Well, you can’t say Salem doesn’t know how to keep its promises. “Dead Birds” had a lot of dead birds in it. Apparently, they like to fly into Baby John’s window when he’s angry. It doesn’t look like much but Tituba is extremely freaked out by it, so it can’t be good. Anyway, “Dead Birds” was kind of a slow burn episode, the bulk of which was spent trying to find Countess Marburg’s weakness (though Lucy Lawless was absent this week). It wasn’t one of the season’s strongest episodes, but it was necessary as we head into the final third of the season.

Much of this episode was devoted to Cotton, as he finally received closure from his father. I’m assuming this is Stephen Lang’s final episode, and if it was it was a sweet send-off for him (who would have thought the word sweet would ever be associated with Increase Mather?). This episode and last week’s episode will probably stand out as “The Increase Mather Variety Hour” when this season is discussed later, but I’m okay with that. It was a fun way to bring Lang back, and seeing his final scene with Cotton (and Mary) was very touching.

Cotton went on his own little adventure with Wainwright as well. After finding the Malum and seeing the crags-turned Hellfire pits, Wainwright puts everything together and links it to Mary. In one episode, Wainwright has become one of the most interesting characters on the show (and its biggest wild card). Mary is in desperate need of an ally, and while Wainwright wouldn’t have been my first choice, his speech to her to let him in was a great one. It was surprising (at least to me) to hear him side with her. Then they had drug-induced sex, so there’s that.

Mary got to show a truly vulnerable side with Baby John this week, once Mercy had turned him against her. Baby John is has not been my favorite part of this season, as he seems to be following many of the standard “creepy child” tropes we all know so well. He draws creepy pictures, causes birds to commit suicide, uses foul language, might be possessed by the devil, etc. Now that he is in Marburg’s grasp, he (like Mercy) might become significantly more interesting.

Finally, we have Anne, who has become real adept at killing animals this season. After an impressive moment of showing a backbone to Sebastian (let’s she if she can do the same with Marburg, though), she doesn’t give a second thought to ripping the head off of a chicken (seriously, calm down Anne) to open up her father’s secret room. After killing Brown Jenkins (AGAIN) to open her father’s Book of Shadows, her desperation becomes very apparent.

Anne’s arc has been one of the more interesting aspects of the season. Last season she came across as a whiney brat, so it’s good to see her taking charge of her own life. Also, she grew a brain this episode! After cutting herself and realizing that her blood would not reveal the book’s secrets, she scraped her father’s dried blood off of the wall (ick) and rubbed the flakes on the pages, only to see words and images start to appear.

“Dead Birds’ wasn’t a spectacular episode of Salem by any means, but it had enough going on to make it entertaining. Since this is the episode leading into the final third of the season, a lot of set-up is expected. Hopefully next week gets to the good stuff!

Random Notes

• The Countess was apparently alive when Lucifer fell and has died and been resurrected many times. So this basically means Lucy Lawless will always have an “in” with Salem, right? RIGHT?
• John does absolutely nothing this week except stay tied up and fuck Tituba. It’s an undeniably hot scene, though. I had to have a glass of wine after.
• “I gave you leave to spy on the Countess. Not haunt the streets of Salem like some ghost from a cheap ballad.” -Not Mary’s best singer, but it made me chuckle nonetheless.
• “Give me the book or I will bathe my mother in your blood.” -You’ve got to give Salem points for originality. I don’t think these words have ever been said on TV (or film for that matter).
• “If you were so concerned about my son, here’s a task most suited to your skills. I’m sure one as cunning as you can find a way to remove bird shit from his linen.” -Poor Tituba. Mary really does treat her terribly.
• “Oh it is not death, man. Merely marriage!” -Wainwright, ever the wordsmith.
• “My friend doesn’t like you very much. She says underneath your pretty face you’re a horrid old hag, and that you kill people all the time. And she called you…what was it….oh yes…a filthy whore.” -For some reason, I just think “whore” is a funny word. So hearing a child say it made me guffaw.
• “Open your eyes woman. It is me, Wainwright. I’m not a Puritan. Indeed I’m not a Christian. No, my religion is science.” -All hail Wainwright!