Each week, Joe (@bstolemyremote) and Terry (@gaylydreadful) review an episode of Freeform’s Motherland: Fort Salem, alternating between our respective sites — queerhorrormovies.com and gaylydreadful.com.

Spoilers for episode six…

1.06 “Up Is Down”: Abigail has to come to terms with her vulnerability in the aftermath of a horrific event. Tally struggles with being supportive while also keeping a secret from her unit. Raelle takes extreme measures to connect with Scylla.

JOE

Terry, last week we wondered if “Bellweather Season” would mark a turning point for Motherland. It was an explosive episode that suggested that Scylla (Amalia Holm) was about to be exposed, and also that Abigail (Ashley Nicole Williams)’ tough girl facade would crack under the weight of the Spree attack at her cousin’s wedding.

“Up Is Down” both does and doesn’t deliver on those ideas, in that the episode eschews moving the plot forward so that we can just sit with all of the emotions. It’s a smart choice, if only because the events of the last episode weigh so heavily on both Abigail and Raelle (Taylor Hickson).

In short, Raelle spends the episode angry and confused because no one will tell her what is being done to find Scylla. Anacostia (Demetria McKinney) in particular is less than forthcoming: she tells both Raelle and Tally (Jessica Sutton) to back down when they enquire what’s happening. Abigail, meanwhile, is going through some pretty extreme PTSD, though - in true Abigail fashion - her coping strategy is to try and fight her way through it.

This is a tough one, Terry, because writer Maria Maggenti is doing everything you would expect with Abigail and her grief, but my tolerance for the character’s bullshit is so low and we’ve seen this kind of storyline so often that it grated on me a little. Even the introduction of a new character, Bridey (Naiah Cummins) - Abigail’s stoic and very capable protector - can’t quite liven up this semi-stale plotline. At this point I’m not sure what I want from this character because even when she eventually (inevitably?) breaks down and shows some vulnerability by episode’s end, I was unmoved. It’s simply all too familiar and I really wish that the overall creative team behind Motherland hadn’t leaned so heavily into tropes with Abigail. Girl needs a personality transplant.

I was far more intrigued by Raelle’s storyline, if only because Hickson is better at conveying emotion and because her desperation to find her girlfriend leads to far more interesting developments. I have no idea what that wall of mushroom that Raelle touches down in the Necro’s hallway is, or why it mirrors her form, or why it seemingly warped her finger, but I loved it. As usual, these weird moments of worldbuilding are where Motherland excels and the Necros have, in general, gone so unexplored that there’s a ton of potential to explore here. I would have preferred that Izadora (Emilie Leclerc), the Necro teacher, was tasked with something other than delivering the bad (fake) news that Scylla died, but hopefully this will lead to further adventures in this strange and exciting new environment.

Terry, I’ll turn it over to you: what did you think of Raelle’s time in Necro territory? Did you like visuals when Raelle recreated her flying date with Scylla during training? And what should we make of the arrival of two Tarmin refugees at Fort Salem, who open the episode stumbling into a US outpost?

TERRY

Joe, I hate to say it but I’m just kind of over Abigail. It’s nothing that actress Ashley Nicole Williams is doing, it’s just that she wasn’t given much to actually work with. You hit the nail on the head with your assessment of her. Girl does need a personality transplant, STAT. Maybe instead of fixing her ripped uniform, Bridey can fix dat personality. Or at least give something that Ashley can work with.

This is exactly the kind of episode that needs to happen after the tragic events in “Bellweather Season” but the emotional storytelling left me feeling cold. I was far more intrigued with the stuff happening in Necroland. We immediately get confirmation that it wasn’t just Charvel (Bernadette Beck) who was targeted. More members of the Bellweather family were discovered with their throats similarly slit. Seventeen in all. And they probably didn’t even know they were witches, as their marks were faded. That’s even more tragic, really. They probably didn’t even know they were connected to the rich family and yet, targeted they were.

