‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ Recap – ‘Of the Blood’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season two premiere of ‘Motherland: Fort Salem’.
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It is definitely safe to say that the Freeform series, Motherland: Fort Salem, was one of the most pleasant surprises of the past year. Simply because this particular series did the impossible and offered up a fresh and compelling and downright original take on the witch sub-genre of storytelling by plunging us into an incredible new world. One where the persecution of witches ended in Salem with a truce instead of endless bloodshed, and that in turn allowed for these spell casters to become the backbone of the American army for generations on end and that really is an incredibly slick and unique idea for certain. One that was further enhanced and reinforced by some quality storytelling as well.

Because not only did each and every episode in season one, help to flesh out this rich world and the rich history that would accompany witches guiding America to prominence, but we were also treated to quality character development and a delightfully intriguing mystery. One that eventually revealed that witches from all walks of life were in danger courtesy of an ancient enemy that decided the time was right to attack and well… that revelation and the cliffhanger moments present in the season one finale, ‘Witchbomb’, left all of us eager to continue the journey. So, we could see where all of those twists and turns would take us next and thankfully… that long wait has come to an end. Because last night saw the series two premiere of this epic saga hit the airwaves, and ‘Of the Blood’ wasted no time in answering some of the burning questions that this series left us with at the end of season one.

Such as… what would become of Tally now that she opted to help the General by becoming a Biddy? For such a decision would relegate her to centuries of servitude to Alder. Something that she was of course, prepared to do since she is a loyal soldier through and through, but even Alder came to realize that such a move might be in poor judgment on Tally’s part. Which in turn motivated the General to offer up a grand opportunity to Tally. Wherein she would be able to shed her standing as a Biddy and return to everyday life as a solider of this grand army and well, it was a decision that Tally was happy to make… once the fate of her friends was revealed to her. Which made sense, since she and Abigail and Raelle were as thick as thieves and a life without your closest friends isn’t easy in the slightest. 

But thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long to learn about their fate and she quickly accepted the General’s offer, and well, it was nice to see everyone take a moment to breathe and regroup after that epic battle. In part because it allowed for the audience to process the gravity of said battle, but also because it allowed for this series to once again world build. Since it was also revealed in this tale that the Spree are done with their blood feud, thanks to the fact that most of their senior leadership was devastated by the Camarilla, and they’ve now turned their attention to fighting a common foe and it would seem that Scylla and Raelle’s mother will be leading that fight in secret and silence and there are some tough roadblocks ahead for them. For all of this infighting has motivated everyday people to ponder upon the worth of the witch and whether their push to influence American life is a good thing or not and that’s dangerous for certain. 

Since it might give the Camarilla what they need to recruit more to their cause and that definitely sets the stage for some serious trouble in season two. But while we wait to see how this growing anti-witch sentiment will play into the overall plot, we can bask in one solid premiere. One that did a fine job of plunging us back into this universe is a seamless manner and one that also featured some bright spots as well. Since it is indeed wonderful that Tally… mostly… has her life back, outside of those weird dreams, and that the Bellweather Unit is heading to War College since that was a goal that all of them wanted to achieve. But most important of all, this is also a premiere that leaves one hungry for more. Because it really is obvious season two is already building toward something big and our desire to know what exactly… will make the wait the wait between episodes, about as difficult as it gets. Until next time.   

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