Three Sovereigns for Sarah

Many things stand out about this arresting PBS miniseries about the Salem Witch Trials. First, the production values are modest and some of it feels dated, and not just because the story takes place in the 1690s. But that does not detract at all from the experience, if anything, it somehow makes it more realistic.

Second, the story is taken very seriously and it's very well done. Some of the dialogue is said to have been taken straight from the proceedings. The miniseries doesn't try to take sides (other than the obvious "killing women for suspicion of witchcraft is bad" side) and mostly just portrays what happened during that time. Which is really the most remarkable thing about this series: showing us how a group of children was able to create mass hysteria to the point of causing the death of 20 people, if I may oversimplify the case. And if I may proselytize a bit, that lesson still serves as an explanation for how easy it is to convince a group of people of even the most absurd ideas by yelling it for long enough. Ironic.

The acting is mostly excellent, particularly from the children. Child actors in television productions are hit or miss, but here they are mostly very convincing, in pretty difficult parts, too. They are the lynchpin upon which this story revolves and subpar acting would have brought the whole circus down.

As of 2023 this is available on Amazon Prime and if you have a chance to watch it, give it a try. It might bewitch you.