‘The Secret Circle’ Review: Pilot

I think we can all agree that The Secret Circle was one of the most highly anticipated fall pilots this year. I, for one, was extremely excited. Kevin Williamson can do no wrong, and he proved that once again during the series premiere of The Secret Circle.

The story centers around a girl, Cassie Blake (Brittany Robertson). We didn’t get to necessarily see her ‘normal’ life, the life before her mother died in a tragic fire, but from what we could tell, it was a hell of a lot better than her current arrangement. After her mother died, she moves to her mother’s hometown, the small town of Chance Harbor. What I don’t get, is how can it be such a small town, but have so many attractive people in it? I mean, I live in a pretty packed up place, and I can’t even find that many attractive guys in my area! Seriously, not fair.

As Cassie is adjusting, she’s starting to realize that the residents of Chance Harbor know more about her family than she does. Along the way, she bumps into some kind, and not-so-kind, faces at school. Regina George Faye (Phoebe Tonkin), the mean girl that the audience inevitably loves. Gretchen Wieners Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy), the sidekick. Diana (Shelley Hennig), the super sweet, welcoming girl. Nick (Louis Hunter), the mysterious next-door-neighbor. And Adam (Thomas Dekker), the extremely hot, kind guy. First off, I’m in LOVE with Thomas Dekker, it’s no wonder Cassie falls for him within a day. He’s flawless.

During the course of the episode, Cassie starts to notice a few things out of place. One, her car caught on fire. Now, this wouldn’t have been weird if it wasn’t for the fact that it went out by itself. My first theory was that Thomas Dekker’s gaze is so smoldering, that it simply just made the fire go out. No? Well, besides that, as Cassie is laying in her bed, she’s gazing up at the stars on her ceiling, and they start to move. I would have just blamed it on my insomnia, but Cassie’s too clever for that.

After Cassie is typically freaking out over how odd the town is, she runs into Diana. Diana, makes the decision to bring Cassie into an old, creepy house, filled with young, creepy people. First off, Cassie’s too trusting. If a person I barely knew tried to convince me to go into an abandoned house, I would run the other way. This is why I will probably never have my own show. I don’t do crazy, stupid things.

Cassie and Diana enter the house, and they find Adam, Faye, Melissa, and Nick waiting for them. Diana tries to sugarcoat the situation, but Faye finally takes it into her own hands.

“Spit it out! You’re a witch. You’re a full blooded, hundred percent witch. We all are! There, done.” -Faye

After the big reveal, Cassie runs out pretty freaked out. Well, I don’t blame her. Abandoned house, with creepy teenagers who claim to be witches? Yeah. Adam ends up finding her, and showing her what she’s capable of. This leads to an almost kiss, and our epic love-triangle begins!

If floating water wasn’t awesome enough, Cassie can also stop crazy storms! Faye, being the out-of-control, awesome person that she is, started up a massive hurricane. This ultimately reaches a whole new level to which she can’t even control. Oddly, Cassie, the newest witch, was able to control it. She walks up, like a boss, and says,

“Make it stop”

She repeats this over and over until it does. This scene was amazing. The music, the acting, everything. Probably my favorite sequence of the entire episode.

On another note, Charles Meade (Gale Harold), Diana’s father, is so diabolical. No words. Not only was he the cause of the fire that killed Cassie’s mother, but he also has big plans for the circle. It’s obvious that he’s the antagonist, but what really shocked me was whom he was working with. The seemingly sweet, Dawn Chamberlain (Natasha Henstridge). I’m really interested to see how this plays out. Although we’ve seen more of Charles’ bad side, I’m expecting that Dawn’s is far worse.

To conclude this fantastic pilot, Cassie finds a spell book that belonged to her mother. She finds a note inside addressed to her that says,

“My sweet Cassie, you finding this means I’m gone, and for that I am so sorry. I didn’t want you to have this life, but destiny’s not easy to run from. I hoped that keeping this 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.” -Amelia (Cassie’s mom)

As I said in the beginning, Kevin Williamson has done it again! At first, I was honestly afraid that it would be too similar to The Vampire Diaries. Luckily, I was wrong. They are two completely different shows that have different aspects to them. I love The Secret Circle, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. I see great things for this show. It’s breathtaking, mysterious, and it will leave you wanting more.

Rating: A+

Questions:

  • What did you think of the pilot?
  • What trouble do you think the parents got into?
  • What do you think Charles and Dawn have planned for Cassie?

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. I really want to see this show! It sounds so good! But, I live in Australia. I tried looking for the show on YouTube, but no ones posted it. Will ‘The Secret Circle’ ever come out on free (meaning not foxtel or austar, cause I don’t have it, haha) Australian TV? And if so, when?
    Thanks,
    ~Belle