Previously on "Salem"... 

[Clang]

[Hisses]

Anne: Aah! Cotton!

Mary: What have you done with my son?

Countess Marburg: When the comet blazes overhead tomorrow night, little John will be baptized in the river of hell-blood.

Mary: We do have a son. And they mean to k*ll him. But you will be waiting for them.

John: And where will you be?

Mary: On the bitch's ship, finding her Achilles' heel.

Sebastian: I saw you with him last night. Imagine what that would feel like with a fellow adept. Think of your boy. If you ever want to see him again, leave the good doctor to me.

Cotton: Will you marry me? Hathorne, listen to me. This is much bigger than our rivalry over Anne Hale.

[Screaming]

Hathorne: Make sure he's d*ad by the time you reach Amherst.

[Indistinct talking]

Countess Marburg: ♪ hush-a-by baby ♪

♪ in your wee boat ♪

♪ when the waves rise ♪

♪ the cradle will float ♪

♪ when the waves die ♪

♪ the cradle will fall ♪

♪ and drown little baby ♪

♪ cradle and all ♪

Boy: I want to go home.

Countess Marburg: Soon, child, all the world shall be your home.

Boy: But I want to see my mother.

Countess Marburg: You will see her once more tonight. But until then, you must learn what will be expected. There will be a celebration tonight. And you will be the most important guest. And the sky will blaze with the comet. And incantations will be strung together like pearls on a necklace. Now, I do not want you to be afraid. So you must be prepared for how it is done.

Boy: Why? Why must I be baptized?

Countess Marburg: So that you can be born again. More powerful than before, with me at your side.

Boy: I do not want you. I want my mother beside me.

Countess Marburg: Oh, I understand. I once had someone that I loved dearly, and I lost him. But he will come again soon. So soon, I can taste it.

Boy: [Muffled shout]

Countess Marburg: [Sighs] True hearts will always be reunited. One simply has to wait, even if for centuries.

Boy: [Muffled shouting]

Countess Marburg: [Sighs] Mmm!

Boy: [Gasping]

[Gasping]

["Cupid Carries a g*n" plays]

♪ Pound me the witch drums ♪

♪ witch drums ♪

♪ pound me the witch drums ♪

♪ pound me the witch drums ♪

♪ the witch drums ♪

♪ better pray for hell ♪

♪ not hallelujah ♪

[Birds chirping]

Cotton: [Grunts] What are you doing?! Unhand me! I am recalled to Boston, nothing more.

[Breathing heavily]

[Chains rattling]

[g*n cocks] I am not your enemy. I pose you no thr*at. Do not do this.

[g*n cocks]

[Gasps]

Man: Say your peace, brother.

Cotton: Dear lord, forgive me my trespasses.

[Breathing heavily] Protect my Anne from the terrors that await her. And forgive them, Lord. They know not what they do.

[g*n]

Man: [Grunts]

[Breathing heavily]

[Shouts, grunts]

Cotton: [Breathing heavily]

Man: You were right. They didn't know what they were doing.

John: But I do.

[Horse whinnies]

Cotton: But how? How did you know where to find me?

John: I told you this before. I'm not the man I was... for better and for worse.

Cotton: Well, Hathorne appears to want me d*ad, and what is it you want from me?

[Chains rattling]

John: An exorcism.

Cotton: An exorcism?

John: There's a boy.

Cotton: A boy? Who?

John: Look, all you need to know is that without him, the entire witches' plan falls to nothing, but if we don't get the devil out of him... We're done... all of us.

Cotton: And you have this boy?

John: No. But I'm working on it.

Cotton: You yourself told me that you k*lled a man just because he knew your name. So, why don't you just... k*ll the boy? An exorcism is a very dangerous rite to perform, and we might not make it out alive.

John: Did you ever believe that saving someone... Was the only thing that mattered? That saving them was... the one and only hope you had? I need you, Cotton.

Cotton: If it must be done. There is one thing I need to do first.

Mary: You came.

John: Not for you.

Mary: I know. But at least it means you are here to save our son.

John: Are you sure the boy is really yours, let alone mine?

Mary: I'm sure. And when you look into his eyes, you will be, too.

John: Well, Cotton's on board. So, what's the play?

Mary: I've come from the docks. The countess has our son on board. But for all her power and knowledge, she does not know you even exist. To keep living century after century, she carries with her the first body she inhabited. Find it, destroy it, and the bitch can be run through with a dull blade.

John: That, I can do. If I still had one.

