Out to sea, a ship is becalmed and everyone on board is
ill – not the most pleasant sea voyage. And to make it even less fun, there’s a
witch hunter on board and he is so very very very sure that there’s a witch on
the ship who is responsible for all the trouble even as the captain points out
that they have already checked everyone.
In Salem, Mary displays Rose’s decapitated head to
Magistrate Hale and makes it clear she is tired of his shenanigans. She won’t
have any more going behind her back, she is the boss, she is in charge, she
will lead the Gran Rite and anyone who disagrees with that can also face the
chopping block. Hale kneels and abases himself, swearing loyalty and obedience
and promising to spread word to the others that Mary is the boss. Now,
treachery addressed, they’ve still got 8 more innocents to kill and they’re on
a deadline. Mary, being all kinds of efficient, has a plan to kill 3 more off.
Over to the Hale household and Mrs. Hale tries to explain
the Magistrate’s odd behaviour and disappearing to Anne – daddy is a spy for an
undisclosed foreign power (not the French, after all, there are limits
apparently) either way it doesn’t matter – piffling politics. Anne objects to
treachery being so easily dismissed and Mrs. Hale responds with a swift
backhand – apparently calling the traitor a traitor is naughty. Anne is
scornful of her mother (and calls her a liar) for being in such denial – but
Mrs. Hale presents her reasons: once you know something, you can’t unknow it.
Hale himself is at the brothel enjoying watching 3 of the
women make out with each other until he gets a message on the skin of one of
them; it’s from the ship, from the witch on board who is sure they are hidden
and can keep the witch hunter becalmed. Hale wants to prevent the hunter from
arriving but he hasn’t bothered to warn Mary the hunter may show up; Mab
(fellow witch and brothel madam) disagrees but Hale is still playing his little
games.
Back to Mary and Tituba
and the problem of finding out where John has stashed the Malum which is
super duper important. Mary has the great idea of entering John’s dreams.
Tituba isn’t a fan because a) it’s dangerous and b) she thinks Mary wants to do
it so she can have sexy times in John’s head. She overrules Tituba (of course)
and goes into John’s head… to have sex
She breaks the dream when she scratches his chest – and
John wakes with her nail marks on him.
On the ship, the witch hunter finds his witch – the
captain. After a bit of torture he breaks the spell that holds the winds, kills
him and takes over the ship. Sailing west
To Mercy, who is sharing witchy tricks with her friends
(and we learn one of them, Dolly, is being set up with a Joe Barker and she
isn’t a big fan of the idea). Mercy’s little tricks do make Dolly leave in fear
(under the excuse she has to go to her “bundling” with Joe). Mercy is all kinds
of elated that her spell worked and is gleeful with Mary.
John visits Cotton who is indulging in his usual pastimes of crisis of self-doubt heavily mixed with immense daddy issues. John does think that Cotton’s constant questioning and doubts can be an asset though before they go on to the topic of dreams – and Cotton has a big, elaborate theory about dreams, but largely that they are tempting desires you should probably choose not to follow.
And to the bundling – a bundling apparently involves
Dolly and her intended spending the night together in the same bed – but sewn
into bags so they can’t do anything naughty (the fact they’re sharing a room
with Joe Barker’s parents would probably be quite inhibiting too). Things are
horrendously awkward until Mercy’s spell kicks in and Dolly sees Joe covered in
boils and then something moving in the bag with her. She screams and gets up,
tearing the bag, which annoys Mrs barker because that teenage humping bag is a
family heirloom (which means generations of horny teenagers have been pressed
together in that bag… there is not enough bleach in the world. I think I’d get
out of bed screaming too).
Mary goes back into John’s dreams for more sex – but at
least remembers her mission this time and asks where the Malum is. She sees
they’re rolling around on Giles’s grave and concludes this is where he’s hidden
the Malum. She wakes and Tituba warns her what a bad idea all this dream sexing
is.
The next day, Dolly’s mother and Mrs. Barker snarl at
each other in the street – apparently the Barkers have a bad reputation and
Dolly’s mother plays on it (though she’s still angry at Dolly for ruining the
match – she may not like the Barkers but they have money). Mercy is furious at
the way Dolly is treated.
John is feeling some of the aftereffects of the dream sexing – hallucinating naked women and passionately kissing a very surprised Anne Hale. He rushes to the brothel and orders “at least 3” sex workers. He ends up with 5 and doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself very much.
