The Secret Circle 1.12 'Witness'

Obviously, the big mystery surrounding what happened the night of the fire 16 years ago is being kept under wraps, probably until the season reaches its climax in May, but I think this idea of leaving bits of info out in drips and drabs will get tedious after a while, especially considering this is the first time we’ve learned anything truly concrete since early in the season.

In ‘Witness’, Cassie and Jake cast a spell to use Jake’s memory of the night their parents were killed to find out what really happened. When the spell backfires, Cassie ends up in a perilous position. Faye meets someone who could help her tap into her individual magic.

Jake’s return, like I said last week, was all about the timing rather than the return itself. Just as Cassie and Adam gave in to what they’d been fighting all season long, he shows up in his V neck ready to cause some trouble. As far as I’m concerned he can keep her, since there’s still a major chasm where Cassie and Adam’s chemistry should be. I still feel like everything surrounding Jake is going around in circles, with Adam still expressing the same hostility he did before, and the circle still deciding on his trustworthiness. I’m not saying it’s unfounded, I just feel like his role in the series goes beyond throwing a wrench into Adam’s plans.

Another thing thing that’s been bugging is the constant back and forth of Dawn and Charles rivalry over that damned crystal. Not only have their true intentions remained a mystery, but they’ve basically lost all of the threat they once had when the series started. Ethan's move toward sobriety couldn’t have come at a better time, though. His participation in the parent’s enterprises helped to keep it afloat, since his intimidation is far more convincing than Charles’ has been for quite a while.

Even if the character work elsewhere has been a little dodgy, Faye’s new solo quest has been one of the greatest things I’ve seen all season. She’s always been the one who’s always played with fire (literally), and toyed with the idea of danger; last week’s incident proved that much. Now, though, without the circle holding her down, I’m curious to see where this path of self discovery will take her, though self destruction is pretty much inevitable.

I doubt anyone will be shocked to learn about Blackwell’s survival the night of the fire; the opportunity to introduce a major villain is way too great a one to pass up. All of those flashback scenes did quite a job of whetting my appetite for more of the same down the road. There was a lot more brutality to them than there has been all season long, so I’d really love to see that recur in the present stories a lot more. The image of the witch hunters burning Blackwell at the stake was a smart move. That's something the series always gets right; it's clever interpretation of stereotypical witch stories.

For all its faults, 'The Secret Circle' is still holding my attention, and Christ am I dying to see what happened that night. There’s still so much to explore and I’m really excited to see where it’ll take us.

8/10