Motherland: Fort Salem Season 2/ Episode 7 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

As many fight to rescue Raelle, Adler deals with being attacked and more vulnerable in Fort Salem than she has ever been on the battlefield.

---

Episode Title	Irrevocable
Aired	8/3/2021
Network	FreeForm
Directed By	Shannon Kohli
Written By	KD Davila, Will J. Watkins
Newly Noted Characters
Alban Hearst	Bob Frazer

Recap

Pushing Things To The Limit – Tally, Edwin, Raelle, Adler, Petra

Timing is everything, and while she may not know it, Nicte picked the absolute worst time to attack Adler. For while in a Warding Circle[1], for protection, she is expected to make a joint speech with the Vice President. But, while a problem for her it presents an opportunity for Petra. In fact, it seems to get her towards being back where she was in season 1 when it seemed she’d become general and Adler retired. Though, it might be too soon to see this as a leap and not a small step.

After all, Raelle is still captured, being tested on, while her father is up in arms and her best friend, and member of her unit, Tally, continues to question Adler and may soon the military, especially as she interacts with Raelle’s people. Which we learn includes draft dodgers, among others.

The Rescue – Abigail, Adil, Willa, Raelle, Scylla, Alban

As luck would have it, the same place Raelle is being held, is where Scylla and Willa go to in order to rescue the kids, as well as where Abigail and Adil were bound to retrieve Charvel’s vocals. Thanks to this, despite his numerous attempts, Alban doesn’t get Raelle’s voice, nor does he get to test on her as he wanted.

However, to ensure her gift would never be weaponized against him or the Camarilla, he releases the Witch Plague virus, which goes to war with the Mycelium. Now, despite Raelle dying a few times on the table, either from her carotid artery being nicked, or her body being crushed, the Mycelium kept her alive. But when it comes to the Witch Plague, it’s hard to say if it was winning that battle.

Hence, when Willa came to see her daughter fighting such a deadly thing, she went in there, knowing it would mean sacrificing her life so that she could save her daughter. And no sooner than she began the healing process, Abigail shows up. This creates the opportunity for Willa, within this realm the Mycelium made, to speak to her daughter, apologize, but not have the conversation she wanted. For with her containing the Witch Plague and dying in the process, Abigail and Scylla only have a short amount of time to get her out of there, alongside all the kids the Camarilla stole.

And to truly put an exclamation point on the battle they won, Adil uses his increasingly impressive powers to topple the building and the underground parts of it.

The Aftermath – Nicte, Tally, Adler

While it is beautiful that Raelle is okay, and Tally learns of this, what she doesn’t appreciate is that Adler calls Raelle “The Asset,” like she is a thing, a tool, and not a person. But ill feelings, and insubordination, are set aside when Adler is attacked by Nicte’s new spells that even breakthrough Adler’s warding circle. Luckily, with Tally’s talent, she is able to spot the biddie who was being used by Nicte and cast her out of the warding circle. But in the process, she has a momentary connection with Nicte, which is frightening but also gives Tally a personal mission in the same vein as Abigail received from Charvel.

Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs

Doubt can’t be a factor if we’re going to succeed.
— Abigail

Review

Highlights

Seeing The Full Extent To Adil’s Powers

While Tarim magic, and the people, have long been hyped, neither Khalida nor Adil have really shown us the full extent of their magic. Adil had shown his invisibility magic to Abigail in the first season, but with the Tarim not being an offensive people, more so run, dodge, perhaps defense, this really put us on notice. It pushes you to understand the Tarim and why every country saw them as so valuable to the point a child could wield such authority over herself and be a representative for a culture.

But, there does come the need to ask, with Adil learning how destructive his powers are, where he can topple a building or potentially break every bone in a person’s body, what will that do to him? He has experienced a lot of loss and now realizes he has immense power. So will he lose himself to this power and in his burgeoning quest for revenge?

The End Of Willa

Let’s be real here, the show didn’t really invest in Willa as the person as much as who she was to Raelle and her being the entry point of us seeing the inner workings of The Spree beyond Scylla. Because of that, her death, while it may make you cry for Raelle, also is a blessing for the show since it means Raelle will grow even closer to her unit and open the door for Scylla to return. Granted, will there be questions? Absolutely. But each of the ladies are on a journey, and it isn’t just in terms of seeking and solidifying their power.

Lest we forget, each one is a teenager or barely out of her teen years, and while the military may train you to put your emotions aside, it also wants to utilize your anger and hone it. And considering how confusing and an emotional whirlwind the teen years can be, to have these young ladies which such power and dealing with so much trauma, it makes it sad that coal has to be added to that fire, but it is also what the show needs to go forward.

Nicte’s Reach

I’m not sure the extent to which magic can go, but Nicte is definitely pushing its capabilities beyond what many thought possible. On top of that, for an organization less than 2 decades old, she has created a global network and even got a biddie inside of Adler’s inner circle! For a terrorist group, you must admit the intelligence Nicte has, and that she is doing far more than recruiting the disenchanted and making herself some frail demi-god amongst those people. She is damn near Adler’s equal with a shorter lifespan but far more potential.

On The Fence

The Camarilla Lacking As Notable Of A Leader as Nicte

We have been introduced to a few men who act as leadership within the Camarilla, such as Alban Hearst, and they have been pretty underwhelming. I’d even say, them kidnapping kids, that shock seemed to be a means to compensate for the men, as seems to be custom with Motherland: Fort Salem not having the same oomph as the women on this show.

[1] A ring barrier that is supposed to protect those inside from all outside spells

[ninja_tables id=”58016″]