Meredith Quill April 27, 2015 Share April 27, 2015 Episode Synopsis: Following Mary’s public chastening, the recently-minted Magistrate Hathorne steps up his bid to wrest power over the citizenry of Salem from her, forcing Mary to once again compel her bewitched husband to take action. When Hathorne levels a not-so-veiled threat against Anne Hale – which he mitigates with an unappealing solution - it prompts the young Witch to seek Mary’s council. She receives sound advice... but it comes at a fearful and unappealing cost. Mercy Lewis’ grisly preparations to enact her revenge reach new heights, drawing two reluctant participants closer in the process, and forcing the hand of one of her increasingly tenuous allies. Meanwhile, as John Alden continues to pursue his righteous task, his search for answers yields valuable results, and Mary takes the fight directly to her newest foes... with surprising results. Link to comment
Bort May 4, 2015 Share May 4, 2015 Ugh, somebody please make Mercy stop. And would it kill her to find something to wear besides that burned, corpse-stank dress she's been wearing since last season? Dolly can't spare an outfit? Anne is headed down a dark path. Yet another cute widdle animal has perished at her hands. Witches aren't supposed to kill their own familiars, are they? LOVED the Mary/Countess scene. The chemistry and talent between those two actresses was electric. I really thought they had managed to come to a truce. They got me there. Because George. I was kind of cracking up at his utter stupidity at how he kowtows to Mary's death threats against him when he should well know that she needs him alive or she has no power in Salem at all. Then the countess turns him into the world's most grotesque drinking fountain. Shiiiiiiiiiit. Panicky Mary will be a new version of her that we have yet to see. 2 Link to comment
thuganomics85 May 4, 2015 Share May 4, 2015 Mary's kid really is creeping out, between him freaking out poor Anne, and especially the hint that he might have been watching Mary having sexy times with the doctor last week. Between him and The Countess' son, this really must be case of sons of witches, have bizarre feelings for their mothers. Yikes! Oh, Jenkins! Should have known you weren't going to last long. Anne is so freaked out over getting exposed and the idea of marrying Hawthorne is understandably creepy, that she is willing to make that sacrifice, in order to make Cotton fall in love with her. It's too bad it had to come to that, because giving time, I think he was getting there. He does have feelings for her, it's just that he is... well, Cotton. A bit out there. Plus, the whole Alden having a knife to his back, wasn't helping things. The Mary/Countess face-off was pretty great. Janet Montgomery and Lucy Lawless seemed to be having fun. Should have known The Countess was up to something. She might have just screwed up George so much, that Mary could lose her position in Salem. At least Issac has been freed from Mercy's clutches. Of course, I'm sure she's still going to make things hell on Earth for everybody. 2 Link to comment
Bort May 4, 2015 Share May 4, 2015 Mary's kid really is creeping out, between him freaking out poor Anne, and especially the hint that he might have been watching Mary having sexy times with the doctor last week. Oh yeah, that! Mary, if you're going to be having sex so wild that you're screaming (way to go, Doc!), lock the door. Maybe in the past, you didn't have to bother but you already know your kid is a creepster, shove a dresser in front of it if there are no door locks. Link to comment
PinkRibbons May 4, 2015 Share May 4, 2015 (edited) If Mary's smart she'll have George's will saying that he leaves everything to his "nephew", which will leave Mary with some of her clout as his guardian. I mean, if the will doesn't outright leave everything to her. She might be able to keep the Sibley seat in the Selectmen warm for Little John, but if she becomes a widow and there's no Sibley heir for the spot, she's SOL. I loved Mary vs. the Countess. For one thing, Lucy Lawless's height and bearing sort of immediately make her more more regal-looking than Mary which is quite a feat considering the authority Mary usually wears. I'm not a big Mary fan so I was glad that after her gross advice to Anne, by the end of the episode that same plan backfired on her -- marry a powerful man and use him, but once he isn't there anymore... On the other hand I do like that Mary seemed to have some compassion for Anne when it came to marrying Hathorne. Clearly she was thinking of her own experiences. Poor Anne. I really hope this spell isn't going to go all The Craft and have Cotton going so insane for her that he loses all reason. Edited May 4, 2015 by PinkRibbons 1 Link to comment
