‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ Recap: ‘Witchbomb’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Conflicts involving morality are quite the common thing to find on television, because they make for good storytelling. After all, when a main character, or characters are forced to face off against someone who is morally corrupt, it helps them to cement their standing as a hero and it gives the audience one epic showdown where good triumphs over evil. Which is a wonderful escape from the everyday grey that the world operates within, and it truly seemed as though this was the kind of conflict that Motherland: Fort Salem was setting up for its season one finale. For General Alder’s decisions to kill civilians and take control of President Wade, were symptoms of moral corruptness, meaning it would be up to the Bellweather Unit to restore honor to the United States Army. However, rather than go down that path, ‘Witchbomb’ instead opted to play a little game of manipulation before taking the story in a fascinating new direction.
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Because early on in this tale, the stage was set for that grand moral battle. For Alder took the time to banish the entire unit to the frontlines shortly after graduation, since she was able to learn from the President’s mind that our trio of heroes helped to nearly remove her from power, making her seem more corrupt than ever. And to complicate matters further, they were ordered to join the General on a rescue mission to save the Tarim. Leaving one to wonder if the Bellweather Unit would come home safe since it seemed that our Trio was about to square off against the world’s most powerful witch, away from prying eyes. Plus, while the team prepared for what could be their first and only mission, Anacostia dealt with quite the moral dilemma of her own, since she realized she was starting to feel pity for Scylla, after learning more about her past. Leaving her to wonder what should be done with this spy. 

But the instant the mission got underway, is when this story took the drastic turn in question, since it began to explore the fact that sometimes morality isn’t always a practical solution, as evidenced by the fact that Anacostia let Scylla out in order to track down where the Spree were operating. Or how Alder used fear to entice Tally into becoming a true warrior for the cause, after they had words near the Tarim’s safe house, all of which served to remind us that the world is indeed a grey place, where tough decisions are made every day and whether or not that is a good or bad thing, is a topic best left to the scholars. Yet while this exploration was fascinating to watch in its own right, this finale also had some genuine surprises hiding up its proverbial sleeve. Because this story worked hard to set the stage for the newly announced season two by offering up some unexpected twists and jaw dropping moments.

Such as the fact that the Camarilla, an ancient Witch enemy that was thought to be wiped out two-hundred years ago, are alive and well and they are ready to execute a grand plan to put an end to Witch-kind, since they are using modified vocal chords to fight what they deem to be mankind’s greatest threat. Plus, it’s clear that things won’t be the same for the Bellweather Unit in season two since an attempt to save Raelle’s life when she was injured in the fight, sent both Raelle and Abigail to a mysterious plane of existence, and Tally might be tied to the General in an unbreakable bond since she gave her youth to save Alder in a desperate moment of need. Plus, one cannot forget the biggest surprise of all present within this tale, in that, Raelle’s mother is alive and well, and she’s a member of the Spree and that’s one hell of a bombshell to end the season upon.

If anything, this finale gets serious credit for being so bold. Because going into a morally ambiguous grey area in regard to character arcs is always an uncomfortable experience, and of course all of those twists and turns leave us with more questions than answers. Such as why Raelle’s mother chose to put her daughter through hell by faking her own death, and also, what on earth motivated her to join the Spree? And speaking of that mysterious entity, are they friend, or foe? Because there is a strong implication that they may have been targeting the Camarilla all along and that’s just fascinating for certain. In the end, however, this is how you pull off a season finale. Because this one did a fine job of closing out an important chapter in our characters lives, so the story can focus on a powerhouse future, one where our heroes will be challenged in ways we never thought possible, and that is going to make the wait for season two; a difficult one indeed. Until next year.  

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