S02.E07: The Beckoning Fair One

[Meredith Quill]

Episode Synopsis:

 

Mary resorts to drastic measures in a bid to attain valuable information for use in combating the Countess, and she tries to shore up her political hold over Salem with a move that could either assure her success or seal her fate. As Anne Hale continues her Witch’s tutorial, she learns that getting what she desires comes at a cost, and that in order to continue on her seemingly powerful path she must still remain supplicant to others. As the Countess and her son, Sebastian, continue to work their plan, they are presented with a rare glimpse into their enemy’s stronghold where a fascinating introduction is made, and their cause is made stronger by a new but unpredictable ally. Wainwright returns to Salem having gained some measure of information that may shed light on the town’s particular strain of plague, but further investigation reveals shocking results. Meanwhile, Tituba makes plans for her recently captured prey, and Cotton gets a surprising visit.

[PinkRibbons]

Episode Promo:

[Bort]

Ok, so during the dinner, someone mentions how great the roast is and I wondered why the roast was white, because I guess I was expecting a beef roast. Then I assumed it was a pork roast. Nope! George roast! Ew! Mary's face at this revelation was great.

Mary does the greatest expressions and I especially liked hers all through this week's episode. Particularly during her scene with the Countess at the crag. Boy, was that the most fake ass-kissingest scene ever, or what?

Does the Countess's and Mercy's dependence on blood to stay good-looking make them vampires, essentially? Because it looked like Mercy pretty much ate that kid that she lured away. She's a messy eater, by the way. Wasted a lot of food.

[thuganomics85]

 

Ok, so during the dinner, someone mentions how great the roast is and I wondered why the roast was white, because I guess I was expecting a beef roast. Then I assumed it was a pork roast. Nope! George roast! Ew! Mary's face at this revelation was great.

Ha!  That totally went over my head, but that makes so much sense now.

 

Resurrected Increase is such a treat.  Stephen Lang is so much fun to watch.  Loved watching Mary toy with him though, after everything he did.  But I do hope he's allowed to talk to Cotton soon, because their relationship was always insane.  And I do hope we get a confrontation with The Countess, because I think Lang and Lucy Lawless would bring it.

 

Aww, Cotton and Anne are engaged!  Would be sweeter if you know, Cotton wasn't under a love spell, and Anne said yes in order to distract him from the book.  Plus, between Increase and The Countess already penciling in Cotton for a future death, things aren't looking good for him.

 

So, Mary's son isn't a mere warlock, but seems to actually have the dark lord in him.  That explains a lot of things.  The Countess is still sitting pretty, but I wonder if she overplayed her head, by basically taunting Mary about how The Doctor will be the first to go (and she didn't see happy about Cotton either.)  True, Countess has the power and seems like everyone is after Mary now, but when her back is against the wall, Mary seems to find a way to surprise people.

 

Weird seeing Mercy look normal now.  Seems like she and The Countess' son aren't getting along.

 

Tituba has Alden tied up, and seems to have a thing for him, which is kind of weird, but I guess isn't really that out there for this show.

 

With Alden indisposed, I'm now kind of digging Cotton and The Doctor as BFFs.

Edited May 18, 2015 by thuganomics85

[PinkRibbons]

Man, that Witch's Teat on Anne is a lot more teaty than I remember Mary or Tituba's being! I hope someone will teach her a glamor to shield it before she gets to the wedding night. I wonder if the Countess is planning on getting Anne on her side, since she seems to have such regard for old bloodlines. Otherwise her planned hit on Cotton is going to send Anne right to Mary, and from what Tituba said (and has been saying, and as we know, Tituba's pretty much always right), Anne sounds like she's going to be a very dangerous player soon, if not already.

 

I've been waiting since last episode to see the reveal of Mercy's "great beauty" and was not surprised to find out it's just the old Mercy with longer hair. But then when it turned out that she would be used to lure children, I was delighted. Kudos to the writers for using Elise Eberle's really distinct looks to their advantage. She looks exactly like something evil from a fairy tale. I'm not sure how to describe it...I guess she struck me as exactly what I think the witch from Hansel and Gretel would look like when enticing children into her cottage, before you found old she was old and ugly. This very wholesome appeal, like a china doll, with just a hint of crazy in the eyes to balance it out.

[cheatincheetos]

Does the Countess's and Mercy's dependence on blood to stay good-looking make them vampires, essentially? Because it looked like Mercy pretty much ate that kid that she lured away. She's a messy eater, by the way. Wasted a lot of food.