Next stage in Mary’s plan is to show Mercy how to leave her body, to go to Dolly’s mother (Mrs. Trask) and terrify her, making her see Mrs. Barker. After the argument in the street and their unpopularity, the Barkers will be accused as witches. Mercy gets the body jumping thing quite well but messes up her instructions – having Mrs. Trask slit her own throat rather than scare her. Not quite to plan…
Mary can’t resist dropping in John’s dreams again – but
it all goes wrong. First Anne joins them, then she flashes back to the often
hinted of horror in John’s past, with him running through the woods murdering
men, soldiers, trying to escape him – and in the dream Mary (in a decidedly
unpuritan dress) also runs from him in terror. She escapes only when Tituba
manages to force her awake. Tituba comforts her but is also annoyed that Mary
went back and left Mercy alone to walk outside her body for the first time.
While Tituba goes to get the Malum, John wakes all agitated and goes to see Mary – one look and they throw themselves at each other. Poor Tituba’s night doesn’t get better because while collecting the Malum she hears of Mrs. Trask’s death. Aie Tituba, having to run herd on these damn fools all the time. Tituba is not impressed with Mercy’s little improvisation; but Mercy makes her case – she’s sick of the girls of the town being beaten and used, they won’t take it any more. Tituba seems to have sympathy with that.
In town the mob carries out Mrs. Trask’s body and tries
to break down the Barkers’s door – with fever is high and everyone saw Mrs.
Trask and Mrs. Barker fight. And John Alden isn’t around to play the voice of
reason – which leaves it to Cotton to demand proof and demand that Magistrate
Hale intervene. Hale is quite happy to let it continue, of course, and uses the
excuse of not being able to stop the mob. Cotton speaks up and convinces
everyone to put the Barkers in the gaol so they can then seek evidence and
proof (this speech is awfully overwrought); Magistrate Hale is forced to agree.
Gloria is very impressed afterwards and offers sex – which he refuses because
he doesn’t want to be her customer any more, he loves her. He promises it will
be different after the witch hunts are finished.
The witch hunter from the boat arrives in town with lots
of ominous music and fog effects.
Back at the Sibley house, Mary pushes John away having
sudden doubts. He parrots back Cotton’s theory about dreams – only he wants to
live in them – but Mary isn’t willing to be so simplistic. John doesn’t see any
problem – Mary doesn’t love her husband, doesn’t have kids and they don’t care
what others think. But she says no, he has to go, it’s not possible. When he
says no, she again refuses “I’ve gotten all I need from you”; John asks what
she’s hiding and she refuses to say, so he leaves in a sulk. She collapses in
tears when he’s gone.
Cotton is distracted by a bonfire – the Barkers have all
been burned as witches. He questions who authorised that after his grand speech
– the new witch hunter did. His father, Increase Mather (yes, his name is
Increase). Increase is not impressed by his son’s questioning or learning or
reason, nor does he care if the Barkers are innocent – God can judge them and
give them a trial, they don’t have to. He sees Cotton’s doubt as appalling and
Innocent is far happier to see hundreds of innocents die. Increase treats
Cotton like an unruly boy, a child. Cotton’s daddy issues are going to go
through the roof!
John arrives at the bonfire and Isaac seems to be losing it – he tells John he thought he would save them but now thinks they may not deserve saving.
Increase visits Mary to critique some art and catch up –
he and Mary are old friends (he definitely has a thing for her). He’s just come
back from the court of the King who has claimed all of America and more wars
against the “heathen savages”. And now he’s here to burn lots of witches and he
does want to see his friend George – Mary’s husband.
Mrs. Hale is, well, not an interesting character, but
represents and interesting viewpoint that has to stem from the position of
women in her society, as has been a repeated issue presented in Salem. Does she
suspect terrible things about her husband? Of course she does. But what can she
do about it? She has to live with him – she has no real option of leaving him
and if he is brought to justice for any reason then what happens to her? Mrs.
Hale’s fate (and relatively comfortable life and position) are inherently
linked to her husband. If you can do nothing about it, then ignorance and
denial is the easier path rather than finding the truth and then having to
ignore something unforgiveable.
Again we have a reminder of women’s position in this time
and place – with Dolly forced into a marriage. Not just forced into a marriage
but it’s clear her family regard the Barker’s with contempt – but they’re
willing to sell their daughter for the money the family has. And we see this as
Mercy’s fundamental motivation – she is pushed to witchcraft and magic by rage
over everything she and girls like her have to tolerate and endure. Through
powerlessness she seeks the only power available to her that lets her vent a
whole lot of rage.
John’s dream seems to imply Native Americans were
involved in John’s murders somehow – I fear more badness on the horizon.
John’s “let’s just live for us” is also something that
needs unpacking – because there have been clear consequences for people in this
society before – Isaac was flogged and branded, for example. Maybe John can be
spared that because of his position and being a man – but even aside from the
witch element, could Mary ever afford to be that cavalier?
