REVIEW: Motherland: Fort Salem – 1.10: “Witchbomb”

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This is worse than checking to see if you passed your mid-terms and final exams.

So that was some season finale folks! If Motherland: Fort Salem, hadn’t already been renewed for a second season, I think a lot of us would be upset, because boy were there cliff-hangers galore! But all in all, it was exactly how I wanted them to close the chapter on the Bellweather unit…for now anyways. There were many a plot twist and revelation in Witchbomb, so buckle up, Switches.

“I didn’t know what else to do.”: Phew, okay. Tally is now a Biddy. With one Biddy down after the attack from the Camaria (who of course were a bunch of white guys), without even hesitating Tally gives up her youth so Alder can live. Now, on the one hand, I didn’t see this action coming as a surprise from Tally herself – I even theorized it in a previous episode’s review. I just thought that would occur seasons down the line, if not in the series finale. Tally Craven certainly isn’t our little innocent witch anymore. She knows what she wants and goes for it. Look at her growing skill as a Knower, which I wonder now that she’s a Biddy, will be harnessed even more now that she’s technically older? Or do the Biddys hold the same power, maturity, etc. when they were younger since they’re technically the same age? My only concern with Tally being a Biddy from the show’s perspective, is that Jessica Sutton’s still going to be in that role. So will her portrayal of a Biddy look – to put it mildly – tacky, next to women that are actually in their old age? I think we’ll just have to wait and see. But it was interesting to know that this path for Tally was set in stone as early as the Pilot from show creator, Eliot. Nonetheless, I think I’ll be treading this story-line very carefully.

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“It’s my honor.” From innocent Tally, no nonsense Tally to Biddy Tally, she’s certainly had an arc this season!

“I love you, shit-bird.”: If you told me that I would be crying over the Abigail/Raelle friendship (and okay, kind of shipping them too) in the finale, I would’ve scoffed and said, “Yeah, right.” But both have come a long way and I think realized that they need each other. They’re like ying and yang. And both ended up making the ultimate sacrifice for their unit. Raelle, in making everyone leave her after getting wounded, and Abigail for staying behind, linking with her and almost dying alongside her.

Every show-runner/writer that’s written off a queer character by stray bullet, they should really take some pointers from Motherland. What could’ve been a tragedy for Raelle Collar (and many others in association), turned into an act of friendship, sacrifice, and love in the end. With the power of the giant mycelium that Raelle previously made contact with (Eliot explains this in this episode’s Aftershow, which I’ve put down below), they were ultimately brought back (in a very bad-ass way I might say). Due to the linking, Abigail now has these bizarre powerful mushroom abilities, too. We really don’t know much about the powers of this fungus, what that means for Raelle and Abigail and even Fort Salem, but I’m sure we’ll learn more next season. I will say, that I hope Abigail gains a skill/power of her own and doesn’t just have this ability from Raelle. We’ve known she’s a good leader, and iconic Bellweather, but there’s gotta be something additional for her. Maybe she’ll take this power and become a great Necro?

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Now we know the reunion between Raelle and her Mom won’t be as sweet as this.

“You were supposed to bring me my daughter.”: I know the “Raelle’s Mom is alive” theory has been going around since the very beginning, but I personally didn’t really think anything of it. Yes, the age old fact of “if you don’t see a body, they’re not dead,” comes into play, but her death happened so long ago! So I just took it as a sad fact for Raelle and that was it. I didn’t question anything until she read the letter her father gave her from her Mom. While it was beautiful story-telling, I found it odd that they decided to literally feature Raelle’s Mom, Willa, reading her the letter. Why cast someone for a small scene that could just be a voice over? So, the second we saw Willa Collar turn around as leader of the Spree (we assume anyway?), I was pleasantly surprised. And it looks Scylla was, too – not even knowing Raelle was her daughter.

With Scylla with the Spree now (thanks to Anacostia!) and Raelle’s Mom alive, I’m really curious to see the inner working of the Spree. See what they believe in, their witch practices, why they go out on their murder missions, etc. I think this will really help humanize them even more and see that they’re not the fully evil ones, unlike the Camaria. They did try to warn the Army about their ancient foes’ return after all. What are your thoughts on this and how do you hope it’ll be handled?

Honorable mention I had this episode: I love that we continue to see Anacostia taking matters into her own hands and seeing a vulnerable side to her. The scene with Scylla and Anacostia was great to see to get that commonality between them. And it was great that she helped her escape! With Anacostia keeping a very close eye on Scylla in the outside world, I’m curious if that’ll backfire and she’ll end up joining the Spree? I wouldn’t be mad about it, but I think it’d be an interesting move for her character.

Well that’s all for season one of Motherland: Fort Salem, Switches. Thank the goddess this show was renewed and we have new episodes to look forward to!