Motherland: Fort Salem Season 3 Episode 4 Review: Happy Yule!

Events have to start turning around reasonably soon for the witches.

That’s because things were looking pretty bleak for them following Motherland: Fort Salem Season 3 Episode 4.

That’s not to say there weren’t any positive developments. But the bad substantially outweighed the good.

And Motherland certainly had a unique take on a holiday episode. While there were the requisite heartwarming moments, no one was left feeling jolly at the end.

The best news was that Horse, the lead Cession marshal, appeared to be on the witches’ side or at least was a neutral party.

So the fugitive witches were detained for their own good rather than imprisoned. As they learned when they attempted to break loose, it’s better to have Horse as an ally than an enemy.

Horse also seemed as old as Alder, based on their friendly conversation during her brief stop there. They were like buddies catching up.

This makes Horse and the marshals one less thing the Bellweather Unit and their allies have to worry about, as long as they accept the protective custody.

Lord knows they had plenty else with which to be concerned now that the Camarilla have openly taken over the government. No more conspiring in secret for them.

After President Wade got witch-bombed on Motherland: Fort Salem Season 3 Episode 3, V.P. Silver got sworn in as President. The siege on witches had begun.

That started with Silver bringing a civilian oversight committee, no doubt all Camarilla, to Fort Salem and Petra having to act friendly to them. It didn’t take her long to slip away, however.

Then there was that abomination of an inaugural ball. Instead of washed-up rockers for entertainment, they had witch death matches in glass cases. That’s putting your prejudices out on display.

The good news of the inauguration scenes was discovering that the Camarilla are fighting among themselves. Hopefully, the witches can exploit that.

Apparently, there is some family feud occurring between Kara and Hearst. His display of integrating a witch’s voicebox into a human was a flop, and funding for his gruesome experiment appeared tenuous.

Fortunately, the witches also have some tricks up their sleeves (Tricks. Get it?).

First, Wade wasn’t killed. Instead, it was a golem version of her (of course, some mystical body double).

Is Wade a witch? If not, how would the witch plague have infected her? What am I missing here?

So Wade was still alive, and Petra managed to slip her Silver-mandated tail and take her to Horse’s mansion for safekeeping, accompanied by her bodyguard M. It’s great when you don’t have to fly commercial.

Earlier, Horse had told the fugitives that the Council of the Great River, the power behind The Cession, wanted to meet with them. Then it was revealed that Wade would speak to the Council for them.

If the Army could anticipate enough to smuggle out Wade, how did Anacostia and her disposable beau get captured? Was that the plan to get her inside the Camarilla stronghold? Or just a terrible consequence?

Whatever the reason, a pissed-off Anacostia inside the belly of the beast has got to be a helpful development, doesn’t it?

The witches’ battle against the Camarilla is to be waged on another front: The search for the First Song by Alder and Khalida.

Why has the Mother (the mycelium) tasked Alder with collecting the far-flung parts of the songs and safeguarding each part’s steward? It will be intriguing to see these portions of the witches’ legacy be brought to life in the upcoming war.

Naturally, Adil didn’t want to part with his sister. But is there anywhere that Khalida would be safer than with the freshly resurrected Alder? She’s proven impossible to kill. And she knows people.

It was hard not to feel sympathetic toward Scylla, who was so obviously heartbroken by Raelle’s disappearance and lack of communication.

After several aborted efforts, Scylla finally got a response using that buried goat heart. But how long will she be content with a bedazzled letter “R”?

Nicte remains a wild card. The fugitives didn’t identify her to Petra and likewise didn’t inform Nicte that Alder had been at Horse’s home. Did Nicte tell Scylla about her mother to fit in with the rest, or is she still working on her own agenda?

Abigail and Adil debated the concept of “the union between earth and sky.” Abigail seemed willing to consider having a child. Unless witches have a faster gestational period, such an offspring can’t possibly arrive during this final season, could it?

It’s been great to see Abigail evolve into a more well-rounded character, thanks to Adil’s influence. Remember the brat who used to dispose of her paramours indifferently?

Then there was poor Tally, who wanted so much to help the cause.

First, she and M discussed the challenges of being different and finding ways to fit in.

Then, after bemoaning her lack of control of her scrying power, she had that vision of Raelle causing an apocalypse. Hopefully, that’s something figurative, not literal.

Then the witches’ best-laid plans went out the window when Silver declared war on them at Wade’s funeral, and Wade had to move on. So the fugitives were back to fending for themselves once again.

To follow the career of President Wade, watch Motherland: Fort Salem online.

How can the witches change public opinion?

What is moody duplicate Penelope’s role in this?

What did Tally’s vision mean?

Comment below.

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Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

You can view the original article HERE.