I just noticed something while rewatching the reunion scene. Scylla says “please don’t believe everything they tell you about me”. She doesn’t say “don’t believe what they tell you” or something similar, she says “not everything”. That’s a big difference and I think it’s important. The previous sentence is “they’re going to tell you horrible things about me, all of them”. So she might indeed believe that some of the things she did were horrible and I think that even before Anacostia made her relive the moment she killed all these people, she felt guilty.
Am the only one who thinks that whatever happened at the very end of the finale with Raelle and Abigail is linked to the “mushroom”? Either that, or that thing used by the Camarilla and that poisoned the Tarim. But I think it’s more likely linked to the mushroom for different reasons.
1) Izadora looked very concerned when she realized Raelle might have touched the mushroom. Right now, we still don’t know why, but she was worried.
2) That thing was into the Necros’ crypt, so we know for sure that it’s linked to death.
3) We still haven’t heard about the sample that was took from Raelle’s finger, so we still don’t know what’s up. In that same episode (ep 7 I believe), she healed Khalida and didn’t take on the disease like she usually does, not even a part of it. We still have no real explanation for that and I still suspect that the mushroom is linked to that.
4) The main reason why I think the mushroom is responsible is because when they were walking, Raelle and Abigail were leaving trails behind them and it looked like mushrooms to me.
5) Right after that, we have that scene with a close-up shot on mushrooms cooked in a pan. Mmmh.
Or maybe these two things, the mushroom and the “disease”, are linked?
Anyway, we haven’t heard about the mushroom since the sample was taken so of course it’s going to be a big deal next season.
I truly hope Scylla’s arc redemption won’t be based, or even involve the fact that Raelle’s mother sent her. It would be lame. But that would be the easy solution and if one thing, I think Eliot Laurence has proved that he was not a lazy creator and carefully thought things through.
Here we go again, here are my thoughts on that week’s episode.
The opening scene
First of all: the opening scene. It was pretty obvious that the episode would start with that but wow. The confrontation between Scylla and Alder, the illusion, the tension. It was intense and that’s why I loved every second of that. If I’m not wrong, this scene was also the first one where we got a glimpse of the Spree’s motivations. Now it’s starting to make sense. They are primarily opposed to the conscription but they are targeting civilians because they are the ones they actually hate. They think (and they might be right) that the hunt is not over, just different now, and all witches should be free of the humans. Now, we can actually identify with them and understand their motivations.
Abigail
I knew from the beginning I would like that character and I was right. How could you not?
Abigail at the beginning of the season every time Raelle did anything:
Abigail since ep 1x06 every time Raelle does anything:
She’s so supportive and that’s so beautiful. A real link is creating between Raelle and her and I’m here for that. I think sooner or later Raelle is going to push Abigail away because she feels smothered maybe? Deep down she’s glad that Abigail cares about her, but she’s been so used to rely only on herself that she will probably have a hard time believing that someone is willing to throw themselves under the train for her.
Honestly, some people say and/or wish Raelle is going to take responsibilities and become the head of the unit, but I wouldn’t mind if she didn’t. I think Abigail is a great leader because she’s devoted and protective, even if she doesn’t admit it.
Also, in this episode, we’re starting to see Abigail’s convictions crumble. Adil will be the element that will make her question the army more and more. He’s already started. He’s here to defy the idealized picture of the army she has been fed since she was born and prove there are always different sizes on a war. Not one, not even two, but many sizes and more often than not, innocent people, civilians suffer. Some people said they didn’t like the show because they thought it was glorifying the army. I don’t know where they got that impression from. Maybe Alder, but for the rest, I don’t really see any idolization and it was pretty obvious considering the angle the show was taking right from the beginning that there wouldn’t be such thing. Now we know there won’t be any.
To close that part about Abigail, I would love for her to develop a really bond with Augustin and whatever that other guy’s name is. It doesn’t mean I want them to have a romantic relationship (pretty easy to guess Adil will be her love interest) and I’m not even talking about friendship without sex. They could be friends with benefits. I’d just like to see her develop a meaningful friendship with them beyond sex. Just a personal wish.
Tally
We didn’t see much of her in that episode. I was disappointed, but that’s often the case in TV shows, not all characters can be at the center of each episode. Nevertheless I enjoyed that scene in the forest where Raelle tried to confront her. She will probably discover the truth soon, because Tally will tell her or in some other way. It could happen in the last episode, it would be one of the cliffhangers of the finale and would be pretty interesting in fact.
