01x03 - A Biddy's Life

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Motherland: Fort Salem". Aired: March 18, 2020 - August 23, 2022.*
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Set in an alternate America where witches ended their persecution over 300 years ago by cutting.
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01x03 - A Biddy's Life

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[WOMAN] Previously on Motherland:

Any child born of a witch

shall be held a witch

and shall deliver herself

bodily to Fort Salem

for training in the m*llitary arts.

The Sprees are ruthless and savage.

We will need all of you

to meet what's coming.

We had training all day.

None of this is elective.

Your absence was noted.

Call the commander-in-chief.

Awfully nice to meet

your girlfriend, Raelle.

Is she saying girlfriend?



[EXHALES]

[BELL TOLLING]

I love this day.

Best day of the year.

Second best.

I suddenly look weird.

And not in a good way.

Stop fidgeting. You look fine.

- General Alder.

- [ALDER] Witchfather.

- Welcome back to Fort Salem.

- It's good to be home.

Men! Front and center!

[CHEERING]

Let's go, let's go, let's go!

Whoo! Whoo! Yeah!

[CHEERING CONTINUES]

On me.

They do like to peacock and strut.

Close your mouth.

- Hey, Bells.

- All right, Buttonwood.

Good to see you.

- [LAUGHTER]

- Gerit Buttonwood.

We grew up together.

Rough room. Ten minutes.

You need some you time

in the suite, Tally?



Very funny.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYS]

- Red!

- [ANACOSTIA] Correct.

Good start.

When you identify one, shout it out.

You're competing as units.

- It's blue.

- [ANACOSTIA] No. Next!

That taste in your mouth?

It's failure.

Mother's milk to a Swythe, I'm told.

Reminder! You are using Seed

37, the Seed of Revealing.

Moffett, if I can hear you,

you're doing it wrong.

37 is below the range of human hearing.

The Seed and your breath

will activate your Scry.

After that, it is in

your brains, ladies.

Hold the image of the

target in your mind.

I'm trying to see what's

behind the barrel,

but all I'm getting is the ground.

Concentrate, Moffett.

This is amazing!

I'm pretty sure my Scry is broken.

I'm 100 percent certain that it is not.

Tally, what's the next one?



Do we want to give

someone else a chance?



- No.

- No.

[TALLY] Black. Yellow. Green.

- Orange.

- How are you doing that?



I don't know. I just am.

Can anyone tell me why Craven

is excelling right now?



Because she saw the men

and got all charged up.

- [LAUGHTER]

- That

That is correct, Swythe.

There is going to be a lot of

energy around here for

the next few days.

All the way through Beltane.

Take the energy, channel

it into the work.

It will make you better, stronger.

Nice work, Craven.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Nice and high.

[CHATTER, LAUGHTER CONTINUES]

[INDISTINCT WHISPERING]

Whoa! There's something

wrong with this one.

[GRUNTS]

- [GROANING]

- [ICE CRACKLING]

[SHOUTING]

Oh, my God! Get out of the pool!

[SCREAMING]

We are the Spree.

[HISSES]

Total ice, like Antarctica ice.

Some were stuck under the

water when it froze.

Do a person's lungs explode?



[HISSES]

Concentrate!

[HISSES]

Simms! Buck up!

- [SIMMS SOBS]

- You're in the United States Army!

Will you cry every

time the Spree att*ck?



You are here to crush them.

We have to be just as strong

and focused as our enemies. Hm?



Fall out!

Playing field, ten minutes!

You sure you don't want

to stick around for this?



- Yeah, I got training in five.

- Okay.

- But I'll come find you after.

- Okay, sounds good.

Where's Alder?



The Council called an emergency session.

She's on her way to The Hague.

Good afternoon, ladies.

I'm Lieutenant Sergeant

and Junior Matrimonialist

Berryessa Tansey.

This is the kickoff to Beltane,

a chance to unwind and connect,

a chance to rediscover

our shared history.

I know you're all shaken by

news of these latest att*cks.

These are trying times,

but I am here to tell you

that the way to get past it,

the way we steel ourselves

for the fight to come,

is through the rituals

and workings of Beltane.

[CHEERING]

[LAUGHS]

The official start of the festivities

is "Mead and Greet" at Memorial Hall,

where you're encouraged to mingle

with your male counterparts,

getting to know as many

of them as possible.

