Ep 11. Cat and Mouse

In Salem season 1 episode 11, titled "Cat and Mouse," tensions continue to rise as the Witch War reaches a fever pitch. Mary Sibley (Janet Montgomery) is still reeling from the revelation that John Alden (Shane West) has returned from his long absence, and she's not the only one on edge. Cotton Mather (Seth Gabel) is struggling with his own demons, haunted by the ghost of his father and desperate to find a way to save his friend Isaac (Iddo Goldberg) from the clutches of the witches.

Meanwhile, Tituba (Ashley Madekwe) is playing a dangerous game of her own, manipulating both Mary and the Reverend (Stephen Lang) in order to protect herself and her secret agenda. And when John makes a bold move to try and expose the truth about the witches to the town, he puts himself and everyone he cares about in grave danger.

As the episode title suggests, there is a lot of cat and mouse-style maneuvering happening here, with characters constantly trying to outwit and outmaneuver each other. There are some particularly tense moments between Mary and Cotton, as they dance around their shared past and the secrets they're both keeping from each other.

One of the standout elements of this episode is the way it showcases the different alliances and factions at play in the Witch War. There are the witches, of course, who are united in their desire to protect their power and their coven. But there are also factions within the town itself, with some characters aligned with Mary and others opposed to her. And then there are characters like John and Cotton who are doing their best to navigate the dangerous waters in between.

Overall, "Cat and Mouse" is a tense, suspenseful episode that keeps the plot moving forward while also delving deeper into the complex relationships between these characters. There are some genuinely shocking moments here that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats, and the final scenes of the episode set the stage for even more explosive confrontations to come.