Is Seventh Son Scary? The Verdict and the Whole Plot

A job with a very high turnover

In 1572, a witch named Malkin is locked in an underground prison by Gregory, who is the final member of the Falcons, a knightly order that defended people from supernatural threats. Years later Gregory is a spook, a roving witch hunter, and Malkin escapes, killing his apprentice William and retreating to her mountain fortress. There she restores the fortress, and the looks of her disfigured, loyal sister Bony Lizzie, and waits for a coming blood moon that will make her unstoppable. Gregory goes looking for a new apprentice and picks Tom Ward, who is a seventh son of a seventh son. Tom's Mam gives him her necklace and tells him never to take it off. In a town he comes across Alice, a girl who is about to be burned as a witch, recognizes her from his visions, and frees her. Alice asks him not to tell Gregory about her. It turns out she is Lizzie's daughter, and Lizzie sent her to watch Gregory.

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A werebear and a lesson about mercy

Tom meets Gregory's assistant, Tusk, and has a week to learn the trade before the blood moon is full, so the three head toward Malkin's fortress. On the way, an inquisitor summons Gregory to a walled city, where his forces have captured Urag, a werebear who follows Malkin. Gregory tells Tom to burn the werebear alive. Tom hesitates, so Gregory dismisses him and lights the fire himself. Tom meets Alice again, they admit how they feel, and they briefly think about running off together, but a vision shows Tom that Malkin will kill Gregory and wreck the world. He returns, and Gregory admits he once loved Malkin, which is why he imprisoned her instead of killing her. He warns Tom never to show mercy to a witch, since he feels responsible for everyone she has killed.

A necklace with a criminal record

An enormous boggart attacks the trio on the road. Tom kills it, then survives a trip down a waterfall. Then Bony Lizzie confronts him, and his Mam's necklace repels her attack. Gregory recognizes it as the Umbran Stone, a charm that boosts the power of witches. It once belonged to Malkin until Tom's Mam, one of her followers, stole it, and the theft left Malkin weak enough for Gregory to trap her. Malkin tells Alice to steal the stone and promises to spare Tom if she does. Malkin and her minions also destroy the walled city to avenge Urag. Tom's family happens to be there. His Mam kills the warlock Strix and faces Malkin with her own magic, and Malkin kills her, mocking her for giving up the stone that might have saved her.

A cliff with no safety rail

Alice finds Tom and begs Tom to go away with her. Gregory moves to kill her, but Tom steps in so she can escape. Gregory then sees that she has the necklace, so Tom, Gregory and Tusk go after her. Malkin's servant Radu ambushes them, captures Gregory, and pushes Tusk and Tom off a cliff, assuming they are finished. Tom comes to with a vision of his Mam, who tells him that his birth order and his witch mother give him a unique power to beat Malkin.

Malkin becomes a dragon, as one does

The witches gather at the fortress while Malkin tries to seduce Gregory. Alice, told that Tom is dead, is horrified, grabs the stone from Malkin, and breaks her hold on him. This is the scene people brace for: Malkin transforms into a dragon, and Lizzie transforms too, to shield her daughter. It happens at the fortress, near the end of the story. Tom gets the stone back, and Gregory, Tom and Alice fight side by side and take down several of Malkin's minions.