Contributor: John Keegan
If “The Vampire Diaries” taught us anything, it’s that nothing good ever happens during major school or town events. So it stands to reason that this is not going to be a good day for the Circle.
It gets worse as things continue to spiral out of control with each new piece of information. Jane is clearly not doing well with the mindwipe, and it threatens to expose the previous generation’s attempt to restore their own power. Meanwhile, speaking of the previous generation, it seems that Cassie’s father was into some seriously nasty black magic, and it’s enough to explain why the witch hunters really would like to kill her already.
Strangely, a good chuck of the episode is devoted to the fundraiser and the related dance, so of course there is a lot of discussion of relationships, family issues, and the like. In contrast to “The Vampire Diaries”, which used a senior-year Homecoming Dance as little more than a convenient backdrop for far more interesting things, this show is still a bit too mired in the conventional teenage angst. Then again, part of the exploration of the previous Circle’s teenage history is designed to demonstrate how sins of the past might repeat themselves.
Jake’s quandry could be far more interesting when seen in that context. His conflict over his duty to his witch hunting crew and his interest in Cassie may be reflective of similar conflicts of interest with the previous Circle and John Blackwell. Casting the story in those terms wouldn’t be a bad direction to take, especially if they can draw more parallels along the way.
That’s entirely possible now that it’s been revealed that the Balcoin/Blackwell legacy is not just Cassie’s alone. If Blackwell fathered another of the Circle, then the circumstances of that situation will have to be explored. And since there’s been a lot of talk about how Blackwell employed a kind of magic very different from what the Circle practices, things could certainly get complicated.
But the question is: who is the logical candidate to be Cassie’s half-sibling? Adam and Jake seem out of the running, even if that would be a really bold move that could make things far more sinister. We know so little about Melissa that it wouldn’t be a shock, but it also wouldn’t really be all that meaningful, either. Faye is more about playing the bad girl than being the bad girl. So that leaves Diana, which for better or worse, would fit the show’s current tendency towards maximizing the teenage angst quotient.
While the writers have definitely embraced the same plot pacing as “The Vampire Diaries”, it is coming up sort in one critical area: character development. The characters are simply too watered-down at this point. By this stage of the first season of “The Vampire Diaries”, Damon was the standout character, the one that created the necessary buzz to draw in viewers. “The Secret Circle” still doesn’t have that in its arsenal, and until it does, it’s still a work in progress.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10
