Motherland: Fort Salem has only been back for one episode and already so much has happened. Raelle and Abigail are back home with Tally and their Fort Salem family, new obstacles are coming their way, and witches as a whole have a common enemy. To get you ready for what’s to come in season 2 of Motherland: Fort Salem, and to discuss a little bit of what we’ve seen so far, we sat down with showrunner and creator Eliot Laurence.
Laurence helped us break down episode one, gave us a peek at the behind the scenes world of Motherland: Fort Salem, and set up some great spoiler free hints at what’s to come. He also gave compared Raylla, the ship for Raelle and Scylla, to celestial bodies. And like Taylor, Abigail, and Jessica, teased in our interview with them, this is a bigger, badder, and darker season. Read on for more below!
1. Episode 1 saw the gang getting back together and each of the core three going through their own ups and downs. When setting up episode 1, what was essential for you as the showrunner?
Getting that unit reunited, we have these moments in the writer’s room that we call ‘Unit Unity’ and they’re so important and they pay dividends in the show. Because when those three people are on screen it’s so palpable, but they genuinely like each other. Even if it’s a scene where they’re screaming at each other. There’s something about their humanity that comes through when they’re together. And it was like, “How do we get them together?” And I think too as a writer, “How do I up the stakes from 1×10?” Which was a big deal. So how do you keep that level of excitement going and people leaning into the TV and all of that stuff. That’s what I was thinking about.
2. Raelle and Scylla were huge in season 1. What can we look forward to when it comes to them in season 2?
So they are these celestial bodies. And they’re orbiting and doing their thing. And it was the work of the season trying to get those bodies to pass each other close enough where they can make some contact. Because story wise we put them on opposite ends of the world and even in relationship wise we put them almost to the point of almost, “Can I even forgive you? Can there even be a thing after the truths came out?” But they’re not over. I just don’t believe that they are over. And this season will be about again, making them pass and once that contact is made it’s pretty satisfying.
Also, it’s not a spoiler. It’s gonna happen. And I hope the fans aren’t like…I’m not trying to torture you by keeping them apart. I’m just trying to make sure that the story makes sense of how they could even begin that road again.
3. Scylla and Anacostia have a complicated relationship that is only going to get more complicated as the season progresses. What can we look forward to when it comes to these two?
In a big sense this season establishes and fleshes out this big enemy and it starts to be a story where Spree and the Army might’ve had their battles, but look at these people. Because they want to end both of them. So through Scylla and Anacostia’s kind of hijinks and their journey, we get to see that play out with actual people and I think that’s one of the treats of the season.
They have incredible chemistry and they even met each other during the audition for the show and became friends. They even found out at the same time that they got the role. So they’re kind of incredible together. It’s really fun to see that. And I take that as a compliment that you said it’s a complicated relationship because I want al of them to be complicated and rich and unexpected.
4. We also saw Scylla working with Raelle’s mom and that blew my mind. How was that for you finally starting to pull on those strings that you set up in season one?
It was super important and I’m glad that we pulled it off because I loved to just flip the entire thing and have people’s mouth on the floor. That is my biggest joy as a writer, to just have people go, “Wait, what?” And so it was fun. And it was another way to explore this idea of the Spree who we really presented as the enemy of season one. They are these terrorists and they have these terrible means. Maybe their ideology makes some sense, in the sense that they object to the fact that witches don’t have a choice over their own lives. They automatically go into the military. But now we’ve got somebody much worse and it’s a way to turn up the heat.
5. Season one of Motherland: Fort Salem was amazing. How did you elevate things for season 2?
Well, you’re going to see Alder through history a little bit. Which I think is super fun. We get to see some of the conflicts she’s fought in through some memories that Tally’s not supposed to get. Something else that’s really cool is that there’s a lot of new magic. I know the fans really enjoyed the magic system of this universe. And there’s some really scary magic coming. Some very scary attack magic that is directed towards Alder that is gonna be really really mind blowing. Also, we’ve got the dance of Raelle and Scylla, that cosmic dance that we’re slowly but surely aligning properly.
It’s just a season about examining institutions and maybe finding out that they’re corrupt. And maybe finding out that they’re outdated. And having our young women sort of remake these power structures in their own image. It is sort of the beginning of the seeds of revolution. And I think that’s pretty exciting.
Motherland: Fort Salem airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on Freeform.