Raelle
I hadn’t commented on that so far, but I find it really interesting that her magic is based on speaking instead of singing. That’s a nice callback to paganism. But that’s precisely why I wonder why the girl said it was “pagan nonsense” or whatever. Their way of life is pagan. They celebrate Beltane, which is a pagan celebration, they refer to “the goddess”, which is probably the Triple Goddess (also called Hecate), they honor earth (Adil did in that episode). They are the definition of pagan witches, so I don’t understand why that girl would say that.
Now, that scene where Raelle fixed Khalida. She knows something is wrong and we know it too. It’s very clear that despite what Abigail said about Raelle being powerful and getting better, something unusual happened. Or didn’t happen precisely. Maybe the mushroom has something to do with that? Maybe Khalida is not really cured? That last guess doesn’t seem very likely to me, I think she is cured. But maybe that thing that was poisoning her got scared by Raelle and went away somehow, maybe it will infect someone else. But for me the best lead is the mushroom.
Scylla
It was pretty easy to see even before Anacostia said it that she was starting to have regrets. Her tears were for Raelle, for the shock of what Anacostia just did to her, but also for the realization of what she had done. Speaking of what Anacostia did to her, I wonder if they will treat it later. I don’t know if she’s the only witch able to do that in Fort Salem (I will speculate on that below), but there’s no doubt that being the victim of such invasion must be traumatic and Scylla might and should suffer aftereffects.
Raylla reunion
That. Scene. Was. So. Intense. Like, I said the opening scene was, but it was nothing compared to that one. Kudos to Amalia and Taylor. Their acting was on point, I almost cried. This was really, really impressive. I wish Scylla had told the truth, but at the end of the day, maybe it’s better. Raelle and her have such a special bond, I think that it will have more impact when the moment comes that Scylla told her that she loves her and she wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, instead of telling her what she had done and add something like “it was for the good of our people” or something like that. And I think Scylla understands Raelle very well and knows what will be efficient when the time comes. Raelle will be pissed when the truth comes out, but in my opinion she will be more inclined to take Scylla’s side (Scylla will probably not stay with the Spree much longer once she's out of this imprisonment and her side will be her own side) with what she told her. Once again, kudos to both of the actresses for that heartbreaking but beautiful scene.
But also, I'm not sure what was their purpose when they brought Raelle. Of course they wanted to weaken Scylla (Amalia confirmed it) and it worked, but did they have other intentions? Maybe Raelle wasn’t just a tool and she was also one of the goals. When she knocked everybody out during training and Izadora briefly talked to her, she said something like “let the army make you stronger”. It’s clear the army is very interested in Raelle, and for good reasons. What if they were trying to make sure she lays on them so that when the time is right, they can use her? They probably want her on their side, because she’s powerful and because she expressed her hatred, or at least her dislike toward the army, and it makes her dangerous. So maybe they have a plan and for that, they needed her to see Scylla without knowing who was holding and/or to be weakened and confused (what is real and what is not? did she dream? is she crazy? it could lead to (self)isolation and thus vulnerability), so that they can “come at her rescue”.
Anacostia
She will be a key element, there is no doubt about that. We can easily guess that sooner or later, probably not in season 1 but maybe in next seasons if the show is renewed, there will be a rebellion inside the army. It might be small with just Raelle, Scylla and a few others. Or it might be big. Like really big. My guess is that it’s going to start small and then it will get out of hand and there will be an actual mutiny against Alder and the established power. Some rebels might join the Spree, although I doubt it (if they do there are going to be few of them), some might just create their own new group, and that’s where it would become interesting, because then, people like Scylla who joined the Spree out of frustration and desperation might find something closer to their aspirations in that new group. Anyway, I’m drifting away.
If what I’m hypothesizing happens (not a very risky theory, but still), Anacostia will have a very important role. We knew at some point she would doubt Alder, and here we are. It was also very likely that sooner or later, she would have consideration and empathy for Scylla, and here we are. She had probably already noticed here and there that some of the things Alder was doing were not right, but now she’s slowly starting to realize that Alder’s is misusing her power. Or maybe she’s not there yet, but she will be. And I think that what Alder told her really hurt her. Not because of the words she used, because yes, it’s true and pretty logical that as an orphan, Anacostia has “a soft spot for orphans”. But the tone she used and the way she looked at her... Well, all that wasn’t very motherly, friendly or even sympathetic and I think Anacostia noticed the difference compared to the way she usually talks to her.
