TEXT: [PREVIOUSLY_ON] Mary: I've come from the docks. The countess has our son on board. Boy: Why must I be baptized? Countess Marburg: So that you can be born again. More powerful than before, with me at your side. Cotton: And what is it you want from me? John: There's a boy. If we don't get the devil out of him, we're done. Mary: Go, John! Save him! Countess Marburg: I really must have the boy. Anne: Or else what? Countess Marburg: I will kill Cotton Mather. John: Where'd you take the boy? Cotton: He's with Anne. John: Anne Hale is a witch. Cotton: Why are you saying this utter nonsense?! See with my own eyes. Countess Marburg: You made the wise decision, dearest daughter. Sebastian: Your battle is over. John: [Grunts, groans] Mary: No! Countess Marburg: Ah, birth. Such terrible hard work. We're all born howling and then must rest. But what dark dreams of our new world flicker behind those perfect lids? Shall I give you a glimpse? For 2,000 years, they have tried and failed to build the kingdom of God here on earth. Now it is our turn. Under our dark lord's dominion, Salem will prosper and grow, becoming a mighty nation. And it all begins here, with this little boy. Mary: I had a dream, too, once. A dream of a new birth of freedom. But my sleep produced only a monster. Countess Marburg: A monster is but a God seen through fearful eyes. Wisdom comes with acceptance, my dear. Mary: I do accept. Oh, I accept that I have played my role in this tragedy all too well. Now I'm done. Countess Marburg: Hardly. Very little has been asked of you thus far. You should be honored to serve your son. Mary: I saw my son die in the crags... Watched as you drowned him. That...
SUMMARY:
With her mission seemingly accomplished, the Countess Marburg revels in the apparent completion of her plans, but the Dark Lord she dedicated herself to has desires to be with Mary instead. Sebastian grows increasingly weary of the Countess's treatment, leading to an unexpected act of defiance. Emotionally drained by recent events, an all-but-defeated Mary stages a last-ditch effort against the Countess to make them both burn. Meanwhile, John is visited by the Indian chief and his daughter and they offer a place for him in the spiritual world; Mercy is shattered by unsaid promises that have been broken, leaving her to wander Salem alone as she continues her life of luring children for their blood; an unrepentant and increasingly powerful Anne faces the personal consequences of her actions in accepting she is Marburg's daughter, leading her down to a dark path; and when Cotton learns Anne will not risk him leaving her sights, his reaction is initially mixed, until a startling confession strengthens his resolve. But Anne intends to keep him against his will, with his fate like that of George Sibley.