Laura's torments are about to take a turn for the worse in episode 3. After a rather lame attempt at breast torture (the Meister either failed Master Blakemore's both introductory courses Breast Constriction 101 and Breast Harnessing 102 or he simply skipped them) our beautiful hexe will be subjected to pincer and fire torture. The intensity of these two tortures amply makes up for this slip.

During the few minutes of "breast torture" Laura's breasts and belly will receive sixteen licks from the lash, after which the Inquisitor orders a halt. Around 1:23 things start to get interesting, particularly for those who are into foot torture, pincers, and fire games. Sorry, no bastinado. The Meister will trade his whip for the pincers he has been holding in his hands all along. They will be used to torment Laura's belly, pussy, thighs, calves and feet. Her screams and moans will reach a high crescendo. There is a moment, even, where the Inquisitors mock her by cupping their hands over their ears pretending not to hear her screams and laugh mockingly.

Finally, Laura looks exhausted and at 2:57 the Meister orders his assistant to offer her the wet sponge. I might be exaggerating, but I just cannot get enough of the way she anxiously awaits these brief seconds of respite and avidly opens her mouth to receive the trickle of water that will be allotted her before her torments resume. After this brief pause, there will be a second round of the cold pincers applied to her toes, belly and pussy. The Meister will mostly concentrate on her toes, pulling her legs away from the cross and flexing them until her thighs and calves tremble while she gasps and groans beautifully. After a while, he orders her ankles tied to the cross.

After some more work with the pincers, the Meister orders his assistant to fetch the flaming pot that will be used for her next torment. This is where the episode reaches its highest peak and our hexe faces her toughest ordeal. Not only will the flames lick her feet but, in a devilish twist, the Meister will heat the pincers as Laura looks on helplessly knowing what awaits her.

I must admit that what follows (6:11-8:45) was pretty disconcerting at first. I may be a sadist, as labels go, but inflicting pain on a person is not right, unless the act is erotically consensual. You might say that as an actress Laura gets paid to endure some amount of pain, which maybe she also enjoys. However, what is presented on film is deemed to be real, so her character is not hanging on the cross and enduring torture consensually or for a salary; she is supposed to be a living heretic enduring the tortures of the Inquisition. It was evident, from her desperate struggles, her screams, and her facial expression that she was really scared of the flames and also enduring pain beyond what she had endured already. So the last few minutes of the episode were very intense for me, not only because of the ambivalence I just mentioned, but also because Laura was evidently not acting, she was really anguished and suffering.

All the struggle and pain have left Laura exhausted by now and the torment is halted. The Inquisitor then orders the Meister to revive her with water. The man pitches some wet rags at her face and then splashes the bucket of water on her body. After that, the Inquisitor orders that she be left on the cross for the night and invites his cronies to supper.

Before closing, I would like to comment on some plus and minuses.

The first plus is, of course, Laura. She knows her stuff and is willing to take risks. She is also a true pain slut. I mean this as a compliment not in a demeaning way, as some may think. The type of woman many of us unfortunate mortals would like to meet in the flesh. But, as some pre-Socratic philosopher, whose name I can't recall now, said "the world is not just." So filmic Laura is all will get in this vale of tears.

The cinematography is also a plus, the camera angles are varied, although I would have appreciated some bird's eye and worm's eye views. I, however, understand the technical constraints that small production companies face. There is also appropriate background music, during the last minutes organ music is heard throughout the scene. The costuming is also adequate, no glaring anachronisms.

On the down side, as I mentioned before, we do not get to see Laura raised on the cross and the cross is not free-standing. I mentioned a possible solution to this on my review of episode 2. The rope work can also be improved. The breast torture scene is really not up to par and it would probably have been better to skip it. So is the amateurish tying of her ankles. I would have preferred her ankles to be tied to the cross from the beginning since it gives the impression of her truly being crucified. She also looks better on the cross with her legs flexed and her arms stretched to the fullest. Maybe next time a triangular (like the horse) sedicula or one shaped like a penis (shades of Markus) can be used so that she can rest with legs flexed. This has the added plus of tormenting her genitals.

Finally, so as not to get too tiresome, there is the issue of the torture implements. I think that another type of whip, with finer strands, should have been used. Those wide stranded whips always seem fake to me, even if they leave marks on the body. Also the sound they make is not too impressive, particularly in an exterior scenario. The other weakness is the pincers. They look more like salad or barbeque pincers than real torture implements. A meaner looking set of pincers would have been more realistic; also some with longer handles, so that her breasts and arms were within reach of the pincer's jaws.

But, these are just my pet peeves. In general this is a well-crafted production. One of the best Dungeon Witches has come up with recently. It also has overtones of blasphemy and sacrilege and what seems to me a wink to Markus and his wonderful crucifixion drawings.

From what I gather the next two episodes will take place in the dungeon. Hopefully, we will have Laura on the cross again and, why not, on the rack. I grade this episode A-

One final gif of the last minutes of Laura's crucifixion: