The Secret Circle 1.21 'Prom'

School dances always end in tears. These guys should know; they’ve had two of them already! Alongside some very predictable chaos, Prom was the culmination of a season long worth of mysteries and build-up, and set the stage for a total blowout next week. It utilized all of the greatest strengths this show has displayed since the start, and reached so many levels of awesomness, it’s hard to pick just one reason why this was the greatest episode The Secret Circle has ever produced.

In ‘Prom’ the circle hunt down the final crystal in the high school. Meanwhile, as the circle tries to stop Nick, who is trying to find the crystal for himself,Cassie and Diana learn the truth about Blackwell.

Let’s start with last week’s big twist; Nick is alive (sort of). I’m glad that this wasn’t the sole focus of the episode, not just because his survival was never a question for the viewers (nobody ever comes back from the dead totally intact), but because his return had to give the circle the chance to understand why his death had to happen, and why he should never be allowed to live under such harsh circumstances. And the person who had to kill was Melissa, the one person who never really came to terms with Nick’s demise, and though his possession was an abuse of his memory, at least something great came from it. Jake and Nick’s sibling rivalry wasn’t the big part of this plot anyway, since they’d never shared a second of screen time, so seeing Melissa take that chance was part of the reason why I’ve grown to love these characters so much. They still surprise me.

Back during Witness, The Secret Circle revitalised the art of a flashback episode, and quite frankly its own approach craps all over The Vampire Diaries’ (sorry guys). The idea of our characters experiencing all of this past turmoil first hand makes us watching the stories unfold a lot more engrossing and impactful. Here, Diana learned of her mother’s own determination and love for her family, something Diana has always shown herself, and Cassie learned that she was about to follow in her late mother’s footsteps. Her discovery of Blackwell’s planning and scheming wasn’t that amazing, Cassie was being a little stupid with regards that, but it was Diana’s subsequent put-down of Cassie that made it’s reveal to the circle incredibly powerful, playing on all of the dynamics and relationships that have come to define this show.

Alongside Blackwell’s evil-doings, Charles’ involvement in Amelia’s death was finally divulged to the one person who was going to be hurt by it most; Diana. I’ve discussed in the past few reviews how well she’s matured and grown as the series has progressed, and I think Prom was where she became my favourite character (excluding Faye obvs). Not only is she the voice of reason, but she’s almost the moral compass of the circle, guiding and dictating them in all the right ways. She understands what the purpose of their magic is, and she always been the one to call them out for misuse. It’s a little harsh that she’s the one being out through the ringer lately, but I’m guessing it’s all to tip her over the edge.

It seems that as Blackwell’s meddling increases, so does the circle’s chances of suffering the same fate as their parents, not just Cassie, as we can see it all forcing its way together. As the circle begins to split apart, it seems the chances of them all coming out unscathed have been vastly reduced. All of the plot threads flying around are still coming together quite neatly, and now that stage has been set, the finale better be amazing.

9/10

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