3 Moments of Goodness from Salem’s Season 2 Finale “The Witching Hour” 

This show always surprises me and I love that. We see Anne choose the type of witch she wants to be, Mary give her life for the man she loves and the Countess make a fatal error in her quest to become the Devil’s consort.

John Jr. Kills the Countess

After her son is killed, Mary’s having some trouble finding the will to live. In attempting to save John Jr. from a horrible fate, she actually damns him to it. And she’s forced to watch as the Countess baptizes her son — killing the child she barely knew, but loved fiercely and having him be replaced by Lucifer.

Everything seems to be going according to Marburg’s plans until she finds out John Jr. doesn’t want her; he wants his mother. Mary’s meant to be his bride and no other woman will do. The Countess isn’t happy by this turn of events, but ever the loyal servant, she will do her duty. The problem? Mary wants no part in it. She tries to kill the Countess, only to have Anne save her mother. And they can’t let her die, because she’s a key piece in completing the Grand Rite and bring about hell on Earth.

Marburg thinks she may have found a solution to her Mary problem, though. She asks Sebastian to kill Mary and drain her blood so she can bathe in it. She thinks she’ll be able to convince John Jr. that Mary committed suicide and that he’ll want her at his side instead. But John Jr. sees through the ruse and stabs Marburg to death. In a truly ironic turn of fate, Sebastian locks his mother in her coffin as she re-awakens. I hope he keeps her in there for a long time. Maybe some time alone will teach her how to be a better mother.

Mary Gives Her Life for John’s

Sebastian took just enough blood from Mary to convince her mother that she’s dead. But he leaves enough so that Mary can make her way to John. For what purpose? To save him. She wasn’t able to do it in the Season 1 finale, but she accomplishes it in this one.

I’m not sure how or who will bring Mary back, but we know it will happen. Will it be John who manages to save her through the power of his love? I’m making it sound cheesy, but the writers could make it great. And will bringing her back from the dead change her in some way? Will she and John actually have a chance to be together? They have the worst timing of almost any couple on TV. It’s all a bit tragic, but at least Mary’s love didn’t cause her to turn on John, like Anne turned on Cotton.

Anne Enslaves Cotton

I never thought we’d see Anne turn from the light. Even Mary Sibley was surprised.

Mary: “The world is a much darker place now that your light has grown as dim as the rest of ours.

Anne doesn’t really have that many options, though. She was born into witch royalty and over the course of this season has really come into her powers. She was pressured by both Mary and the Countess, but she was determined to take her own path. She wouldn’t be bullied, until Cotton’s life was on the line. Anne felt forced to give John Jr. over to the Countess in order to keep Cotton safe. And in “The Witching Hour,” she feels forced into doing to Cotton what Mary Sibley did to George.

Can Anne recover from this? Cotton admitted that he loved Anne almost from the first time they met. He told her he needed time. He would’ve eventually declared himself if she let things take their natural course. But time was the one luxury Anne didn’t have. Hawthorne had made his intentions clear, and as a woman, she would’ve eventually been forced into accepting him. But with a serious suitor vying for her affections, Anne could easily put Hawthorne off. All she had to do was put him under a love spell. Even Anne seemed surprised by how quickly he proposed, but that didn’t stop her from accepting his hand and marrying him.

But if she truly loves Cotton, how can she do this to him? He seemed willing to accept that she was a witch, but thought it important that they get out of Salem. Anne, tired of being controlled by others — and especially men — decides to take fate into her own hands. It was shocking to see her feed Brown Jenkins to Cotton and I can’t imagine how awful his existence will be until (or if) she comes to her senses. If she truly loves Cotton, I think she’ll eventually see the error of her ways.

Questions

Who knew Sebastian was capable of unconditional love? He’s suffered greatly because his mother never truly loved him, but it was a nice surprise to see him help Mary.

John Jr. will only accept Mary as his mate, so I’m guessing he’s got a plan to get her back. But even if he does, how will he convince Mary to go along with it?

Is Tituba dead? She definitely lost her eyes to those birds in the attack, but I’m not convinced she’s fone. She’s known almost nothing but suffering and I feel like that’s not done yet.

What’s next for Mercy? She’s missing part of her finger (again) and was rightfully turned out by Marburg. Now she must fend for herself, but can she count on her old allies? Those men are spelled, but how long will they help her? And will she be able to recruit others who truly want to help her become Queen of the Night once more? Probably not if she keeps killing innocent children.

What’s to become of Isaac? He knows that Mercy was responsible for Dolly’s death so I’d like to see him take a much more active role in taking Mercy down.

Catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 of Salem on Amazon and iTunes.