Review: Don’t pretend you don’t believe us. Deep down you know it’s true.
Two years ago, Kevin Williamson created The Vampire Diaries, a show that started off campy but quickly became one of tv’s most talked about series. And now, The CW has premiered his newest fantasy drama, The Secret Circle. But is it a worthy successor?
Although not the best pilot I’ve seen, I will say it does a great job in setting up the premise. And whereas The Vampire Diaries stumbled a bit on its first outing, this show already feels fully developed. I can’t wait to see how it grows from here.
Cassie: This town is a freakin’ side show!
Now’s probably a good time to mention that in preparation for this new series, I also read the three The Secret Circle books. (And they’re better than the Vampire Diaries books, in my opinion.) So with that in mind, I was surprised by how many references there are in the pilot to people and events in the books. I’m not sure whether they’ll go in the same direction with the show though, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
The pilot begins with a bonechilling sequence (I can still hear the screams in my head) in which Cassie’s mom Amelia is burned alive by a mysterious man who magically sets her house on fire. If you’ve seen The Vampire Diaries before, then you’re probably already used to this kind of murder and mayhem. But between that scene and the same guy, Diana’s father Charles, later trying to magically drown Adam’s father Ethan, the pilot sets things up nicely for the show’s place on Thursday nights.
Faye: Oh, for God’s sake, spit it out! You’re a witch. You’re a full-blown, hundred percent witch. We all are. There. Done.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. After the death of her mother, Cassie is forced to move in with her grandmother Jane in the little town of Chance Harbor, Washington. Once there, she quickly gets involved in a fair bit of magical mischief and meets five very interesting teens (Diana, Adam, Faye, Nick, and Melissa) from her school. She soon learns that each of these teens are descended from six families of witches, and Cassie, as the sixth member, completes their Circle. And with Cassie back in Chance Harbor, the Circle’s power is now conveniently magnified.
Of course, the basic story of an outsider joining a group isn’t a new premise, but what’s exciting is where the show can go from here. First there’s Diana, who as the most responsible one, and only one so far with a Book of Shadows, has put herself in charge of the Circle. It’ll be an interesting day when wholesome Diana finds out her father murdered Cassie’s mother or Cassie and Adam. Somehow, I don’t see it going the way it did in the the book.
Then, there’s her boyfriend Adam, who’s always trying to do the right thing in taking care of his father and the Boat House. His growing feelings for Cassie, and knowing they’re “written in the stars”, should prove to be an interesting test of his willpower. (We’re still unsure, by the way, exactly what “written in the stars” really means.)
Faye, the ‘bad’ witch, is already letting the power go to her head. But as we saw when she thought she hurt Diana, unlike in the books, she does care for the rest of the Circle. Her struggle will be to balance the power with everything else so maybe she doesn’t become like her mother. (Her mother Dawn is in league with Charles in bringing back the Circle’s power for ulterior motives).
Melissa’s going to need to overcome being in Faye’s shadow while finding her own destiny. Lastly, we haven’t seen too much of Nick’s backstory, but we do get the sense he’s a bit of a loner and lost both his parents sixteen years ago.
Amelia: I hoped that keeping the secret would keep you safe. But all I’ve done is left you unprotected. You have incredible power inside you. People will come for it. They will come for you. Find the Circle. The Circle can protect you. Believe in the power of the Circle. But most of all, believe in yourself.
And in classic Vampire Diaries form, there’s already references to a bunch of good ol’ mythology. Like, who was Cassie’s father and was he evil? What happened sixteen years ago that left many of the teens’ parents dead? For now the series is mostly focused on the Circle, but I really hope the series allows the adults to have storylines outside of their children.
And for those questioning how there can be six families of descendants and only six in the Circle, I think it’s pretty obvious that only those with direct bloodline, and not their spouses, can be part of the Circle. If each couple only has one child, then it should all work out. (Of course, now the show will go and prove my theory wrong.) I’m now curious if anyone in the six families has ever had more than one child. Is it only the firstborn? I can’t wait to see some flashbacks, ala The Vampire Diaries.
So you see, while the premiere was more of a premise pilot, it did set up a lot of anticipation of where the show can and will go from here.
Notes:
It sounds like most fans love Faye already, but I’m going to need some more time. Phoebe Tonkin’s acting so far grates on my nerves.
Can I just say how much I love the instrumental music? I love how they used the tune Cassie hums in the opening, title sequence, and the instrumentals.
Next week:
Faye’s going crazy with power. Let the drug metaphors begin.