We begin by watching an old woman get ready for her day. In actual fact, this old woman is actually a young woman who simply looks old, as she is one of Alder’s seven “biddies” – women who take on the burden of her considerable age so she can remain young and healthy. The biddies follow Alder out to the front of Fort Salem, where all the cadets are gathered.
Bring in the boys. Male witches, although rarer than their female counterparts, do exist, and they have arrived at Fort Salem in advance of Beltane. Abigail and Tally are enjoying the show – Raelle just looks amused, for obvious reasons.
In training, the cadets are trying to use Work to see behind solid objects, and Tally is really damn good at it. Libba theorizes that she’s doing so well because she got excited over the men, and Anacostia confirms this. There is apparently a lot of “energy” around Beltane, and the witches are encouraged to use this, as it will make them stronger.
Meanwhile, those pesky Spree are at it again! This time it’s a pool full of victims who fail to escape the flash-freezing water.
Raelle and Scylla have a moment before parting ways, but unbeknownst to them, they are being watched by one of the male witches. Beltane is beginning, and the witches are encouraged to mingle with each other and participate in whatever way they see fit. The unit join the boys in their lacrosse game, during which Tally bumps into Gerit Buttonwood, a High Atlantic friend of Abigail’s, who flirts with her by pulling her to the ground.
Also biting the dust is Raelle, who gets shouldered to the ground by the male witch who was watching her and Scylla earlier. He tells her she’s a lot better at lacrosse than she is at picking girlfriends. He confronts Scylla when she shows up, and we learn that his name is Porter, that they used to date, and then Scylla disappeared after her parents were killed.
Abigail is hitting it off with two men, Tally is staring wistfully at Gerit, and Raelle confronts Porter, who warns her about Scylla. Porter tells her not to get too attached, because Scylla clearly hasn’t told Raelle anything about her past.
Alder is at the Hague, a meeting of the top witch military brass in the world, discussing the Spree’s attacks and demanding that Alder do something about it. Alder doesn’t want to act rashly, stating that the USA will spearhead an attack once they have sufficient intel, but other members oppose this. The humanitarian crisis of the Tarim is also brought up, a nomadic sect of witches who possess seed sounds unlike any other, and Alder visibly takes an interest even as she tells the other nations to stand down. In the middle of the meeting, one of Alder’s biddies collapses.
Back at Fort Salem, the grounds, which are tied to Alder’s health, are failing. But the cadets don’t know anything about this because they’re all too busy mingling as instructed. Tally and Gerit are hanging out with Raelle third-wheeling at Memorial Hall. As they talk about the biddies’ sacrifice, we see our current biddy not looking so good.
Abigail is also busy making out with Clive in an empty room while asking Augustin to stand guard. He objects, so Abigail says he can watch instead. She rejoins the group to find Libba giving a dramatic history lesson on how her ancestor was the hero of a great battle. Abigail swiftly corrects her and says that it was her ancestor, Jem Bellweather, who was the true hero. Tally points out to Gerit that it took both of them to win the battle, but he says the rivalry between the two families runs far too deep to see that.
Scylla catches up with Raelle, who wants concrete answers about Scylla’s history. She tells Raelle that Porter and his parents were Dodgers, like her. She also tells her that her parents were killed by the military as draft dodging is illegal. That was when she decided to enlist and beat them at their own game. She promises that if she gets the urge to run again, she’ll take Raelle with her.
A new biddy has been chosen to succeed the one who’s dying. She is a young woman who has been preparing for this moment for years, as all biddies do. Gerit and Tally are still spending their time with each other, even though they’re both supposed to be mingling with as many people as possible, but Gerit tells her that he couldn’t be happier. The two of them share a kiss as the biddy we saw at the beginning of the episode takes her final breath, reverting back to her younger self in death, and the new biddy is brought in, aging rapidly as the ritual takes place.
Porter pays Scylla a visit, demanding the truth. He suspects her of being Spree, and makes the mistake of saying as much to her face. Scylla lets him get close, takes his guard down by kissing him, and then whispers a Working in his ear that leads him to jump off the roof to his death, although she does seem ever so slightly regretful about this.
Raelle happens to be walking near where Porter hits the floor. He can’t manage to form words to tell her what’s happened, and Raelle tries to heal him, to no avail. Such is the way she heals, it exacts a toll on her, too, and she slips into unconsciousness as Scylla, looking worried, rounds the corner.
Tropes Used:
- Animal Chick Magnet: Gerit can communicate with birds, which Tally finds very impressive.
- Blatant Lies: Scylla says that the army killing her parents was what inspired her to enlist in the military and beat them at their own game. However, since we know she’s working for the Spree, it seems much more likely at this point that her parents’ death was the catalyst for her joining them instead. Subverted as Raelle appears to believe her.
- Crash-Into Hello: Although she sees him talk to Abigail at the beginning of the episode, this is how Tally and Gerit properly meet each other.
- Crocodile Tears: Scylla pulls this out when Porter accuses her of being Spree to take his guard down and get close enough to whisper the Working.
- Death Glare: Abigail and Libba are delivering some truly scathing looks at each other during their storytelling battle.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Tally is having a hard time keeping her mouth shut when she sees all the male witches. Understandable given that she grew up in a matrifocal compound with no men at all.
- Draft Dodging: What Scylla’s parents were killed for.
- Dying Candle: When one of the biddies dies, one of seven candles goes out on the mantle behind her.
- First Kiss: Tally has what may well be her first kiss with Gerit.
- In Harmony with Nature: A literal example, as Alder’s health appears to be tied to the very health of the grounds of Fort Salem.
- Kiss of Distraction: Scylla gives one of these to Raelle when she starts asking too many questions.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: It’s the Work Scylla uses on Porter that drives him to jump from the roof and leads to his death.
- The Missus and the Ex: Porter warns Raelle not to get too attached to Scylla, who is pissed that her ex is interfering in her relationship with Raelle.
- Rapid Aging: What happens to the new biddy during the ritual at the end of the episode.
- Rewatch Bonus: The unit excelling in harmonics in episode 1 may have been partly to do with Raelle being charged up from having sex with Scylla the night before, as we learn in this episode that sexual energy helps fuel their magic.
- Romantic Rain: The witches do some Weatherwork to make it rain during the lacrosse game where Tally and Gerit bump into each other.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Porter is the first named character the audience spends any length of time with to die onscreen.
- Sex Magic: Sexual energy, be it sex itself or simply desire, can be used to fuel the witches’ magic.
- Super-Senses: The first glimpse of Tally’s incredible Sight.
- Younger Than They Look: The biddies.