Evie May 4, 2015 Share May 4, 2015 Poor Anne. I really hope this spell isn't going to go all The Craft and have Cotton going so insane for her that he loses all reason.I don't forsee the spell ending well. The use of "mad" in the spell wasn't reassuring. I love Cotton but he's already a little crazy. I did love Mary's assessment that he's married to his books, his bottle and his self-pity. Then Cotton backing that up with his first words to crazy John being about the abuse of his books. This overall was probably one of my favorite episodes. Lots of creepy moments. Mary vs. the Countess was worth the wait. Was that Anne that John was watching? Has he figured out that she's a witch? I'm not down with the animal sacrifices, but I do feel for Anne and her predicament. Aside from Mercy, I find myself sympathizing with the female witches at times just for having to deal with Puritan society. Link to comment
Ravenya003 May 5, 2015 Share May 5, 2015 Dear show, A picture is HUNG on the wall. A person is HANGED by the neck. Also annoying: the word "hive". Is there something wrong with "coven"? Also, Mary refers to herself as a "Samhain" which I assume is their word for "leader" even though it's a Gaelic festival and pronounced "so-ween". Sorry, it just bugs me. Other than that, I'm glad they finally brought Mary and the Countess together. It makes for a great sense of "immovable object meets unstoppable force", though I like to think that both are seriously underestimating Anne. She has the youth of the former and the birthright of the latter. Something tells me she's a greater threat than either of them realize. Which is more than I can say for Mercy - she reminds me of Harmony on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - totally convinced that she's evil, but more of a mild inconvenience to those who have the actual power. Lucy Lawless is a great addition to the cast. She towers over Mary, plus she brings her Xena credentials. I loved that she was casually strolling through Mary's house while carrying on a conversation with her on board the ship, with neither incarnation particularly distracted by the other's activities. Mary is right to be scared. I feel a bit sorry for John Alden; it's doesn't seem the writers aren't particularly interested in him any more. What I do love about witch stories is that they are by necessity so female-centric. Everything at this stage revolves around Mary, Tituba, Anne and the Countess (and Mercy, I suppose). Of course, if you're going to use the Biblical definition of the witch as opposed to the pagan one (see also: the new season of "Penny Dreadful") it's all seeped in irony considering that all these women are working towards a singular purpose: not the accumulation of their own power, but the arrival of the very masculine devil. It's almost a shame really: so much agency, so much power, so much commentary on the restrictions their gender puts upon them -- and yet when you get down to it, it's all about (and for) a fallen angel. 3 Link to comment
Advance35 May 5, 2015 Share May 5, 2015 I can't believe I'm going to say this but one of the most interesting aspects to me this season, is how Anne Hale's situation continues to evolve. She is in such a vastly different place than where she began. She is (supposedly) one of the more powerful witches but at the same time we are being shown that she is dangerously naive and vulnerable. To men as Hawthorne showed us but also to the other witches who play on her vulnerability and her sheltered history. Mary now bullies her, coerces her, and spies on her (bespelling her diary was clever). And how freaky was Mary's son telling Anne she's going to burn one day and he's curious what her hair will smell like then? I hope he's wrong. She's also intimidated by (with good reason) The Countess. The Countess so far doesn't seem like she's on a seek and destroy mission like she is with Mary but maybe she thinks Anne is someone she can amuse herself with before ripping her apart. The only person that actually has her best interest at heart is Cotton and he's got MASSIVE problems of his own. Can't wait to see what happens next. 1 Link to comment
BigBlueMastiff May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 (edited) Loved Tituba's warning to Mary re: recognizing and learning their history, which came to fruition with the arrival of the Countess. Mary is so arrogant she can't see her nose to spite her face (I think that's the phrase), to think that she was equal to the Countess and then to see the havoc wreaked on her husband. I think he's really a goner, and it will be interesting to see Mary's next moves. Add me to the list of Mercy haters, and if what they showed in the preview for next week is true, ugghhh. We need a Mercy killing. SO sad to see Brown Jenkins go, what happens to a witch when they lose their familiar? Love this show, the strong female cast, the story lines, so nice to see women not just being used as male drapery. Edited May 6, 2015 by BigBlueMastiff 2 Link to comment
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