Cassie's all about the medallion in "Valentine." Her focus shifted towards her father, after she felt his presence in the basement, like he's somehow linked to the medallion. Cassie was proactive in her search, consulting books, asking Adam and Jake for help, but she couldn't find what she wanted. Luckily, mysterious hooded figures appeared. They donned the same robes that Blackwell did on the day of the boat fire, as well as the same robes the circle wore when the witch-hunters tried to kill them. Isaac reappeared in Mystic Falls just when Jake needed information about the hooded figures haunting Cassie. Through Isaac, we learned more about Blackwell, the medallion, and the coven of witches murdered by Blackwell. The spirits of the coven were the hooded figures, longing for the power they lost, willing to possess a person to take back the medallion and their power; however, the medallion contained the power of a 1,000 witches; such power wielded by six witches would be impossible to comprehend.
Cassie's been driven by the medallion because she believes the medallion will lead her to her father. Adam wondered why Cassie wanted to find him when he hadn't tried to in sixteen years. Cassie tells him, "Because he's my dad," which promptly shuts Adam up. Cassie mistook the presence in the basement for her father. She chased that feeling until she realized the difference in whatever it is she felt. She didn't articulate the feeling very well, but the difference between a still and silent hooded figure, and what she perceived as her father, had a difference. Cassie went over to Melissa's for an Anti-Valentine's Day slumber party. The girls helped her communicate with the spirits haunting her. Unfortunately, Melissa and Diana were high on devil's dust (or whatever the hell it is called), laughed too much, and cared more about making out with a 'hot' pizza delivery guys than helping Cassie figure out who haunted her. Diana points out that Cassie's been haunted before, in a tone that suggests Diana's accusing Cassie of making it up, which is stupid, because Diana's been present for many a freaky encounter between Cassie and the supernatural villain of the week.
Cassie left the slumber party because Diana acted like a passive-aggressive bitch. Melissa played the part of enabling lackey, laughing her ass off whenever Diana 'burned' Cassie through fits of laughter. Adam invited her to the boat. Jake was in pursuit of her because of the information he learned from Isaac. Adam and Jake eventually met up, at the boat, and wondered what happened to Cassie. Poor Cassie crashed her car whilst being strangled by a pissed off dead witch. Cassie emerged from the accident unscathed. The hooded figures were in the forest. Cassie went after them. The dead witches led her to a church. Cassie crossed beyond The Wall getting there (it was inexplicably snowing during her trek through the forest...yeah I know the series is shot in Vancouver). Adam and Jake went to the church. Jake remembered Isaac's words about the power the witches have within the church.
The boys arrive in time to see Cassie surrounded by the hooded spirits. The church scene is probably the best scene in the series. As I mentioned, the scene coherently brings together the main threads of the episode. Cassie's into Adam and Jake. Both arrive to save her from the pissed off dead witches. The medallion nonsense comes to a head when the witches possess Adam and then threaten to kill the shell should Cassie opt against returning their power. The witches' vitriol, in addition to the history of the medallion, gives Cassie a clear picture about the type of person her father truly was; also, the supernatural villain(s) of the week story is nicely concluded, with a theatrical showdown between Thomas Dekker and Britt Robertson. Cassie stares Adam's possessed face in the eye and crushes the medallion in her hands, showing strength we haven't seen from our heroine. It was neat.
Cassie chose Adam. Jake's admission of information-sharing with Isaac didn't endear her to him. Following the fun at the church, Cassie went to Adam's boat. She opened up about her feelings for her father and how she doesn't want to know him. She cries. Adam tells her that she's a wonderful person. The two teens, whose romance is foretold in the stars, passionately kissed. Meanwhile, Jake gave Isaac the remnants of the medallion. Isaac was pissed. No one understood why until the final image of the episode, in which we saw Isaac's been marked by the symbol of balcoin. IS ISAAC JON BLACKWELL? The answer is six days away, but anyone who saw the previews knows the answer.
I thought the A story was well-done. I cared about Cassie & Adam for the first time in the series' history. The hooded figure story was creepy and led to Dekker's finest hour on the series. The Blackwell storyline is actually going somewhere, and next week at that. The most important thing for The Secret Circle is consistent characterization for Cassie Blake. She's the most important character in the show. When she resembles the person we met in the "Pilot," instead of this cold, dead-eyed, dark magic witch, it hurts the overall episode. "Valentine" successfully blended both parts of the Cassie we've seen this season. It was just a refreshing change of pace for The Secret Circle.
Other Thoughts:
-Lee brought Faye a magic stick. Later, Lee stole the stick and placed it beside a woman's hospital bed. The stick's supposed to draw from weakness to give an individual strength. Faye's understandably shaken by her missing magic stick. I was stunned that TSC set up a story in this way.
-Shelley Hennig is ridiculously attractive. I didn't mention the night gown she wore several episodes ago, which just showed off her terrific ass. Hennig wore short pajama shorts and a loose shirt, which showed off her terrific cleavage. Anyway, Diana was a passive-aggressive bitch. She acted out because she lost Adam and she's jealous of Cassie.
-Melissa-as-drug-addict-because-she-is-depressed isn't interesting. Faye and Diana's competition for her friendship is something new though. Faye, in general, remains one of the best characters because of her backbone and attitude. She's strong without being abrasive or bitchy. The writers just need to say no to any story in which she desires power--they don't work.
-Roger Grant wrote the episode. Dave Barrett directed it.
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
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