You should know that the strength

of Beltane lies in participation,

in whatever way you see fit.

How's this for participation?



[LAUGHS] You in, Raelle?



Yeah, what the hell.

[CHEERING]

[VOCALIZING]

[GRUNTS]

[LAUGHS] Sorry.

Oh! [LAUGHS]

- Tally, you okay?



- I think I just got flirted with.

- My little girl's grown up.

- [MAN] Hey, heads up!

Where'd you learn to play?



Chippewa Cession. You?



Nowhere you've ever heard of.

You're a lot better at this than

you are at picking girlfriends.

[GRUNTS]

- You okay?



- Yeah.

- What was that about?



- I have no idea.

Sorry to keep you waiting.

My flight hit a little rough weather.

Do I have one of you to thank for that?



[LAUGHTER]

[SPEAKING MOTHERTONGUE]

Hello, Scylla. Long time.

Porter. What are you doing here?



I got tired of running.

So when the call came, I said the words.

Seemed like the right thing to do.

Good for you.

The real question is

what are you doing here?



- Same. It felt like my duty to

- Come on.

You may have the Army fooled,

but I know who you are, remember?



After my parents were

k*lled, things changed.

So no, you don't actually know who I am.

I never got a chance to tell you

how sorry I was about that.

They were good people.

But that's what happens when

your girlfriend just disappears.

You don't get to tell her all

the things you wanted to say.

Right. Well, people change, Porter.

I hope that's true.

- [LAUGHTER]

- Ms. Bellweather.

Slake your thirst with some mead?



How did you know?



Thank you. What's your name?



- Clive Garland.

- And what's his name?



That's my friend, Agustín Alcala.

Clive, do you think you

could rescue your friend

from that sea hag and

bring him over here?



I'm at your service. I'll be right back.

Good attitude. I can work with that.

- Just go talk to him already.

- And say what?



"Hi, I'm Tally,

complete virgin and hot for any

part of you that's available?

"

- [LAUGHS]

- How about just "hi."

Look, it doesn't matter what you say.

Let him do all the heavy lifting.

[WITCHFATHER] She's right.

Ladies. Are you enjoying yourselves?



Very much so. Thank you, Witchfather.

Good.

Do you have time to have a

drink with us, Witchfather?



[LAUGHS] Oh, Ms. Bellweather.

You remind me of your mother. Shameless.

Oh, I take that as a compliment, sir.

Shame is for civilians.

You're asking us to commit troops

on the promise of finding one cell?



Our embassy was taken

out by a plague b*mb

that no one's used in 50 years.

Two hundred thirty-three

dead, 91 injured.

The numbers fail to express

the horror of what happened.

They d*ed in the most painful

ways you can imagine.

[SPEAKING MOTHERTONGUE]

The Spree are escalating.

But now is not the time for any rash

or indiscriminate action.

When we have verifiable Intel,

America will spearhead an operation

and cut the head off the snake.

Like you spearheaded the raid in Kiev?



General Sharma, you object?

Again.

What I object to is your

presumption of leadership

and authority in matters that

concern all of us equally.

[SPEAKING MOTHERTONGUE]

What's gonna happen?

Just say hi.

Abigail Bellweather, Agustín Alcala.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

- Mm.

- Mm.

Come on.

Only Abigail.

- Tal, I'll be back.

- What's going on?



Give me a second.

What was that sh*t at the game about?



Sorry. That was about me lashing

out at the wrong person.

I'm Porter, by the way.

Who was the right person?



Scylla Ramshorn.

We have a history.

I saw you two together and

I reacted like a jerk.

It won't happen again.

Well, what kind of history?



Did you guys go to school

together or something?



She hasn't told you anything, has she?



Nothing about her

childhood or her parents?



Look, do yourself a favor.

Don't get too attached.

General Alder, there is another

matter that needs our attention.

[EERIE VOCAL MUSIC PLAYING]

[SPEAKING MOTHERTONGUE]

What is it, Sarah?



I know this sound.

It's in my blood.

Enough.

[MUSIC STOPS]

A small, nomadic sect of witches

was recently discovered in a desert

region near our border with China.

As you could hear, they possess

profoundly rare Seeds.

Several nations have offered them

asylum in exchange for the sounds,

but they have no interest

in becoming militarized.

Why not respect their wishes?



