Previously on Salem
John Alden: [voiceover] Previously on Salem
Increase Mather: This whore is hereby banished.
[Cotton Mather is shown weeping as Gloriana is taken away by cart.]
Anne Hale: I am sorry about your girl.
[Cotton Mather is shown lying in water. Anne Hale is shown trying on her father's mask and being transported to the woods. A spider is seen crawling on George Sibley's nightshirt.]
Increase Mather: He is rendered incapable of speech.
[Mercy Lewis is shown speaking to a crowd gathered outside the House of the Seven Gables.]
Mercy Lewis: [gesturing to her neck] Tituba held a spider to her neck. She seemed to feed it!
[Increase Mather is shown next to Tituba in the House of Pain.]
Increase Mather: You have but to tell me a name.
[Tituba whispers something in Increase Mather's ear.]
Increase Mather: And she started with Mercy Lewis.
Mary Sibley: Mercy?
Increase Mather: I will have her, and her girls.
Mary Sibley: She's not here. She went out this afternoon. She's not returned.
Increase Mather: You can imagine my shock to discover that John Alden stands behind all of Salem's horrors.
[John Alden is shown outside the House of the Seven Gables, confronted by some of the selectmen and the militia.]
Selectman: I place you under arrest for witchcraft.
[John Alden is led away to the jail.]
Jail
Increase Mather: There was a time I wished you my own son.
John Alden: Then you know I'm no witch.
Increase Mather: Sadly, Captain, I do not know you at all anymore.
Street
Mary Sibley: Do you truly believe him guilty?
Increase Mather: Whatever I believe of John Alden is not at issue here. This is why we have a trial.
Mary Sibley: Trial. Of John Alden.
Increase Mather: Does this surprise you? Your own servant's accusations were firm and very clear. Unless... unless, of course, perhaps your own feelings cloud your judgement.
Mary Sibley: Any feelings I once had for John Alden were extinguished once I gave my heart to George.
Increase Mather: Ah.
Mary Sibley: But it is not my feelings that concern me.
Increase Mather: Then whose?
Mary Sibley: Salem's. John Alden is a firebrand but he is adored by the commoners. I've already heard their whispers of dismay.
Increase Mather: Tell me, are you suggesting that I not bring Alden to trial?
Mary Sibley: No. I am suggesting you do not fight this battle alone. Allow the select board to decide whether a trial is warranted. With their backing and, I assure you, you have it fully, you will quell any dissent.
Increase Mather: And are you confident that the board will vote to bring Alden to trial?
Mary Sibley: As sure as I stand before you.
Increase Mather. Yes. I shall summon the board at once. Thank you.
Mary Sibley: Oh, and Reverend? Any luck in finding Mercy Lewis? She too must face her day of reckoning?
Increase Mather: Not yet but I'm a patient man. And a witch can't hide forever.
Crags
[Mercy is shown using one of the corpses in the crags as a bed.]
Opening credits
Hale Cottage
Anne Hale: What is it? Tell me. And why you felt the need to destroy it.
Magistrate Hale: Tell you? Was it not you who just told me that it was a magical transporting mask? Did I get that right?
Anne Hale: Don't you dare mock me! I've afforded you the privacy to explain.
Magistrate Hale: Which I have done. Many times. It is an artifact of my travels.
Anne Hale: Stop! No more lies. I simply want the truth.
Magistrate Hale: The truth of the mask?
Anne Hale: The truth of you. Of who and what you are. Fine. Perhaps there is someone who is not yet tired of my questions. Someone with knowledge of other worlds who isn't afraid to share it. Increase Mather.
Magistrate Hale: What on Earth would you want to bother him with this nonsense for?
Anne Hale: Nonsense? Why don't we see if Increase regards this as nonsense? For I do not believe he will.
Magistrate Hale: Anne. Anne!
Cotton's Chamber
Increase Mather: Do you know why I came back to Salem?
Cotton Mather: Lovely. More questions I can answer to your dissatisfaction.
