The Secret Circle 1.05 'Slither'

This was the best episode yet. 'Slither' showcased almost everything that this show has going for it, and if I’m honest, that’s quite a lot.

in 'Slither' the demon that possessed Heather makes its way into Melissa and tries to free trapped demons by manipulating the rest of the circle. Things play out fatally when it possesses another member of the circle.

A series always needs to have an episode like this one early on in order to make things a little bit more exciting, and to make sure people stick around. There wasn’t any question that I would stop watching this series, it’s far too brilliant, and now it’s even more certain that I am with 'The Secret Circle' till the bitter end.

Almost every series has characters that bring next to nothing to the proceedings, and sadly the majority of them never usually notice this, or bother to do anything about it. Nick wasn’t the most fascinating guy, what you see is pretty much what you get, so out of all the characters if any of them needed to go it was him. Even so, I was still sad to see it happen, if only for what it did to all our characters. Sure, it wasn't a complete shock, I kind of guessed it would happen based on the way the episode was heading, but there was always the question of whether or not the series would take the easy way out. It may have lacked much impact, but it was the right direction for the show to take.

I’ve said this already in an earlier review, but I absolutely adore when shows make it hard to decipher where character’s loyalties lie, and in 'Circle’s case, that’s with Diana and Charles who ended up having to kill one of the children to save all the others. We’re still not being told exactly what they’re up to but I do enjoy trying to work it out each week, and the show is doing a great job of tackling the whole 'morally grey' area.

This show has a fantastic pace to it. Some series tend to move too slowly, and some too fast but the Secret Circle has it just right. Cassie hiding her secret life as a witch from her grandmother couldn’t have gone on for too long, and this episode put an end to that while also giving us a chance to watch the amazing Jane Blake save the day. More of this please!

As the series progresses, the cast seem to be falling easily into their roles. One standout was Jessica Parker Kennedy, who hasn’t been able to get up to much until now, other than mope after Nick. Here she got a chance to play around, getting to let loose as a possessed Melissa and show-off even more with her devastation after hearing about Nick’s death. Of course Phoebe Tonkin still steals every scene as Faye; she seriously needs her own show!

‘The Secret Circle’ has had a far superior start to ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and already it’s proven that it has just as much to offer, it not more.

8.5/10