The Secret Circle Review: Who Died?

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RIP, Nick, the bound circle and any fears that this show would be unable to shock viewers in the same ways as its predecessor, The Vampire Diaries.

I mean... wow. Did anyone see that coming? I kept waiting for "Slither" to conclude with some sign that Nick was alive, but nope. We got just the opposite, as Cassie shed a tear over her neighbor, the episode faded to black and I was left stunned over what went down and anxious over where things go next.

An Adult Plot

Nick was clearly the most expendable member of the coven, as viewers only really knew him as the troubled soul who lost both his parents. The series simply didn't dedicate as much time to developing his character - and now we know why.

But killing off one of the young core six serves a purpose far beyond shock value.

First, it gave us new insight into Charles and Dawn. They may be after their former powers - via the creation of new crystals - but they are not after the kids. They truly want to keep them safe. Charles was an absolute mess after taking out Nick. Perhaps that's why they want to regain said powers. Perhaps there's an evil force on the way and they know they'll need to be at their strongest to protect their children against it.

And perhaps Charles wants to make the lie that he's dating Dawn into a reality. The guy is totally crushing.

Second, Nick's death drives home an important point to the remaining quintet: this is serious stuff! No more abuse of abilities, no more scheming to cast spells on your own, no more dissension all around (cough... cough... Faye... cough... cough...). You best team up for real and remain committed or who knows what will happen next.

Which brings me to my third point: What will happen next?!? Does this count as UN-binding the circle? Will that have repercussions if so? The group waited so long for Cassie to arrive and to be complete, but where does the death of a member fit into the grand idea of a bound circle? And how will each witch respond? Will they grow closer to each other, or attempt to distance themselves from what they now consider to be a dangerous, even deadly practice?

So many questions. Such a creepy, surprising episode. Two final points before I turn this review over to reader reaction:

  1. Very good to see Adam and Diana have their own, whipped-cream-filled fun. We've been told and shown from the outset that Cassie and Adam are meant for each other, but a love triangle is only interesting if all sides to it are believable. So it was a welcome few minutes to watch these two act like a pair truly in love... and in lust. Sorry, Cadam shippers.
  2. Also very good to see Cassie letting her grandmother in on the coven. We only could have taken so many silent dinners or lies about text messages before secret-keeping felt forced and stale.

But is grandma really in the dark over the mysterious, fatal event from 16 years ago? I say no. How about you?

Slither Review

Editor Rating: 4.3 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 (146 Votes)

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.

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