‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ Recap – ‘Revolution, Part 2’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series finale of ‘Motherland: Fort Salem’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Over the course of the past three seasons, the magnificent Freeform series, Motherland: Fort Salem, has explored some powerful topics and featured some powerful moments. The kind that has reflected our modern world and taken us to task about how we view one another and what it would take to live in a United States of America where equality and care for one another reign supreme. Making this a timely and relevant series… one that has yet to answer that all-important question. Not because the answer is overtly complex or out of our reach. No instead, this show has struggled to show us the way regarding that… simply because it’s been saving that answer… for the end of its long and winding journey. For last night saw this saga come to a close and with it, came the answer in question.
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A feat that ‘Revolution, Part 2’ accomplished, by putting the Bellweather Unit to the test like never before. For they were the only line of defense to keep Fort Salem from completely falling into Camarilla hands. In fact, the enemy was so eager to use this moment to take advantage of the Witch Army that even the disgraced former VP turned POTUS was on the grounds to use it for his own purposes. Which meant that the team was forced to fight harder than ever before to try and save the Mycelial Network and the future of WitchKind. That led to a battle so fierce, that Anacostia was lost in combat, and the Bellweather Unit was forced to retreat into the heart of the Network, badly wounded and humiliated since progress was minimal in the fight. 

Which made it seem as though, for the first time ever, the Witches were going to lose, for the Network was wounded by Hearst and Silver was sitting in the General’s office, spouting lies and nonsense and general bile regarding his outdated and stupid views and well… that’s when the story began to explore what it would take to finally end this kind of deep-rooted hate in our world, the kind that creates prejudice. But not before offering up a touch of long-awaited fan service. Because we also came to learn that Izadora survived her injuries and was pushed into servitude and well… when presented with a chance to teach these two pieces of garbage a lesson… she did so through Penelope. Since the volatile spirit she was, wasted little time in destroying them, giving the Bellweather Unit time to try and end this fight before things got out of control.

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As it turned out, the key to ending the fight of their lives, involved seeing the future from a different perspective. For Tally came to realize that perhaps her visions weren’t of gloom and doom, but hope and need, and that perhaps Raelle needed to fire off the Witchbomb for vastly differently reasons. A thought process that Alder agreed with when she finally figured out that Abigail had the last vestiges of the First Song. For if the bomb and the song could be combined, something magnificent could happen, prompting everyone to put their trust in this moment and let the bomb do its thing and well… that trust brought an end to the war and promised a better future for all of the world. Because the bomb, transformed every person on the planet, even Camarilla, into a witch, ending a prejudiced conflict just like that, and opening the world up to a new era.
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One where brave new witches would need to shepherd humanity into a bold new era free from hate and cruelty and the prejudices that bring us strife now. Which of course, isn’t the exact solution we are working toward regarding the world’s problems… since we cannot magically give everyone mystical powers to level a playing field. But this twist ending does denote something we’ve all overlooked for some time, something that might indeed give us the answer we seek to world peace and unity. In that, this ending reminds us, we are all one, we are all the same people that live on the same tiny planet hurtling through space, and if we saw each other as that and celebrated our differences instead of fearing them, then perhaps we could achieve wonders and usher in a bold new era for all of mankind. Which is a simple but impactful message to find here, one that informs us what this series was working toward all along… and that’s wonderful.

Because that’s what the best stories grounded in horror elements do, teach us about our world and take us to task and that’s what this finale and this body of art will stand for now that it has gone off the airwaves and well, you can’t ask for a better ending than this one. Since it wrapped everything up in a beautiful manner and left us with beauty and warmth and well… that is it nerds and geeks. We’ve come to the end of a wonderfully powerful and unique journey. One that took the classic concept of the witch and turned it into something relevant and new, and truly… this series will be missed. Because this one had it all, great characters, great writing and wonderful concepts and while we may not be getting new episodes from here on out, we can at least, bask in the wonder of a complete tale that went out on its own terms, and revisit Fort Salem via streaming, whenever we wish.

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