Increase Mather: Not only to hunt witches but to make a man of my son.
Cotton Mather: You found some witches so your trip is not a total loss.
Increase Mather: Do you really not see the path that I have set you on? The whore is gone. A rare opportunity awaits you now to announce yourself before the entire province.
Cotton Mather: And what is that?
Increase Mather: Tomorrow I shall bring John Alden's case before the board. Cotton, you are a persuasive, nay, a gifted speaker. I want you there by my side.
Cotton Mather: I will not. John Alden is my friend, perhaps my only one.
Increase Mather: And you would allow friendship to stand in the way of your own elevation?
Cotton Mather: He is innocent. And you know it!
Increase Mather: Do I? Do you? What, a man shares your whiskey, and suddenly you can see into his very soul and attest that it has not been blackened by the Devil? I myself possess no such omniscience. You know, long ago, I faced the same dilemma as you. It was state the case against a fellow student, a classmate, a young man I quite liked, or remain silent and allow an accused witch to walk free.
Cotton Mather: And let me guess; you watched him burn.
Increase Mather: No. I let my feelings intercede and the young man was freed, and two years later he slit the throats of two virgins in a Satanic ritual. My mistake and it has haunted me ever since. So consider carefully your decision. You know me well. Just how well do you know John Alden?
Salem Street
Magistrate Hale: I surveyed the board per your request.
Mary Sibley: And?
Magistrate Hale: Six of the selectmen will indeed opt to take Alden to trial. The other five, loyal to the memory of his father, will vote for dismissal.
Mary Sibley: That leaves two seats.
Magistrate Hale: I shall vote as you have asked. I assure you.
Mary Sibley: So this leaves me, as a proxy for my ailing husband, to break the tie. Come, let's get this over with.
Meeting House
Increase Mather: Must we not hold all our citizens, both commoner and the sons of privilege, to the same standard? When they cheat, must they not be pilloried? When they steal, must they not be whipped? And when they fail to uphold their promise to God and choose instead to take league with the Devil, must they not then be judged by their decision?
Mary Sibley: Thank you, Reverend. I believe the board is ready to vote. Captain Alden has been accused of the practice of witchcraft. The good Reverend has graciously agreed to allow the board to decide whether he should go to trial. So, those who believe that Captain Alden should be tried as a witch. [A pause, while six of the selectmen raise their hands.] Six for trial. And those who believe that Captain Alden's distinguished character renders such accusations baseless. [Another pause, during which five of the remaining selectmen raise their hands.] Five for dismissal. Mr. Hale? Salem awaits your vote.
Magistrate Hale: Dismissal.
Mary Sibley: Ah. Six to six. Which means I must break the deadlock. And I shall cast my vote...
Increase Mather: [Interrupting] Actually, Mrs Sibley, your vote is not required. You will be pleased to learn that George's health has progressed, at least to the point where he is able to cast his own vote. [He opens a door at the back of the Meeting House and George Sibley is wheeled in.] Thank you, Doctor.
Mary Sibley: Reverend, you yourself said that he was held in the witch's grip.
Increase Mather: Perhaps, perhaps not. His condition has steadily improved.
Mary Sibley: Improved? He cannot speak. He can barely move. All he can do is spit.
Increase Mather: Yes, precisely. George, my dear old friend, if you can understand the words that I am speaking to you, please spit.
[George Sibley spits on the floor.]
Mary Sibley: This is ludicrous!
Increase Mather: Actually, Mrs Sibley, it is anything but. Your husband is a selectman and he is eager to perform his civic duty. Well, then. Sir. And now, George, tell me, do you believe that this man, John Alden, should now stand trial? Yay or nay? If your answer is in the affirmative, will you please spit? [George Sibley spits on John Alden's boot.] Return him to the jail. Captain John Alden will stand trial on the charge of witchcraft.
Salem Jail
Mary Sibley: Open it.
Jailer: Yes, ma'am.
Mary Sibley: Now leave us.
Jailer: Yes, ma'am.
