With Smallville finally bowing out after 10 seasons and my lack of enthusiasm for The Ringer, The CW actually became a channel with fewer shows adding to my viewing pleasure than CBS.  Gasp!  But now they are back fighting head to head with 2v2 thanks to the series premiere of The Secret Circle, a show that has found my weak spot for high school supernatural dramas.  Doesn’t hurt that it is airing right after The Vampire Diaries, my other guilty pleasure (Teen Wolf is on break, *sigh*).  Let’s dive in.

The secrets start off early in this show with the question of who would just stop after a girl goes spinning out of control in a car, and then speed away when she asks for help?  Sure, she looked like a fool because no one dances that animatedly to music in the car, but that’s no cause for D-bag moves.  However, this mystery gets an answer right away.  While Cassie (our protagonist) is stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire, her mom is attacked by a mysterious man (presumably the same man driving the car / that caused the flat tire) with witchy powers.  For one thing, we now know that there are some serious players in this show who are not at all afraid of torturing people in their final moments as he watches Cassie’s mother burn in a house fire, which brings about the question of why?

Ok, so long story short this is another easily answered question.  Though the means seem intense, the desired result occurs when Cassie moves in with her grandmother back in Chance Harbor, a place where everyone seems to be connected to the main plot of the show considering each person with a speaking role is a main player.

Let’s start with the kids.  To dig into the title of the show (which is stupid in all honesty no matter how matter of fact it is about the show), The Secret Circle stands for a group of teens who were born into families that have had witchcraft passed down the line.  First there is Diana, a girl who screams student body president, straight A’s, and goody good witch.  We don’t actually see her do any magic yet, but the first key point to note about her is that we find out she is the daughter of the murderer from the beginning of the show (who we learn to be named Charles).  No signs that she has inherited her father’s bad juju, but there is always time for that.  Especially because she is dating Adam.

Now this is where the girly-squeal-inducing moments come in.  You see, Diana is dating Adam, and based on the looks that pass between he and Cassie, it is clear that there is going to be some major sexual tension going on here.  Especially when you consider what Adam’s dad says: “Our families are written in the stars.  We’re destined.  It’s always been that way” (slightly incestuous sounding if you think it out a certain way).  Apparently he was in love with Cassie’s mother back in the day, but she chose Cassie’s father instead (something that Adam’s father still seems broken over.  The alcohol might have given that away).  Though it will be spread out over plenty of episodes, I am sure there is a big story of the love-triangle variety for the parents, and it will probably be the same for this generation (if it is just a triangle.  Could be a four-cornered geometric shape).

Of the other 3 spots in this circle, Melissa and Nick don’t really have too much to do with the story so far, but I am sure we will learn more about them in the future.  Until then, the final member of the circle, Faye is filling the resident bad girl role.  Though she hasn’t gone for the slutty descriptor yet, she is definitely having fun playing with Cassie, starting with mind games about Cassie and Adam being perfect for each other, and then setting Cassie’s car on fire to see if she knows how to use her powers yet.  Currently she is definitely the annoying one in the group and will need to be kept on a short leash judging by her abuse of her power when she brings down a torrential storm on the residents of Chance Harbor.  Because of this, she is definitely leading in the “should be punched in the face” department. Though she is the obvious choice for the villain in this group (as she is also connected to a woman with ulterior motives), I still think it is Diana who has the potential to do something truly heinous if the sparks continue to fly between Adam and Cassie.

Coming out of this episode the biggest question is what Faye’s mother and Charles (Diana’s father) have planned for our current circle.  They needed Cassie to come back to Chance Harbor, and we know that the circle’s powers are stronger when all six are together.  I’m thinking the parents want to absorb the kids’ powers, especially because her mom says (in a letter) that: “You have incredible power inside you. People will come for it.  They will come for you.”

Other things to consider:

1. Speaking of this letter.  If Cassie’s mom has not been back to Chance Harbor since she left and the letter is found in a hidey-hole in the wall of her old room, did Cassie’s mother assume they were going to come for her and kill her?
2. What was this “accident” that keeps getting referred to?  We know that numerous parents were killed, including Cassie’s father (if he’s really dead), and Adam mentions that they have all lost a parent, so what happened?  Diana says: “There was an accident. 16 years ago.  The people who died were all members of the last circle,” but then continues that she doesn’t actually think it was an accident.  Maybe the evil parents that are still around were trying to take the other parents powers.  Think about it:  The kids put so much emphasis on the fact that having a full circle amplifies their powers, yet Charles does some pretty BA/strong stuff in the beginning when he kills Cassie’s mom, and then “drowns” Ethan in the restaurant even though a large percentage of their circle is dead.
3. Is Cassie’s father really dead?  I don’t think so, but I could be reaching.  All I know is that they keep saying things like “his accident,” but I am pretty sure Cassie is the only one who actually says he is dead.  And now that I think about it, when she says this, Melissa gives Faye a look.  I’m thinking he isn’t dead, and I am going to go out even further on this limb and say her dad is Charles.  Ethan does say that her father is a bad man, and Charles is definitely evil, so I’m calling it here first!
4. How long is it going to take for Cassie to step into the shoes of a member of this circle?  For now she says that she wants no part of it, so what is going to be the factor that pushes her into helping?  I’m going with the evil parents on this one, or maybe the need to control Faye.
5. What all does Cassie’s mother know?  She was a witch in her day (though who knows if she still has the skills), and she talks to Faye’s mother about paying close attention to the kids so that they don’t repeat accidents of times past.  Hopefully she doesn’t kick the bucket as well.
6. And speaking of knowledge, what all does Ethan (Adam’s dad) know?  Charles threatens him to stay quiet, but he doesn’t seem to have the evil gene that would allow him to be in on the current plot.  Was he a member of the last circle?  Or was it just Adam’s mom?
7. What the heck is the importance of this recurring song that plays throughout the episode, and is even hummed by Cassie from time to time (which her mother used to hum as well)?
8. Are the members of the current circle all only children?  (This is more for curiosity’s sake)

Plenty of stuff to think about after that episode, and I can’t wait to see what is in store for us tonight.  What did you guys think of the pilot?

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