Mary: [Sighs] Whoever gave you these knew what they were doing. It will protect you.

John: Yeah, if it doesn't k*ll me.

Mary: The Marburgs are not like the other witches you've k*lled. You will need every advantage you can have.

John: And you?

Mary: I must wait until tonight... when they take our son to the woods to baptize him. The ship will be unguarded, but I won't have much time. They will be expecting me to join them, so... I must do something that I've never tried before. A trick I saw Marburg herself do. It will take every ounce of my strength to maintain.

John: And if they see through your trick?

Mary: They will slaughter him. But I wager that she holds her own life above all other things. It's where she and I differ. [Bell tolling in distance] There is one other thing I wish for, though I know I'll never get it. Your forgiveness.

John: We've both done things... no one can forgive. Nor either of us forget.

Mary: Once you've got our son, get him someplace safe. If I survive, I'll find you.

[Footsteps receding]

[Door opens]

Mother: Come along, my dear.

Daughter: Yes, Mother.

Hathorne: Your enemies are not here. Only your friends and your neighbors. True, we feel abandoned. Lord knows where our good Doctor Wainwright has gone. The Reverend Lewis, too, is nowhere to be found. And it appears we have depended on the wrong people to lead us. The Sibleys have led us to the very precipice of apocalypse. In our time of...

Countess Marburg: And where is our Mary? You were to keep an eye on her.

Sebastian: I know it is your way to find me at fault in every matter, Mother. But perhaps you misjudged her. Or perhaps, her love for her son is simply stronger than yours.

Countess Marburg: Far from being her strength, it is her fatal weakness. And I have loved you in ways no woman ever has. Let us not be divided. Not now that we are so close to the goal.

Sebastian: Your goal, you mean. I've g*n to wonder whether my turn will ever come.

Hathorne: Was not the star in the east once a sign of true redemption for all humanity? And perhaps this glorious comet from our lord... Promises hope. Salem... The new Jerusalem. [Inhales deeply] Let us rise, and let us pray. Our Father, which art in heaven...

All: Hallowed by thy name.

Mary: Thy kingdom come, thou will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

All: Give us this day...

Countess Marburg: I thought you'd abandoned us and yourself.

Mary: As you suggested... like the other Mary, I accept that my son must be sacrificed for a higher end.

Countess Marburg: Excellent. You know, I saw her once. Mousy little thing. I don't know why their lord chose her.

Mary: Nor why ours picked me.

All:... Forever and forever. Amen.

Hathorne: And as you go about your day... Peace be with you.

Countess Marburg: Their lord may forgive, but I don't. Be on the road with us tonight, or I will delight in destroying what you hold most dear, and then I will find you and keep you alive long enough for you to see me take my first bite... out of your heart.

Mary: My heart? You're welcome to it. But I think it might be a little bitter for your taste.

Sebastian: Would you like me to describe your lover's final moment? He was like an excited schoolboy until his face sank beneath the hell-blood.

Mary: I find jealousy makes a man ugly.

Sebastian: Perhaps. But it is the natural tribute men pay to those they desire.

Mary: Your tribute means as little to me as your desire. A woman can tell when a man is already dedicated to another. In your unusual case, your mother.

Sebastian: Really? Well, you must know I did it for you.

Mary: For me? k*lled my friend, my ally?

Sebastian: He was a deadly distraction as you walk a very narrow path over a most dangerous precipice.

Mary: Do not pretend that sending his living soul into the jaws of hell was an act of chivalry. You only care because your mother needs me.

Sebastian: No! You will see. Trust me.

Mary: Trust you? No, you have already broken promises to me. You as much as said you would help my boy if I let you take Wainwright.

Sebastian: Do nothing foolish, and you will be reunited with your boy in good time.

[Dog barking in distance]

Hathorne: Miss Hale. If I might impose.

Anne: You seem incapable of not. Can't it wait?

Hathorne: I am afraid it cannot. It concerns Cotton Mather.

Anne: I expected to see him in meeting. Where is he?

Hathorne: Ah. That is a question beyond human answer.

Anne: What are you saying, sir?

Hathorne: There is no gentle way to say this. He has been k*lled. His coach was att*cked by Indians. I felt it my duty to inform you and to comfort you.

Anne: He was just here. [Sighs] I still see his face before me.

Hathorne: But you do understand, these are troubling times and you, all alone. Life must go on. I... I accept that you chose Mather over me, and if he were still alive, I wouldn't dream of pursuing you. But seeing as he is not, I know you will do the wise thing. The very thing I'm sure he would want you to do.

