Things have changed in Salem since we last left the second season finale – the Dark Lord has risen, Cotton has been ‘George Sibley-ed’ by his wife Anne, Mary is still dead, and John Alden is still angry. But, everything changed when Tituba, blinded by crows from last season, found her way to Petrus’ hut and saw the future – hell on earth and the Essex witches no more. This was confirmed when Little Devil John spurned on the Essex witches, killing one of their own, and let them know who is the boss. Oh no, the devil lied. No surprises here.
Of course, the only way for the witches to defeat the dark lord is for their most powerful witch to kill him aka his mother, who is dead. But, this being Salem and witchcraft existing, anything is possible. Using the great Essex tree, the witches bring Mary back to life.
Unfortunately, not everyone knows she’s being brought back to life. Wrought with guilt, John Alden believes he buried his beloved and attempts to move on with his life… until he runs into Indians and French men destroying a small town. After attempting to stop an Indian from killing a woman, he notices the supernatural at work here. After shooting the Indian on the FACE, he gets back up like the Walking Dead.
Yeah, John. We were all thinking the same thing. After trying to save the town, the men of Salem arrive just in time to arrest John and bring him back. Remember, he is a wanted man.
Back in Salem, there are enough problems going on. Refugees from other towns are trying to enter Salem due to attacks by the same French and Indians John just dealt with. Magistrate Hawthorne doesn’t want to deal with them, but with some encouragement from Isaac and Sebastian, he allows them in. Frustrated with the people crying for justice against the Indians and French looting the other towns, Hawthorne pardons John in exchange to train the men to fight.
In Knocker’s Alley, Isaac the Truthsayer is monitoring the streets, but the town doesn’t seem to care. Poor Isaac is doing his job alone. Well, he has a mini-sidekick who just follows him around. But, she’s just a kid. She can’t really help him much.
Mercy is still in Knocker’s Alley, but it seems she has a nice set up now as the town’s mistress/pimp. She has a brothel full of young women that she shelters and cares for, in exchange for their blood. She also offers the young women who come in their protection from the men in their lives. In a terrifying scene where Mercy is playing Cat’s Cradle with a young girl who left an abusive home, her deadbeat uncle begins to be tortured by a spell and killed off. One may never look at Cat’s Cradle the same ever again after this.
Yup.
Remember, Salem isn’t a show for the faint-hearted.
As for our lovely couple, Cotton and Anne aka #Cotanne, they seem to be working through some trust issues. With her familiar Mr. Brown Jenkins inside of Cotton’s stomach, Anne has control over her husband’s fate. That doesn’t make for a great relationship and has probably doomed them for good. But, Anne hasn’t given up on their love. She has sacrificed too much to lose him, so she is forcing him to love her and never leave her. Ah, true love.
I miss the old days of Cotton and Anne…
Anne is only doing all of them to protect him, including serving the Dark Lord alongside her half-brother, Sebastian. Sebastian has become the Dark Lord’s right-hand man and gossip. Still obsessed with Mary, Sebastian must hold his tongue when he’s around the Dark Lord, who was also in love with his mother, Mary. Honestly, what is up with these mother issues? Sebastian still shows himself to be a mama’s boy, crying to his mother in her crypt about how much he misses Mary. If Countess Marburg were still alive in the flesh, she’d probably slap him and tell him to get over it. I miss Lucy Lawless.
But, alas, we meet a new character – The Sentinel (Samuel Roukin). He’s brother to the Dark Lord and has returned to protect him. Roukin’s introduction was definitely needed to counter Oliver Bell’s Devil. Sebastian and Anne’s characters are too weak to go up against the Devil, but Roukin’s Sentinel allows for a balance between the two. His character is not afraid to speak his mind or even challenge the young lord. We need that because then the story would leave the Devil one-dimensional. Bell’s Devil is pretty creepy, especially since he’s a 12-year-old child who plays pure evil and he’s surprisingly good at it.
Yeah… NOPE.
The episode ends with the climactic return of Mary Sibley from the dead and she looks pissed. We’ve been waiting patiently for the return of the badass witch, Mary Sibley, but is she the same Mary we remembered and loved? Could death have changed her? There are so many questions and now we have to wait until the next episode.
The season premiere gave us what we loved about Salem – gore, witchcraft, and the creepy stuff. With this season being the most gory of them all, I’m not sure what to expect going forward. I could have done without the crying from Sebastian, but I guess that is to show just how much he loves Mary. I definitely want to see more of the Sentinel, because he seems like a better right-hand man than Sebastian who can be a bit emotional at times. The Devil needs a strong leader next to him and I’m hoping to see that with the Sentinel.
Salem returns next Wednesday at 9/8c on WGN America.
from Nerd Reactor
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