Papa Mather is here and he is on the hunt! The hunt for witches! He is disgusted at the state of Salem and is not going to stop ’til he fixes it. This worries Hale, but Mary tries to keep her cool. Papa Mather aka Stephen Lang aka Increase still is insisting to see his good friend, George Sibley (Michael Mulheren), but Mary keeps lying through her teeth, saying he is ill. How long is this ruse going to last?
Meanwhile, Incease’s beloved son is busy shlopping it up with his favorite whore, Gloriana (Azure Parsons). Unfortunately for them, Increase Mather is headed right for them. Cotton bumbly hides underneath the bed, seconds before his father bursts in. He sees Cotton’s bible, but Gloriana passes herself off as a devout woman. Ha! Increase is unconvinced, but finds the real witch in the house madam, Mab (Morgana Shaw)! He finds a hidden nook in her mantle where she kept casting stones. You can see the joy in his face when he pronounces that a witch hath been found!
Hale panics (of course), while Mary still keeps calm. She thinks Mab will remain quiet in her questioning. She is more worried about Increase realizing that George is under her spell. Oh, fat useless George. Mary calls upon Isaac to drive George to Boston to find a cure. She plays upon Isaac’s good-natured spirit to “help” him. As the carriage leaves, Alden meets Mary’s eyes across the way. They both are always lurking outside each other’s houses, staring across the way.
Cotton and Alden are drinking in the bar when Increase Mather shows up and insults Cotton while talking about how he admired Alden’s father. He then insists Cotton must speak to the town now to stand up to the face of sin. Cotton heads towards the door, but Increase stops him, saying he forgot his bible. Ominous music plays as Cotton grabs the bible from his father. I slap my face in annoyance. Way to go, Cotton. He is not the brightest in the book.
Hale meets with Mab in her cell. She promises not to speak a word about the hive. Everytime they say hive, it makes me think of all the witches as bees. Who is their queen? Hm. Hale presents her with a second plan to get through the torture. The next day, Mab is dunked in the water over and over again, while Increase demands a name of a witch. After several denials and “I know no others,” Mab gets the nod from Hale and stops the madness by accusing Gloriana! OF COURSE. Cotton freaks out as they grab Gloriana. He basically throws away everything he has done in the past eight episodes, saying they are doing the devil’s work, killing innocents. He begs his father to spare her. But, we all know Stephen Lang won’t. He slaps Cotton and they take Gloriana away.
Meanwhile, Isaac makes haste to Boston with a gagging George. He looks back to ask if he is alright, but then runs over a log, tipping the carriage. George, somehow, ends up away from the carriage, by a tree. His stomach wound is open and he removes the bewitched frog! Uh-oh! Issac later awakens, finds a lucid George, who tells him to go to town and find Increase Mather. George half-apologizes for what he did to Isaac and says he will repay him with gold. Run, he tells Isaac, and Isaac doth run!
Back in town, Cotton still pleads with his father. Doesn’t he realize its a lost cause with this guy? Increase ends up making Cotton do the “witch marking” examination. The inspection is weird and awkward as two men hold Gloriana down and Cotton inspects her body, one section at a time. Side Note: The actress that plays Gloriana kind of looks like Lindsay Lohan. Hm, weird. Anyways, no markings are found, but Increase still wants a trial, much to Cotton’s anger.
In Mary/Alden news, Mary opens a door and Alden busts in kissing her. She pushes him off her, saying she can never again, for she is married. Alden asks if that is the real reason, but she doesn’t really answer. Alrighty. Anne talks angrily about the trials, accusing her father of enjoying the trials and death. Then leaves the table when he questions her.
A drunk Cotton tells Alden to appeal to his father to save Gloriana. Alden walks into Increase’ chamber and is greeted by an immediate “no!” Increase, though, admits he knows Gloriana isn’t a witch and that he just wants to get her away from Cotton. Alden gives a speech about his father and love. Will it change his mind? As he leaves, he runs into Isaac, who tells him about Sibley’s situation. Alden tells him to say nothing to anyone. Isaac is all like, that’s murder, but Alden insists.
Later that night, Increase gives a verdict to the town about Gloriana. She isn’t a witch, but she is a sinner, so she will be banished from the town. Both she and Cotton freak out and act as if they have been given the death sentence. I think they should calm down. This is great. Why doesn’t Cotton just move to whatever new town she can go to? Hm. Well, crying Gloriana is carted out of Salem. Bye!
The bewitched frog that was inside George appears to Mary and she now knows he is free of his spell. She freaks out, but Tituba’s got it handled, bewitching an owl to take her to him. Meanwhile, Mab takes a black pill and kills herself in her cell.
Cotton and his father have a heart to heart wherein Increase explains he did this for the good of the town and the Mather name. Cotton claims to have loved Gloriana, but Increase doesn’t think its important. He runs into Isaac and questions him about George. Dumb Isaac reveals the truth to him, after hardly any prodding.
So, both Increase and Tituba are on their way to George. Surprisingly, Petrus (Christopher Berry), the weird-blind Seer gets there first, followed by Tituba. They feed George a magic pill and Tituba boasts, but then Increase arrives and determines George is not ill, but spelled! Uh-Oh!
Back in town, Anne goes to Alden’s house to tell him of her suspicions of her father. Mary watches, then sees Tituba returning without George. Tituba points across the way. Increase found George and in one day, he will awaken and reveal all. DOUBLE UH-OH!
What do you guys think is going to happen next? Comment below! See ya next week!
Salem airs on Sunday nights on WGN America at 10 pm ET/PT.