Cotton: And what exactly would I want her to do?

Anne: [Gasps] Cotton! He said you were d*ad!

Cotton: And who would know that but the person who paid for my execution?

Hathorne: Absurd! You have no proof of such a wild accusation!

Cotton: Two of your men now lay d*ad in the woods, and I'm sure when the facts are laid before the elders in Boston, my crime of returning to Salem will pale in comparison to yours in attempting my m*rder. Would you like to stand beside me and compare stories?

Hathorne: [Grunts]

Cotton: [Sighs] Shh. Shh, shh, shh. I am alive. But it may not be for long. Tonight, I must fight the greatest battle I have ever known. And there is a chance I will not be on this earth tomorrow.

Anne: Well, then you mustn't go. I will not allow it. I cannot lose you, Cotton. You are all I have.

Cotton: Which is why we must wed. Now. So, please... My dear Anne... Take your vows with me today under the eyes of God.

Hathorne: I'm honored to be here. Salem is mightily enriched by your presence, as I am by your guidance. Now, what was this urgent and confidential information I was told you had?

Sebastian: I do believe some things are purely private matters. Mother has convinced me that in times like these, even the most personal of matters must be public.

Anne: I, Anne Hale, take thee... Cotton Mather, to be my wedded husband... Till death us do part.

Cotton: And I... Cotton Mather... Take thee... Anne Hale... To be my wedded wife... Till death... Do us part. I have written a last will and testament. It states the fact that you are my wife and sole heir.

Anne: If you love me, don't go.

Cotton: Because I love you, I must.

Anne: Please, Cotton, tell me. Where are you going?

Cotton: If I told you, it would endanger you, as well.

Anne: Cotton! Please come back to me.

Cotton: I will certainly try. Mrs. Mather.

Anne: [Chuckles]

[Cries]

[Sighing]

Mary: Strange... You seem different. I believe much has happened to you since we last met.

Anne: I'm married.

Mary: Congratulations. Your spell worked.

Anne: Perhaps. But it is not, I think, stronger than death.

Mary: Little is. Why so philosophical on your wedding day?

Anne: I fear Cotton is engaging in something dangerous tonight.

Mary: I'm quite certain he is.

Anne: Then you know what it is?

Mary: All too well, which is why my errand with you now. If you are to ever see your husband again, you must heed me.

Anne: Do you ever speak anything but thr*at?

Mary: I promise you, my dear, it is not my thr*at but the countess' you must fear. Tonight, I will engage her in a kind of battle. Of wills, if nothing else. And after I do, Cotton's battle will be just beginning.

Anne: I don't understand. He told me nothing, and you speak in riddles.

Mary: Then I shall speak plainly. The countess herself told me that she would k*ll Cotton before all other puritans. You do not know this witch as I do. You cannot... you must not trust her.

Anne: But instead, I should trust you?

Mary: I do not ask you to trust me. Trust no one. Only yourself. And your father's voice if you have heard it. And I believe you have. Your father's book of shadows was taken from my library. Did you think I would not know it was you who took it?

Anne: I shouldn't have stolen it, but the countess told me that...

Mary: You foolish girl!

Anne: No, I didn't. I swear I kept it. But I knew you would be angry.

Mary: No. No, I am proud. You were always stronger than I cared to see. And now that he has visited you, doubly so.

Anne: How did you know?

Mary: I sensed it the moment I saw you. He came last night?

Anne: I have been telling myself it was not the devil but only a nightmare.

Mary: He must appear to each of us. It is the prerequisite for all the power he grants.

Anne: [Crying]

Mary: I know. I know. His is a rough magic, indeed. But he proves that what does not k*ll us, makes us stronger.

Anne: [Crying continues]

Mary: Like it or not, you are in this w*r. And you are now an even more powerful soldier in it.

Anne: I will fight no w*r for you. Nor for her.

Mary: When the time comes, you may not have a choice if you want your Cotton to live.

Boy: You're hurting me!

Countess Marburg: Just walk.

Man: [Speaking native language]

[Shouting]

[Screaming]

[Indistinct shouting]

Girl #1: [Whimpering] [Chains rattling] Help us! Please help!

Girl #2: Please save us! Please, please help us!

[All whimpering]

Girl #3: Friend?

Mary: Go. Go.

Girl #4: Thank you!

Mary: Go.

Girl #5: [Breathing heavily]

Man: [Muffled] Mary!

