WARNING: The following contains spoilers for "Say the Words," the series premiere of Motherland: Fort Salem, which aired Wednesday on Freeform.
Freeform telegraphed the big twist in the series premiere of Motherland: Fort Salem, not only in the promotional materials -- one character "is not what she appears to be" -- but in the opening scenes, in which a member of the terrorist group the Spree uses a car lighter to burn away one face to reveal another. Nevertheless, the final moments of "Say the Words" undoubtedly caught some viewers by surprise.
Set in an alternate, present-day United States where witches ended their persecution more than three centuries ago by pledging themselves as soldiers, Motherland: Fort Salem follows three young recruits who enter basic training in hopes of making the cut for war college: primary protagonist Raelle (Taylor Hickson), who bristles at authority following the death of her mother in the line of duty; naive but strong-wiled Tally (Jessica Sutton), who defied her mother to come to Fort Salem; and the driven Abigail (Ashley Nicole Williams), who hails from a long line of military witches, the legendary Bellweathers.
A reluctant recruit, Raelle takes an almost-immediate dislike to the rules and traditions of Fort Salem, and soon finds a kindred spirit not in her roommates but in the enigmatic Scylla (Amalia Holm). Meeting, seemingly by coincidence, when each sneaks away from training, they soon become more than simply the boot camp's rebels. Caught using the substance salva to super-charge their powers, allowing them to levitate, Scylla is forbidden by Raelle's drill sergeant from having any contact with the new recruit. That, of course, only drives the two young women into each other's arms, where Scylla convinces the disgruntled Raelle to remain at Fort Salem to be trained. "I can make you powerful," she whispers as they explore each other's body.
It's been clear virtually from their first encounter that Scylla was trying to lead Raelle astray, even if viewers didn't know to what end. However, that comes into focus a few minutes later, when return to Scylla's room to find not the cadet with whom Raelle spent the night, but instead the young woman revealed in the opening moments of the episode: the (presumably) true face of the Spree member who triggered the suicides of 1,600 people at the shopping mall.
She smiles as she gazes into the mirror and sees a blue balloon, just like the one that burst at the mall, setting off the "suicide bomb," rather than her own reflection. We can safely presume she's not actually a balloon; instead it's likely a sigil or an avatar, and the mirror a means of communication. Having set up a coin as a sort of magical tripwire, Scylla is alerted to Raelle's approach, enabling her to grab a lighter and ignite her face and hair. Thus, she returns to the form Raelle expects to see, and kiss.
It's obvious Scylla has infiltrated Fort Salem for the Spree, even if we don't know precisely why yet. Did she target Raelle specifically, or is her mission simply to seek out disenfranchised recruits? Then we're left to wonder whether the intention is to bolster the ranks of the terrorist group, or to strike the military at its very heart, from within.
Airing Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Freeform, Motherland: Fort Salem stars Taylor Hickson as Raelle, Jessica Sutton as Tally, Ashley Nicole Williams as Abigail, Amalia Holm as Scylla, Demetria McKinney as Anacostia and Lyne Renee as Gen. Sarah Adler.