Mary Sibley: I warned you. I told you that should you stay in Salem, you would die here.
John Alden: So you came here to remind me? Or to bury me?
Mary Sibley: I came to apologise. Not for today's vote but for the one that I cast that sent you on this course, for had I accepted your offer to go to New York, far from this place, we would know nothing of votes or trials or Increase Mather.
John Alden: And if I hadn't gone to war, or you hadn't married Sibley. There was no one choice that sent our course awry.
Mary Sibley: Listen to me. If you go to trial, they will hang you. But there is still a way to prevent such a fate. They cannot try you if you are not here to be tried.
John Alden: Escape? Is that what you...
Mary Sibley: I will arrange it. It won't be easy but properly planned... I have resources, means at my disposal...
John Alden: Mary...
Mary Sibley: Far more widespread than you might imagine...
John Alden: Mary, no. I won't go.
Mary Sibley: But a trial will result with you in the gallows. You must know this.
John Alden: You know, I always wondered why Giles Corey never fought back, why he let them press him to death rather than plead their charges, but now I know. He knew he lost the moment he played their game, dignified their madness. So, no, I won't run, not from my birthplace. I'd rather die here.
Mary Sibley: So perhaps you will get your wish.
Salem Inn
Anne Hale: Reverend Mather?
Increase Mather: You are the Hale girl.
Anne Hale: Anne, sir.
Increase Mather: Do you wish to speak to me or are you simply content to watch me eat?
Anne Hale: I have a question of witches.
Increase Mather: Indeed. Are you merely curious or have you encountered one?
Anne Hale: Well...
Magistrate Hale: Anne, there you are. Interrupting Reverend Mather's dinner.
Increase Mather: She was querying me about witchcraft.
Magistrate Hale: Was she?
Anne Hale: Reverend Mather was about to answer my questions that others seem unable to answer truthfully.
Magistrate Hale: Well, perhaps I can be of some assistance so the Reverend can finish his meal in peace.
Anne Hale: Perhaps. But will you speak honestly?
Magistrate Hale: I will.
Increase Mather: It is no matter to me. [Rises to leave the table] Magistrate. Miss Hale.
Anne Hale: No more lies.
Magistrate Hale: No more lies.
The House of Pain
[Four of the girls from Mercy's group are shackled to the walls. They shriek in pain as Increase Mather scalds them with boiling liquid.]
Increase Mather: Have either of you tired of this game for I assure you I have not?
Emily Hopkins: Mercy's too smart for you.
Elizabeth: We'll never tell you where she is.
Increase Mather: Is that what you think? That we're here together because I require your help in locating Mercy Lewis? No, no, no, no, no. I am here as an act of charity.
Emily Hopkins: Charity?
Increase Mather: Aid me in apprehending her and your lives will be spared but if you persist in defying me, I can offer you no alternative to the stake.
Elizabeth: Mercy won't let us die.
Emily Hopkins: She will come for us.
Increase Mather: Perhaps such a thought comforts you in your sleepless night but, I assure you, I will find Mercy Lewis, with or without your help.
[He scalds the girls again and they shriek in pain.]
Woods
Mary Sibley: You're late.
Mercy Lewis: Well I'm sorry, my lady, but I have to take precautions with Increase still searching for me.
Mary Sibley: You're right to. You offered a solution once for Increase, one that I dismissed, but perhaps it was only my response which was misguided.
Mercy Lewis: So what are you saying?
Mary Sibley: I'm saying that Increase Mather must die and we are the ones to do it.
Mercy Lewis: Kill him? But why now?
Mary Sibley: The shadow he casts grows longer and Tituba's accusations jeopardize one that I care for deeply.
Mercy Lewis: John Alden.
Mary Sibley: No. My dear, dear Mercy. You. Your path from lost girl to Devil's assistance is one that I walked too. I would protect you as I would mine own self. Now that Tituba's released, rewarded for her treachery, and you live like an animal, hunted and fearful.
