Original subtitles

[woman] Previously on Motherland:

A small, nomadic sect of witches was recently discovered

in the desert region. They possess profoundly rare Seeds.

‐Let me see your mark. ‐Where's yours?

It's sexy‐weird. Like us.

I have something for you too.

I just always want to be able to say hi to you.

My cousin's getting married next week. You wanna come with me?

[Raelle] This is the High Atlantic function of the year.

The Dean was very impressed with you.

Impressed with your medals and the Bellweather name?

‐Absolutely. ‐I saw a balloon.

I think Scylla is Spree.

‐[screaming] ‐[grunts, screams]

Scylla!

Scylla's gone.

[grunts]

They're here!

[theme music plays]

[woman vocalizing]

[woman] Abigail.

Abigail.

[Abigail] They had blue shirts on.

Black pants.

No. Black shoes.

Okay. And when did you first

make visual contact?

I'm...

I'm pretty sure they were caterers.

No.

I was using a sigil.

The door was locked.

Charvel just told me not to worry about War College.

She just told me that, maybe an hour before.

The screeching was the problem.

Why don't you have some water?

No, I didn't... The sigil didn't work.

I... I tried to Windstrike them off me.

[loud screech]

Listen, Abigail, are you sure you're okay?

We can take a break anytime.

I was supposed to help Charvel into her dress.

That's why I was there.

She was so excited.

My mother came in.

There was blood...

‐[groaning] ‐...everywhere.

They pinned me down to the floor.

[screaming]

They had their arms around my neck.

They had a knife. They pushed their knees

into my chest and they held me down.

Witches tears. In a flask.

We can try this later.

I can do this.

I'm a Bellweather.

Let's keep going.

[woman] Are you sure you wanna do this right now?

‐Perhaps after you... ‐Let's begin.

[high‐pitched screeching]

‐[grunts] ‐[sound stops]

"The Balkan Composition." Seed Sounds 48 and 57. That's not what they used.

It matches the profile: extensive disabling of vocalization

‐through high levels of sonic dampening. ‐I know.

I went up against it in Belarus seven years ago, and I beat it.

This was something else. Next one.

Scylla was standing right beside us, and then when we turned around she was gone.

I just, I can't figure out the exact moment.

It was chaos. People were running everywhere.

Do you think she got swept up in the storm?

‐Is that possible? ‐I don't know.

We need someone out there looking for her, Tally!

I'm sure the Army has an investigation going on.

Well, is Anacostia in charge of finding out what happened?

‐Because... ‐I don't know, Raelle!

We have to wait. We have to calm down.

Anacostia's always had it out for Scylla and me.

Stop focusing on it.

[door opens]

‐Abigail. ‐Are you okay?

I'm fine. Standard procedure.

‐You don't wanna talk? ‐I just spent two hours talking.

[man speaking foreign language]

‐Adil. ‐General Alder.

Thank you for bringing us here.

We have the finest Fixers in the world here.

You're in good hands. I will do everything in my power to help.

Once Khalida is well, we won't trouble you any longer.

You're welcome here for as long as you need.

All of Fort Salem is yours as you see fit.

Please, take some time away from the infirmary.

The grounds here will nourish your body and your spirit.

‐Is that the last one? ‐Yeah, number 17. Illinois.

Leave her right here.

Came to check on your part of the investigation.

Seventeen victims from six different states.

‐Civilians? ‐We haven't gotten through all of them yet.

But they were all killed at the same time as Charvel

and they've all had their vocal cords cut out.

In other words, not civilians.

I can't say anything definitive yet, but it is odd.

The Spree doesn't kill other witches.

Except as collateral damage during the rare attack.

I have to get in here to check the rest of the vocal apparatus.

Hold this open for me, please.

See? That's where they cut out the voice box.

Clean cut.

[woman] Izadora.

This is not a typical vocal cord.

Cut the ear open.

The rest of you, start with the ears, then look for marks.

Tympanic membrane with five mallea.

This ear is the same.

We can't confirm anything without marks.

It's hard to see it, but it's there.

A mark.

[woman] This one has a mark too.

And it's pretty clear.

They are of the blood.

I didn't want to believe it,

but they're witches.

More than that.

They're Bellweathers.

[woman] The world's falling apart, women.

We all know it, we all feel it,

we've all seen it in some way or another.

Today we'll be learning how to drop into combat situations

without breaking our necks or squishing our tatas.

‐[laughter] ‐We'll be employing Salva to do this.

Observe.

[heart beating]

[feet stomping]

All right. Ration up, soldiers.

What was it the Church used to say about us?

That we met on hilltops on dark nights

and kissed the ass of a large hairy man and he gave us whatever we wanted?

And Mr. Hairy Ass's greatest gift to us witches, so said the priests,

so lied the priests, was flight itself.

I have some great news, soldiers.

No one needs to kiss any ass to fly anymore!

‐[laughter] ‐First thing you gotta do is put the ration on your neck.

But don't do it until I tell you!

‐Private Raelle Collar. ‐Yes, ma'am.

Why don't you go first? You're the only one here who has any experience.

