The Secret Circle

Lucky

The Secret Circle Episode Review

In which Eva annoys me by doing mean things to Lee. The first episode of The Secret Circle that I review in months and they start killing off the cute boys?

Season One

Cassie learns that she is a witch from a family of witches in a town of witches. She also learns that her father was an evil witch and probably had something to do with the tragic fire that killed several of his generation of magic users.To be honest, this season is a bit of a slog unless you - for some reason - attach to the characters. Pleasant but lacking in anything resembling urgency.

The Secret Circle

When Cassie Blake's mother is killed, she goes to live with her Grandmother in Chance Harbor. Once there, she discovers that she is the latest in a long line of family witches. Five of her current generation of witches from other famlies in town ask her to join their circle.

In the vein (no pun intended) of The Vampire Diaries and based on similar source material, but not quite as well developed. The cast has its appeal but the story lacks the flair and drive of its sister show.

Watching: The Secret Circle

Submitted by thinkwatchthink
on Fri, 2012-01-13 13:18

Fire/Ice

So more Lee - which I like. Just because he's pretty. Although I still suspect that Faye's secret crush is really on Melissa.

More Cassie/Adam fuss - which I don't so much like. Thomas Dekker seems to be mostly acting by pursing his lips and I can't decide what is up with Adam asking his ex-girlfriend to tell his potential new girlfriend that it's okay that can they date. 'Cuz. Seriously? That's not a very nice thing to do to Diana. But the stuff with his father is good and I do like it when TSC pulls in the adults. Adam's emotional shrug when his dad announced that he hadn't had a drink "for a while" said way more than his puppy dog face Cassie-ward.

Cassie's thing with her dad and the fire has always had potential. Looks like we'll get more information on that next week. Which makes me more interested in next week's episode than this weeks episode. On the other hand, it means more Jake angst.

Oh. Jake. Who knows. Maybe he'll have a point after all.

I just can't get quite so worked up over this show. I didn't see the first season of the The Vampire Diaries until it was out on DVD, so it's hard to compare the learning curve here. By the time I did see some of the less successful first season episodes, I was hip deep in Katherine and Mason in season two. Perhaps this is just some of the grind up to the good bits. Like a roller coaster going up that first hill before the "whooosh."

Watching: The Secret Circle

Submitted by thinkwatchthink
on Fri, 2012-01-06 09:05

Darkness

So this is back from mid-season hiatus, along with Vampire Diaries. Have to admit that I'm not feeling the love here but we'll give it another chance.

I had hoped that we were done with Jake because he was boring. But he's back at the end of the episode. Here's hoping Cassie finally does choke him. (How can I miss you, Jake, if you won't go away?) I suppose they can't kill him because they made such a fuss about the Circle being six people. So unless someone else has a sibling they forgot to tell us about, we're stuck with Jake.

Is Charles' mother using witchcraft as skin care? Because I was a little confused there when she showed up. She did not look like a grandmother. Of course, she didn't do grandmother things either. Cook. Worry about inappropriate girls dating her son. Bury people alive.

Though I did enjoy watching Charles and Dawn make awkward around her. Nothing like dragging out everyone's Mommy Issues for the evening. That scene could have been much more delicious and played with Diana and Cassie's obliviousness. Imagine the delicious dialogue they could have given Natasha Henstridge.

Also on the plus side, we have Lee. Who is really cute and really hot and really all sorts of other adjectives. I wholeheartedly approve of him and Faye getting into trouble together so I assume that he will swiftly meet a horrible death that makes her cry.

Poor boy.

Adam showing up to apologize to Cassie in front of Diana and rub a little salt in the wounds was pretty strange. I wonder if that was Cassie working some mojo without realizing it? Or is Adam really that lame that he's going to go to his ex-girlfriend's bedroom to talk about how they need to be nicer to the girl they ended their relationship over? Because why?

The show is conveniently on after TVD, so I'll probably keep watching for the rest of the season. But things had better pick up quickly and get to the point.

