Welcome back, Switches! I’m so excited to have our favorite witchy show back! The season 3 premiere of Motherland: Fort Salem gave us everything we could have wanted, and more! We got Raylla back together and cuter than ever, Abidil still together and possibly wanting to start a family, Tally and Nicte training together, and the return of the true mother, Alder. ‘Homo Cantus’ was written by series creator Eliot Laurence and directed by Amanda Tapping. Let’s get into all the juicy details of what happened!
Origin | The episode opens with a chill-inducing choral arrangement by 6 witches 136,445 years ago. We later learn that this was the moment Mother Tongue was created and the origin of all languages.
The Paper Factory | Our favorite trio, with the addition of Scylla (Amalia Holm), Nicte (Arlen Aguayo-Stewart), Adil (Tony Giroux), and Khalida (Kylee Brown), are hiding out with a group of dodgers in a paper factory in the Midwest. We quickly get scenes of romantic and intimate moments between Raelle (Taylor Hickson) and Scylla, which will make shippers very happy. It’s so nice to see them be able to have small moments of normalcy while dealing with everything going on. Scylla even talks to Raelle about their dream of living a normal life at the lighthouse, and it’s very clear she wants that life with Raelle one day soon.
The paper factory is kept very orderly so that the dodgers can avoid detection, but our group definitely struggles with that. Tally (Jessica Sutton) and Nicte train on the roof to help Tally improve her power of Sight. Abigail (Ashley Nicole Williams) is really struggling with not being able to contact her mother, so she sneaks out with Adil to use a payphone to call her. Unfortunately, she has to cut the chat extremely short because Adil realizes there’s a new technology being used on the street to look for witch work, so he and Abigail rush back to the factory to warn everyone.
Because the trio’s names and faces are being blasted all over television thanks to VP Silver (Victor Webster) Nicte thinks it’s really necessary for them to learn the face-changing work so they can hide easier, but Raelle and Abigail are against doing off-canon work. Scylla’s mysterious ex Vera () also agrees that they should switch up their faces, they’re in serious danger of being recognized if they don’t.
Speaking of VP Silver, he’s just as awful as we remember him being. He’s working with Alban Hearst (Bob Frazer) to create some sort of fungicide to presumably attack the mycelium, which would definitely not be good.
Remember how Tally and Nicte were training on the roof? It turns out that that was a bad move, they were spotted and the police show up the check out the factory. Scylla uses a different face to give the cops a tour, but when they got to a hallway obscured by work, the policeman Abidil saw earlier pulls out the tool that reveals work, and Scylla knows that the dodgers have been made. As soon as the police leave the group is kicked out of the dodger group, and everyone has to flee the factory because it is no longer safe.
Fort Salem | Back at Fort Salem, the military is still moving forward as usual, even without Alder. Izadora (Emilie Leclerc) and Petra (Catherine Lough Haggquist) catch up, and Izadroa warns her of a weird weather system that is lingering around them.
Anacostia (Demetria McKinney) and Sterling (Luc Roderique) enlist the help of M (Ess Hödlmoser) to help spy on VP Silver and Alban Hearst, and they overhear some interesting and disturbing information. They’re planning to attack and kill the Mother Mycelium. Uh-oh.
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Izadora is administering vaccines against witch plague when it actually begins to rain witch plague. We also hear Penelope Silver (Mellany Barros) singing in the background before saying, “I suppose it’s a little late for me.” Izadora looks shocked and terrified.
On the Road Again | No longer a part of the dodger group, our squad has to find a new place to call home for a bit. While Nicte drives, Scylla tells Abigail she can help her contact her mother, if she’s not opposed to learning some Spree work. Abigail agrees and they go to a gas station so she can use the bathroom mirror to contact Petra. It works, and the pair quickly catch up and warn each other of what’s to come. It’s a quick reunion, but very valuable to each Bellweather.
Basque Country | ALDER IS BACK!!!!!!!!! And looking better than ever!
Make sure you check out our aftershow, WitchSlapped, on youtube where you can see us break down the episode and discuss theories!
Motherland: Fort Salem airs Tuesday nights at 10pm on Freeform.