"what if" scenario. In this case, "What if the witches were real and created the trials themselves to cause chaos amongst the people of Salem?" Not only is this a very interesting and engaging idea to dive into, but the potential for some great intense drama is present as well. One of my favorite things to see in a movie, show, or even a video game is having a real-life event twisted into something else giving alternate explanations to what or how it happened. With that said, this show is definitely up my alley.
As for the characters, the story revolves around a man by the name of John Alden who left his former lover in Salem to aid in a war. Before he left he vowed to return to her, but ended up taking a much longer time than was expected. Within this time, things have changed in Salem and the story of witches has became part of the town's culture. Now he returns to find the entire town in fear and panic. I really like this part of the story already as I feel we as the audience can sort of see the story through his eyes as someone who is trying to understand what is going on (the clueless character that is as clueless as we are ends up being our connection to that world). Now we have the other side of the coin, Mary (John's former lover) who has become a witch during his leave due to an emotional struggle of keeping his baby or not. That scene was pretty intense seeing her choose witchcraft to get rid of John's baby. What made the scene great as a character moment is the struggle of her deciding to go with it with so much regret, and innocence. You can see her filing with pain as these nightmarish visuals fill the screen in the witch craft ceremony. The great thing about the scene her transformation from a regretful woman of innocence to a powerful and confident being. All the promises offered by her accomplice, Tituba (the witch that transformed her) was seen to be true as her pregnancy was no more in the matter of seconds. You can tell that nothing good could've come from such a miraculous thing (as seen by the evil and dark visuals that flushed her mind during the ceremony). Mary is a very interesting character because of how powerful she has become after becoming a witch. She has taking over the entire town as a high ranked personnel after forcing one of the wealthiest men in Salem in marriage keeping him her slave with witchcraft. So between her story as a innocent woman turned powerful witch and a man who has returned to Salem to see this same woman become something else than his former lover presents us with a very interesting and potential-filled conflict.
There are other interesting characters in the show such as a preacher who preaches from the bible and leads the witch hunts, but also engages in sexual activities that would be considered a sin (so many interesting stories can come out of this character alone). There is a young girl claiming to be tormented by a witch who frequently gets help by the preacher and is shown to be covered in scars and horrific wounds (claimed to be made by a witch). There are other side characters that possibly play a major key role in the story, but may not be worth mentioning at the moment for this episode (perhaps they are giving a lot more to do as the show progresses). The performances are surprisingly great considering the topic. Usually supernatural-based TV series are given some of the lamest dialogue and performances, so this show did have the potential to come out as laughable. Fortunately, as I said the acting and performances are good, the story seems to be well executed with the conflict being clear and present. This premiere was a surprise hit for me and I hope continuing on that I can happily say, "I'm glad I give this show a shot".
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