Motherland: Fort Salem: Season 3/ Episode 3 “Oh Elayne…” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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The Bellweather Unit continues to try and evade the Cesscion Marshalls as President Wade’s life becomes threatened.

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Aired (FreeForm)	7/5/2022
Director(s)	Jem Garrard
Writer(s)	Eli Edelson
Introduced This Episode
Pauline Marten	Michelle Thrush

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Recap

Prepping For The Worst, Hoping For The Best – Izadora, Anacostia, M, President Wade, Sterling, Pauline

With it being confirmed President Wade is a friend and not a foe, so comes the need to make moves to shield witch-kind from the likes of Silver and those in congress who clearly have a vendetta against witches. And to further show the need for a defense, it is pointed out by Izadora how Silver sacrificed his own daughter to get the job done.

So, with all this in mind, President Wade decides she will act quickly. No paralysis by analysis. But, as she gets ready, Pauline, a Council of the Great River member, arrives, and with that comes the need to address the Bellweather Unit’s action in the Cessation.

Which, once that is done, Anacostia, M, and Sterling prep for the president to reject the bill which would limit the civil rights of witches across the country.

Running Into Familiar Faces On The Run – Adler, Tally, Abigail, Khalida, Adil, Nicte, Scylla

With Scylla having three pieces of Salva, she gives that to Tally, Abigail, and Adil so they can more easily get away from the Marshalls. Meanwhile, Scylla and Nicte go on the run, and while they are well versed in hiding and dodging, their inability to work together leads to them getting caught. For with Nicte losing her ability to work with anyone for an extended period, never mind grow emotional connections, Scylla worrying about Raelle and trying to call out to her gets on her nerves. It even leads to the two fighting.

As for the others? Adil is worried about Khalida, and even feels guilty since each time he loses track of her, there is the fear that the Camarilla has found her and killed her. But, thanks to Tally seeing into the future, they learn she is at a bar, with Adler of all people. Why? Well, because a woman has seemingly found one of the pieces of the first song that lead to language spreading throughout the world. This has seemingly allowed Adler to be, recruit Khalida, and eventually, the ever-inquisitive Tally joins Adler in securing the song.

However, with Marshalls having keen hearing and picking up on song signatures of witches to find them, even without casting a single spell, they surround Adil, Khalida, Abigail, and Tally. Thus, they are taken to a mansion for safe keeping – where they are reunited with Scylla and Nicte. As for Adler? With her task seemingly completed, she returns to the Mycelium. But, with knowing Raelle is there and being held likely by her mother, it pushes Adler to realize things are direr than she thought.

Two Steps Back – President Wade, M, Anacostia, Sterling

On the evening when President Wade was supposed to make her address, the White House is attacked. Because of this, we’re left unsure between M, Anacostia, and Sterling if any of them are still alive. We know Wade is dead, and M looked for Anacostia and Sterling before the explosion and didn’t find either. But with them not speaking when she used farspeech, there is a chance they were engaged with the enemy and out of the blast range.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. How did the Marshall take away Nicte’s secondary face but didn’t strip her down to what she really looks like?
2. Did Alban have a vocal transplant to do actual spells?

What Could Happen Next

1. Us learning more and more about who holds the original pieces of the first song, and the show shifting to the Bellweather Unit looking for them

Review

Highlights

The Potential Of Multiple Notable Characters Dying

In any show, killing off characters is considered a major event. Now, has President Wade been made into a big-time character? Yes and no. They are the president, and with their demise comes Silver rising to the top, which will create additional issues for all involved. However, her death isn’t necessarily one which could bring tears or shouting at the screen.

But potentially killing off someone who should be seen as notable puts fans on notice. For while it isn’t like they killed one of the Bellweather Unit, and the show has killed off characters before (RIP Libbba); lest we forget, “Motherland: Fort Salem” isn’t held to any source material it has to honor. So this could just be the warm-up for a rather pyrrhic battle that may allow witches to survive, maybe potentially thrive, but with heavy losses.

Though considering they have some form of ability to come back thanks to the Mycelium, I guess, like seeing Jedis after death thanks to The Force, death may only be in the physical.

On The Fence

Adler’s Return

While some comfort comes from knowing no witch permanently dies and won’t be seen again, it still feels too soon to see Adler walking around. Her death is one of the major losses of the show, and her appearing so soon after undercuts her demise. Yes, it is for a good purpose and further shows the power of the Mycelium over the physical world. However, seeing her interact with living things and moving about with few known limitations does take away any special moments that could have been done, especially as we head towards the series finale.

So Much For World Building

Did we learn that those in the Cessation, or at least those Pauline represent, speak Ojibwe, an actual indigenous language? Yes. However, with the death of President Wade, you and I know that will eat up a handful of episodes, for that will cause major fallout. So with that in mind, it makes you wonder, while it was already clear we would only see what became of the United States because of the existence of witches and them being the sole members of the military, how further limited may things become?

Note, this isn’t to harp on the same issue episode to episode, but as much as we realize the Bellweather Unit aren’t on a tour of the country but on the run, it doesn’t discount the desire to see and know these places. For as said before, once the season is over, this world is done. There are no guarantees of a spin-off book or anything like that, so this is it, and as much as we like those we’ve met through Fort Salem, it is hard not to wonder about the various people and lives beyond the Bellweather Unit.

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