Motherland: Fort Salem 2×10 Review: “Revolution, Part 1”

The war with the Camarilla finally arrives at Fort Salem and shakes up the lives of the unit in “Revolution, Part 1.”

The beginning threat of the Camarilla’s Witch Plague from “Mother of All, Mother of None” comes to full fruition in “Revolution, Part 1.” The deadly attack produces heartbreaking casualties, and the aftermath sets the Bellweather unit on a new path as Motherland: Fort Salem heads toward its third and final season.

Faced with the sprawling attack on Fort Salem, Raelle (Taylor Hickson), Abigail (Ashley Nicole Williams), Tally (Jessica Sutton), Adil (Tony Giroux), M (Ess Hodlmoser), and Gregorio (Praneet Akilla) band together to fight off the Camarilla and the Witch Plague. Seeing the group continue to work together is exciting and Adil, M, and Gregorio have been great additions to the team.

After having been stripped of her position, Alder (Lyne Renee) offers her help in the fight. Petra (Catherine Lough Haggquist), fresh off her appointment as General, accepts both Alder and Nicte’s (Arlen Aguayo-Stewart) help and declares that the Army and Spree will fight together. While it’s surprising to see Nicte get a redemption arc so quickly, the group putting aside their differences and fighting together is a great moment.

As Petra and Nicte fight Camarilla leader Alban (Bob Frazer), Alder and Anacostia (Demetria McKinney) continue the fight elsewhere. Unfortunately, Alder is hit in the fight and slowly turns into a human tree. Seeing Anacostia’s heartbreak over losing Alder sells the heaviness of the loss. After the attack, Anacostia, Raelle, Abigail, and Tally pay their respects to Alder before pushing her into the Mycelium. Despite Alder’s sometimes questionable actions, it’s emotional to see the effect Alder has had on all of her soldiers.

After kissing Abigail goodbye, Adil goes to look for Khalida (Kylee Brown) and is attacked by the Camarilla. In order to protect Adil, Khalida uses her power to turn a Camarilla member to ash. Seeing Khalida’s power is awesome, and her reconciliation with Adil alongside her commitment to fight the Camarilla is another great moment in the episode. In addition, Alban’s comment about wanting to prevent the union of Abigail and Adil leaves a lot of intrigue as to what role they will play in helping to bring down the Camarilla.

Back outside, Raelle, Abigail, and Tally figure out that they can stop the Witch Plague by attacking its source. To their horror, they discover that Penelope (Mellany Barros) is the unknowing host. Raelle and Abigail combine their power to stop the Witch Plague, but unfortunately Penelope is killed in the effort. Seeing Penelope enveloped in the Witch Plague is terrifying and the horrifying expression on Tally’s face throughout adds to the horror of the unit being forced to kill her.

As Fort Salem tries to deal with the aftermath of the attack, Vice President Silver (Victor Webster) has Raelle, Abigail, and Tally charged with Penelope’s murder. Petra attempts to get the unit out of trouble, but the incident was caught on video by the Camarilla and President Wade (Sheryl Lee Ralph) refuses to back down. While the unit’s actions were an unfortunate necessity, the reaction to what happened and the refusal to regard the circumstances paints a picture of how many of the civilians feel about witches.

Thankfully, Petra and Anacostia refuse to let anything happen to the unit. The two assemble Adil, Khalida, Scylla (Amalia Holm), and Quinn (Sandra Ferens) to rescue them as they, along with Nicte, are being transported. Adil and Khalida stop the bus in the middle of the road and Scylla uses her new ability and her crow friends to control the guards and free the unit. The sequence is exciting, and the resulting reunions are very sweet.

Petra and Anacostia arrive and tell the group that they, Nicte included, need to become fugitives as they figure out how to deal with the Camarilla. After saying their goodbyes, Nicte disguises the bus using a lighter and the group drives away. The story line of the group going on the run together will be interesting and it will be amusing to see the interactions between them, particularly with Nicte.

The Raelle and Scylla reunion, between the two saying ‘I love you’ to each other over the phone in the aftermath of the attack and their passionate kiss after Scylla’s rescue, was well worth the wait. The writers have done a good job with redeeming Scylla this season, and the chemistry between Hickson and Holm continues to make their love for each other believable. In addition, the moments between Scylla and Raelle’s father Edwin (Hrothgar Mathews) and Raelle and her father were also excellent.

As the group drives away as fugitives, the episode contains two additional reveals. First, Vice President Silver is revealed to be working with the Camarilla and helped orchestrate Penelope’s death. While the reveal is not shocking, Alban’s promise to make Silver President and that people will hail him a hero will be an interesting threat. In addition, Alder is revealed to be alive inside the Mycelium. Alder has always been an interesting character and it will be intriguing to see what role she will play in the final battle.

The season finale was action-packed and emotional. Every character got a moment to shine and the teamwork between the characters and the emotional moments of the episode were well done. The finale shakes up the world of the series and sets up for a thrilling final season that will hopefully end with taking down the Camarilla once and for all and a happy ending for the unit.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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