Second season
Action and magic multiply in a second installment that surpasses its predecessor, serving a cast rich in diversity
The second season of ‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ has been released undercover on Amazon Prime Video, as is usual with the bulk of its releases, a series attractive as “guilty pleasure”, if the simple joy can be reproached. when it consists of killing boredom at will. The label “guilty pleasure”, extended anglicism, apparently exonerates us as a spectator when we acknowledge in public that we enjoy a product that, objectively, leaves a lot to be desired on a creative level. To feel less embarrassed about confessing an eccentric, or rather crude, passion depends on reading, underlining with a sense of humor that it is a “guilty pleasure” frees you from possible gratuitous criticism, even if you are aware of your contradictory disposition. The series that concerns us, a mix between fantasy and adolescent drama, ascribed to the current trend of productions with a diverse casting applauded by the LGTBIQ + community, is led by a battalion of young witches who face a string of threats, not necessarily supernatural . While a sector of the population wants to hunt them in the old fashioned way, with some slogans that recall ‘Trumpism’, there is also the power struggle between the sorceresses themselves, with some wayward sector. Rebellion is very present in the new batch of ten installments, each lasting around 45 minutes. The dystopia will end in a third session already announced.
Much of the action of ‘Motherland: Fort Salem’, whose second season finds the tone better and underpins its potential audience well, takes place in a military academy where the protagonists learn to use their powers before solving war conflicts on a futuristic map food for thought. The threat is terrorism, linked to a secret organization that commits attacks against the civilian population, but in this second stage the attack of another violent faction increases, forcing the creation of unexpected alliances. The series responds to the current boom in young adult literature, a commercial label aimed at young audiences. Eliot Laurence (‘Claws’) is the creator for television, with the trio of sorceresses played by Taylor Hickson (‘Lethal Class’), Jessica Sutton (‘My First Kiss’) and Ashley Nicole Williams (‘Whisper’) to the head of a cast completed by Amalia Holm (‘Alena’), Demetria McKinney (‘House of Payne’) and Lyne Renée (‘Multiple’). A clear intention to play roles that flee from the traditional role of women in commercial fiction continues, without artifice, although there are still fringes under the gender perspective.
Make USA magic again
Let us remember that the series is set in an alternative USA, where three centuries ago the witches reached an agreement with the government of the country of the stars and stripes to serve their flag, forming an army conveniently prepared for any adversity. Women with powers have traded secret covens for an academic institution where girls selected for glory, chosen for their ancestry, prepare to enter the school of war, the next link in their journey to defend their borders from attack by organizations. criminals. ‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ draws parallels to current politics and is still more interesting than it sounds. Formally, it inevitably resembles other titles available on the grids of specialized channels (‘The Magicians’,’ Shadowhunters’, ‘Vampire Chronicles’ …), although thematically it is closer to popular film sagas that adapt literary phenomena such as’ The Hunger Games’ or ‘Divergent’. There are good effects, a more than effective photography, action scenes and romance, in addition to generating intrigue and providing good twists.
In ‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ the witches feel different from the rest of the mortals, with which they torment themselves like the mutants of ‘X-Men’. Before they were burned in a public bonfire in front of the crowd and received all kinds of insults before their last breath under the flames. The main trio, with whom it is difficult not to empathize, is the most remarkable of the group, having some unusual aspects in this type of productions with a teenager spirit. Recruits Tally, Raelle and Abigail point out the cracks in the system from within and raise debates about collateral damage, hierarchies, corruption, power struggles and companionship, as well as friendship and age-related issues. To love, pain and longings is joined by the cruelty of an all-out battle. Light entertainment, with a message.
The second season of ‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ is available on Amazon Prime Video.
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