Agatha All Along brought a fun, spooky, witchy atmosphere to Marvel’s slate, leaving many fans wanting more. Watching Agatha Harkness form a coven that bonds almost against its will was beautifully compelling storytelling, the likes of which can also be found in other similar series, and the Agatha All Along characters having so much growth in just eight episodes is impressive. For any viewers of Agatha All Along whose chief complaint is that they wanted more time below Westview, there is a little-known supernatural drama, Motherland: Fort Salem, that provides the perfect substitute.

Motherland: Fort Salem is an alternative history of America where witchcraft is real. The entire U.S. Army consists of witches, headquartered at Fort Salem in Massachusetts. Motherland: Fort Salem‘s main characters are a unit of three newly conscripted witches, each has her own opinion on the honor of serving in the armed forces. Like Agatha All Along, Motherland: Fort Salem is about harnessing female power. For anyone craving more of Agatha and Rio Vidal’s romance at the ending of Agatha All Along, Motherland: Fort Salem offers a steamy, complicated queer relationship that is explored in depth over three seasons.

Motherland: Fort Salem Uses The Strength of Female Friendship & Song, Just Like Agatha All Along

Fort Salem Teaches Witches “Seed Sounds”

All the witches in Agatha All Along have specialties within the craft. For example, Alice Wu-Gulliver is a “protection witch”, while Lilia Calderu’s gift is divination. Once the coven members start reclaiming their power, there are some impressive displays of power in Agatha All Along. Similarly, in Motherland: Fort Salem, the women in the unit train to enhance their natural gifts. Raelle Collar is a Healer, Abigail Bellwether inherits her family’s gift for Weather Manipulation, and Tally Craven is skilled in Scrying, a form of intuitive clairvoyance. In both Agatha All Along and Motherland: Fort Salem, no matter how powerful a witch is alone, she is stronger with her coven.

A unique highlight of Agatha All Along is the power of song. “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” is a song with the power to open the gate to the Witches’ Road or to cast a protection spell over Alice. Motherland: Fort Salem also embraces the power of song. The cadets of Fort Salem are taught to use their vocal cords to make “seeds” or “seed sounds,” layering vocals to take raw potential and harness it into specific acts of magic. The more harmonious the coven, the stronger their magic grows. These similarities create a surprising amount of overlap between the two series.

Motherland: Fort Salem Has The Complicated Queer Love Story Agatha All Along Teased with Agatha & Rio

Raelle and Scylla’s Relationship Grows Over Three Seasons

Agatha All Along was a milestone for queer representation in the MCU. Agatha and Rio are canonically ex-lovers who are still powerfully drawn to each other, even centuries later. Their intriguing but vague backstory was developed in the first half of the show, though the details were never fully explored. Agatha telling Billy Maximoff, “If you want a straight answer, ask a straight lady” encapsulates the wonderfully cavalier way the show handled gay characters, but Agatha All Along’s finale had one major failure: not showing Agatha and Rio’s backstory. With just eight episodes, there was not enough time.

Unlike
Agatha All Along
, which had to condense its storytelling into a shorter streaming season,
Motherland: Fort Salem
has the space to allow its queer relationship to blossom fully on screen…

Motherland: Fort Salem has 30 episodes to explore every beat of Raelle’s relationship with fellow witch Scylla. From their first meeting, their chemistry is intense and magnetic. However, Scylla is keeping a secret concerning Raelle’s past and future. Despite many obstacles, Raelle and Scylla always find their way back to each other. Their love story is the central romance of the series. Unlike Agatha All Along, which had to condense its storytelling into a shorter streaming season, Motherland: Fort Salem has the space to allow its queer relationship to blossom fully on screen – a clear advantage for fans wanting more from the Marvel series.

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  Motherland: Fort Salem is a supernatural drama series created by Eliot Laurence. Set in an alternate America where witches ended their persecution by making a deal with the government, it follows three young women training in combat magic to defend the nation. The series stars Taylor Hickson, Jessica Sutton, and Ashley Nicole Williams, exploring themes of power, duty, and identity within a militarized, mystical society.

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  Agatha Harkness, after the events of “WandaVision,” seeks to regain her magical powers. Joining forces with unexpected allies, including the son of an old adversary, she battles new mystical threats while uncovering hidden secrets in the magical realm.