Comic-Con 2015: Interviews with the Cast & Crew of SALEM

It's an exciting time to be a fan of WGN America's Salem. At Comic-Con last week, the show was renewed for a third season and Daily Dead took part in roundtable interviews with the series' cast and crew, who discussed the blood-splattered storylines of season two and also looked ahead at what's to come in season three. [Spoiler warnings for those who aren't caught up on Salem.]

Ashley Madekwe and Seth Gabel on what they'd like to see Tituba and Cotton Mather experience in the third season:

Ashley Madekwe: I gave a great idea, we'll see if it happens, because if Tituba does come back, she's had her eyes pecked out. I gave an idea that maybe she uses something else as eyes. Maybe she uses some animal's eyes. I also pitched the idea that because Mary [Sibley] and Tituba have been at odds for so long, I would love for them to come across each other in the woods in dire need and have to be with each other and I think of a spell whereby Mary has to spit in my eye socket to help me grow new eyes.

Seth Gabel: I'd love to go into hell, the astral plane and have some kind of rescue mission for Little John or whoever else might possibly be dead, to bring them back to the real world.

Janet Montgomery and Shane West on Mary Sibley and John Alden's potential future relationship:

Janet Montgomery: I'm excited for a third season because the first season you saw Mary really trying to build her power. At the beginning of the second season, she was on top of the world, apart from obviously the stuff with her son. She had all the power and then you see her decline throughout season two to the point where she's a shell of a woman. I'd be interested to see how that manifests into who she is in season three. If she does somehow live or survive or they bring her back somehow, what that means for her soul, who she is.

Shane West: With John [Alden], I'm more or less interested in seeing where this is going to go, where the John/Mary dynamic is going to go clearly based off of your life, because I still also feel like he's not really accepted back into Salem yet. That never was really discovered as he ran out and hid and tried to kill witches and became a witch hunter. To see where he can even go from there or if we hear him or not. He's open, he's committed at that point. I feel that they have a much better shot of being together in season three than they would in season two.

Janet Montgomery: What's interesting is that even though you [John] want to kill me, finding out that we have a son together and now what's happening with our son, Little John, where that's going to go and if we're going to have to work together and rebuild. I think they obviously love each other, but I think there's a lot of anger and pain always underneath the surface.

Elise Eberle and Iddo Goldberg on the respective futures of Mercy Lewis and Isaac Walton:

Elise Eberle: My character [Mercy Lewis] is so unpredictable, and the things that she has done so far—crucified, possessed, burned, bloodbaths—I'm just along the ride. Whatever happens, just give it to me and we'll see how that goes.

Iddo Goldberg: Brannon [Braga] and Adam [Simon] gave me this opportunity in episode eleven to really raise my voice beyond the volume I'm usually allowed to speak at, and really say what Isaac [Walton] wanted to say. That was this moment in his life when he acted courageously and just didn't care anymore, and that psychologically prepared him a little bit. At the end of the season, he's obviously lost this innocent love that really cared for him and really looked after him and saved him, and that is a horrible thing for him, but it's like a clean slate in a sense though, he can almost go anywhere. I'd love for him to maybe go a bit too far, because he may feel like this policeman patrolling Salem, and that might get to his head a little bit, he might enjoy that job a bit too much.

Salem co-creator Adam Simon on key moments from the show's second season:

Adam Simon: We debated about Increase Mather's [Stephen Lang's character] ghost—is it going to feel cheesy? But we just said, "You know what, ghosts are real. Hell is a real place on this show." And I think it worked great.