The Secret Circle "Beneath" Review

The members of the circle took a road trip to the Chamberlain lake house to find Jane. A massive storm hit as they approached the lake house. Torrents of rain fell to the earth and drenched the teenagers as they raced inside. The circle found an empty house. Instead of immediately leaving, the gang decided to stay the night to wait out the severe storm. What ensued were personal attacks, dramatic confrontations, attempted intercourse AND actual intercourse, and the discovery of Henry's corpse in the lake. Meanwhile, Dawn and Charles worked together to cover their tracks whilst Jake continued to scout for the witch hunter's group. All in all, a fairly action-packed and worthwhile hour of The Secret Circle.

The balance between supernatural drama and teenage drama was equal in "Beneath." The majority of the drama stemmed from the various romantic entanglements and envy within the circle. Jake's brought nothing but v-neck shirts and controversy since his return to Chance Harbor. A game of truth or dare went terribly, as it always does on CW or WB shows. I recall the "Detention" episode of Dawson's Creek, specifically, because I just wrote about in the summer. The wacky teenagers in Capeside played a game of truth or dare that led to hurt feelings and life-altering kisses. The circle's game of truth or dare unfolded in exactly the same way, except for Diana removing her shirt as part of a dare. The mood was light enough for alcohol and an ill-advised game of truth or dare because Cassie received a text from her grandmother, ensuring her granddaughter of her safety (it shouldn't surprise anyone that Charles sent the text to cover his tracks).

Tempers flared as the game of truth or dare progressed. Faye and Diana ganged up on Cassie. Adam interrogated Jake about why the witch hunters left him out of the circle. Cassie established her walls of self-defense. Faye felt jealous because of how close Jake and Cassie have been. Diana's envious because Adam and Cassie are destined to be with one another in the stars. The catty side of the girls emerged as they accused Cassie of stealing boyfriends and ex-boyfriends. Cassie's in a vulnerable place emotionally. The relationship between feelings and magic is quite close. The emergence of dark magic turned Cassie into a slightly unwieldy girl. She wore her emotions more openly. Her eyes watered more quickly, her mouth twisted in anger and annoyance. Cassie's confession about her role in torching their classmate last week bothered none of her friends, thus the catty comments.

Cassie tried to sleep with Jake after the treatment she received during the game; however, Jake rejected her advances. Jake's more interested in her magic than her. The dark magic is a game-changer and he needs to know where the weakness is so he can kill her along with the rest of the circle. Also, there's the matter of the mysterious scroll inscribed with Jane's initials. Cassie feels instinctive about her individual powers. Jake instructed her to imagine the fire instead of chanting for the fire, and then the fire sparked and burned. Later, Cassie followed the image of young Faye to the end of the docks where she put her hands into the water to pull the body from its depths. As she explained later, "I just knew what to do."

Dawn and Charles seem unaware of Cassie's additional power. The adults continue to make mind-boggling decisions. Obviously, they desire power again. Their plan involves a growing body count now. The discovery of Henry in a lake will rouse more suspicion than the original plan of a heart attack. Charles altered Jane's mind (so HEROES). The pieces should come together next week. At least, I hope they do. I appreciate the dramatic irony but I want the series to move forward, to enter a world where the circle knows about the acts Dawn and Charles committed. I'm more interested in a series in which the biggest threat isn't a bland group of witch hunters but, rather, parents. If the mid-season finale wraps up the witch-hunter arc for a major arc in the middle of the season centered on Dawn and Charles then I'll be pleased. Something needs to give though.

The episode concluded with the head witch hunter stating the group's intentions to finally murder the teenage circle. Head witch hunter wants to deal with the teenage witches before investigating who murdered elder Henry. I doubt the group succeeds. I feel confident that the episode will be good, though. If you care about the love nonsense, I suppose the episode will have some of that as well.

I'd be remiss if I ignored the circumstances around the vision of young Faye. The elders possess so much power that they'll continue to use it in death if not killed properly. Henry used magic to lead Cassie and Faye to his body. Again, the theme of discovery continues. One wonders where this discovery will take an already fragile and vulnerable Faye.

Don Whitehead & Holly Henderson wrote "Beneath." John Fawcett directed it.

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