Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble Question

There’s something I don’t understand bout this episode. Near the beginning when JB and Seth are at Mildred’s house discussing the witch they discuss some detail as if continuing a previous discussion.

JB: I mean, it seems to me that the Langhams and the Brewsters have had more than their share of problems.

Seth: Oh, indeed they have. The Brewsters have had cervical problems for as long back as I can remember.

Was there a scene or some dialogue cut from the library that mentioned Patience the Witch allegedly cursed these two families? Or their necks? It comes out of nowhere. It does go somewhere though. You may remember JB keeps rubbing her neck. In the final moments of the episode she asks Seth if he should look at it and he says no, save your money.

Seth: I just recall that three or four generations back, on your mother's side, you are related to the Brewsters, and medical science is ill equipped to deal with a 300-year-old pain in the neck.

Was that previous bit merely in media res dialogue, so to speak, just to tee this joke?

This episode also features JB claiming jet lag doesn’t occur when traveling west to east but contradicts herself five episodes later, allegedly. Imagine someone somewhere in time thought a loved one was feigning jet lag to avoid them because they learned this fake fact?

It’s funny how you can see every episode a hundred times but notice something new after a break. Makes sense, considering this series has about five shows worth of episodes. In fact, I also never noticed that Christopher Stone plays this same character in season 2’s Sticks and Stones. I love when there’s some Cabot Cove continuity.

Speaking of that episode: why was Sheriff Tupper leaving then but he ended up sticking around for two more seasons? (Also, Father Dowling is underrated.)