Mercy Lewis: So how will I do it and when?
Mary Sibley: Easy, my dear. Many a witch has sought to claim Increase's life and lost theirs in the process. Our efforts must be planned carefully.
Mercy Lewis: Surely you must have a method in mind.
Mary Sibley: Yes, I do. Show me your fingers.
Mercy Lewis: My fingers?
Mary Sibley: These will do.
Mercy Lewis: For what?
Mary Sibley: [Lowers her gown to expose her upper back] Now strike me.
Mercy Lewis: My lady?
Mary Sibley: Tear at my flesh as you would your vilest enemy. Do not question your ears or your faith. Do as I ask and soon you will understand.
[Mercy Lewis' fingernails morph into talons, which she uses to claw at Mary Sibley's back.]
Hale Cottage
[As they speak, we see flashbacks of a young John Hale watching his parents burned at the stake, later using telekinesis to drive a knife into the heart of the man who presided over the execution, of his journey to the New World and his early time there, and finally of him, Mrs. Hale and Anne as a child in their cottage.]
Magistrate Hale: I was eight years old when I watched my parents burn. A timeless solution for exterminating witches. Do you know what it's like to witness the death of those you love more than anyone else in the world?
Anne Hale: I can't imagine.
Magistrate Hale: It teaches you what you are capable of, the depths and limits you never knew you had. And yet, even as their ashes lingered in the air, steps were taken to spare me a similar fate. So I was whisked from England, sent across the sea, surviving plague and pestilence, to the New World. I was taken in by those loyal to the cause, who raised me with a twin mission; to teach me to harness the power of who I was and yet to keep it hidden from the world. And then I was raising a family of my own, knowing that those I held most precious live in every bit the jeopardy that I do. Am I a witch? Yes. But does that make me any less of a loving father? No. Most certainly not.
The House of the Seven Gables (Parlour)
Mary Sibley: Enter.
Isaac Walton: I came as soon as you summoned me. I suspect you're not pleased... [As Mary Sibley turns away, he sees the wounds on her back and averts his eyes.] What happened, Mrs Sibley?
Mary Sibley: Oh, ah, this. And here my own vanity convinced me that it was hardly noticeable. Join me in tea, and I will tell you my sad tale. I went to the woods, hoping to clear my mind after recent troubling events. Sugar?
Isaac Walton: No, thank you.
Mary Sibley: Lost in my own thoughts, I scarcely noticed her. Drink, Isaac. Until she was upon me.
Isaac Walton: Who?
Mary Sibley: Mercy Lewis, who greeted me not with kindness for once taking her in but with violence and anger. She finds me guilty for Tituba's accusations, as if I am responsible for my servant's mind.
Isaac Walton: Mrs Sibley?
Mary Sibley: Yes, Isaac.
Isaac Walton: The tea...
Mary Sibley: What about it? Is it making you warm or just sleepy?
Isaac Walton: Both.
Mary Sibley: Good. Then it's working. I don't mind telling you this because when you wake, you will remember nothing. Although I do regret using you like this. Even in Salem there are those who deserve better, but Increase knows that you are far too scared and guileless to betray him again. He will take your words as fact.
Isaac Walton: Words?
Mary Sibley: That, hearing that Mercy lurked nearby, you sought her in the woods but she was too quick and she evaded you. Increase will parse your words until he is convinced they are truth. So repeat after me, Isaac: I went to the woods.
Isaac Walton: I went to the woods.
Mary Sibley: To find Mercy Lewis.
Isaac Walton: To find Mercy Lewis.
Mary Sibley: Past the lake, beside the weeping tree, I spied her.
Isaac Walton: Past the lake, beside the weeping tree, I spied her.
Mary Sibley: Very good. Again.
Meeting House
Increase Mather: Can we ever truly know our neighbour, trust that they are whom they seem to be, who they would have us believe them to be? We are told that a young woman, a girl, really was a tool of the witches, only to find that she is, in fact, a witch herself! And now Salem's first son stands likewise accused. Look around, look to either side, look to your neighbour and ask yourself: friend or sorcerer? Wife or witch?
