Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale episode 3 recap: not so idle threats

Elaine Cassidy as Sarah Fenn, Hazel Doupe as Harper Fenn in Sanctuary: A Witches Tale
(Image credit: Szymon Lazewski/AMC)

The story continues to unfold in Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale episode 3. Abigail (Amy De Bhrún) is hellbent on revenge while Maggie (Stephanie Levi-John) and Ryan (Adam Isla O'Brien) continue their investigation with the help of Morgan Lynch (Edalia Day), a magic investigator. Meanwhile, Sarah (Elaine Cassidy) learns a shocking truth about what happened at the party. 

Abigail doesn't feel like she's getting through to Sarah about bringing her son back to life. She leaves a message for Sarah, giving her one last chance to agree to her terms. It's a threat, not a warning. When Sarah doesn't respond, Abigail goes to the local media with Jake (Darragh Gilhooley), and together they paint a picture of what happened. Abigail's husband, Michael (Barry John Kinsella) is furious, concerned for his reputation. His anger manifests physically as he grabs Abigail by the throat. 

After seeing the accusations against Harper on the news, Maggie presses Jake, who says he's not supposed to talk to her. Police Chief Ted Bolt (Stephen Lord) expresses that they don't need to investigate anything because the crime is all but solved. Outside the station, he gives an interview saying he's unhappy with the direction of the investigation and he's stepping away from his job to help his son work through the trauma. Maggie and Ryan realize that they're on their own. 

Sarah heads to the scene of the accident to investigate. She's in the middle of a vision when Maggie and Ryan arrive with the magic investigator, who determines two things: a very dark form of magic was used, and Harper isn't behind it. Since Sarah is the only registered witch in Sanctuary, either she's behind Dan's murder or there's another witch in town. 

Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale episode recaps

Harper's revelation

Elaine Cassidy as Sarah Fenn in Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale

(Image credit: Szymon Lazewski/AMC)

While running on the beach, Harper (Hazel Doupe) discovers everyone is looking at her and calling her a witch. To her shock, she finds that the sex tape has been published online. She's devastated to the point of being sick in the sand. When Sarah arrives home, Harper reveals that it was more than just a sex tape. 

Sarah is horrified to learn that Harper was drugged and raped by Dan after she broke up with him about a month prior. He filmed it and set it to music so no one can hear her protests. Harper didn't want to go to the police when it happened because she knew it would be Dan's word against hers and he was the golden child. 

By now, the press has gathered outside Sarah's house, hoping for an interview. Bubbling with anger, Sarah focuses on getting answers. 

The whole truth

Elaine Cassidy as Sarah Fenn, Daniel Adegboyega as Pierre in Sanctuary: A Witches Tale

(Image credit: Szymon Lazewski/AMC)

Sarah meets with Pierre (Daniel Adegboyega) and Bridget (Valerie O'Connor) and tells them about the dark magic and Abigail's threat. Pierre is horrified that Abigail would press Sarah to bring Dan back, but Bridget points out that it happened before. 

We see the group of friends gathered for a party several years before. Dan fell from the roof and broke his neck. He died instantly. Abigail begs Sarah to help, and with the pressure of all the friends Sarah eventually agrees to intervene. She brings Dan back to life, just before Maggie arrived to investigate the noise complaints. 

Sarah reminds Bridget that using magic like that is forbidden and she could still get in trouble for what she did. Pierre notes that Dan has been buried too long. It simply won't work. 

The ball drops

Hazel Doupe as Harper Fenn in Sanctuary: A Witches Tale

(Image credit: Szymon Lazewski/AMC)

Bridget and the other members of the coven meet with Abigail, hoping to convince her that she owes so much to Sarah, especially given that she saved Dan's life before and gave Sarah more time with her son. Abigail knows that Sarah has done so much more for her family than any of them know, so she reluctantly agrees to meet with Sarah. 

When Sarah arrives, the two women share a hug. It's hard, but their history is stronger than their grief. Of course, Sarah knows what really happened that night, but she's more concerned with Abigail stopping her attempt to destroy Harper's life. 

As soon as they've arrived at a good place, breaking news comes across the screen. Harper is outside the house talking to the reporter. Sarah watches in horror as her daughter says things weren't what they seemed with Dan, that he was a rapist and people needed to know the truth. 

Naturally, this doesn't sit well with Abigail, who is convinced that the whole meeting was a ploy to have her call off the investigation so her son's reputation could be tarnished. She's angrier than ever before, and nothing will stop her from getting revenge now. 

New episodes of Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale are available to stream Thursdays on AMC Plus.

Sarabeth Pollock
Editorial Content Producer

 

Sarabeth joined the What to Watch team in May 2022. An avid TV and movie fan, her perennial favorites are The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, true crime documentaries on Netflix and anything from Passionflix. You’ve Got Mail, Ocean's Eleven and Signs are movies that she can watch all day long. She's also a huge baseball fan, and hockey is a new favorite.  

When she's not working, Sarabeth hosts the My Nights Are Booked Podcast and a blog dedicated to books and interviews with authors and actors. She also published her first novel, Once Upon an Interview, in 2022.