‘Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale’ Recap – ‘Episode 5’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Elaine Cassidy as Sarah Fenn in Episode 105 of ‘Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale’. (Photo Courtesy of Szymon Lazewski/AMC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Five of ‘Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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There is a brief moment before everything goes to hell in a precarious situation… where the madness can be stopped. Where people can come back from the brink of their twisted line of thinking and peace can be made. Courtesy of a touch of logic, of some hard truth about what’s really causing unrest and with some hard pushing from people with level heads and open hearts. But sadly… we rarely get to see that come to fruition. Because it is shockingly difficult to stop a mob mentality, and it is even harder to stop someone who is hellbent on creating chaos. But that doesn’t stop people from trying to keep a bad situation from tipping over beyond the breaking point, as evidenced by the next episode of Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale on AMC+ and Sundance Now.

For the next chapter in this saga, saw Sanctuary on the brink. Largely because of two key reasons. The first related to some relieving news. In that, Harper was fine physically after nearly being drowned by her classmates, and well… the joy that came out of that did not last. For she was in fact, furious that Beatrice in essence inspired mob violence against her for no good reason other than to be small minded and spiteful. Which in turn prompted her to inform DCI Knight that she wanted charges pressed and since Knight is a straight shooter, she obliged. Giving rise to more anti-witch sentiment and a belief that the everyday person was being persecuted instead of witches and well, thanks to Abi, things only got worse from there.

Mainly because, the truth about Daniel was presented to Abi at last, and it was not a truth she wanted to face. Specifically, that her son was an outright monster and crossed the worst line possible. And having that truth expressed to all, would indeed change the narrative, and so she doubled down on the lie, and once again used the pain she carried to lash out at her once and dear friend instead of just being honest. Which led to more lies, more fear, and more panic from the citizens of this town. To the point where physical altercations took place and where Abi asked her weasel of a husband to cross whatever line was necessary to make someone pay for her son’s passing and tarnishing of an image, she helped create.

All of which brought forth tensions that Sarah could outright feel and experienced, since she was part of those altercations, and well, she knew… now was the time to act. For to wait, to let the anger fester, would send this town into a downward spiral. So, she decided the best way to handle this… was with magic. To cast a massive spell that would descend upon the entire city, so that clear heads would prevail, and discussions could take place that didn’t involve anger and pain. But alas, getting that spell going was no easy task. For her coven was ready to lay low to not deal with the ire of the moment and even Pierre had no interest in this attempt. In fact, being asked brought about anger from him. So… Sarah risked everything, including her own safety and life to see if by chance… she could pull this spell off herself, and sadly… we won’t know if it worked until next week.

For this episode ended on another juicy cliffhanger. But before we ponder upon whether or not Sarah’s attempt saved the day, we can revel in the majesty of another intelligent tale. One that wonderfully showcased how the downward spiral begins in our world when things unravel. So perhaps… we can step in and make a difference when people are just plain being dumb. Because that’s what we need more of right now, clearer heads, level heads and logic, since so many are retreating behind lies and religion to find comfort that doesn’t exist without truth. And this show deserves a round of applause for offering up more powerful commentary about our modern world, since this all needs to be said, and well, now that we’ve garnered some fascinating insight, all we can do is wait and hope… that the spell worked, and this madness can end quickly. Until next time.

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