Salem: "Departures"
This episode was a bit ho-hum. Though some reasonably important stuff took place, it still felt as though it was mostly filler. Piecemeal filler at that, for the story was bouncing all over the place.
There were two main strands running through the episode: first that of George Sibley being transported to Boston (part of Mary’s plan to keep him away from Increase Mather) and Gloriana being accused of witchcraft as part of a plan to throw the Mather father/son duo off their game. Minor characters such as Isaac (branded F for fornicator), Mab (the brothel madam), and Petrus (the Mohawk guy in the woods) had supporting roles, as did Tituba and Anne, who are usually relegated to glowering in the background.
But I can’t understand why Mary wanted Increase Mather in Salem - presuming that it was she who summoned him, as seemed to be the case last week. So far he’s caused her nothing but a major headache, first in correctly identifying one of her coven and then in rescuing George from a painful death in the woods. Great plan Mary.
As repulsive as he is, I have to give George some begrudging respect for his on-going silent fight to win out over Mary. From the passive (listening in on her conversations) to the pro-active (taking a large splinter to his stomach and pulling out the toad familiar), he's not giving up. And considering that the witches are planning a Grand Rite that will claim a piece of America for the devil, it pays to keep in mind that we’re technically supposed to be on his side.
And that of Increase Mather, even though he’s in the running for world’s worst dad, even if he did seem to take Alden's words to heart in deciding to banish Gloriana instead of putting her on trial. Between the two of them, Cotton and Gloriana made it pretty darn clear to the entire community that they were an item (which throws Cotton’s standing among the townsfolk into serious doubt), and I suspect that Cotton is henceforth going to be torn between the expectations of his father and the sensibilities of his recently-admitted only friend. Who would have ever thought that the man who had poor innocent Bridget Bishop hanged would come across as this sympathetic?
On the other hand, we see John Alden make a pretty dark choice: encouraging Isaac to do nothing to help George Sibley. It was a sure-fire way to free Mary up for the future, but it was hardly the ethical thing to do. Yet the plot put poor underused Isaac in an interesting position by having him as the protectorate of the very man that branded his forehead, wrestling with temptation over whether or not to get him help once he was critically injured. One can’t help but feel that he agreed to transport George more for Mary’s sake, but having decided to leave George to his fate, he couldn’t withstand an interrogation from Increase. Or even mild questioning.
The timing surrounding the carriage crash/rescue party was a bit wonky. At least one night must have passed, but it appeared as though George had been waiting out there for just a few hours. Still, there were some nifty bits with the familiar being changed from a toad to an owl to guide Tituba to the crash site, and the situation that the episode ends on: George being placed into Increase’s care, with the paralysing potion set to wear off in just a few hours. Mary and Tituba will have to act fast on this one.
And on a minor note, Anne has decided to do something about her father. It involves divulging something to John Alden, but whether this is her genuinely trying to get to the bottom of things, or finding an excuse to spend time with her crush remains to be seen.
Miscellaneous
So the coven may have successfully had three innocent people executed last week, but now they’re down at least one of their own. Whatever else the show’s faults, I at least enjoy the fact that I’m never entirely sure who to root for.
Good to see ducking stools have finally made their appearance. It’s not a witch-hunting show without them.
Sad to see Gloriana go. She was a beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure, and - as her all-too-brief scene with Increase demonstrated - a brain as well. And she handled the body-search with as much dignity as she could muster.
What happened to that girl’s father of a few episodes ago? The drunk that Mercy accused in order to prevent him from selling her friend to the brothel? And are we ever going to get an explanation on how Mercy managed to get that snake out of her belly and turn up in Mary’s bedroom to laugh at her? What about the rest of the coven out in the woods? Do they have anything to say about Rose’s death? Or Mab’s?
Like I said, this episode was piecemeal, and there seemed to be no real fallout from last week’s triple burning. That sort of thing should have been a pretty big deal, but this week everyone was all business as usual. Hopefully things will pick up next week. All I ask for is a little continuity!