Russia would be happy to

let them live in peace,

but China has made two

hostile attempts to

Unfortunate that China is not

here to speak for themselves.

It is unfortunate. Because

of China's actions,

this tribe's very existence

is being threatened.

Already there are reports

of children and elderly

dying from hunger and disease.

Hello, Tally Craven.

You know my name?



After the game, I asked

around about you.

Plotting your revenge?



Pretty sure we were

even there by the end.

- [LAUGHS]

- So I hear you're from Norcal.

Is that where you learned how

to throw a shoulder like that?



Oh, yeah. It's pretty

tough on those compounds.

Lots of jostling for space at

the pottery wheel. [LAUGHS]

[BOTH LAUGH]

Do you remember your first Beltane?



[LAUGHS] What was his name?

Grofton.

- Grafton. Channing Grafton.

- Grafton.

You'd think I would remember that.

I was a hungry little thing,

crawling all over the guy.

I think you ripped his

pants off from the back,

- like just tore them in half.

- sh*t. I did do that.

Surely I'm not alone in

thinking these sounds

might be a powerful w*apon

in our w*r with the Spree?



General Alder, please tell me that

we will be mounting an operation

to retrieve these people from

Absolutely not.

Any incursion into the region will spark

a conflict between Russia and China.

I am asking all of you, stand down.

I would agree with the general,

if I thought that she intended

to stand down herself.

- General Sharma

- [GRUNTS]

Goddess protect.

Something is wrong with Alder.

[GERIT] I didn't know that the

Biddies ever fought in combat.

Formidable, right?

Complete heroines.

They never leave Alder's side.

[GERIT] Can you imagine their sacrifice?



It's humbling.

I think about it a lot.

I don't think I could be that strong.

Sure you could.

Everyone knows women

are stronger than men.

You're not wrong,

thought you may be laying

it on a little thick.

I don't get why you're so impressed.

The whole Biddy thing is creepy.

You're wrong.

It's an incredible honor to be called,

to be chosen out of thousands

to stand with General Alder in that way?



They should be revered.

Yeah, well, I've never really

been big on revering things.

[INDISTINCT WHISPERING]

Sergeant Quartermain

has found a candidate.

She awaits our return.

I wonder where Abigail is.

Uh-uh. Hands behind your head, soldier.

[BOTH LAUGH]

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[RAELLE] How did you know to do that?



I read about it in Reveille.

The Army magazine?

You read that?



That was May Craven,

my mother's namesake,

who fought with Alder at Appomattox.

[GERIT] Only you now?



Yeah.

That's why my mom didn't

want me to enlist.

[GERIT] My cousin had a dispensation.

But when her eighteenth came, she

said the words, just like you.

She's the bravest person

that I've ever known.

You remind me a lot of her.

Did she fall in combat?



Still throwing shoulders

and kicking ass.

[LAUGHS]

You did the right thing when

you answered the call, Tally.

Never doubt it.

Raelle, you coming?



I'll catch up.

- Miss me?



- Yeah. Always.

- Is your family on this thing?



- No.

My family history is complicated.

You know, there's more to the

place than this family bullshit.

Come on.

[LIBBA] It was here, at

the Battle of Juarez,

during the Second Mexican w*r,

that the Swythe family

really came into our own.

This was the day that Madeline Swythe

led a brave company of witches

in singing up a storm

that changed the course of the w*r.

The battle had raged for days.

But after a disastrous, and

poorly led infantry charge

threw the American forces into chaos,

Madeline led her sisters

to the top of a hill

and called down the fury of

the heavens on the enemy,

scattering them and

securing the victory.

- [ABIGAIL] Lies.

- Here we go.

The same lies that the Swythes have

been telling about this battle

for the past two centuries.

That stops now.

It is true that Madeline Swythe

helped to sing a storm that day.

But she is not the heroine of Juarez.

What is it about these two?



I love it when they get going.

It's like watching opera.

Try growing up around them.

The appeal doesn't last.

Far from being

What is it you called it, Libba?



Disastrous and poorly led?



The infantry charge was a brilliantly

planned and ex*cuted maneuver

designed to provide a cover for

Madeline and her blasters.

And that charge was led by none

other than Jem Bellweather.

- [THUNDER CRASHES]

- [CROWD MURMURS]

[STOMPING]

She and her company held the line,

hopelessly outnumbered

while the storm gathered.