Cotton Mather: [from the back of the Meeting House] God or Devil!
Increase Mather: Who said that? Show yourself! [Cotton Mather steps into the aisle, looking dishevelled, and sketches a clumsy bow.] It is my son. Pay him no mind. Do not reward him with your indulgence.
Cotton Mather: You question who the people of Salem are, in the name of God?
Increase Mather: Yes.
Cotton Mather: But should the people of Salem not question who you are? For how else would the Devil appear but in the cloak of the Lord?
Increase Mather: Get out. You are drunk! [He steps down from the pulpit and strides down the aisle to Cotton.] Your rantings only serve to embarrass yourself. Remove yourself now. You will not? I will remove you myself! [He drags Cotton to the door of the Meeting House and throws him out.]
Hale Cottage
Mrs Hale: Point the finger at her own father? She would never.
Magistrate Hale: Are you certain of that? Was it not just last night that I found her with Increase?
Mrs Hale: She had no intention, she was simply acting out.
Magistrate Hale: Salem is filled with those who "act out". Friends who act like enemies, enemies who act as executioners.
Mrs Hale: This is all new to her. Trust that, in time, she will accept it.
Magistrate Hale: And if not? What then?
Mrs Hale: Then it may be time to tell her the rest of the story.
Magistrate Hale: I'm afraid that time has already come.
The House of Pain
Increase Mather: Your story is really quite fantastic. Mary Sibley attacked by Mercy Lewis?
Isaac Walton: Yes, sir.
Increase Mather: And out of loyalty to Mary, you followed the girl into the woods?
Isaac Walton: Loyalty to Mary? No, sir, loyalty to you.
Increase Mather: Me?
Isaac Walton: Are you not eager to find the girl? Did you not tell me to keep my eyes and ears open on your behalf? So when I learned she lurked at the woods' edge, I sought her out, as I knew you would have wanted.
Increase Mather: This is called a cilice. I wear this to remind myself of my own failings. Does it surprise you, Isaac, to learn that even I have sins I must atone for? Have you ever sinned?
Isaac Walton: Not intentionally, sir.
Increase Mather: Are you sinning now? Are you lying to me?
Isaac Walton: I speak the truth, Reverend. I saw her but could not catch her.
Increase Mather: And can you recall where it was you last laid eyes on Mercy?
Isaac Walton: Past the lake, beside the weeping tree, I spied her.
Increase Mather: And you could, you could lead me there?
Isaac Walton: Yes, of course, sir.
Increase Mather: Well then, prepare yourself, my boy, for you and I are going witch-hunting.
Crags
[Mercy Lewis removes a rib from one of the skeletal remains and begins to sharpen it with a stone.]
Cotton's Chamber
Cotton Mather: Miss Hale.
Anne Hale: Am I intruding, Reverend?
Cotton Mather: I was just about to enjoy my late afternoon drink, not to be confused, of course, with my early evening drink, which I anticipate taking place shortly as well. Perhaps? [He offers her the bottle.]
Anne Hale: Oh, no thank you. I cannot stay. I simply came to say I'm sorry.
Cotton Mather: For?
Anne Hale: Everything. I have not treated you well, nor entirely fairly.
Cotton Mather: So my father has earned me your pity, is that it?
Anne Hale: No! I simply see that we are alike, both children of complicated men.
Cotton Mather: Magistrate Hale, complicated? In truth, he's always seemed a bit of a simpleton to me.
Anne Hale: No, I assure you, he is as complex as any man in Salem. You have made quite a study of them, witches.
Cotton Mather: For all my studies, I'm not sure I truly know a thing.
Anne Hale: Oh, I doubt that. I am sure you could tell me all about them.
Cotton Mather: I did not know you even believed in witches.
Anne Hale: I've had a change of heart.
Cotton Mather: And why is that?
Anne Hale: Perhaps it is an interest I've lived with my entire life but wasn't aware of until recently.
