Motherland: Fort Salem Season 3/ Episode 2 “The Price of Work” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

While the ladies cross into the Cessation, they aren’t out of the woods yet as Alban, Kara, and VP Silver continue to make legal and genocidal moves against witches.

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Aired (FreeForm)	6/28/2022
Director(s)	Amanda Tapping
Writer(s)	Brian Studler

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Recap

Guess Whose Coming To Dinner – Minerva, President Wade, VP Silver, Anacostia, M, Petra, Kara

With knowing VP Silver isn’t an ally, there is a need to question if President Wade is or not? To get this information, M is put on President Wade’s detail, and Minerva is tasked with speaking with President Wade, despite having a slightly tumultuous history with her. As those two talk, Petra tries to entertain Kara, VP Silver’s guest, and see if the intel matches the experience of interacting with her in person?

It doesn’t. She is very friendly and bubbly and doesn’t come off like the financer for the Camarilla’s systematic destruction of witch kind. But luckily for Petra and the rest, after Minerva speaks with President Wade, she makes it clear restricting the voting rights of witches, amongst the other plans VP Silver has, would be vetoed by her. Thus giving Petra some relief, at least until she hears what her daughter did.

Dreams Are Distractions – Tally, Nicte, Scylla, Raelle, Khalida, Adil, Abigail, Anacostia

Getting into the Cessation is no easy feat. They have Marshals protecting their border, and their ability to track and hunt people down is legendary. Hence, the task of getting past the barrier is difficult, and, originally, the plan was to lay low. After all, they are wanted, and it isn’t clear if the Council of the Cessation would hear them out or take Petra’s call.

However, with so many couples and Nicte fanning the flames of people a bit, everyone is a bit on edge. Not Khalida, who is used to bouncing from place to place, being in hiding, and is just enjoying seeing more of the world. It’s everyone else who is on edge. Abigail heard Scylla and Raelle talk about running away, so she is mad. Tally, with being the only single one, and Abigail getting on her about her close relationship with Nicte, she decides to go off, and with that, everyone is a bit at each other’s necks.

But, with them getting a reconnaissance assignment from Anacostia via Scylla, they are able to pool their anxiety, angst, and frustration into the task.

You’re/We’re In Trouble Now – Alban, Tally, Nicte, Scylla, Raelle, Khalida, Adil, Abigail, Willa

Let us begin by saying that Raelle doesn’t join this trip. Thanks to Alban, off in southern Iran, poisoning the Mycelium, Raelle gets sick and even gets sucked into the Mycelium to heal, where Willa is waiting for her. And as she heals, Scylla, Nicte, Tally, Adil, and Abigail are off to a chemical plant run by Alban to investigate. As for Khalida? She stayed behind.

Now, at this plant, chemicals are being made that can kill Mycelium; originally, everyone was down to simply observe. However, with seeing Alban, capturing him becomes a priority, and with that, the plans gets blown up alongside a helicopter.

But, eventually, the team loses Alban, for the marshals are looking for them when they return to their base camp. Add in them being able to see through Adil’s cloaking spell and Khalida being gone? It creates chaos and forces everyone to run and hope for the best.

Things To Note

• Izadora finds a way to reform Penelope, but not permanently

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Is the Mycelium something that exists in pockets, with a hive mind, or does it span the globe?
2. What’s the purpose of taking away a witch’s right to vote? Especially considering it doesn’t seem they can actually rise in the ranks of politics outside of the military?
3. How many terms has President Wade served?
4. Have witches ever pursued a full civil rights movement, or are the Spree the only thing close to that?

What Could Happen Next

1. Alban revealing Abigail and the others are working with Nicte and pushing the idea the Spree are part of the witch’s military
2. President Wade being assassinated

Collected Quote(s)

[…] faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see.
— Alban

Review

Highlights

Nicte and Tally

When it comes to the couples of “Motherland: Fort Salem,” they no longer have a swoon appeal. Raelle and Scylla always seem bound for something bad happening to split them apart. Then with Adil and Abigail, while you do have to appreciate they are out of the honeymoon phase, the side effect of that is sometimes seeing them as together because the storyline calls for it than the actors just having this great chemistry.

Which is why Nicte and Tally are a highlight because, without having a romantic entanglement, their chemistry isn’t based on how cute they are together. They have the room to like, love, and also hate each other. They can disagree, be against each other, or the world, and back again. Also, while many of the romantic relationships can sometimes feel like they are made to keep certain characters relevant, with a long-term goal of revitalizing them, that’s not the case with Tally and Nicte.

Nicte, as the elder of the group, the most powerful one, she is the leader. Abigail likes to assert her authority, but Nicte comes off as the one running the show behind the scenes. And when you combine Nicte’s willingness to bend the rules with Tally’s curiosity, idolship of Nicte, and her wanting everyone to get along, it makes for a nice ebb and flow between conflict, resolution, and growth. One that is partly reliant on Nicte but not fully.

On The Fence

Do We Have Time To Not Hit The Ground Running?

In a way, “Motherland: Fort Salem” still seems to be warming up regarding its storyline. It’s still establishing or re-establishing who is who and what damage they can do, so it was our hope that we’d see and understand more of the world since we’re no longer trapped in the northeast.

Now, you could submit that we have just entered the Cessation, were introduced to the Marshals, and learned the names of those who control the area. So maybe we’re a little too giddy for what is to come and need to dial back. We’ll give you that.

However, with this being the last season and previous seasons only having 10 episodes, how much time does the show have to help folks get their bearings rather than hit the ground running? Especially considering “Motherland: Fort Salem” is under the Disney umbrella, so the usual go-to networks for saving the show, like Netflix, is unlikely.

And with that in mind, it makes me wonder, between the Cessation and the various groups towards the rest, will we have adequate time to not only go to these places but understand their cultures? What about the way they govern themselves and fit into the United States as “Motherland: Fort Salem” presents it?

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