Since they mentioned the soul object this episode that maintains her immortality, one could consider her a lich as well.

[Ravenya003]

That was the best dinner party ever. The Countess and Mary's silent telepathy, the clueless men, the way Mary reacted to the news of what they were really eating, the Countess's reaction to Tituba and then Mary's son - fantastic stuff. When it's not obsessed with gross-out bits, this show really knows how to bring the clever/creepy. And I LOVE how both Mary and the Countess were using the dinner party as a distraction for their servants (Increase and Anne respectively) to do other things.

 

I'l admit I laughed when the Countess and her son returned to the ship to find Mercy had splayed blood and gore all over the place. No matter who she's working for, the girl is a total pain in the ass. Good luck with her Countess, and maybe you'll realize something of what Mary has had to put up with over the last one and a half seasons. 

 

Nice to have Increase back, however temporarily. And the visuals on Mercy tempting the little girl away with an orange were stunning. Like something straight out of a Grimms fairy tale. 

 

Not totally surprised about the revelation about who Mary's son really is, and I loved the Countess's giddy excitement out on the street. Mary is smart, but she obviously doesn't fully understand what's going on right under her roof. 

 

Poor John Alden. He was arguably the protagonist of the show last year (or at least co-lead) and now he's tied up in a weird basement. 

[BigBlueMastiff]

 

Man, that Witch's Teat on Anne is a lot more teaty than I remember Mary or Tituba's being!

This grossed me out more than the roast, ewww.

 

Do we know why Tituba is holding Alden? I'll admit, I was not expecting Mary's son to be Damian, nice touch. The Increase/Mary scenes were gold. Countess needs to get her comeuppance, can't wait.

[millennium]

"The Beckoning Fair One" is a very famous ghost story by an author named Oliver Onions.   Worth a read if you have an hour or so.

[Amberosia]

Sooo, who's got two thumbs and totally forgot Salem was up and running again? This gal!

 

On the positive side it allowed for marathon viewing on demand... on the negative side I'm hella late to the party, sparse as it may be, and I'm still an episode behind. Welp, lets play catch-up anyone, if no one minds too much, shall we?

 

Loved Mercy getting torched, so imagine my displeasure at her surviving it.  Boo. And just when I thought her special brand of whathtefuckery couldn't be anymore annoying then she start nibbling on Isaac, lopping of penises, and rasping all over the place. I couldn't take listening to that voice for one more episode (or looking at that face, for that matter), so I will be continually grateful to The Countess for fixing that for us. Poor dumb Dolly, though... And of course now that Mercy is all fixed, she's even nuttier than ever. Somehow I doubt The Countess will have nearly as much patience with her as Mary did, and she had the bitch burned alive. 

 

Speaking of crazy.... I don't think Anne's little spell really had to push Cotton very far to be so nutty. He was already almost there and his dad popping up at the end sure seemed like it pushed him the rest of the way. I shall see how that turns out shortly. 

 

So maybe someone can clear a little something up for me, perhaps it merely went over my head. Tituba in her taunting of John Aldan--- worst witch hunter ever even with a supernatural assist--- said that for now she was just using him to scratch an itch.  Am I wrong in assuming that means she's been taking a joyride on his disco stick? Is this this that whole indirect kissing thing? Yanno, like how if you take a drink from the same place someone else has its like an idirect kiss, is this her way of sleeping with Mary since she's on Mary's shit list these days, or does she really have a thing for John?

Edited May 25, 2015 by Amberosia

[Bort]

is this [Tituba's] way of sleeping with Mary since she's on Mary's shit list these days, or does she really have a thing for John?

Tituba using Alden as Mary's fuck-proxy is as good a theory as any, since A: EVERYBODY wants to bed Mary and B: I can't figure out what the point is of her holding Alden prisoner. It would make more sense to kill him. The only thing I can think of is she's waiting to spring him on Mary when it'll do the most damage.

[Amberosia]

I'm deeply intrigued by Tituba. Even with the old crones in the woods being dead as disco, she never seems to waver from her path. If Mercy were as focused as Tituba who knows what she could manage instead of being a thorn in assorted asses. Mary is focused, but she's also constantly distracted by matters of the heart.

[PinkRibbons]

I think that Mercy and her girls only killed two of the wood-crones, so there may be others left out there. I totally agree about Tituba though.