Along with witches, vampires, and daemons, A Discovery of Witches features a practice known as bundling, which may be foreign to viewers.
Starring Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode, A Discovery of Witches brings Deborah Harkness' All Souls trilogy to the small screen. After three seasons, which took place over four years from 2018 until 2022, A Discovery of Witches concluded its adaptation of the three existing books.
While the fantasy series is set in the modern day, it does, at times, incorporate different traditions due to the history and time periods of the various characters.
What Is Bundling?
Bundling is a traditional form of courtship that was particularly popular during colonial times in the British Isles, Netherlands, and United States.
The process allows a couple to trial intimacy without partaking in physical intercourse.
Bundling involves a couple sharing a bed, usually clothed, and sometimes separated by a blanket or wooden board. It was designed to allow a couple to determine their compatibility before committing to marriage.
Bundling in A Discovery of Witches
Bundling is also a practice seen in A Discovery of Witches, specifically in Season 1 Episode 5.
This scene is one of the first major intimate moments between Diana (Palmer) and Matthew (Goode). Before the events, Matthew asks Diana about the practice of bundling:
Matthew: "What does the distinguished historian know about... bundling?"
Diana: "Bundling? Well, I'm familiar with the custom, but it is 2018."
The use of bundling makes sense for Matthew's character as he is a 1500-year-old vampire from France, where the courtship practice would have been common.
The subsequent scene is not always clear on exactly what physically occurred between the two characters.
The couple is seen kissing and removing their clothes, which would go against the typical definition of bundling, but the characters' references to the practice make it clear the couple did not go all the way.
Goode also further confirmed the couple only engaged in bundling in Season 1. The actor commented in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the bundling scene was "uncomfortable" and "tricky" to film:
"The bundling scene was very uncomfortable. [It] was quite tricky. It felt like it was as much choreography for the tango [we dance in another scene]. And it was just bundling!"
Goode added he was "terrified" of what would happen "when we actually have sex in Season 2."
For events important to the plot, the couple do not consummate their relationship until the second book, which is adapted in season two of A Discovery of Witches.
A Discovery of Witches is streaming now on Netflix.
