The TV Chick

Booze, witch hunters, and love written in the stars. Sounds like the perfect combination for an entertaining hour of television. Sadly, this week’s Secret Circle didn’t deliver.

Jake
Nick’s been dead for two days and we already have our newest circle member. Things sure do move fast in Chance Harbor. We all wondered after last week’s deadly episode what would happen to the circle without their sixth member. The answer? Nick’s more damaged, more attractive older brother. Can anyone else imagine executives at the CW discussing casting Jake versus casting Nick and saying, “Yes, we like the idea of Jake…but this time make him blonde?” Chris Zylka certainly fits into the CW mold.

The entire idea of Jake and what he’ll bring to the circle is great, but we didn’t get to see a lot of that tonight. What kind of guidance can he provide to the younger crop of witches? At this point, the answer is none since he seems bent on killing them, but clearly that’ll change. Or perhaps not? We all saw what happened to Nick when the writers got bored of him. Though to be fair, Jake has a lot more potential as a series regular than Nick ever did. Jake has sexual chemistry with everyone he meets, so that’s certainly a step up from Nick, who didn’t even have chemistry with Melissa.

And now, let’s talk about what has me excited for the next few episodes: A witch hunter who is a witch. Looks like there’s more going on in Chance Harbor than any of us expected. This storyline could easily crash and burn; there’s a lot of room for error, but I have faith in the creative team behind Secret Circle to make this work and make it work well.

Diana and Adam…and Cassie
Here’s the moment that all you Cassie/Adam shippers have been waiting for. Bye bye Diana, hello destiny! What I loved about the Diana/Adam breakup is that Diana ended it and she ended it with honesty. Drunk Ethan laid the truth out there for Diana, and she took her life into her own hands rather than waiting around for Adam to decide who he’s meant to be with. Strong women rock, and I’m sure we’ll see her get a new love interest soon. In the meantime, maybe Diana can head over to Melissa’s and pull her together. Girl is on the edge.

Dawn and Charles
Poor Charles and his guilt. He needs to take a good look at Drunk Ethan and use that as a motivator to pull himself together. But as long as this guilt-ridden phase doesn’t interfere with the Dawn and Charles take back their powers, then I’m good. I can’t be the only one that loved when Dawn squeezed Charles face during the wake. Love these two. I don’t know what the internet has deemed their official shipper name, but I’m on board. I’d watch a show that featured only these two with an occasional appearance by Drunk Ethan.

Overall, this was a flat, meandering episode, but the ending nicely set up some potential for the next few episodes. I have faith that Jake will improve subsequent episodes (and honestly, he really couldn’t ever be as boring as Nick was). But for now, I’ll leave you all with my weekly motto for Secret Circle: More Charles and Dawn, less of everyone else.

The Secret Circle airs Thursdays at 9 PM on the CW.