Salem Episode 13 Recap: Now THAT Is How You Do A Season Finale

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Well That Didnt Work Out So Well. Can I Please Have A Do Over?

Back in April I heard about a show called "Salem" on WGN. I wasnt sure if I even got that channel. Was "Salem" a historical drama about poor people who were murdered as a result of religious fervor? Sounded interesting. But much to my delight, in this Salem there really WERE witches... and they were intent on taking over the world.

Fast forward 13 episodes and I'm declaring "All Fall Down" one of the best finales I've seen in recent history. Both "Salem" and "Hannibal" are at the top of my list. While the show is not perfect by any means, it has a lot of positives going for it. Here are a few:

No one is safe. Anyone can die at any time (thus upping the ante). A la, "Game Of Thrones".
Janet Montgomery is beautiful and has a lovely British accent. Shane West likes to take off his shirt. There's lots of eye candy to go around.
I thought the townspeople were bad off with Cotton... until his daddy (Increase) came to town and we found out what bad REALLY was.
You can never have too many familiars-- Todd the Toad and that unnamed spider.
There's a love story. Mary and John love each other deeply but can never be together due to life's circumstances
Gender politics- Mary has power because she's married to a powerful man. On her own she would have no power (unless of course she were a witch).
Adolescent girls who run amuk are ALWAYS scarier than witches.
Who are we supposed to root for on this show? Usually it's witches = bad, church folk = good. In this story, everyone is bad.
Where else so you see any of the following: a guy peeing on another guy; a toad being suckled, a girl spooning with a dead guy in the body dump?

And here's where the main characters stand at the end of season 1:

John appears dead (dont worry, he's not). The Mohawk tribe are carrying him back to their camp for a little R&R. Maybe he'll meet a nice woman and settle down (and get the hell away from Mary).
Mary has forsaken John to be reunited with her son (ie Satan's foster child). The kid looks normal but you can bet he's learned a few tricks after hanging around with Beelzebub.
Tituba who I was worried was dead is actually alive. How did Tituba survive and all of Mercy's friends were killed?
The battle between Mary and Increase was excellent!
Increase is DEAD, DEAD, DEAD after being run through with a sword by Cotton. I didnt think Increase would be that easy to do away with. In the end he's doggy chow. And it is his death (they needed one more) that unlocked the Malum and brought death upon the citizens. How ironic.
Cotton hightails it out of town. He still doesnt know that Mary tricked him into killing his own father. Some one's going to need some serious therapy. I hope he finds Gloriana where ever it is he's going.
Poor Issac (who is the most decent person on the show) is dying from the effects of the Malum. Mental note: when Mary tells ya to bury an apple and leave immediately, that's what you should do.
Mercy is pissed at Mary and is amassing her own Army of children and misfits. Those two are going to tangle next year.
And just when we think Anne might come to terms with being a witch, she goes all Carrie and brutally kills her parents and destroys the house. Do not make that girl mad.
Todd the Toad was MIA again this week. Maybe he picked up another series.
The good townspeople of Salem (what's left of them) are DOOMED as the plague descends upon them.

Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5). The finale was absolute perfection. There were some great WTF moments. A few issues were resolved but enough was left hanging to keep ya coming back. I cant wait for season 2.