Motherland: Fort Salem – Season 1 Episode 5 “Bellweather Season” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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As we come to understand what weddings truly mean for witches, heartbreak hits the unit left and right.

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Directed By		MJ Bassett
Written By		Joy Kecken
Aired (FreeForm)		4/15/2020
Introduced This Episode
Dean Coral	Maria Marlow
Charvel	Bernadette Beck

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

What Are Beautiful Wedding – Charvel, Abigail

While it was a day to celebrate more than one union, the main one was Charvel and her betrothed, who were due to be in a 5-year union. Yeah, you heard that right, weddings aren’t until death parts two people. From what it appears, especially if you take note of Abigail noting she has multiple dads, most women have 5-year marriages, called contracts, and it may just be for the purpose of children – girls specifically.

And just in case you thought that means exclusively being with one man, the way Charvel speaks to Abigail, that might not be true. Not to say you are still participating in orgies, but monogamy seemingly isn’t required. Pairs may solely be to encourage children between powerful families and alliances. Making it so, in a gender-flipped way, boys might be the bargaining chip for their mothers, or their mother’s families, to increase their political capital.

And Then So Many Hearts Started To Break – Dean Coral, Petra, Tally, Gerit, Abigail

Weddings are a time to come together, reconnect, and Charvel’s wedding was no different. It was Abigail’s opportunity to show off her unit, win over her mother, and impress Dean Coral of war college as an individual, and not just a Bellweather. However, with her unit not on the same page, she found herself struggling to prop herself, and learning her name would likely carry her through even if she was a hot mess. And with that, so comes an unexpected blow.

Yet, she isn’t alone. Tally learns Gerit has come to the wedding, and you know she is excited. I mean, if she could, they’d have sex in a room somewhere and catch up. However, with Gerit engaged, while they do kiss in private, he, unfortunately, doesn’t get the chance to tell her the truth until a third party announces it. Leaving Tally to excuse herself since, unlike many others, monogamy is what feeds her heart, and the love she thought Gerit had for her was a driving force like no other.

Some Love Is Only Shown As True When Tested – Scylla, Raelle, Abigail, Petra, Tally, Anacostia

As long-established, Raelle has a complicated relationship with being in the military due to her mother’s death. So while there has been friction between her and Petra, she uses the wedding as a means to confront her, knowing she cannot do or say anything which would make her look bad. But, in Petra perhaps seeming genuine as she talks about Willar, Raelle’s mother, it hits Raelle in an odd way.

Which precedes an attack by the Spree, which leaves Charvel dead and Abigail fighting for her life. However, with her holding her own until her mom shows up, and then really showing what she can do, maybe she has achieved the admiration she so desired now? If not, considering how much of her relationship with her mom has been built on legacy, this could be what helps her see her mother loves her in the way she needs her to?

Speaking of love, Tally discovers Raelle’s love, Scylla, is a spree as she talks to a blue balloon. Which she notes to Anacostia, who doesn’t seem to spread this information as quickly as you’d think she would. Never mind telling Petra so that she can prep. But considering Petra does speak of replacing General Adler, maybe the thought was that allowing Petra to die, or be embarrassed, would save General Adler’s position?

Either way, once two members of the Spree kill themselves by self-immolation, and a massive amount of balloons are sent away, Raelle is forced to deal with Scylla’s disappearance. And as for Scylla? Well, it seems that, while not so in love to go against the Spree, she is in love with Raelle enough to ask forgiveness before everything went down.

What Must Also Be Noted

1. There is a need to ask, taking note of the aftershow, what do male witches do? What is their training being wooing their female counterparts?

Highlights

Seeing That Abigail Wanted To Be More Than Her Last Name

Legacies can be a complicated thing since the idea is often living up to them and keeping the family proud. However, with Abigail taking note of how she didn’t want to rest on the laurels of her mother, or the family name, it upped things a bit. Primarily in developing who Abigail is in relation to her family.

What we mean by that is, Abigail, for the longest, seemed like she wanted to earn a place amongst the legends of her family and win her mother’s respect in the process. But with how she spoke to her cousin and the Dean, it seems she recognizes how far her family name can get her but doesn’t want that to be the key that opens every door. Rather, she wants her own legacy. One that isn’t built off of easy assignments or continuing what her mother has done, but be praised due to her own individuality and work ethic.

The Devastation Of All The Heartbreaks

Despite so many characters on screen in the majority of scenes, all of which who seem like they could potentially step forward and become a new fave, the cast is pretty tight. On top of that, with “Motherland: Fort Salem,” trying to forge rarely trodden ground in crafting its leads, it makes your investment stronger since you can see a true effort to be different. And with that, your emotions are so much more involved since you can’t think back to another similar character and what they went through to numb yourself up.

So in seeing Tally learn Gerit was engaged and seeing Raelle learn Scylla is Spree, it hits hard. For with Tally, she is like a Disney Princess, if the allusion to sex wasn’t a kid starring in an unnecessary sequel. Making her heartbreak devasting – especially since she couldn’t do anything but cry in private for causing a scene would have hurt Abigail, among others.

Then with Raelle? To be honest, I’m of the mindset where I would have supported Raelle becoming Spree just to continue her relationship with Scylla. Which, based on previews for the episodes to come, Raelle may pursue just that to be with Scylla.

It Being Clear General Adler Is Due To Be Overthrown

Dissatisfaction with General Adler is a bit of a B storyline, but nearly every episode points out how people question or are ready to undermind her leadership. Leading you to wonder if, one day, it won’t so much be the Spree who are a threat, but members of General Adler’s own ranks. Since it isn’t clear what happens to witches who wish to usurp General Adler or what is the process for someone to replace the general? She found a way to avoid death, at the cost of other witches, so is there, was there ever a plan for someone to take over?

On The Fence

Is It Wrong To Hate The Fact They Attacked The Black Witches?

While this show doesn’t rely on a token system, after Libba’s erasure of the Bellweather family during a major battle in witch history, so comes the need to question how Black witches are seen. We know General Adler relied on them when she started her army, and some of her fountains of youth are Black women. However, even with women like Petra in the positions they are, there is a need to wonder how race plays out in this world? There is a need to question whether having women like Petra and President Wade is supposed to present that “Motherland: Fort Salem’s” world is post-racial, or more so there is that subtle form of racism in existence? The kind whispered and not outright said because there are fears of what being called a racist could do? For, and maybe I’m reading too much into this, there does seem to be this twice as good vibe when it comes to the Bellweather family.

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