Salem Season 2 Review

Freshly getting off the season 2 finale of Salem, I had a little difficulty figuring out how I felt about the entire season overall. The first season was one of the greatest surprises I have ever experienced in a horror related television series being that the drama and story elements were just as beautifully executed as its scariest imagery. The first season also had an amazing season finale introducing a lot of potential for the forthcoming season. This lead to a pretty strong first set of episodes with Season 2 introducing quite a bit of potentially amazing stories and characters. 

Now, there is a lot that takes place this time round, so I won't be able to get into every single character's pros and cons, but I will mention the ones that stuck out to me. First off, we had a great villain debut with Countess Von Marburg slowly weaving into the story throughout other characters. I really liked this character in the beginning of the show as everyone and everything that related to her always pinned her as this powerful and terrifying entity (some of my favorite types of characters in general are ones that are hyped up by others in the story). 

John Alden's new path as a witch hunter was when I said "Yep, I'm loving this new season already" as it not only furthered his story in an interesting way, but let's face it; that's as badass as it gets. We got another new character in doctor Samuel Wainwright who I praised as representing the other side of the coin for Salem. We as the audience know of all the supernatural powers behind everything, but it was refreshing to see a man of science and medicine figure things out in his own way. 

My issues came with Mercy's introduction as this charred to a crisp, terribly and annoyingly voiced, and useless to the overall story individual. When you really break things down, Mercy had no place in this story as being anything significant whatsoever. Sure the Isaac-related plot heavily involved her, but I felt that the show placed a bit too much stake on her being an important piece to the puzzle in comparison to the more major plot lines. 

It was only when she eventually got cleaned up by Marburg that I felt her character to be more manageable, but I'm pretty sure it was just a visual improvement more than anything. What's that popular saying about polishing a turd again? Keep in mind that the actress who plays her is beautiful and talented, so the turd remark is aiming towards her storyline only. 

Another element that I disliked was Tituba's usefulness this time around. I was faced with another issue where I asked "What is the point of all of this in the long run?". The only difference with her is that I actually like the Tituba character as oppose to Mercy, so this was an issue of not fully utilizing a good character more than anything. 

The Countess' son became a total nuisance at times to watch as he offered hardly anything to the table where she is concerned. As a stand-alone entry to the show, he does nothing but comes across as a disappointment to Marburg, a recurring headache to Mary, and is seemingly constantly shifting sides between good and bad whenever it came to Mary's character. So, when you actually break things down for him, he really comes across as an annoying and confusing element to the story as well for the audience (starting to think the writers bit off more than they could chew this time around where characters are concerned). 

Anne Hale's evolution throughout this season was interesting to see, but the pay-off (although great when seeing the irony in it) didn't really fit for me. The show sort of hyped her up a little as being "the powerful good witch who doesn't know her place in the world yet" and then after very quickly throwing in a major plot point of being Marburg's daughter, we saw nothing that lived up to that implied promise. It just felt like they simply didn't know how to fully execute her story in the end, so they decided to throw in an ironic and shocking scene just for the sake of ending on a big note. 

Mary this time around is shown in different ways whether she's a teacher to Anne, an emotional wreck to everyone else, or...an emotional wreck to everyone else. Honestly, I get the reason why they would basically strip her down of her power this time around, but I was astonished at how much they wanted to showcase how broken up she was about it. I seriously couldn't count how many times we see her crying in an episode over every single bit of bad news. 

This entire season's focus at some points felt like a magnifying glass on how a very broken up Mary acts when nothing goes her way (why would anyone want to see that for an entire season is beyond me). However, I did like some of the scenes where she basically teaches Anne how to harness her powers as well as the moment where she resurrects Increase to help her. One of the other big positives of this season was definitely the amazing (although brief) return of Increase Mather. It is through that specific episode that we get some insight on Countess Marburg's origins which was very interesting to see. 

As for John Alden, I really enjoyed the scene when he actually captures and interrogates a witch. This new set of gear, weapons, abilities, and lore that he carried with him deserved a show on its own. This new character arc for him was fascinating and engaging all on its own really stepping things up entertainment-wise for the show. Unfortunately, the "John Alden: Witch Hunter" badass story came to a swift end once he was captured by Tituba which just resulted in him being showcased as a broken down and failed character. 

Seriously, what is the deal with Season 2 on completely beating down the main cast? Stepping into some of the more minor points of this season, The Isaac/Dollie story felt misplaced at times and unnecessarily spotlighted (even if I don't mind the two characters at all). The magistrate trying to get in on Anne was downright creepy and needed to end right away, but at times I actually didn't mind it as much as it gave Anne's character all the more reason to become such a powerful entity. 

The reason I actually liked having his character in this season is so that we can see the more political evils and conspiracies alongside the supernatural. Much as the doctor character, the Magistrate's side plot offers up different point of views on the happenings in Salem which then added more depth and layers to the lore and story. As for Cotton, I'm actually thinking that he may have been one of the rare characters that never disappointed this time around. 

Since the first season, I've always liked the way they've been treating him as the "Man of God" who's been constantly tested and challenged via different horrific and morality driven scenarios. This season finale definitely left him in quite a twisted and messed up situation, so we'll have to wait and see where that goes down the line.  

The whole "return of the Dark Lord" moment was visually dull and hardly as impactful as it could've been. Worst than that is that it brought the Countess' power down which I really had an issue with. One of the worst things that a film or television series can do is hype up a great villain only to make them 2nd rank in the end to another villain that doesn't feel deserving of it. This is what Salem has done to such an interesting and fascinating character in Countess Marburg by focusing on Mary's son. 

The final "battle" between Mary and the Countess felt more like a desperate turn of events more than a greatly set up fight scene. The confrontation itself is great and the fiery surroundings was a nice touch, but the battle itself felt very brief, rushed, and with an ending that did absolutely nothing for both characters. We basically saw a woman yelling and slapping another woman in the street before the cops come and break it up more than two powerful female characters battling it out after an intense build up. I felt like the producers wanted to rival Season 1's final battle, but simply didn't know how to. 

Overall, Salem Season 2 had a promising beginning with some great and interesting character arcs and debuts. However, the second half  of the season simply could not live up to what it promised and instead downplayed what could've been and should've been. Season 3 is now in a tough spot for me as my feelings towards a new season of Salem is vastly different from the last time. I'm still interested in the show for the most part, but it's never a good thing to see the downward incline of quality in something that you enjoy. 

Season Rating: 7/10