Cotton Mather: Well, em, if you have a moment, please sit and I will tell you all about witches.
Woods
Isaac Walton: It's here, Reverend.
Increase Mather: You're sure?
Isaac Walton: It was the trail I took that led me to her. Careful, sir, we do not know when she could strike.
Increase Mather: Tell me, did you really travel this deep into the woods alone to find the girl?
Isaac Walton: For you, sir.
Increase Mather: For me? I'm touched. I'm also extremely sceptical. [He takes a dagger from inside his coat and holds it to Isaac's throat.]
Isaac Walton: Reverend?
Increase Mather: What is your plan?
Isaac Walton: Plan?
Increase Mather: To lure me? To kill me?
Isaac Walton: No. Why would I? How?
Increase Mather: Or perhaps... perhaps you did not have a choice. Tell me, whose bidding is it that you do? Is it John Alden wants me dead? Or Mary Sibley? Or do they work in concert? Hmm? Tell me now or I'll slide this blade along your throat and you'll be dead before I clean and sheathe it.
Isaac Walton: Reverend, I promise you I am here at your behalf and yours alone. [He spots Mercy Lewis behind Increase Mather and points at her.] Sir.
[Mercy Lewis runs away, laughing.]
Increase Mather: After her, go on!
Cotton's Chamber
Anne Hale: You've seen one. A witch, I mean.
Cotton Mather: I have. A vile creature who walked undetected for years until finally her true nature was revealed.
Anne Hale: So they hide amongst us?
Cotton Mather: This change of heart is remarkable.
Anne Hale: Remarkable that it took so long. Living in Salem and not believing in witches is like living in London and not believing in fog. It is to deny what is right in front of you.
Cotton Mather: And what does your father think of your conversion?
Anne Hale: My father, above all, is responsible for it.
Cotton Mather: Perhaps he is as complicated as you say.
Anne Hale: But what my father did not answer is; what do witches want?
Cotton Mather: Some say they want only to live in peace. Others, like my father, say that they desire nothing less than the destruction of all mankind.
Anne Hale: And is your father correct?
Cotton Mather: My father is correct in most matters.
Anne Hale: Is he correct about you?
Cotton Mather: My father thinks I'm a failure. Since I have failed at both piety and sobriety, yes, the evidence supports his case.
Anne Hale: He's wrong.
Cotton Mather: [He leans forward to kiss Anne, who draws back.] Another failure to add to my list.
Anne Hale: Your only failure is not becoming your father and that is no failure.
The House of the Seven Gables (Mary's Boudoir)
[Note: This scene and the next scene overlap.]
[Mary Sibley is seen dripping blood from her finger into a goblet of water.]
Mary Sibley: Terra sunt carnes et ossa. Domini est terra et ossa. Terra sunt carnes et ossa. Domini est terra et ossa. Et nos unum benedictus.
[Mary Sibley ties a cord around her bodice and tightens it repeatedly. Tiny vines materialise inside the goblet.]
Woods
Isaac Walton: I do not see her.
Increase Mather: Fear not, she will return. For how else can she attempt to kill me? Satan is a formidable enemy not because he is evil but because he is sly. Oh, we know each other well. Ssh, ssh, ssh, ssh.
[As Mary Sibley tightens the cord, Increase Mather gasps in pain and collapses against a tree. He pulls himself to his feet and continues walking, more slowly than before.]
Isaac Walton: Reverend? Sir?
[Increase Mather tears open his shirt, revealing that his cilice is cutting into his chest, which is now raw and bloodied.]
Isaac Walton: Sir? Reverend Mather?
[Mercy Lewis drops down from a tree.]
Mercy Lewis: Looking for me, Reverend?
Increase Mather: You will return with me to Salem and you will stand trial, witch!
Mercy Lewis: I don't think so.
