Motherland: Fort Salem Season 3 Episode 7 Review: She Returns

The “she” referenced in the title was Raelle, who frankly showed up a little late for the party.

Even though Willa declared that her daughter has healed, Raelle still appeared a little shaky on Motherland: Fort Salem Season 3 Episode 7.

Still, atomizing a Camarilla shock trooper about to filet Tally was a great way to make an entrance.

Raelle should rest up all she can now because it sounds like it’s going to come down to her Witch Bomb in the end. Willa said so.

And not realizing that Raelle was about to make her appearance, Scylla allowed herself to be captured so that the others could escape. Those two can’t catch a break, can they?

This first day of the U.S. invasion proved that The Cession forces, which included the Bellweather Unit by default, had to play way too much defense. Accept for Abigail, of course, but more on that later.

Any points that Thelma Bearkiller scored for organizing a secret militia, she lost by walking straight into an ambush at the council meeting.

Didn’t you just know that the Camarilla spy on the council was Millie, who was the sweetest acting leader during the unit’s hearing?

Millie was hardly some kind of nefarious mastermind, settling for drugging the other council members with snack food. Millie thought the invaders would pick up the fugitives and leave, contrary to the indigenous people’s long, adverse history with the white man.

But she’d hardly be alone in such thinking throughout history. Look at all the European leaders who thought appeasing Hitler would keep them safe during World War II.

Still, Thelma knew there was a spy or two attached to the council, which controlled The Cession’s defenses. Yes, developments were happening quickly in the runup to the invasion, but shouldn’t finding the traitor have been a priority, even before confessing about the militia?

Fortunately, all of the unit members were off on their missions by then and didn’t get caught up in Millie’s betrayal. Tally and Scylla wouldn’t have been available to rescue the council if that hadn’t happened.

It was a little fuzzy how Scylla could locate the returning Tally and have a crow redirect her driver to a reunion with Mac and his Dodgers. Sometimes with this show, you have to say “Magic happens” and move on.

It’s good that Tally has been getting a better handle on her scrying power, which isn’t as hit-and-miss as it was earlier in the season. Her ability was sturdy enough that she was able to coordinate the rescue of the council.

Sure, it was hardly perfect execution. After allowing herself to be captured, Scylla was on her way to a witches’ concentration camp. Tally was in mortal peril before Raelle showed up.

But, bottom line, three witches and a handful of civilians spirited the Council of the Great River past a substantially higher number of enemy combatants to safety.

Now that Tally is getting the hang of her power, Alder has decided it’s essential that Tally learn to look into the past to recover the last two pieces of the First Song.

Give Alder credit. She was having trouble locating the stewards of the last two pieces of the First Song. So she walked right into the lion’s den.

Granted, antiques dealer Santos was a relatively toothless lion by now. But as the Camarilla’s long-term historian, he had the answers that she sought, if not the answers that she wanted.

The easiest part of Alder’s quest was coming back from the dead. The family lines for the stewards she sought ended in the past. So now she needs Tally for a sort of time travel.

At least Abigail and Adil ended up with a more straightforward mission after their initial plan with Anacostia fell apart big time.

They found the closest marshal, hoping that he could contact Horse, the head marshal, who was with Wade, through his telepathic link.

Only the Camarilla invasion force chose that moment to crash through that particular border, and the Neo-Nazi-looking Camarilla leader killed the cooperative marshall. Plan over.

As usual, Abigail wasn’t of a mind to retreat and leave the guards at the mercy of the Camarilla. So she overruled Anacostia, her mother’s intelligence chief, and she and Adil stayed to fight … the entire battalion.

Only it wasn’t the entire battalion. It was the couple against one arrogant Camarilla special-forces soldier lording it over a bunch of inexperienced cadets who never should have been there.

It was a quick battle. Adil used his earthmoving power to flip a troop carrier, which should have given the invaders pause. Then a cloaked Abigail snapped the Camarilla’s neck, which brought the event to a quick end.

Wasn’t Abigail inspirational as she stood atop the overturned carrier, spelling out to the junior cadets how exactly to muck up the invasion? Petra would have been proud of her.

Then she and Adil took advantage of their outlaw status and joined Thelma’s militia, one way to fight without getting the Army leadership in trouble with the Camarilla politicians.

Anacostia and Nicte meeting up at that diner can’t be a coincidence. Was that the first step toward an Army-Spree alliance?

To follow Alder’s quest, watch Motherland: Fort Salem online.

How soon before Scylla is rescued?

How can the witches counteract the Camarilla’s mechanical magic?

Is Raelle all the way back?

Comment below.

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