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The Bellweather Unit’s on the run.
Shortly after they saved Fort Salem from the Camarilla’s witch plague, Abigail, Tally, and Raelle found themselves public enemies on Motherland: Fort Salem Season 2 Episode 10.
Life is never dull for that trio. Nor easy.
There had been highlights for the threesome during their first year at War College.
First, Raelle and her witch bomb became Alder’s secret weapon.
Next, after a couple of stumbles, Abigail took down a Camarilla compound with a big assist from the converted Adil.
Then, Abigail and Raelle captured the disguised Nicte Batan.
Finally, a spirited oratory by Tally revealed Alder’s darkest secrets and brought her down.
Sadly, they received no time to savor their accomplishments as the Camarilla, who had always been lurking in the background, attacked Fort Salem.
How did a bunch of humans with no powers slip onto a base full of witches and their defensive wards?
Good question, one that barely got answered on this episode.
Since Sterling, Anacostia’s old flame, turned up out of nowhere, he appeared to be a likely suspect as the Camarilla sympathizer.
But no, Anacostia discovered he was just an innocent stooge, whose name was used to smuggle two separate groups of Camarilla disguised as news crews onto the base.
Poor Penelope ended up the victim who was the source of the witch plague. And her own father was behind that.
V.P. Silver had seemed like a parent concerned that his daughter turned out to be a witch who was now going to be conscripted to fight for her country.
That certainly was understandable. What wasn’t comprehensible was that the man was willing to sacrifice his daughter to further turn public opinion against witches and force President Wade from office.
Yes, it turned out that he was in cahoots with Alban Hearst, who planted the witch plague on Penelope so she could inadvertently spread it about the base.
The Bellweather Unit was at the forefront of battling the Camarilla and the witch plague at Fort Salem.
Tally again proved herself a leader, as she used her scrying power to determine a spell that would overload the enemy’s stolen voice-box devices. That was what gave the witches a fighting chance.
Raelle discovered that her witch bomb could temporarily stymie the plague.
But it took Abigail to determine that she would have to kill Penelope using her water spout at the same time that Raelle used her weapon to eliminate the plague threat.
Poor Penelope. One of the few new characters introduced this season, and she ended up being a pawn in her father’s political ambition.
The death of this innocent also promises to haunt Tally, who served as Penelope’s mentor.
But the attack also decimated Fort Salem, in both the officer and lower ranks, with the Camarilla stealing dozens of witches’ voice boxes for future weapons.
The biggest loss (no offense to Penelope or the nameless ones) was Alder, who reverted to her natural age when her Biddies were infected with the plague.
It was a heartbreaking scene when members of the trio individually said their goodbyes to Alder before she joined the other dead witches inside the Mother Wall.
But the final scene would indicate that Alder is too good a character actually to stay dead. She’s got to find a better way to rejuvenate than having Biddies. That leaves her way too vulnerable.
So Petra already found herself in a war to fight against the Camarilla with a depleted force after the attack.
Nicte fought by her side and might have been willing to direct the Spree against the Camarilla as well.
Only Petra didn’t realize what a conspiracy she was up against. The news crew on base ostensively to interview Penelope filmed what appeared to be her execution by the Bellweather Unit.
Or at least that’s what humans who already had an anti-witch bias took away from that footage without being given any context.
Not realizing that Silver is working to undermine her, President Wade was more concerned with optics and was unwilling just to release the threesome that had just been attempting to end the threat of the plague.
Instead, she just wanted to step back from the Army witches who were defending her country and let things play out in the court of public opinion, where a trio of young witches didn’t stand a chance.
Fortunately, Petra had already come up with an alternate strategy featuring a very disparate group of assets. It made for a great caper sequence late in the finale.
After watching Adil get attacked by a pair of Camarilla, Khalida finally came off her nonviolence stance in a big way, incinerating one of them. So they were willing to help rescue Abigail. Scylla and Quinn also jumped on board.
First came a gash in the road, thanks to Adil and Khalida. Then Scylla used her Morgan’s Whisper to free the prisoners, including Nicte.
All of which resulted in an intriguing setup for the third and final season, with Tally, Abigail, Raelle, Nicte, Scylla, and Quinn on a disguised seniors bus headed for the Cession. So it will be the Army on the inside and the fugitives on the outside all ganging up against the Camarilla.
To revisit the now-fugitive unit’s trying year, watch Motherland: Fort Salem online.
Which member of the trio has come the furthest?
Will Petra be a sneakier leader than Alder?
How long before Alder resurfaces?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.