Salem: "Ashes, Ashes"
Well, we’re at the penultimate episode of the first season, and I find that (for a change) I only have a few things to share.
As suspected, most of the run-time was taken up with John Alden’s trial, and although Increase Mather continues to steal the show, most of this sequence was rather dull. We know nothing is going to happen to Alden, and so the tension instead lies with whether or not Mary will intercede on his behalf.
Mary Sibley, Mary Sibley... I’m so torn on this character. For the most part, I find her compelling, easily the most interesting character on the show, and I’m delighted that the writers are committed to a portraying a highly flawed and morally questionable woman as their lead character. But on the other hand, they’ve yet to provide a proper understanding of what drives her. There’s still not enough insights into how she went from frightened young woman giving up her baby in the woods to vengeful cold-hearted witch devoted to the devil’s cause.
The fact that she went from dispassionately watching four innocent girls get hanged to crying over John’s impending fate. The cliff-hanger of an ending was based around John finding learning the truth about who Mary really is, but she’s too far gone for John to ever taken her back again. I mean...that’s a given, right? The murder of innocent people is a surmountable obstacle in the course of true love, correct? Please let it be so.
But calling it now: Mary will find a loophole in the need for a sacrifice by pointing out that John’s blood isn’t “innocent” thanks to his murdering ways during the war.
So perhaps the show compensated with the rather appalling deaths of the four girls in lieu of Alden’s execution, and the whole thing was pretty gruesome. I’ve no idea where any of their parents were while this was going on, nor why one of them managed to elude capture.
What the heck is Mercy up to? She’s been getting on my nerves lately what with her passionate speeches belying her complete inability to do anything useful.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that Anne Hale is one of the few legitimately good people on this show, it appears that being the daughter of a witch automatically makes you evil, whether you want to be or not. The red eyes and snake tongue throws a spanner in the established assumption that one has to choose to be witch, and opens up a dozen or so questions on what being a hereditary witch actually means.
And yet the Isaac/Mary scene was surprisingly sweet in regards to his a pep talk to her ,including his secret name for her “Magic Mary” (oh the irony!) and how she can save John if she wishes.
There were some nice bits of continuity, what with Increase’s testimony and Mary seeing her reflection as the old hag in the mirror, but I’m glad this is all coming to a close next week. We’ll see then if it’s worth returning for the second season.
As suspected, most of the run-time was taken up with John Alden’s trial, and although Increase Mather continues to steal the show, most of this sequence was rather dull. We know nothing is going to happen to Alden, and so the tension instead lies with whether or not Mary will intercede on his behalf.
Mary Sibley, Mary Sibley... I’m so torn on this character. For the most part, I find her compelling, easily the most interesting character on the show, and I’m delighted that the writers are committed to a portraying a highly flawed and morally questionable woman as their lead character. But on the other hand, they’ve yet to provide a proper understanding of what drives her. There’s still not enough insights into how she went from frightened young woman giving up her baby in the woods to vengeful cold-hearted witch devoted to the devil’s cause.
The fact that she went from dispassionately watching four innocent girls get hanged to crying over John’s impending fate. The cliff-hanger of an ending was based around John finding learning the truth about who Mary really is, but she’s too far gone for John to ever taken her back again. I mean...that’s a given, right? The murder of innocent people is a surmountable obstacle in the course of true love, correct? Please let it be so.
But calling it now: Mary will find a loophole in the need for a sacrifice by pointing out that John’s blood isn’t “innocent” thanks to his murdering ways during the war.
So perhaps the show compensated with the rather appalling deaths of the four girls in lieu of Alden’s execution, and the whole thing was pretty gruesome. I’ve no idea where any of their parents were while this was going on, nor why one of them managed to elude capture.
What the heck is Mercy up to? She’s been getting on my nerves lately what with her passionate speeches belying her complete inability to do anything useful.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that Anne Hale is one of the few legitimately good people on this show, it appears that being the daughter of a witch automatically makes you evil, whether you want to be or not. The red eyes and snake tongue throws a spanner in the established assumption that one has to choose to be witch, and opens up a dozen or so questions on what being a hereditary witch actually means.
And yet the Isaac/Mary scene was surprisingly sweet in regards to his a pep talk to her ,including his secret name for her “Magic Mary” (oh the irony!) and how she can save John if she wishes.
There were some nice bits of continuity, what with Increase’s testimony and Mary seeing her reflection as the old hag in the mirror, but I’m glad this is all coming to a close next week. We’ll see then if it’s worth returning for the second season.