'Motherland: Fort Salem' Episode 3 Preview: 'A Biddy's Life' sheds light on Beltane and Scylla's mysterious past
'Motherland: Fort Salem' has been a revelation so far with a unique storyline that puts witches in the same league as superheroes. While tracing the journey of three talented witches who sign up to protect the nation against threats, the series also shows the training and the deadly foe they're up against.
The upcoming episode, 'A Biddy's Life' teases the arrival of new characters, new troubles, and Scylla's (Amalia Holm's) mysterious past. While there is enough from Episode 1 and 2 to show how romantically involved she is with Raelle Collar (Taylor Hickson), there's also enough to suggest Scylla as a manipulator. Her communication with the Spree in the final minutes of 'My Witches' serves as ample proof.
Ahead of the third episode, 'Motherland' dropped in a teaser and a sneak peek that sees the arrival of male witches in Fort Salem and one of them is connected to Scylla. It also teases that Tally (Jessica Sutton) meets her love interest in Kai Bradbury's Gerit Buttonwood. From the trailers, it does seem like romance and Scylla's storyline takes center stage.
The official synopsis of Episode 3, 'A Biddy's Life' reads: "On the eve of Beltane, male witches arrive at Fort Salem; Raelle learns more about Scylla's past; Alder leads an international military council of witches and is startled by a new crisis.
For those unfamiliar with Beltane, the May Day Gaelic festival is an important one in Irish Mythology, however, for the Wiccans, it's a lot more prominent as it marks the transition point from Spring to Summer on the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. Wiccaliving provides a more detailed description of the festival— "This is a heady time of lust, passion, and fertility, marking the return of vitality to both the Earth and the Sun. "
It also adds: "Beltane is a very sensual Sabbat in many Wiccan traditions, celebrating sexual energy and co-creation. Wiccan mythology holds that God and Goddess come together in a physical union at this time, having reached full maturity in their growth over the Spring."
"Their coupling ensures the continued propagation of all life, as now the God will be reborn of the Goddess after he dies in late Autumn. It also symbolizes the coming together of masculine and feminine energies at work in all creation."
Aside from Beltane and Scylla's storyline, the other plot coming into play is General Alder's (Lyne Renee) mounting pressure to eliminate the Spree. The synopsis hints at a new crisis that's still kept under wraps. As far as fan theories go, some fans actually believe the Spree are the good guys. The theory reads: "Either Scylla is gonna convert Raelle over to the Spree by the end, or Raelle is gonna convert Scylla over to the Army's side. Although I suspect that it will turn out that the Spree is somehow secretly the good guys."
Only time will tell how things unfold for the witches.
'Motherland: Fort Salem' airs 9 pm ET on Freeform.