Oh lord. This has been one hell of a season. This will be a spoiler-filled discussion, fyi. Also, if you’ve watched this show, please come talk to me about it!
Salem is such an odd show – I can never quite tell what it wants to be. I’m not sure its writers know either. It’s such a muddle of things – mythologies, folklore, morality – and it is ever-changing and ever-shifting.
This show is batshit crazy, and I absolutely fucking love it.
The premise is simple enough: what if the Salem Witch Trials had included real witches? But the show then takes that and runs with it, adding original characters and completely altering historical figures to suit its own needs.
The best aspect of Salem, and therefore the aspect that I will center my discussion around, is the character work. Personally, when it comes to TV shows, I find that it is the characters that determine whether or not I will keep watching a show. The plot can completely derail, but if I have a soft spot for characters, I’ll watch them eat breakfast. I hadn’t expected such nuanced character work from Salem, but nuanced character work is what I got! It helps that we’ve got a stellar cast.
