2 out of 5

Created by: Adam Simon & Brannon Braga

covers season 1

It’s seven episodes in and I’m still rather unclear what Salem’s focus is meant to be, or for whom I’m supposed to be rooting.  Yes, we don’t need an absolute hero, and we’re allowed to hop between characters we love to love or love to hate as long as we like their storylines… but what happens when you just don’t care about any of the characters, and – as with that overall focus – are equally unclear as to their motivations?  Sure, there’s big, graspable concepts like power or love, but ‘Salem’ just seems to toss those around when it works; I don’t really get the sense that anyone is driven by anything… except the script.  (And even that could be questionable sometimes, as many scenes are vague prophesies or threats accompanied by a paranoid or threatening stare.)  Starz’s drama purports to be a historical fiction of the witch hunts in Salem back in the day, but then takes a fun spin by telling us that there were real witches, and their struggle for power was actually using the hunts as a type of cover.  For…  Uh…  Right.  And that’s where things get a little wandering.  The first episode of the season has some grounding as a character focused story, between ill-fated lovers John Alden (Shane West) and Mary Sibley (Janet Montgomery).  John leaves for a war, promising to return.  When he doesn’t, Mary’s poor living conditions eventually have her turning to witchcraft.  Flash forward and John returns to find Mary married, and conflicted between her coven responsibilities and her past love.  Toss in preacher Mather (Seth Gabel) as the guy who’s good or evil or crazy or smart, depending on what’s needed as a foil for that week.  ‘Salem’ is very obviously going for ‘American Horror Story’ insanity (lots of sex, lots of blasphemous violence), but it can’t boil its ideas down to anything concise enough to achieve that show’s energy.  AHS is never particularly good, but it tricks you by shoving you forward for the hour, whereas ‘Salem’ stalls while the camera shakes and they toss blood at the screen.  It’s never outright bad or stupid, and it’s watchable, I just can’t tell if anything has really happened.  Montgomery is well cast, flipping between torturous and remorseful with glee, but West, though his lines are delivered admirably, seems too pretty for the role, with his silky locks and light voice.  And I can’t even tell if Gabel is supposed to be the likeable quirk or the vile maniac.  Apparently we like our distractions, as Salem already got itself a second season, but when you watch something that actually engages you for an hour of your TV time, it’s easier to turn back to Salem and recognize the flash covering its emptiness.