This week on The Secret Circle, they’re experimenting. Not like that, but shouldn’t that be the tagline for the show? Anyway, the SECRET circle is delving into witchcraft while trying to hide this from their parents. The parents are trying to relive their glory days by using this crystal to use magic; also, small conspiracies are a-brewing!
Candles are Overrated
Another candle scene? I’d call plagiarism but Kevin Williamson owns both shows so it’s all good (if you do not get it, please watch The Vampire Diaries). Also, Cassie just opens the curtains to a shirtless Nick and then breaks the window. Equally amusing. How creepy are the opening credits? Like Dakota Fanning as a brunette in that Hide and Seek movie, no?
Melissa and the other guy Nick are doing it. Excuse me, apparently I am in eighth grade. Mostly, I do not care about this (yet) but I am disappointed that the lesbian vibe I got off of her was wrong. After all, it’s arguably one of the only things these recent Kevin Williamson shows are missing.
We see everyone’s family lives. This is cool… sort of. The cast is kind of large and it is annoying keeping track of everyone. Especially when that girl Sally comes out of nowhere and I have to keep track of another almost generically beautiful person; it is like this show wants me to earn my keep.
Also, Cassie and Faye stand off a little bit with some spark and some sass, respectively. Cassie might be awesome. Maybe… but I’m still suspicious. She runs away a lot. Exposition!
Magic killed at least one of their parents in some freak accident years ago. Except for shirtless hottie Nick–he lost both of them and is now damaged. He’s probably Faye’s type (later proved to be incorrect–still Melissa’s). Anyway, Adam–some poor man’s Stefan– explains that their magic is magnified with all six, but dangerously so. By ‘binding’ the circle, the power individually is limited but together more powerful. It explains why Tracy Flick wannabe Dianna wants to bind them together so bad. If only she knew about the magic Cassie and Adam were making, she’d think otherwise.
Also, notice the chemistry between Cassie and Adam; it’s electric. Bad pun, sorry. But the electricity thing isn’t that cool. I’ve seen potatoes at a science fair do the same thing.
Experimentation with Herbal Remedies
What a transparent metaphor, but an effective one. Faye, Nick, and Melissa (who is mad boring so far by the way) start experimenting with magic to expand their potential. In case you don’t understand subtext, it’s a metaphor for drugs.
Small complaint bear with me: the problem with Faye is that we haven’t seen why she is so reckless and gung-ho about freedom of magic. I’m confident the backstory will be revealed one day, but it would be nice if there was an inkling as to why she has a death wish.
Cue consequences: Faye eggs Cassie on with a bit of fun. Regardless of her death wish, Faye is kind of fun. But she’s like the main girl in Footloose: I just can’t root for her for putting others in danger (remember the car scene…yeah). Nice mini-Dianna Sally gets the brute of the force, with Faye shoving her off the boat (?) and onto the rocks. This probably isn’t where my priorities should be, but anyone else notice the awkward extras dancing?
Binding
Adam and Dianna show no signs of being in a relationship together purely because they talk. I was raised on TV in which no couples work out their issues so they break up. It is going to be so much harder when this maybe functional couple breaks up. The loser in me wants to ‘ship them, but the journalist says “objectivity!” Dilemmas, dilemmas.
I like that Dianna admits to her boyfriend that she does not know what she is doing. Then, rather bluntly asks if she should be worried about Cassie (and she should be based off of her wardrobe choices). Why, he asks? Because she is insecure. Okay, snark gone for the moment, but awww. I like Dianna’s frankness! She seems like she might have dimensions. Adam’s response is lame, but it is the characters problem.
Faye and the principal Dawn have a little pow-wow about responsibility. Only a few minutes after Dawn killed her father-in-law for getting in the way of her using magic. Or did she just give him a heart attack and leave him there until he got up? I wonder if magic makes you evil or if it is the generations that are evil. It was heavily implied earlier that Cassie’s mother was killed by all three of the shown parents. Hmmm…
And now the binding ritual. At midnight, surrounded by a beach fire.
If I recall correctly, I was underwhelmed by The Vampire Diaries‘ second episode. It’s not good that I constantly compare the two in my head, but it is hard not to. But, again I have faith that the show will find its groove and reach its full potential. It just has to experiment a bit first.
What do you think? Am I wrong, am I right? Cast your spells below!
Emily Steck
Contributing Writer
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