Come on. Don't be afraid.

I'm not afraid.

[grunts, coughs]

How did we not know about them?

The Spree knew.

Their connection to the Bellweather Matriline

has been lost to time, maybe from dodging

or intermarriage with civilians, which could be why the mark is so faint.

I doubt they knew they were witches.

The Spree kill civilians.

They hardly ever target their own.

This is a disturbing new strategy.

Sarah, this is a deliberate targeting of my family.

They tried to kill Abigail once, they could try it again.

We'll keep Abigail safe.

As far as the public knows, 17 civilians were killed by the Spree.

We'll keep the rest of the information to ourselves.

We will release it when the time is right.

‐Are you even looking for her? ‐An investigation is in progress.

I know you hate her, but she could still be alive.

Hate, love or like have nothing to do with it, Private.

We are investigating every angle without bias, and she's not been found.

You're acting like I'm crazy!

I'm not crazy!

We were all standing there together, you saw her!

You saw her, and then she was gone!

Is that in your investigation?

The investigation is above your pay grade, Collar!

Leave it to us!

[Tally] Abigail...

Fine.

You don't have to talk to me,

but you can't keep pretending nothing's wrong.

I'm not pretending. Okay? I'm fine.

No one could go through what you did and be fine.

It's what soldiers do every day.

Maybe if you stopped being a soldier for five minutes, you'd see you're a mess.

And you won't get better until you face it and find your center again.

What kind of weepy‐peepy Norcal nonsense is that?

‐Excuse me? ‐You wanna make flower rings and sing to the Goddess too?

Don't talk to me like that.

I'm sorry.

I'm a beehive right now. Just don't poke me.

[knock on door]

‐Abigail Bellweather? ‐Yes, ma'am?

General Bellweather requests your presence in the Administration building.

Thanks.

Um, lead the way.

How do you know for sure all those dead witches are Bellweathers?

They have our Bellweather mark.

So I have to have a bodyguard?

What happened at the wedding is a message we have to take serious.

‐I can handle myself, Mom. ‐Bridey is one of our most

decorated and highly trained soldiers.

I wouldn't trust you with anyone else.

Are you getting a bodyguard too?

They only went after Bellweathers of child‐bearing age

who can continue the Matriline.

Please, Mom.

People are already staring at me

like they're waiting for me to have a breakdown.

I don't want to bring any more attention to myself.

I won't say it again.

This is for your own protection and you will accept it.

I strongly advise you to use this time to learn from this fine soldier.

Dismissed.

I don't know what you've been told, but I have very high scores in Basic.

I've mastered every training exercise we've been taught.

[indistinct chatter]

Did you see that?

They're mocking me because of you.

Do you even talk?

[grunts]

When the time is right, I've been known to say a thing or two.

Okay.

[Izadora] Stop!

Did you touch that?

Why? Is it dangerous?

No, no. It's just better if it's left alone.

Well, what is it?

Let's just say it's part of a mushroom.

Hm.

I'm actually here because I'm looking for my girlfriend.

Scylla Ramshorn. I'm Raelle.

Let's talk in my office, Raelle.

I already know how to do this.

Great. So consider this extra practice.

‐Don't let your guard down. ‐I'm not.

‐Concentrate. ‐I am!

Control first. Then speed. Again.

Focus!

[shuddering breaths]

[sobbing] I know how to do this.

Okay, why can't I do this?

I let my guard down, didn't I?

I let my guard down.

[sobbing]

Sergeant Quartermain! Excuse me!

‐Yes, Craven. ‐I wanted to ask you about next steps.

‐Next steps? ‐After finding Scylla.

You did the right thing by reporting what you saw, Private.

You don't need to concern yourself with anything else.

‐I feel... I do need to do something. ‐There's nothing for you to do

but to continue with basic training.

But I know that Scylla is Spree and I know Raelle loves her.

And I cannot pretend that nothing happened.

You will say nothing because you have nothing to tell.

How can I be a sister to her and a liar at the same time?

You are a soldier protecting our nation, Craven.

That's all you need to know for right now.

Do you mind?

‐Thank you. ‐Mm‐hm.

Could I ask you a personal question?

‐Sure. ‐Why isn't your eye fixed?

You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.

We were in the Cordillera Blanca range, in the Andes.

My unit and two others. Coming down through a pass that looked wide open.

But it wasn't.

The attack came from all sides at once,

and they were throwing everything at us.

Snow Devils, Razor Hail,

lightning strikes bigger than I'd ever seen.

I could tell where some of it was coming from, a rocky ledge off to the left,

and I hit it hard.

Best Windstrike I ever did.

Knocked the whole thing down.

But what I didn't see...

...is that the debris was gonna trap one of my unit on the other side.

There was no way to get to her, no way to save her.

She knew we had to go, she could hear the storms,

she knew what we were up against.

So the rest of us fought our way out.

But we had to leave her behind.

I lost my eye on the way out and never got it fixed. [clears throat]

But it wasn't your fault that she died.

It was war.

She was my sister.

Without her I would never see life the same way again,

so I decided I didn't deserve two eyes.

