Motherland: Fort Salem Review: The New FreeForm Drama Struggles To Cast a Spell

I’ve always been intrigued by witchcraft and its history. I’ve visited Salem, MA and I’ve taken a few ghost tours. I’ve had my fortune told to me by a tarot card reader, and I’m a huge fan of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I even have my very own black cat! My love of witchcraft had me so excited to watch Motherland: Fort Salem. 

The show follows a universe where, instead of being persecuted, witches joined together with the US government to use their powers to fight within wars. During this show, the enemy that seemed to be the focus of the military’s attention was called the Spree. I have to admit that they did a good job within the opening scene of conveying just how powerful this enemy is. The scene itself was jarring to watch as a member of the Spree seemed to cast a spell which caused all of the humans within earshot to climb to the highest ledge within a mall and jump to their deaths. It was a very powerful opening scene and unfortunately it all went downhill from there. 

There are a few tropes within this show that seem unnecessary. For example, there are three female protagonists and they all have drastically different personalities. These differences cause them to get into disagreements within the episode, but by the end of the episode they learn that the best thing for them to do is work together. I’m not sure how long this series plans on being, but if they were going to follow this cliché of different personalities, I almost wish they didn’t resolve their differences so quickly. It would have been interesting to watch the girls struggle through their differences for a bit longer before recognizing the strengths of each other. 

Another trope that is used within this episode is the military regiment trope. Every single show that displays the army / military regiment is very similar and accurate to the US military, which usually works well. Now, I’m not saying that it doesn’t work well here, but I was really hoping for something different during the training montage. These soldiers are all witches, and I was expecting something a little more unique. Instead, I got the scene of the person climbing over a wall in the mud while it’s raining. You know, that scene that seems to be within every military training movie. 

There are important reveals that are done too early. Again, I’m not sure how many episodes this series will have, but if they plan on having more than five episodes, there are a few things they could have stretched out. Within the first episode there was an intimate sex scene with one of the main protagonists. Since the audience had only just met the characters within that episode, I feel like that interaction wasn’t as powerful as it could have been if they waited just one more episode to show that. The bigger reveal, which definitely should have been a few more episodes in, is that the girl that the main protagonist had sex with is a Spree. There were so many details already handed to me that I had no yearning for more. 

Overall, I found Motherland: Fort Salem entertaining enough to watch, but it left me wanting more. The show does a little too much hand holding for my liking but maybe it’ll improve as it goes along. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for something witchy to watch, I’d recommend that you check out The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix. If you’re looking for a watered-down version of that show, that has military drill montages and a PG-13 lesbian sex scene, then this is definitely the show for you. 

Motherland: Fort Salem airs Wednesday nights on FreeForm, and is streaming on the FreeForm app. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxC_UpC0iyk