We discussed last week that maybe the attack at the wedding was really a decoy so that the Spree were able to kill Charvel. The fact that there were seventeen more deaths seems to clinch it. Whoever is in charge of the Spree has a Bellweather vendetta. And I personally think it’s another brick in the road that will lead us to Mama Collar. Then there’s the, er, mushroom wall? I’m completely with you. I loved it...whatever it was. I’ve maintained from the beginning that I want to learn more about the outcast necromancers and their odd little mausoleum-slash-medical facility.

The other interesting wrinkle comes in the form of the two Tarim refugees Adil (Tony Giroux) and his little sister Khalida (Kylee Brown). Before we get to this, though, I want to discuss the Alder in the room. Since the beginning of our recaps, we have referred to Sarah (Lyne Renee) as General Adler because that’s what IMDb has her named. And it has been a confusing mess for me each week as I write in my notes “Alder” and then when writing the recaps, decide I must have miswritten it because it’s clearly Adler on IMDb. But no. Dear readers, this is a good time to reiterate that IMDb isn’t infallible. Sarah’s last name is Alder.

All this to say that General Alder has an interesting discussion with Adil as he’s looking after his sick sister. “The songs you carried were never meant to be released into the world,” he tells her. He sneers that she made the songs into weapons. And when she tries to justify her actions, all those years ago, by saying she defended herself and created a place for her people, he responds: “What kind of place?”

Because let’s be honest, while the world is more than willing to give up their seats to new recruits like Tally, and people are shown honoring their sacrifice, aren’t they really just a weaponized servant? They’re conscripted into the military. It’s not even a drafting process, from what I’ve gathered. All witches must serve. And while we haven’t seen much of the politics outside of the witches’ world, I think I can safely assume that outside of the military, witches don’t have many seats at the political table. So, I think Adil’s comment is completely on point.

I find all of these little hints about the outside world--and the worldbuilding in general--remains the most fascinating part of Motherland, but what do you think, Joe? Am I completely off-base with my thoughts on the witches’ role in the world? I didn’t get to talk much about Raelle and Scylla so I’ll toss that back to you. And in keeping with that line of thought, were you as unsurprised as I when the episode cliffhanger shows Scylla alive and a prisoner of Fort Salem?

JOE

Oh lawd, that cliffanger! That is a prime example of how the writing on this show falls down flat if you’ve, like, ever watched another piece of entertainment before. Scylla is alive?! “Colour me surprised,” I exclaimed as I laughed myself silly in my apartment.

To be clear, I’m not upset that she is because Scylla still clearly has a role to play in this narrative, but for Motherland to position this as a surprise and have Raelle grieve about it, to the point where she nearly dies by suicide after taking all of the Salva (aka flying patches) from her squad members, is - at best - misguided storytelling and - at worst - emotionally manipulative.

Now with that said, I really liked the way that Raelle associated her flying experience with her informal date with Scylla. Visually, it’s well represented by intercutting back and forth between the past and present, but the hazy, almost dream-like visuals really captured how Raelle got lost in the sensory experience, only to be brought literally back down to earth by reality.

Now, as for Alder (that’s gonna take some getting used to) and the accusations hurled by Adil and what it means outside of Fort Salem: I completely agree with you. We’ve speculated throughout all of these reviews that there’s more to the role that Witches occupy in this universe than is being let on. This slice of political intrigue confirms that Alder isn’t being entirely honest (with others? With herself?) about the origin and implications of her power. We’ve seen glimpses of this from the other Generals on the Council and even the President, so I can’t help but believe that Alder is headed towards a reckoning. Considering that Renee is only listed as a guest star on the series, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a coup, an assassination or a marytrdom situation for Alder before season’s end.

Terry, do you think Alder is long for this world? Are you curious about the songs of the Tarim? How long before Raelle finds out that Scylla is alive or that Tally is the one who tattled?

TERRY

I think Alder is either not long for the season or will emerge as the big bad for season two, if I’m being honest. She’s established as the kind of misguided person that desperately needs her comeuppance for her role in establishing the accord and kind of enslaving her people. If that’s what the series is heading to, that is.

I have a feeling Raelle won’t discover Scylla’s presence at the fort until the events leading into the climax of the season which is also probably going to coincide with her learning that Tally tattled. Those two things combined will probably be her moment of truth for the season.

I guess we’ll find out more next week over at QueerHorrorMovies!