I will write it in the part about Anacostia, but now it’s about Alder too. I think one of the reasons why she reacted this way is because she’s freaking out at the mere idea of losing Anacostia. There might be personal feelings involved and of course she’s not stupid, she knows she’s on the edge and you might say “everybody wants her head”, so she doesn’t need to have one of her most loyal soldiers against her on top of that. But I’m pretty sure there’s something else. As I said above, I don’t know if Anacostia is the only witch able to do what she did with Scylla, but probably. While watching the episode, I was wondering if each witch had a special ability, but I don’t think so. They are better in different fields, just like every average human, but I don’t think they have “special attacks”. I think Anacostia is an exception. Beyond the fact that she’s super powerful, she has a gift. There’s a reason why Alder took interest in Anacostia above all the other orphans she raised other than the fact that Anacostia is completely devoted to her and very talented (I believe Alder complimented her on that in the scene where we saw the orphans). By the way, the devotion is starting to crumble and that’s probably what pushed Alder to react that way. Anacostia is probably some sort of “special weapon” for her, and she understands she might lose her. Alder showed up to interrogate Scylla herself, but Scylla didn’t talk despite her attempt to make her. She was already here, so why didn’t she infiltrate Scylla’s spirit herself? Probably because she can’t. She must be more powerful than Anacostia, but she can’t do what she does and that’s (one of the reasons) why she needs her and she was so upset when she saw Anacostia show signs of weakness.
Khalida
That little girl is crazy talented. The character, but also the actress. I don’t know how old she is, but an experimented and very good actress like Lyne was impressed (she talked about it in After The Storm). She said she had a very strong presence on set and I’m not surprised because it shows on screen. I can’t wait to see what will be her role in the next episodes. But seriously, can you imagine how powerful she is? She put Alder on her knees, both metaphorically and literally. I’m really excited to see what’s next.
Other questions, assumptions, thoughts, etc
When Izadora slit that girl’s throat? Disgusting in more ways than one. Can you imagine how f*cked up you have to be to do that kind of thing. And yes, she’s a bit creepy, maybe not all instructors would go that far, but it shows the kind of people the army is creating or at least letting fight in their rows and teach. Also, the fact that they could knock Raelle, Tally and Abigail out so easily was disturbing too. They’re only in their first year, we can guess older and more experimented witches might be able to resist or at least feel it, but still. Can you imagine what kind of power teachers and instructors have on you if they can do that?
This is kind of creepy that these old ladies are following Alder everywhere she goes (and hissing when she’s pissed). Don’t get me wrong, even if they don’t have any lines, I think that’s great that these old actresses got these roles. But story-wise, that must be strange for people around Alder. I guess they have to be near her for the spell to work (maybe it was explained off screen and I just didn’t see/hear it).
Witch daddy talked about revocation of the accord? That’s getting serious! It will be very interesting if it gets this far.
Did Khalida knew Raelle’s name because of the linking? Or is she some ancient entity / old wise lady in a child body? That was a bit disturbing. I like the character because but she is kind of creepy and have a strange way to speak and interact with people, even her brother.
How is Adil able to use magic? I thought only women could in witches lineage. Or maybe it’s true only for some ethnies or not for others?
There was a shift for two characters in that episode, Abigail and Anacostia, and I can’t wait to see where it leads them.
We didn’t see Bridey :( I hope she’s going to be back soon! But I doubt it, because it seems that time gaps between episodes are pretty long (or not always, because I don’t think Scylla has been sequestrated for that long, but I might be wrong) and we didn’t see her once in that episode while she was following Abigail like her shadow in the last one. But I’m hopeful, she might be back as a soldier and not Abigail’s bodyguard.
What will happen to Scylla now? They have a location and there will be an attack, but on a more personal level, they know that she murdered civilians. Will they keep her alive to get other information? Are they planning to kill her as soon as the attack is over? I’m a bit worried.
