Motherland: Fort Salem Review: My 3 Dads (Season 2 Episode 6)

Raelle and Tally visit the Cession, while Adil accompanies Abigail to her grandmothers on Motherland: Fort Salem Season 2 Episode 6, “My 3 Dads.”

Motherland: Fort Salem continues to out-do itself week after week, upping the ante and the stakes. Typically, even in a 10 episode season, there’s at least one filler episode, but that has yet to occur for the show. And it doesn’t look like there’s going to be one anytime soon, considering the season is almost over.

“My 3 Dads” will go down as one of the top two episodes of the season, and that’s only because we have four more to go. Otherwise, it would take the cake. It’s the tipping point of the season; storylines are getting amped up, big revelations occur, and a choice to decide who the real evil is, Alder or Nicte, is introduced. Sides will be picked

Not to come off as a psychopath, but it’s exhilarating for Alder to finally get a piece of what’s rightfully been coming to her. Even though Nicte Batan’s reveal as the Spree leader is one that was easily guessed from the second or third episode, I still live for it.

Through Tally’s visions, it’s clear as day that Alder, with her careless actions, is the one who enacted the beginning of the spree. Alder’s heartlessness and carefree use of Nicte’s work to murder innocent witches creates a fire inside Nicte, one that has continued to burn for hundreds of years.

Since then, Alder has done her best to keep Nicte a secret from the world, but she’s about to come back tenfold, and frankly, Alder isn’t prepared for what’s in store.

It’s going to be invigorating to watch Alder and Nicte eventually battle one another, assuming that the showrunners of Motherland: Fort Salem truly love fans. The battle between the two would be one for the ages and would be the first time showcasing the exponential power that they both possess. 

Nicte’s puppeteering is impressive, to say the least. Alder likes to think that she’s the strongest witch because she’s one of the oldest and has the biddies on her side, but that’s no more. Nicte’s level of puppeteering seems to be more powerful, given the distance between the two and her lack of support witches, like Alder’s biddies.  While Alder may not admit to knowing that it’s Nicte behind the attack, there’s nobody else on the spree side who’s powerful enough to pull that level of work off. Even the off-canon instructor is well aware of the level of work being administered, and you can see the fear in her face. 

The visit to Raelle’s hometown is much appreciated and is one of the main attributes to this episode being top two. Introducing Willa’s best friend into the mix is the perfect way to begin the mother talk and allows viewers to get an insight into Raelle’s life before conscription. 

Besides Willa and Raelle, Quinn is the first healer on the show to be seen practicing how Raelle was taught, and all fingers are crossed that we will get to touch bases with her again. We’ve never dove into the origins of Raelle’s powers and what substantial benefit or added strength there could be from the spell being administered in that manner. So, I hope this is the intro to furthering that backstory.

One major moment on “My 3 Dads” is the revelation that the dead must answer when called to hollowed ground, and Quinn’s face showcases her curiosity well. It’s understandable that Raelle wants to believe that her mother doesn’t want to talk to her after Samhain, but Quinn’s comment barely gets through to her. Instead of Raelle moving on so quickly it would have been nice to see her question what Quinn means by her statement because her mother being alive is basically thrown right in her face. 

Abigail’s visit with her family goes just about how you can imagine it would, and I love her to death, but Tally and Raelle are what make the episode great. Their hometown visit as a pair is wholesome fun that I wish hadn’t been cut short by a Camarilla attack.

Motherland: Fort Salem is a show about war, which means that most of the time, there is some kind of drama, stress, or battle that needs addressing. So, it’s not taken for granted when an episode is spent giving the audience deep character moments and sentimentality.

My expectations for Abigail’s fathers was set pretty high, and were nowhere near met. It could just be another moment to put down the men of the show, but all three fathers seem to be basic, annoying, and unloving people that don’t seem worthy enough to be part of the Bellweathers. Not one of them is remotely a father figure or acts like Abigail is a daughter they love, which is despicable.  

Along with Abigail’s fathers being a disappointment, none of the men chosen for her to pick through for handfasting look or act like they deserve to be there. The only two men worthy of Abigail are Adil and Gregorio, who should be with Tally instead. 

There isn’t any natural continuation for Tally’s storyline, which unfortunately makes sense because it feels like she gets put on the backburner the most out of the main three. Tally is a great supporting character to Abigail and Raelle, but she is more than that.

Tally has showcased her abilities before, letting it be known that she’s powerful, but it feels like she hasn’t gotten anywhere. I love the Nicte reveal, but it’s a missed opportunity for Tally’s vision storyline, especially when she spends so much of her own time on others. Her kindness is often taken for granted, even if it’s not on purpose.

While Nicte’s reveal as the spree leader isn’t super shocking, it will be interesting to learn how she’s been living all these years. If she’s as powerful and old as Alder, then how come she hasn’t aged without using biddies of her own? Is it because she’s using work that isn’t canon? Answers are much needed. 

Other Thoughts:

• Minerva is not as intimidating as she’s teased about being and seems to paint Petra in a worse light than her. At least Minerva approves of Abigail and can see how strong she is.
• Adil has been a personal favorite since he was introduced, but his inability to be intimidated by the Bellweathers increases my love significantly. Not everyone would be able to endure the prodding without getting irritated.
• It’s heartbreaking for Scylla to find Tiffany’s parents because it’s triggering for her and more than likely reminds her of her parents. But, she overcomes it and puts her mom pants on to put a brave face on for Tiffany.
• Gregorio sticking up for Adil with the snobby High Atlantic boys is a nice bonding moment. Adil won’t say anything, but Gregorio knows the type of man he is, which is certainly better than those snobs. 

What did you think of this episode of Motherland: Fort Salem? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Motherland: Fort Salem airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on Freeform.

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