by Ryan J. Downey
How did "The Secret Circle" celebrate The CW's announcement of a full season order? Why, by killing off a major character, of course! And with a whipped cream fueled make-out session, to boot.
It probably wasn't planned that way, of course, but just one day after the network brass let loose the news that they'll be keeping "The Secret Circle" around, the inaugural season's juiciest episode yet unfurled a slew of story revelations.
Season one's latest entry, "Slither," took the previous four episodes' sometimes slow boil pace and tossed it out the window. Action abounded, people spilled their secrets to each other and we learned that Cassie's grandma is a badass! There were revelations about what Dawn and Charles are trying to do and why (and what kind of scruples they may actually have); some very welcome deepening of the show's mythology (for example: demons can only be killed by burning or drowning—you know, important facts when establishing a supernatural town!); the intense writhing and snarling of possessed witch kids and yes, the death of one of the Circle's very own.
Another extremely noteworthy fact about "Slither" (named for the demon snakes that crawled into people's ears and tried to break out of musty looking suitcases—more on the later) is that it offered up the first real evidence of a strong connection between Adam and Diana. Yes, we've been told they are boyfriend and girlfriend. Yes, we know there's a "triangle" developing with Cassie and Adam's obvious attraction to each other. It's just that before now, the "triangle" seemed a bit lopsided. But last night changed all that with some date night action, genuine physical chemistry and emotional connecting toward the episode's end. Diana is in the game!
Remember Heather's former demon snake tenant? You know, the one that lived inside her body and made her do evil things? It ended up in Melissa's brain last week. "Slither" opens with Melissa enduring a headache the best brain surgeon couldn't fix. Once the little demon takes full control, Melissa enlists her now less jerky sort-of-boyfriend Nick to help her find her family's lost Book Of Shadows. What she has him (literally) dig up instead, however, is the above referenced musty old suitcase, which they take to the Secret Circle Clubhouse (yep, we're still calling it that), where Faye joins.
Diana's still doing her Circle boss-lady thing when she advises Cassie not to share the whole "I'm a witch" thing with her grandmother. Cassie's grandma is pretty cool, but Diana thinks it best to leave the "elders" out of their magic stuff.
As for Chance Harbor's more scheming adults, we catchup with Dawn and Charles on a magic boat-ride where they set aside some (sort of?) romantic tension to focus on conjuring up some more crystals, but it seems the one they have is out of juice. Dawn storms off.
Before we get to that major death, we've got to talk about the almost sex scene with the whipped cream. The "relationship" between Diana and Adam felt undercooked before now. We chalked that up to the fact that they'd probably been dating a while. But Diana heats things up with the quickness on date night, breaking out said confectionery and licking it off her boyfriend's neck. Cassie is nowhere to be seen (now that'd be a fun episode too!) as the pair cement their love. We have to admit, we believe in this couple now.
It's too bad the good times can't last. There's trouble afoot at the Circle C, remember? (We like that nickname, too.) Diana, Adam and Cassie all end up at the abandoned house hangout where Melissa has gotten increasingly demon-y. They've all figured out something is wrong with her and that they should probably do something about it. Once Melissa has been restrained, Cassie realizes it's high time to spill the beans to her legal guardian.
"I know who I am, who you are, who mom was," she blurts out breathlessly, back at home. "I'm a witch. And I need your help."
Possessed Melissa has a pair of shears to Nick's throat and is forcing Faye, Diana and Adam to chant some stuff that's getting the snakes in the suitcase all riled up by the time Grandma shows up. But never fear, because Grandma's got skills… And a crystal! A bit of a fight ensues (demons don't like those crystals one bit) and the suitcase is burned/drowned, but Melissa's snake escapes in its new host: Nick!
Demon Nick calls Adam and tells him he's going to burn down the Boathouse Grill unless they all head over pronto, then saddles up next to Dawn, who has been boozing at the bar. He tells her that his name is Abaddon (theologians, take note: these writers do their homework!) and he's the demon she summoned! Except she doesn't seem to want any part of this demon, that's for sure.
"I want what you want," Abaddon tells her. He wants the Secret Circle's power. As he's making his villainous speech as villains tend to do, Dawn covertly makes a sneaky phone call to Charles so he can hear what's happening and rush to her aid. He arrives with a flying punch from out of the shadows that knocks demon Nick out cold, before the kids have even arrived.
What should they do with Nick/Abaddon? Dawn says there's only one thing they can do: drown him. Charles is extremely uncomfortable with this decision, but he goes through with it. It turns out that maybe Charles isn't totally evil? Of course, we have to remember the whole killing-Cassie's-mom and generally evil-scheming thing, but still, he feels genuine remorse.
Dawn reasons that they've protected the rest of the kids. Is that because she cares, or because she needs them around for future plans we have yet to become fully aware of? Or a mix of both? Only time will tell, but poor Charles at least gets to hold her hand for a second. Like, "Hey, thanks for saving my life and sorry I made you murder a teenager to kill a demon… But here's some handholding."
The kids find Nick's body and believe him to have drown himself. Back at home, Cassie finally has the chance to ask her grandmother what we've all been wanting to know—what exactly happened at that fire back in the day? Why did mom leave town?
"I wish I knew," her grandma says, as audiences wrung their hands all over the USA. "I never have."
She goes on to tell her young ward that witchcraft isn't all "fun and games" (um, sort of obvious by now, grams, no?), that it's dangerous, that it attracts darkness. She tried to keep it a secret but she's now accepted that plan basically never works.
The episode ends with Cassie shedding a tear as she gazes next door at Nick's now empty bedroom window.
But, of course, this show is run by some of the folks who are responsible for "The Vampire Diaries." And furthermore, if we've learned anything from constant repeated viewings of "Buffy," "Angel" and "Melrose Place"…
Nick's bedroom window may not stay empty.
What did you think of last night's episode? Do you think Nick is dead for good? Are you rooting for Adam and Diana? Are Dawn and Charles going to take their relationship to the next level? Sound off in the comments and on Twitter!
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