Night's Black Angels was written by Joe Menosky and Donna Thorland, and it was their first co-credit together, while they've both co-wrote episodes with other writers on the show in season 2.
Many big developments that occurred in the previous episode carried over here. He actually got further than we thought, though him getting away from Salem was something that was never going to happen. Opening the episode with Anne's induced visions of herself to him was a great way to kick the episode off. Anne has to deal with losing her power over Cotton that showed just how dependent she is on him. Her own safety depends on his obedience, which is something we feel conflicted about - we have two characters at odds here, yet both rely on the other to survive.
And Anne is always super creepy when she appears to Cotton, like in that dream from a few episodes back. That's a side to Anne that is truly scary. It seemed that Mr. Stoughton would be Cotton's saving grace when they found him in the woods, but alas, I was pleasantly shocked by their affiliation with the Dark Lord.
The troubles Cotton was enduring exemplified dramatically, his trust in them abolished like his trust in a lot of people, and while it was a terrifying situation, I found the couple to be rather comical. Their interactions were airy with a sinister undertone, so maybe I found them funnier than I maybe should have, but there was no denying the bickering between them was something to laugh at. Their domestic issue of her 'cooking' while she jumped to conclusions about what her husband implied led to their downfall.
Throwing the dog in the fireplace mixed me up a little - I love dogs, but at the same time, it was a familiar, and Cotton's track record with familiars has been terrible thus far. Tituba turns out to be Cotton's saviour, and fortunately we see Tituba in a role she was destined to be in from the start of the season. Her persona has shifted from being Mary's maid in season 2 who has to wipe bird shit from the linen, to the one saving people's asses.
