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“Motherland: Fort Salem” comes to an end by presenting a new beginning. One which sadly had an unexpected sacrifice.
| Aired (Freeform) | 8/23/2022 |
| Director(s) | Amanda Tapping |
| Writer(s) | Eliot Laurence |
| Introduced This Episode | |
| The Mother (Voice) | Amanda Tapping |
This content contains pertinent spoilers.
Recap
The Search For The Final Piece – Alder
From Ghana to Jamaica to the United States, Alder traces the American slave trade to figure out who is the final steward of the first song, and it is just who you expect it to be.
A Last Minute Save – Isadora, Petra, Anacostia, Alder, Gregorio, Tally, Raelle, Alban, Penelope, Isadora, Sterling, Abigail, Adil, Khalida, Silver, Scylla
With Fort Salem under siege by the Camarilla’s army, which we saw on that football field after Anacostia and Sterline were captured, everyone rushes back. Sadly, not everyone makes it through the battle. After one more encouraging word, Anacostia splits off with Sterling, Petra, and Gregorio to cut down the number of Camarilla waiting for orders. This, unfortunately, is impeded by new technology which silences work, and as the work of Petra, Anacostia, Sterling, and Gregorio, known as the “Rings of Saturn,” is no longer in their control, a truck hurls towards them. To save Petra and Sterling, Anacostia blasts them away and is crushed between the truck and a wall.
Sadly, her shocking death at the beginning of the battle can’t be mourned then and there. Petra still had to command an army, and with Sterling, she had to infiltrate the base. Thankfully, there are no issues with that since Sterling has mastered Spree work to change his appearance, and, luckily for both of them, they come across Penelope in a container. Now, why is she in the container again? Alban. Despite how it appeared in the last episode, Isadora was kept alive, and Alban has been reading over her research and uses it to capture Penelope so she might be tucked away. From there, Alban decides to use Isadora as a stewardess for his drinks, which ends up spelling his doom.
Alban’s original plan was to poison the Mycelium, once again, alongside injure it with bombs. Alongside this, Silver would reassert himself as president on national television. That isn’t fully what happens. Yes, bombs go off, which potentially exposes the Mycelium, but the poison isn’t back flowing throughout the world to kill off the source of every witch’s power. Thanks to Sterling handing off Penelope to Isadora, she poisons Alban, and Penelope kills him. Following that, seemingly on live television, Penelope kills her father, and with that, two of the major members of the Camarilla are dead, with Kara in an undisclosed location.
Naturally, even with the death of two of the three known Camarilla leaders, this doesn’t solve the issue of all the Camarilla still holding Fort Salem. In fact, after the Mycelium is attacked once again, they overwhelm the Bellweather Unit and Raelle, releasing some sort of energy that poisons Adil and Scylla, leaves them unable to fight. Thankfully though, Abigail, Tally, and Gregorio, who shows up after Anacostia saved his life, help Raelle, Adil, and Scylla to the Mycelium chamber and then fight off the Camarilla forces.
However, it isn’t until Nicte shows up does the tide turn. She buys everyone enough time to join Raelle, who has opened a portal to go inside the Mycelium, where she finds herself joined by Alder and the other stewards of the first song. There, it is revealed Abigail is the final steward, and Jem was one before her and what Raelle will be tasked to perform isn’t the end of the world as Tally thought, in terms of an apocalypse, but the end of the old world and the beginning of a new one.
But as for what this new world holds? That isn’t known at first. All that is clear is Anacostia is dead, as Petra notes, Adil and Scylla will live, thanks to Raelle healing them, and Nicte, who is now working with President Wade, is given the opportunity to reconcile with Alder after a decades due apology.
The Birth Of Goddesses – Alder, Raelle, Abigail, Tally, The Mother
So what happened? Why is the world covered in a new atmosphere that is a tint of orange or peach? The answer? Alder and The Mother reveal to Raelle, Abigail, and Tally that now the entire world are witches. Not just common folk either, but also the Camarilla. And in this new world, there will be a need for new stewards, the Bellweather Unit, who The Mother and Alder dub as goddesses. A new name appropriate for a new time. One which, despite all the division and new potential of enemies, we’re left with the idea that now there might be some form of peace.
Things To Note
- Unexpected Content Advisory: Miscellaneous (Potential Trypophobia trigger)
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Was the reason the Ghana soldier didn’t appreciate Alder’s appearance due to her participating in colonialism in the past?
- So with everyone having powers or being able to do work, what does that mean for the Salem Accords? That seemed to have a certain power over witches, and it wasn’t broken
- How many slave rebellions were done by members of Jem’s family? Also, considering the type of work Jem could do and that she is surely one of many witches, how did she and other Africans end up enslaved when they have such power to fight back?
- So, how are they going to play down the vice president, even if he was disgraced, being killed by a witch, one who appeared to be his daughter, on national television? After his talk about burying Wade and fake witches, would seeing that not further people’s suspicions?
- What happened to Kara, and is she not considered dangerous still? She seemed to be the brains of the Camarilla far more than Alban and certainly more so than Silver.
What Could Happen Next
- Likely more war since now the battle will be between the old witches and the new ones, with the only difference being training
Review
Highlights
Anacostia’s Death
Death has long been something teased on “Motherland: Fort Salem” but never treated as something permanent. No character ever really died. Thanks to the Mycelium, they were just written off until they could reappear. But that didn’t happen this time. Anacostia didn’t reappear in the end as part of the Mycelium. She was dead-dead, and with that, you actually were forced to mourn a character and realize there wouldn’t be last-minute fan service showing you Anacostia will have a second life.
Low Points
Everyone Becoming A Witch Doesn’t Resolve The Issue Of The Camarilla
It seems rather simplistic to have everything resolved by having everyone be the same. Lest we forget, the Camarilla was working on stealing witches’ voices to use work. So now the problem is that they have fully functioning voices to do work, and if you thought what Nicte came up with as Spree was dangerous, imagine the Camarilla.
On top of that, did anyone think this wouldn’t cause additional division? Surely there will be those who were forced upon witch hood vs. those born into it popping up. Add in the Camarilla-made collars to suppress work and some likely wearing that as a badge of honor to reject being a witch, this ending didn’t solve anything. It just gave us a Disney fairytale ending, which completely ignores the unresolved issues with the key villain of the entire series and within the lore of “Motherland: Fort Salem.”
Feeling Like The Earth and Sky Legend Got Rushed
I’m torn. The Earth and Sky Legend, thus far, seemed to be about Abigail and Adil’s relationship. He mostly does Earth work. The Bellweathers are known for sky work – it made sense and made Adil more than Abigail’s boyfriend. But like so much in this season, it seems like, with being pressed for time, that got dropped. Thus leading to a hastened retelling of how the slave trade brought the Bellweathers to America and what might qualify as a retcon to suit the finale’s needs so that the legend of Earth and Sky can be the foretelling of Abigail singing the First Song.
Lackluster Ending For Alban and Silver, And No Punishment For Kara
If the villains are lackluster, why shouldn’t the way they die, right? Despite terrorist attacks, causing wars, and attempting genocide, Silver and Alban die because Penelope swallows them. Oh, and Kara, she just doesn’t appear in the finale. She wanted to be there for when Silver denied Wade had returned, but she was off doing something else. Meaning the person who was the smartest member of the Camarilla is very much alive and now can use magic. All of which is swept under the rug for the Bellweather Unit are now goddesses, and it is pushed that the world might be more peaceful with everyone a witch.
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