In the end, it was only

Jem left standing.

But she never faltered.

She held back the

enemy, single-handedly,

until the storm swept over the valley.

[WIND HOWLING, THUNDER CRASHING]

Jem Bellweather, the Lioness of Juarez,

was torn apart by the same winds

that crushed our enemies.

She sacrificed herself

without a second thought

because that is what a soldier does.

That's what a Bellweather does.

[STOMPING]

Can't they see that it took

both of them to win the battle?



No, they can't.

Since birth, 200 years of poison

and resentment poured down their ears.

[WOMAN SOBBING]

I think I'm going to like this one.

[SCYLLA] I know people have

always hated and feared us,

but to look this kind

of evil in the face

Well, the burning times are over, right?



Are they?



I mean, look at this place.

So many sick ways to k*ll us and maim us

and grind us into dust.

Does something like that

ever really go away?



Your ex is here.

I didn't realize you had met him.

I did. And he said some

weird things to me.

- What's going on, Scyl?



- You don't need to worry about him.

No, you don't get to duck this one.

You either tell me what's

going on, or I'm leaving.

All right. Well, not here.

- So was Porter a Dodger?



- Yeah, and his parents too.

We were all part of this loose network,

moving from place to place,

staying with different families.

- In hiding?



- Yeah.

So your parents were Dodgers.

I just, I don't get why you feel

like you have to keep that a secret.

It's not like it's shameful or anything.

I mean, no more than

having a civilian father.

- But it is illegal.

- Right.

And when the m*llitary tried

to arrest my parents,

the whole thing went south,

and they were both k*lled.

I don't even know what to say, Scylla.

I'm so sorry.

That was when I decided to enlist.

Try to b*at them at their own game,

maybe get some measure of

justice for my parents.

I wanna help you.

But that stuff that Porter said

If I do get the urge to

run, I'll take you with me.

- I am thrilled for you, Devon.

- [SOBBING]

You should be so proud

of what you're doing.

I don't even know what to say.

I've dreamt of this for years.

How soon?



Now.

Now, now?



Is there anything I need to bring?



We have everything you'll need.

- [KNOCKING ON DOOR]

- [PORTER] Scylla?



Porter. What the hell?



I need to talk to you.

And I need you to stop

spooking my girlfriend.

I don't care about her.

- I care about what you're doing here.

- Why?

I told you already.

I want the truth.

Because the things you used

to say, the things you did,

that person doesn't end up in the Army.

That's the kind of person who ends

up filling a balloon with hate.

Porter, just because I've

always challenged the system

doesn't mean I'm a t*rror1st.

That's not who I am.

And it hurts that you would think that.

Hey, hey.

[SOBBING]

[WHISPERING] I am filled

with unbearable sadness.

- [TALLY] Come on. Show me.

- [GERIT] As soon as it's ready.

Patience, Craven.

Okay, watch this.

[HOOTS LIKE AN OWL]

- [WINGS FLUTTERING]

- Did you just summon an owl?



[GERIT] Bird languages are

kind of a hobby of mine.

- Wow.

- He says he likes your hair.

You're an idiot.

For you.

It's beautiful.

Okay, I know that it's part of your

job to be charming and wonderful.

And you're very very good at it.

[LAUGHS]

But am I being an idiot thinking

that there's something more here?



Tally, I'm not meant to be spending

all my time with one person,

- anymore than you are.

- I know.

But I've been with you all day,

and I couldn't be happier about it.

So I'm just supposed to trust you?



Enjoy Beltane for me, sisters.

I hope that you know

that your sacrifice will

never be forgotten.

It's no sacrifice at all.

And it's been my very great privilege

to serve.

Sleep now, my daughter.

[ALL VOCALIZING MELODY]

[VOCALIZING CONTINUES]

[VOCALIZING CONTINUES]

- [VOCALIZING CONTINUES]

- Oh, my God!

Oh, my God!

[SCREAMING] Help! Somebody help!

Please! Oh, my God!

Oh, God!

[GROANING]

Stay with me, please.

You're okay.

[DISTORTED] Ask and it

shall be given to you.

Seek, and ye shall find.

Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Please

Please, somebody help!

Oh! Ask and it shall be

[PANTING]

Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

[GRUNTS]

I'm sorry.

[VOCALIZING CONTINUES]

[THEME MUSIC PLAYS]
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