, before explaining that despite Carlotta’s rejection of Lasher, there is a lingering attraction – if nothing else, for power – and therefore some conflict.

“I think even though she turned him down, there’s probably a visceral attraction to him,” she added. “And so I think when she sees Rowan, she’s very protective, but also confused because she understands the power of him.”

What’s The Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice as regards?

The series is based on the trilogy of novels by Anne Rice, Lives of the Mayfair Witches. The series synopsis is as follows: “Based on Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches, Mayfair Witches is an exploration of female power and the deadly implications of our decisions. Mayfair Witches focuses on an intuitive young neurosurgeon (Alexandra Daddario) who discovers she is the unlikely heiress of a family of witches. As she struggles with her newfound powers, she must confront a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations.”

The Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice airs Sundays at 9:00 PM ET on AMC and AMC+.