Watching: The Secret Circle

Submitted by thinkwatchthink
on Fri, 2011-10-28 12:47

Masked

I kind of admire that they had the guts to kill off Nick, but Jake is not working for me. He isn't bringing either the charm or the menace I need to justify all these shots of Cassie gawping at him. Or Faye draping herself over him. Or Adam glowering at him. The main characters needed more of their own development before we swung focus so entirely onto some new person.

That said, the twist with Luke was cool - if again a bit predictable. He was the only guy around with a name who isn't in the opening credits. There had to be a point to him sometime. I might have drawn him out for another episode or two, but that's just me.

What's surprising me is that I'm really feeling poor Adam's pain at Diana dumping him. I did not expect that. Now my problem is that I'm going to feel moderately annoyed when they finally swing him back around to Cassie's direction. Here's hoping that if they skip just one obvious decision, that this is the one.

And despite everything, I do kind of want to know what the deal is with the parents and the fire. But if the characters aren't up to their marks by then or if the explanation doesn't hold up, we may have to reassess how much attention I'm going to give this show. 

Watching: The Secret Circle

Submitted by thinkwatchthink
on Fri, 2011-10-14 11:20

Slither

Ah. The early death. The one they pull out in the hopes of convincing me that ...dramatic pause... no one is safe. They want me to worry and worry whenever some gets all pale and wistful in a dangerous situation.

Bah. Humbug. They timed it the same on Ringer this week. (Speaking of which, we also got an "I know you're in there, you can fight it" speech on both The Secret Circle and The Vampire Diaries. And drownings on both shows. I think someone was working from the same set of Plot Point Flashcards.)

On the other hand, the mechanism they chose - having Charlie drown poor Nick with his bare hands - was definitely effective. Now I'm feeling for Charlie, who started out the season setting fire to Cassie's mother, and thinking that the adults are getting to be more interesting that the kids.

Who are also developing, albeit slowly. Diana's too wide smile as she was informing Faye that their parents were dating was brilliantly scary. And is it just me, or does Faye kind of have a crush on Melissa?

They got the obvious out of the way in "binding" the Circle. Now, they've kind of hit the soft reset button by killing off one of the members. (Assuming Nick stays dead of course.) It will be interesting to see what if any effect this has one their powers and how they can use them. As long as they don't ping-pong around and make up rules as they go - Charmed style - I'm actually quite pleased that the pacing is being used to add just that little hit of variety to things.

Watching: The Secret Circle

Submitted by thinkwatchthink
on Fri, 2011-10-07 07:51

Heather

So... the Big Bad of the season will be... a shiny earthworm?

I kid. And I also appreciate that they went the extra step of dropping it into Melissa's ear instead of the obvious choice of Nick. After the pilot, I had been wondering just what the point of them was other than to fill out the required fifth and sixth slots in the circle. I not saying that I intend to actually invest in their little romance, but at least they've got their piece of the pie.

Another fun beat was seeing Cassie and Faye team up. One advantage to the binding spell is that the kids have to find allies to work magic, which I imagine will lead to some back-room dealing fun.

Although it has to be said - as hiding places go - when being chased by a demon - underneath the dining room table is just not all that effective, yes?

And why is it that the guy who lives in an abandoned fishing shack still looks like he has a bigger apartment than I do?

Watching: The Secret Circle

Submitted by thinkwatchthink
on Fri, 2011-09-30 13:09

Loner

I'm assuming that - like TVD - somewhere around episode six we're going to see something that draws out the main season arc and makes it clearer. So these episodes are about setting up the different bits and pieces. Faye and Diana continue to be the most interesting, particularly when you factor in the relationship between their parents. (Where The Vampire Diaries mines family as in siblings, The Secret Circle seems to be bringing the parent-child element in a lot stronger.) And Nick and Melissa have progressed to the point where I remember their names - so that's good. I'm still just kind of lukewarm regarding Cassie and Adam, both individually and as a pair.

Of course, I did miss some of the nuances in the middle because I was too busy trying to figure out where I'd seen the guy playing Luke before. Finally, I remembered. He's Carter from Make It or Break It. Apparently still nursing a thing for the big haired blondes, I see.

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