The TV Chick

It’s only episode 2, but we’re diving right into a ton of mythology. We’ve got binding ceremonies, crystals, spell books, families, elders, past grudges…basically, everything required for a fun hour of witch drama.

As “Bound” begins, Cassie reads the final letter from her mother. Her mother’s sage words of advice? Destiny is not easy to run from. Cassie’s new to her powers, can’t control them, and doesn’t know whom to trust. The solution? Practice on a candle and then end up getting to see your hot neighbor, who also happens to have powers, shirtless in his bedroom window. Some girls have all the luck.

Faye’s grandfather, Henry, has arrived in town, setting off a warning among the old circle’s remaining members, particularly Dawn and Charles. It’s not immediate clear what they’re up to but it can’t be anything good.

Faye and Cassie have yet another showdown, this time in Biology class. Fire without flame, bring me heat. Well, it turns out Faye brought a little too much heat because the beakers explode. Whoops, looks like the expositional dialogue was correct – the circle is getting too powerful individually!

Adam and Cassie take a trip to the dilapidated house in the woods, and continue to bond over shared magic. Who else loved their dynamic is great so far? Britt Robertson and Thomas Dekker have great chemistry. As the title suggests, the circle needs to reach an important milestone – they need to be bound together. Cassie heads to the local fair where Diana attempts to convince her to bind the circle. Diana’s mother was killed in the fire that claimed the lives of half of the older generation’s circle and she believes that that group’s central failure was not binding themselves together.

Dawn and Charles convene to discuss the Henry issue, and he passes over a crystal that allows the holder to perform magic. Conveniently, Dawn’s daughter, Faye, later that night accidentally loses control of her powers and kills another
student at the fair. Crystal to the rescue! In a less heroic move, Dawn also uses the crystal to threaten and torture Henry, so that he’ll leave town and allow herself and Charles to continue with their mysterious plans.

Finally, the circle agrees that they must be bound together for their safety and for those around them. Adam and Cassie vow to stay friends (in case you forgot, he’s committed to Diana) as they walk to the beachfront bonfire where the 6
perform the binding ceremony.

Because episode 2 of a new series generally functions as a second pilot, this week’s episode was a bit repetitive and exposition heavy, but it set up some great stuff for the next few weeks! Will the circle be able to work together and
protect one another without their individual powers? What are Dawn and Charles up to? Will Adam stay faithful to Diana or will the magical connection to Cassie be too much for him?

The Secret Circle airs Thursday nights at 9 PM on the CW.