On April 5, WGN America will premiere the second season of its horror-drama Salem. Set in 17th century colonial Massachusetts, Salem brings you the real story behind the infamous witch trials. In Salem, witches are real, and they’re behind it all. Arrow in the Head was on the Louisiana set of the show recently and had an opportunity to speak on camera with some of the main castmembers.
In the first video, you’ll see two of the most powerful witches in Salem, one trying to hold the title of Queen of the coven, the other trying to snatch away the position. Janet Montgomery plays Mary Sibley, the (hitherto) unquestioned leader of the Salem witches; at the end of last season, she put into effect the Grand Rite, which will slowly but surely wipe out the puritans of the town. Simultaneously, she found out her child, thought dead seven years ago, was still alive, which bound her to the place she despises yet still calls home.
It’s probably a bad time for Countess Marburg to come into play. Played by Lucy Lawless, Marburg is evidently the last of the first witches, and she intends to take control of Salem. Not much else is known about her at the moment, obviously, but that’s because she’s just getting started. I do my best to get to the bottom of this persuasive new character.
In the second interview, we have two of Salem’s truly lost souls. Elise Eberle plays Mercy Lewis, who at the beginning of Season 2 couldn’t be more far removed from where she was at the front of Season 1. Having transitioned from pathetic whipping girl of Salem to authoritative witch with a large chip on her shoulder, Mercy’s quickly becoming the most interesting character on the series. Should she be considered a villain now, or should we continue to sympathize with her plight?
Meanwhile, Isaac Walton remains the only true innocent in Salem. Played by Iddo Goldberg, Isaac’s simple mind has kept him mostly out of harm’s way for the duration of his time there (well, aside from being branded at an early age), but at the end of Season 1 he unfortunately met with the cursed Malum (the sinister object that brings about plague). Not quite dead, Isaac proves to be the “patient zero” of the outbreak when we meet him in Season 2.