[Breathing heavily]

Mary: Oh, Isaac?

Isaac: [Muffled shouting]

[Keys rattling]

Mary: Have you not suffered enough? The innocent soul always at the heart of hell let loose on earth.

Isaac: [Muffled shouting]

Mary: [Breathing heavily] How could the countess t*rture you so?

Isaac: It was not her alone. Mercy is alive. The poor souls you freed? [Breathing heavily] It was Mercy who lured them. She serves the countess. They share the blood.

Mary: Listen to me, Isaac, and this time, do as I tell you. Escape this place.

Isaac: Once upon a time, I believed all you said. I was sure no matter what you did, deep down you were still the Mary I knew. I'm sorry if I am no longer so certain.

Mary: Please, Isaac, I haven't time to prove my intentions to you. But I beg you, go and don't look back.

Isaac: I will not leaving Dollie. She's somewhere on this vessel. [Breathing heavily] She must be. Because no one leaves here alive.

[Bird calls in distance]

Boy: Where are we going?

Countess Marburg: It's time to meet your mother for your baptism.

Boy: Will I have to be under the water as before? I don't like water.

Countess Marburg: Then you have nothing to fear. For it's not water.

Boy: Mother! Mother!

Countess Marburg: Shh! So good of you to join us on this holy walk. As you can tell, your son is as overjoyed as I am to see you. Won't you lead the way?

Boy: Mother! Mother!

Mary: Body without life, eyes without sight, whisper to this flame, your place this night.

[Gasps]

[Heartbeat]

[Gasps]

[Heartbeat]

[Grunts]

[Breathing heavily]

[Screams, grunting]

[Breathing heavily]

[Crickets chirping]

[Bird calls in distance]

Sebastian: Where did she go?

Boy: Mother!

Countess Marburg: I see I underestimated you. I'm glad that you learned something from me, but it's all too little, too late, I'm afraid.

Mary: It is over. I want my son.

Countess Marburg: You would not dare harm my relict. You know what I would do to him and to you. Unh!

[Gasps] Do not do anything hasty that you will spend eternity regretting, Mary. For he is already lost. I feel the presence of my love inside him.

Mary: Nothing is lost if he yet lives. f*re runs through my veins like blood, and I will burn it before you even have time to blink.

Countess Marburg: You began this vital rite, Mary. You alone unleashed a plague to devour hundreds of your kin!

Mary: Not kin. Puritan hypocrites who branded my friend, drove away my love, and forced me to give up the only joy I had left!

Countess Marburg: We all make sacrifices, Mary, and in these courageous acts, legends are born.

Mary: No. I wanted freedom. For all. I may have been willing to sacrifice too many to achieve it, but you just want a world of slaves.

Countess Marburg: Do you not yet understand? Men long for the freedom of their chains. To them, sl*very is freedom!

Mary: You are no better than the ones I sought to destroy.

Countess Marburg: You've not lived nearly long enough to judge me or the forces that drive me.

Mary: Come, now. Do not pretend that you are after anything other than your own infinite desires.

Countess Marburg: Were you there to hear the screams of thousands of children sliced apart by crusaders? Have you smelled the human flesh searing to the red-hot irons of the inquisition? I consecrate this land on behalf of the millions I watched suffer! And their temples destroyed, their people slaughtered! You began this rite to end all of this. How can you turn your back on us now?

Mary: I wanted it... passionately. But I hadn't tasted passion until I became a mother.

Sebastian: Tread carefully.

Boy: [Gasps]

Countess Marburg: Now give me what's mine.

Mary: Slice as deeply as you must, for it will not be quick enough to stop my hand from igniting your mother's rotting carcass. I am fully prepared to die tonight, and I will drag you with me.

Countess Marburg: Step away from her, Sebastian.

Mary: Now release my boy.

Countess Marburg: You place my relict on the ground carefully.

[Horse whinnies]

Sebastian: Unh!

Countess Marburg: [Screaming]

[Horse snorts]

Boy: [Grunts]

Mary: Go, John! Ride on! Save him!

Boy: Who are you?

John: I'm John. Your father.

[Gasps]

Isaac: [Moans]

[Breathing heavily]

Dollie: Isaac?

Isaac: Yes, my love. Yes, it's your Isaac. And I've come to take you away from this place. Shh, shh, shh. We shall still... We shall still see the sun. [Crying] [Sniffling] No, Dollie. [Cries] No, Dollie! You're alive! You're still alive! Dollie! I'm gonna take us to our freedom now, Dollie! You're alive!

