Motherland: Fort Salem 3×07 Review: “She Returns”

Raelle makes her triumphant return as the Camarilla begin their invasion of the Cession in the aptly titled “She Returns” (Motherland: Fort Salem Season 3 Episode 7).

After refusing to allow Raelle (Taylor Hickson) to leave the Mycelium in “Book Club”, Willa (Diana Pavlovska) relents in “She Returns”. After giving Raelle a choice to stay with her, Willa gives a cryptic warning that the Mycelium will call on Raelle when the time is right. Though Raelle’s absence was a result of Hickson’s real-life injury, seeing Raelle finally reunite with the rest of her unit is a welcome sight.

Prior to Raelle’s return, the rest of the unit must prepare for the Camarilla’s impending invasion of the Cession. Abigail (Ashley Nicole Williams) tells Scylla (Amalia Holm), still desperately trying to contact Raelle, that she’s a part of their unit. Though that had become apparent over the past couple of episodes, hearing Abigail confirm it and officially accept Scylla despite their tense history is very heartwarming. Once most of the unit is gathered, they once again split up to deal with the invasion.

Abigail, Adil (Tony Giroux), and Anacostia (Demetria McKinney) attempt to seek out the Marshal and President Wade but find the Camarilla and witch army forces making their way into the Cession. Despite their orders not to interfere, Abigail and Adil take out the Camarilla leader before Abigail gives a rousing speech to the army. Abigail has come a long way from the girl who would never disobey an order. The entire sequence is thrilling and the cadets’ reverence for Abigail is one of the episode’s highlights.

In Spain, Alder (Lyne Renee) continues to search for the remaining pieces of the first song. The shop owner, a former Camarilla member, reveals that two pieces of the song were never passed down. This leads Alder to seek Tally’s (Jessica Sutton) help at the episode’s end, telling her that she will need to see into the past to find them. Alder’s mission has been an interesting part of the season, and it will be fun to see her and Tally work together once again.

Meanwhile, Scylla reunites with Tally with the help of a crow. She has also gathered the dodgers from the paper factory, last seen in “Homo Cantus”. The reunion is short and sweet, but the group must help the council, who has been attacked by a traitor within. Tally and Scylla descend on the council’s meeting, where the Camarilla orders the cadets to move in on them. Scylla sacrifices herself, allowing the army to capture her to buy Tally time to rescue the council.

Tally soon finds that her work is ineffective against the Camarilla’s new armor, but Raelle makes her grand entrance and unleashes a witch bomb to save the day. The ensuing reunion between Tally, and later Abigail is emotional and worth the wait. The season has sorely been lacking the dynamic between the trio, and “She Returns” thankfully brings that dynamic back.

Scylla is also relieved to find out that Raelle has returned, but their long-awaited reunion must wait as the cadets inform her that nobody has come back alive from where she is headed. Scylla hopefully will be rescued quickly, and it will be great to see the full unit back together again as the final season moves closer to its conclusion.

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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