[Glory] And she said that Hannah was a total sad sack afterwards

‐and could barely croak out a song. ‐Mm‐hm.

[Glory] I feel bad for her, but you'd think she'd know better by now.

We hear the same thing every day.

"Your unique and precious vocal cords

need special care, ladies."

[laughs] Tally.

Hm? Yes. Sorry.

‐Are you thinking about Gerit? ‐No.

Have you not heard from him?

It's okay if you haven't, with the whole Hilary thing.

No, I have my mind on other things, Glory.

Sorry. O... okay.

The whole point of being a soldier is to defend our nation with all of yourself,

even the parts of you that are ambivalent.

Are we still talking about me? Because I've been working on...

It isn't your fault, per se, if you can't tell the whole story.

If you can't be completely honest due to circumstances beyond your control,

‐simply don't focus on it. ‐Okay. I won't.

‐Focus on what you can do and not what you can't. ‐Totally.

And if you've already done everything you can do,

if you're doing your duty, then you can just forget the rest

‐and trust that it will all work out. ‐Sure. I mean... yeah?

‐Thank you, Glory. ‐Uh...

Any time.

I just, I can't eat, I can't sleep.

And I feel like I'm going crazy because nobody's taking this seriously.

I've asked Anacostia, I've asked my unit. And I just...

I mean, you were her teacher, what do you think?

Raelle. Grief is stubborn and wild.

Like an untamed animal.

Sometimes you have to let it run all over the place until it wears itself out.

What does that have to do with Scylla?

I think truth is the best medicine.

What truth?

I don't know all the details, but I do know this.

[echoing] Scylla was killed in the storm.

I'm so sorry, Raelle.

General Alder.

I wanted to check in.

Your sister is improving.

Yes. A little.

The songs your people sing remind me of those

my own family carried for centuries.

I would very much like to learn them.

The songs you carried were never meant

to be released into the world.

Ah.

You mean in Salem, way back when...

[speaking Mothertongue]

We will remain the final stewards of our songs.

I would like to be alone with my sister now.

I'm glad you and your sister are safe.

What's wrong?

You look sick.

Raelle?

Scylla's dead.

What?

What?

What is it?

Scylla's dead.

What? No.

Who told you that?

Her Necro teacher.

Scylla was swept up in the storm.

We were supposed to go to the beach.

Her lighthouse.

We were supposed to go to the beach.

She was going to take me to the safest place she'd ever been.

That's where she is.

She's not dead.

She's at the lighthouse.

Right?

Doesn't that make sense?

‐Okay. ‐Go to the safest place?

Doesn't that make sense?

Yes.

[Tally] Yeah.

[soft grunting]

[grunting continues]

No! [groans]

[moaning] No...

Abigail. Hey.

‐Abigail, wake up. ‐[screams]

What happened?

Why are you in here? Get out!

‐Abigail, you had a nightmare. ‐I did not.

I had a leg cramp. Everyone's overreacting.

Stop hovering!

Go back to bed.

[door shuts]

[sighs]

Maybe you can go to the infirmary.

‐Why? What for? ‐Leg cramps.

‐Are you making fun of me? ‐No.

No one is making fun of you.

Hey. Abs.

Abigail.

I've never felt less powerful than I am right now.

I've never been this way.

It's not going away.

Grief's stubborn, Abigail.

And wild.

You're gonna be okay.

I'm sorry about Charvel.

I'm sorry about Scylla.

Um...

Anyway, thanks.

I, um, forgot my medal at barracks.

You are not supposed to be in here.

Why can't I find anything today?

Because you're disorganized?

I definitely didn't leave my Salva here.

It's empty.

‐Check yours. ‐[Abigail] Why?

Just check.

‐What the hell? ‐Where's Raelle?

[gasping]

[grunts]

‐I can't take you off base. ‐It'll only take a couple of hours.

I have strict instructions to remain in Fort Salem.

And I have strict instructions to defend and protect my unit at all costs.

‐You can file a report. ‐No!

We are the only ones who can find and save her.

She's on an impossible mission, and she's alone right now and suffering.

Bridey, listen.

When I met Raelle, I thought she was a shitbird that would take my unit down.

But it hasn't turned out like that.

Raelle is my sister, and I know that you understand what that means.

You weren't able to save your sister, and I can't imagine what that feels like.

Please don't make me find out.

Let me do what you wanted to do, Bridey.

Let me save my girl and bring her home.

‐[Abigail] Raelle, wake up! ‐[Tally] Raelle!

‐Wake up! ‐[coughs]

‐It's okay. Come here. ‐Where's Scylla?

‐We're here. We got you. ‐Scylla's not... Scylla's not here.

‐We have to get back to base. ‐Abigail, look. She contacted me.

Raelle, there's nothing there.

‐Abigail... ‐We have to get you back.

Let's get back to base.

Stop, stop!

She's alive!

She's not dead!

[Raelle sobbing]

How did you plan the wedding attack?

Okay.

If you're not going to talk with us...

Maybe you'll talk to someone else.

Hello, Scylla.

[theme music plays]