I will conclude this long as* post by saying that this mission is gonna be a disaster. Tally feels guilty, Raelle puked just before leaving the base and she’s very disturbed after seeing Scylla, Abigail is not focused because she’s bothered by what Adil told her and she's worried about Raelle but also probably about Tally because there’s no doubt she noticed she was avoiding Raelle. It’s going to be a mess.
Do you think Raelle and Scylla will be together at the end of the season? I'm really worried that once Raelle finds out about the Spree thing, everything will change. It would really suck if Raelle says something like "I really love you but I need some time alone to process everything, we can't be together right now" or something like that... Especially if the show doesn't get renewed!
I’m sorry to say that, but I don’t think they will. I think the secret will remain until the last episode and Raelle will find out during that episode. It would make sense considering there are only 3 episodes left, 2 if you consider it will happen in the finale, and right now Anacostia and the other ones involved in Scylla’s imprisonment and interrogation don’t seem to plan on telling Raelle the truth. Plus, it would make a really good cliffhanger. The way I see it, Raelle will find out in the finale. Tally will tell her because she can’t keep it to herself anymore or because Raelle is about to do something that Tally considers stupid and dangerous to save Scylla so she wants to stop her. Raelle won’t see Scylla in the episode after this revelation, so there won’t even be the rejection part where Raelle will completely reject Scylla or tell her she needs time to process. If the show is renewed, at the beginning of season 2, Raelle will be in a position where she’s on her own again and isolating herself like she was at the beginning of season 1: Scylla lied to her and manipulated her (she will probably believe that her feelings are true and that she actually loves her, but it will still hurt) and Tally hid the truth from her. Abigail might be the only one she still trusts, and she might be the one that will try to make the unit whole again. If there’s still a unit, because I wouldn’t be surprised to see Raelle flee the army at the very end of season 1 or the beginning of season 2. Or the army could be falling apart. A finale where the army is directly targeted and seriously unsettled would be interesting, and then an opening episode where some time has passed and Alder and cie are trying to keep it together but some soldiers have already fled or let them down.
But that’s just my personal opinion, I might be wrong. Some people are saying that we still have no proof that Scylla was the one behind the mall attack. It’s a possibility. I thought they didn’t show her during the attack when Anacostia explored her memory because it would have been a loss of screen time since we already saw that scene, but maybe that’s what they want us to believe and the truth is that Scylla is innocent. Some people discussed it on that post’s notes.
This finale of Motherland Fort Salem was mind blowing. I had goosebumps several time, it was amazing. And I just discovered the show got renewed for season 2. I couldn’t be happier!
That episode was intense and so many things happened.
Bear with me if you’re in for reading my unsolicited opinion.
Abigail
I’m curious to see how far they’re gonna go with her PTSD. They clearly showed she was in pain which is a good thing because a lot of shows don’t deal with it when their characters go through trauma. She is not ready yet to fully face it, but she made a step (if not several) in the right direction during the episode. When she said she was helpless and had never felt like this... wow. It hit near home. Perfect depiction of what people, more specifically people with a personality and a willpower like Abigail’s, feel after a trauma.
Bridey
Wow. Just wow. She is so badass! It was pretty easy to guess that she wouldn’t be just a bodyguard and somehow she would give some perspective to Abigail and help her cope. But I truly love that character anyway. Her backstory is classic but efficient. Her missing eye and her choice to not get it fixed makes it more tragic and dramatic, but also gives her charisma. I hope she will stick around and have a real role in the story apart from protecting and helping Abigail. And let’s be real, she could easily be her personal trainer and help her improve and become even more powerful.
Tally
She is growing. She’s still that kindhearted girl who’s watching after her friends and trying to make her unit work, but she’s definitely growing out of the innocence she demonstrated when arriving at Fort Salem. I hope they won’t fall into the “I was nice but it didn’t work out so now I’m cold and broody and cynical” trope, but I don’t think so. She’s the moral compass of the unit and it would be a waste of her character. What I think and hope for is that she will stay the way she is but just lose her blindness toward the army. We saw in that episode that she is starting to question the army in fact. She can’t tell Raelle the truth about Scylla and it’s clear that this is bothering her. This might be the thing that will make her realize she shouldn’t blindly follow orders and idolize the army. Even if Anacostia told her this was for the good of the nation, Tally is still Tally and it’s easy to tell that this answer was not enough for her. She doesn’t understand what’s good about lying to her sister and friend while she’s in pain. I must admit I was surprised she didn’t tell her in that episode. She was probably about to tell her, but then Raelle said Scylla was dead and Tally might have actually believed it was true, or might have thought it wasn’t a good thing to give her false hopes. I just hope that she will eventually tell Raelle the truth and Raelle won’t find out from someone else. Even if she’s the one telling her, Raelle will be pissed, but it would be a shame if Tally didn’t have regrets at some point and decided to make the right thing.
