‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ Recap – ‘Citydrop’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

​When we last settled into to discuss the wondrous series that is Motherland: Fort Salem, the situation looked quite grim. After all, General Alder and her subordinates were resorting to torture in order to gather intelligence about the Spree, and the Bellweather Unit was headed into a combat situation at the close of that tale. Making it appear as though a major engagement was about to occur, and these poor rookies were about to shed blood for the first time, all in the name of winning the war. But as it turns out, that ominous final shot was nothing more than a temporary ruse, since the next episode of this magnificent tale revealed that our soldiers-to-be weren’t quite committing to actual combat just yet.
 
Instead, ‘Citydrop’ revealed that the act that shares the namesake of this episode, was one of their final training exercises. One that would put them in a simulated combat situation to test their actual readiness as soldiers, and those who excelled would likely get a one-way ticket to War College, while those that failed; would head straight to the front lines to fight for America around the globe. Which means it was paramount for the Bellweather unit to shine in this drill, and well… that was easier said than done. Because an injury to Tally, helped for Raelle to learn the truth about Scylla and everything that happened at the wedding and that immediately caused friction and mistakes from the both of them since Raelle took everything personal, and the unit’s problems didn’t end there.
 
Because Abigail’s repressed anger came to the surface when she and Tally came face-to-face with simulated Spree soldiers, since she put one of them in the infirmary. Something that American soldiers aren’t supposed to do, and it really seemed as though disaster was going to unfold for this intrepid unit as the minutes rolled along. But thankfully, the trio eventually pulled it together, and they were able to accomplish wonders as a team and Raelle finally came to learn that Scylla fed her a mountain of lies and just when it seemed as though this story was headed for happier territory, things took a turn for the dark. Because as these soldiers-in-training completed their exercise and made peace with their demons, the full-fledged ones were preparing to take down the Spree stronghold we learned about last week and that ended in utter disaster.
 
For the Spree destroyed the facility and everyone within it, shortly after sending trucks filled with sadness bombs out into the world, and when faced with the possibility of a massive Spree offensive coming to fruition, Alder made quite the call. Because she ordered the rooks to handle this mess, putting these intrepid women into their first combat situation after all, and while they were able to save the day and stop the Spree from carrying out their attack, this decision came at great cost. For one of their own didn’t make it home since Libba died in the showdown and the fallout that will follow this risky operation won’t end with grieving and reconciliation over having to kill the enemy. Instead it will be extended to something far larger, since General Alder made a terrible decision in the midst of this mess.
 
Because there were hostages in one of the trucks the Spree were using to transport these weapons, and despite this fact being reported to HQ, Alder made the call to wipe everyone out and later lied about how everything went down to the nation, by saying that the Spree executed the hostages. Yet while war is indeed hell, ending innocent lives is beneath the U.S. Army and it is clear that no one agreed with this horrible decision and where we go from here is anyone’s guess. Because this Army is rattled at this point, and everyone seems to have lost faith in Alder, thanks to her poor and reckless decision and it should be interesting to see how our intrepid trio carry on going forward. Because cowardice and murder are not why they answered the call and it may be up to them to restore honor to an Army that has clearly abandoned such a noble notion. Until next time.   

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