[Mercy throws her makeshift weapon at Increase, who dodges it and throws his dagger at her, wounding her. While she is disabled, he removes his cilice. As the tiny vines materialise in Mary's goblet at the House of the Seven Gables, full-sized ones emerge from the earth and wrap themselves around Increase's legs, holding him in place. Mercy pulls the dagger from her side, and floats upright.]
Mercy Lewis: Did you think it would only take one knife to kill me, Reverend?
[Increase takes a second knife from his coat and uses it to fend off Mercy's attack with his first knife and to free himself from the vines. He wounds Mercy a second time and she flees.]
Increase Mather: After her! Isaac, don't let her get away! Isaac! [He turns to see Isaac slumped over in a sitting position, Mercy's makeshift weapon protruding from his abdomen.]
Isaac Walton: [He is having difficulty breathing.] Mercy's weapon.
Increase Mather: Oh, my poor boy. Breathe shallow. You are not alone. [He pulls out Mercy's weapon. Isaac screams in pain.]
The House of the Seven Gables (Mary's Boudoir)
Nathaniel: Reverend Mather has requested you in his quarters.
Mary Sibley: Cotton?
Nathaniel: No, ma'am. Increase.
The House of Pain
Increase Mather: Mrs Sibley. This way.
Mary Sibley: May I have a moment with him? [Increase leaves the room.] Isaac. Oh, sweet Isaac. I never intended for you to meet this fate so I promise you, though a grim future awaits the people of Salem, I will protect you from any further pain. I swear to you.
Increase Mather: [Returns, opening the door] Come, now. He needs his rest.
[They both leave the room where Isaac lies sleeping.]
Mary Sibley: Reverend, I am at a loss why Isaac would take it upon himself to seek out Mercy.
Increase Mather: I asked him the same question.
Mary Sibley: And what did he say?
Increase Mather: He said he did it on my behalf, which I find very odd when you consider the fact that he detests me.
Mary Sibley: Detests you? No, Isaac hates no one. He is incapable of it.
Increase Mather: Well, at least you will agree that his mind is childlike and, like a child, he absorbs the thoughts and the intents of others.
Mary Sibley: What others?
Increase Mather: Someone who does hate me and desires me dead.
Mary Sibley: And one other matter, Reverend. I remain skeptical that John Alden is a witch.
Increase Mather: Well, if not Alden, tell me who, then, is responsible for what has transpired in Salem?
Mary Sibley: Regrettably, I do not know.
Increase Mather: Well, perhaps we can hope together that the truly guilty party will step forward and exonerate the good Captain. Do you think that's a possibility, Mary?
Mary Sibley: Well, this is Salem. I think there are no limits to what is possible.
25. Jail/Outside the Jail
[John Alden is standing in his cell as Mary Sibley walks past, on her way back from the House of Pain. They meet one another's gaze for a brief moment but do not speak.]
The House of Pain
[Cotton Mather approaches the house and knocks on the door. Increase Mather opens it.]
Increase Mather: Am I to expect another outburst?
Cotton Mather: No. I've not had a drink for hours.
Increase Mather: Amazing what one comes to accept as a sign of progress. Why have you come at this hour?
Cotton Mather: I've been contemplating your offer to join you in the prosecution of Captain Alden.
Increase Mather: And you have seen the wisdom in it?
Cotton Mather: I have seen wisdom but not yours. I've decided to defend Captain Alden.
Increase Mather: To defend... Oh, imagine how proud I am to have raised a son so steadfast in his ability to consistently make the wrong decision.
[Increase closes the door in Cotton's face.]
Hale Cottage
Magistrate Hale: Anne.
Anne Hale: Please, Father, it's far past my bedtime.
Magistrate Hale: I only require a moment. There's something I neglected to tell you before, regarding that mask.
Anne Hale: Truly, can this not wait?
Magistrate Hale: It has waited long enough, and it is this: that the power of that mask can only be accessed by those of one kind.
Anne Hale: And what kind is that?
Magistrate Hale: My kind.
Anne Hale: But it worked when I... Are you saying that I am a...
Magistrate Hale: Like me. A witch.
[End Credits]