REVIEW: ‘Motherland Fort Salem’ Episode 5 – “Bellweather Season”

In the previous episode, Raelle (Taylor Hickson) wakes up in the hospital wing after attempting to save Porter’s (David Lennon) life. She joins the rest of her unit to celebrate the rest of the Beltane festivities. Tally (Jessica Sutton) and Gerit (Kai Bradbury) continue to grow closer, especially after taking part in The Reel. Abigail (Ashley Nicole Williams) uses the festivities to fuel her sense of competition. Scylla (Amalia Holm), worried that her involvement in Porter’s death will be discovered, avoids answering Raelle’s questions. Raelle finds comfort in Porter’s friend Byron (Bennett Taylor), who offers advice on how to deal with everything that’s going on. Meanwhile, General Alder (Lyne Renee) orders to have all the dorm rooms searched for traces of the Spree as Porter’s body is undergoing an autopsy to rule whether his death was intentional or not. This shifts in Motherland: Fort Salem Episode 5, “Bellweather Season.”

In Motherland: Fort Salem Episode 5, the unit travels off base to attend the wedding of Abigail’s cousin, Charvel (Bernadette Beck). Even though she wasn’t invited to the wedding, Scylla crashes the wedding to see Raelle. Raelle plans for the two of them to spend the day together, but Scylla has her own mission from the Spree to accomplish. Abigail is worried about setting a perfect first impression with the head of War College but quickly becomes disillusioned with the idea after learning of the privilege she has. Meanwhile, Tally is confronted with two life-altering revelations that will change the stability of her unit.

I’ve said this many times, but I’m constantly surprised by the world-building aspects of the show and how much detail was put into them. In Motherland: Fort Salem Episode 5, we’re introduced to how marriages between witches are held and what they mean. Without giving too much away, it’s safe to say that witch marriages are very different from what we imagine. Witch weddings are held with such importance but don’t go overboard in terms of being a grand spectacle. Above all else, the wedding took time to honor witches of the past, which was great to see. I’m looking forward to any future weddings that happen in the show.

Scylla and Raelle’s scenes throughout Motherland: Fort Salem Episode 5 offered time to see the two spending time together away from Fort Salem and all the regulations they must follow. Even though Scylla had ulterior motives for being at the wedding, I was glad that she didn’t let those plans get in the way of her time with Raelle. It proves to me that she isn’t entirely evil to be fully devoted to the Spree. This episode helped her character escape the “love interest being secretly evil” trope. I hope that future episodes explain why she joined the Spree in the first place, but I do have some theories in mind.

Motherland: Fort Salem Episode 5’s plot mainly revolves around a wedding, I was surprised that there were quite a few action scenes. Although they don’t appear until the episode’s final moments, they completely blew me away. The fight choreography was superb, and no magic was used throughout the scenes. But this was truly special because it involved Abigail and her mother. Seeing two badass women who happen to be mother and daughter in the show is something that normally isn’t shown on TV. I’m glad that we’re finally getting scenes like this because they reinforce the bond between a mother and daughter.

Motherland: Fort Salem Episode 5 is the best of the season so far. The continuous world-building in every episode has been fantastic. Seeing the way marriage ceremonies play out in this world for witches was very exciting. Even though Abigail’s cousin was getting married, this truly was Scylla and Raelle’s episode. The action scenes blew me away, and I’m eager to see what more is in store.

Motherland: Fort Salem airs every Wednesday at 9 pm EST / 6 pm PST on Freeform.