[Crying]

Mary: How long do you intend to sit there and leer at me?

Sebastian: Days on end if I were so lucky. But we only have two until the comet passes over.

Mary: And when the comet passes without my son, how long do you think your mother will suffer me to live?

Sebastian: We have two days to try again, and then she promised me you will be mine.

Mary: Well, I'm not hers to give. Besides, what man... what real man... allows his mother to choose his mate?

Sebastian: She didn't choose you. I did.

Mary: Really? And do you think she spares one thought for your happiness?

Sebastian: I see what you're trying to do. Cleave me from my mother.

Mary: "Cleave." Such an odd word. You know, it can mean quite opposite things. A man may cleave a log in two or a man may cleave to his wife forever. It's up to you which one it will mean. But you must know you cannot have us both.

Sebastian: I myself believe in having cake and eating it. Your man shall fail you as all of them have. My mother always gets what she wants, as shall I.

Mary: Hmm, and do you really think you're enough man to have me?

Sebastian: You and my mother may not think so, but I will prove you both wrong when the time comes. But first...

[door opens]

Man: Mrs. Sibley, come with us.

Sebastian: It seems you have guests.

Mary: What is the meaning of this?!

Man: Come on.

Mary: Release me!

[Breathing heavily] Unhand me!

Hathorne: Mary Sibley, you are under arrest.

Mary: On what grounds?! I demand you let me...

Hathorne: On the crimes of adultery and fornication.

Mary: What attestation could you possibly have for such an absurd claim?

Hathorne: The accounts of a most trusted pair of eyes. The noble baron Sebastian Marburg. Who will testify that he saw you entertaining Dr. Wainwright in your marital bed.

Mary: Get off me! Get off of me!

[Grunting] Let me go!

Countess Marburg: I knew that man in the forest. I tasted him on Mary's lips.

Sebastian: Alden. John Alden.

Countess Marburg: I will find a way to get to him, but first, I would know everything about him. Where has he been and with whom?

[Knock on door]

Hathorne: Mary Sibley is locked away and bound.

Countess Marburg: You follow instructions extremely well, Mr. Hathorne.

Hathorne: I am your humble servant.

Countess Marburg: Humility is such an overrated virtue. And there is no dishonor in being a servant if one serves the right master.

Hathorne: Or... Mistress.

Countess Marburg: Would you like that, to truly serve a mistress such as I?

Hathorne: I can think of no greater pleasure.

Countess Marburg: The quality one most seeks in a servant is loyalty. One cannot serve two masters, nor two mistresses.

Hathorne: Uh, madame, I... I have been your servant alone since I first saw you outside the jail.

Countess Marburg: And the worst kind of servant is one who lies.

Hathorne: Oh, madame, I... I swear I... countess Marburg: Oh, do not swear. I shall have to take your tongue. I know that you tried to eliminate your rival, Mather, and that you tried to take little Anne Hale this very day.

Hathorne: Oh [Chuckles] a momentary lapse in judgment. Had I known that I would have the opportunity of serving you this very evening, um...

[Sighs]

Countess Marburg: Oh, don't explain. Show me.

Hathorne: [Sighs]

[Sighs]

Countess Marburg: Better.

Hathorne: I ask only to be allowed... To worship at your feet.

Countess Marburg: Oh, that's a very good place to start.

Hathorne: [Sighs]

Countess Marburg: Depending on how well you worship, we will see how far you may ascend.

[Crickets chirping]

[Door opens]

John: Did you come by way of London?

Cotton: It is slow journey in the dark. Hardly thought it prudent to attract unwanted attention with a lantern. Why, it's the boy Mary Sibley took in. I see nothing wrong with him, no... No overt signs of possession.

John: All I know is what I've been told by someone who has nothing to gain and everything to lose by lying.

Cotton: The boy seems fine.

John: [Sighs]

Cotton: Exorcism is not something to toy with. What if I hurt him? What if he's innocent?

John: He is, but what's in him is far from it. Save the boy before we lose him completely.

Cotton: Are you sure you want to take this risk? If there is something inside of him, we are much more likely to agitate and enrage it than destroy it. Some things are better left unawakened.

Boy: [Distorted voice ] It's too late for that.

[Bell tolling]

Cotton: My God...

[Bones cracking]

Boy: Before the dawn comes, we shall play cat's cradle with your entrails.
{"type": "series", "show": "Salem", "episode": "02x10 - Til Death Do Us Part"}