True power comes only when the circle is complete.
What They Say:
Pilot – After her mother dies in a mysterious accident, Cassie Blake moves to a small town to live with her grandmother. After a series of strange and dangerous events, Cassie’s new friends reveal a secret.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While I avoided the Vampire Diaries from CW when it aired, my curiosity was piqued as Secret Circle went from pilot to production as Kevin Williamson is someone that I enjoy as a creative type going back to Dawson’s Creek, a show that I should not like but have watched repeatedly over the years. What really drew me more to Secret Circle though is a movie from years ago called The Craft. While zombies and vampires continue to make the rounds, witches and witchcraft has hard a much harder time making the leap to public consciousness for some reason. Coming from New England where witches play a rather famous role in our state’s history, they’re a bit more accepted in a way but when it comes to movies and TV shows, it’s rare to find them. Even in comics they tend to take a back seat.
Secret Circle focuses on a young can-do woman named Cassie who has lost her mother to a fire, a fire that was set by someone who wanted her dead. That tragedy has lead Cassie to move to Chance Harbor in Washington where her grandmother lives. Cassie comes across well as we’re really introduced to her a month after the accident as she arrives there to move in and adjust to this new life while still coping with the loss. Going there has a bit of history for her to reconcile as well since it’s where her mother grew up. Her grandmother even went so far as to leave her mothers room unchanged in all that time, which is a bit disturbing in a way since it’s where Cassie is going to live, and to have to decide what to keep and what to clear out. But it’s also a connection with her mother that she can make even after all that’s happened.
The show throws Cassie hard into the school life here as she has all the usual uncertainty about a new place which is made worse by the other people she comes into contact with as several of the students are all very much aware of her and her family. Adam’s father used to know her mother in fact, so much so that he was madly in love with her and has no problem saying it to her. Add in the principal being a good friend of her mothers, supposedly, and a second generation like Cassie aligning themselves towards here, it’s all pretty unnerving for her. What makes the truth apparent to the viewer quickly though is that the blunt popular girl, Faye, does a touch of magic to get Cassie to show her powers. But Cassie’s so unaware of her heritage since her mother took her away from it all, it almost turns deadly.
It doesn’t take long for the second generation of the circle to make it clear to her what they are, though it risks sending her away. Cassie’s key to the circle as she brings a lot of power to the table beyond just being the one that completes it. The group can do only so much magic with five, but the sixth is what takes it to the next level. She does start to realize the truth of it all though but it just opens her up to more questions about things, what her past is and how it seems like everyone involved has lost something significant. This introduces the mystery to the series and it’s actually a welcome point because it puts the adults in a key role rather than being shunted out of the series entirely or kept to a reduced role. They provide a threat to everything but also the answers to what the kids are all looking for. And they’re ready to experience what it is they can do, particularly with Faye who has that whole bad girl approach that really wants to feel the power she has.
In Summary:
Secret Circle does play in familiar territory, particularly if you’ve seen The Craft before, but it’s doing things that are basic to the media interpretations of witchcraft over the years. Cassie’s role as the catalyst is well handled here and she starts to take to things as she realizes the truth of it all and that there is a much larger mystery to be had. The cast is pretty decent here but nobody really has any big moments since it’s just covering the introductions. Cassie pulls off the lead role well though and the character is played convincingly for the situation she’s in. The location works well too. But I also liked that we have some good adults involved, particularly with Natasha Henstridge showing up here. With the potential to tell both generations stories and the bonds between them, Secret Circle could prove to be a solid dark horse drama for the season.
Grade: B