Raelle
Well. She’s a mess. But how could she not? Scylla was her anchor. But I think she will find strength in her unit and it will show her that she doesn’t have to be a loner. It’s very possible that Abigail will need time to believe that Scylla is alive, but Tally might be convinced pretty quickly. In fact, if Scylla can send Raelle another message and Tally and/or Abigail are around, they could start to believe her and once one of them is convinced, the other will probably follow.
Also, what is this “mushroom”? What the hell? At first I thought this thing was kind of beautiful, but then when I saw how worried Scylla’s teacher was I started freaking out. It could be very bad or... very good. Maybe she was worried because this thing could actually hurt Raelle (if it’s actually a “mushroom”, who knows what it could do to her now that she’s touched it and it’s apparently in her body). But maybe she was worried because this thing could give her a special ability? Make her more powerful? It’s probably related to necros since it’s in the crypt. Maybe it’s supposed to give them specific abilities? If that’s so, it could be very interesting to see what happens when an emerging fixer gets necro abilities. There are many possibilities and I’m curious to see what will happen.
Bellweathers
So apparently the Spree is now targeting Bellweathers specifically, even those who stepped away from their witch lineage. Why? As far as we know, they only targeted civilians (which hasn’t been explained yet if I’m correct and is still mysterious because we don’t know why they randomly attack civilians). So why are they targeting Bellweathers now? It could be because their family is very powerful, but they’re probably not the only powerful lineage. Which reminded me this theory I was told about: apparently someone hypothesized that Petra was holding Scylla’s parents hostages to force her to work for her and infiltrate the Spree. What if somehow, they found out that Scylla was a double agent, discovered the whole truth, and they’re now paying back? I mean, it would make sense. The show was slow to start but the plot is thickening and this is very enjoyable.
The unit
The girls had been getting closer for a couple of episodes, but I found it stronger during that episode. They’re falling apart, individually but also as a unit: Abigail is going through PTSD and doesn’t want anyone’s help (at the beginning of the episode at least), Tally is lying to Raelle and feels bad about it, Raelle doesn’t understand why no one seems to be looking for Scylla and then when she gets her message she goes on her own, etc. But at the same time, they’re truly growing closer. Raelle and Tally are trying to help Abigail, but they’re not overwhelming her and even if she lashed out at them, they kept trying. Abigail and Tally went after Raelle without a second thought. They didn’t even consider the risks they were taking on many levels, they just went after her because she needed them. And did you see that scene at the beach? Tally and Abigail running toward Raelle, Tally kissing Raelle’s head when she fell on her knees, Abigail crying with her (she might have been overwhelmed by her own stuff too, but I think she actually felt bad for Raelle). At this point, I think that if one of them goes rogue (probably Raelle), they won’t turn their back on her and they might even... join her?
Other stuff
What will Alder do to Scylla?
Who is that guy that was saved? What is going on with his sister? Alder seems to be very interested in her, why? Is there a reason other than the fact that she’s a potential soldier and she and her family know songs that might be of interest?
When will we have explanations about the Spree’s real intentions and motivations? Why do they target civilians?
If things go sideways, will Bridy be loyal to the army or to Abigail?
Overall I loved that episode.
The title perfectly reflects the episode (duh). Pretty much everything is going down, but we can feel that this is the beginning of something else. Things are shifting and I think it is only a matter of time before Raelle and possibly others go against the established order.
And just a quick note to end that post: I love that they established that these witches were deeply rooted into paganism and descended from it, but it’s nice that they didn’t make it a central part of the show. I’m really interested in paganism and wicca and I have a bit of knowledge about it, but I think it would have been too heavy. Instead, there are just mentions here and there, like that scene were Abigail mentioned “the goddess” but didn’t go any further. I think they found a good balance for that element of the story and they didn’t get lost, which could have happened very easily with such a strong spirituality and folklore.
