"Prom" was a strong episode of The Secret Circle and, thankfully, different than any other example of a teen drama prom we've seen this year. One thing remained the same - and either television shows are much different than real life or things have changed a lot since I attended prom - and that's the following:

I don't remember one person attending stag.

Even Grant told Diana he that Chance Harbor was weird for that. In my world, if you didn't have a date, you didn't go. Has that changed? That would be one reason to go back in time and revisit high school. To dump my date and have fun.

Poor, sweet Melissa.
Melissa was the only one in the circle to stand up for Nick upon his somewhat strange return, and all she earned from it was more pain. Nick said he needed a crystal to save his life. That's awfully convenient. Whatever Nick became after he died, pushing around Melissa wasn't the only thing he didn't mind doing. Snapping an innocent man's neck was like child's play.

If the demon was possessing his body and keeping him alive, why wasn't his body rotting? It didn't really matter in the end, as the only one strong enough to end his reign of terror was the one who loved him the most, sweet Melissa.

Melissa's mini meltdown in the hallway at prom was very revealing. She pointed out that their circle was so busy searching for crystals and fighting off deranged bad guys that nobody would ever sign their yearbooks or vote them most likely to... anything. I'm glad they took the time to point out how limited their world as witches has become.

They're virtually cut off from everyone but each other. That's why Diana and Grant seem like they will never have a chance. Melissa at least got to experience one magical moment of dancing with Adam. It was a really sweet gesture.

Party on Faye!
You have to love Faye's spirit. Returning dead friends be damned, she was not going to let anything ruin prom! She was at her witty best and once there she demanded to enjoy the night when she dragged Jake onto the dance floor. It was hard for me to imagine that someone as lovely as she would ever wait around for three hours for him to show up, but that was the tale of their previous prom adventure. She had a lot more forgiveness in her heart than I mine!

Kudos to Jake for taking a moment out of hunting down his demon brother in the middle of a dirty wet junkyard to apologize to Faye for once standing her up. Let's all say it together now, awwwwwwwww.

Cassie and Diana make better friends than enemies.
With Cassie's and Diana's little trek back in time, they learned exactly who John Blackwell was and how he manipulated his circle and all their parents to create their circle. But they had no idea why he did it. It appeared that Elizabeth and Amelia shared the same power struggle within their circle as Cassie and Diana do now. They learned a lot from watching their moms, and the revelations left them both pretty shaken up.

With as few relatives as Cassie had left, you'd think that Diana would have thought through what she said to her, but she slammed Cassie good, blaming everything that happened in two generations on her and Amelia. When Diana got home and Charles confessed a sin of his own, she realized just how much bigger it all was than two teenage girls.

Does anybody believe John Blackwell?
Seriously? Eben got away and took Faye with him? Blackwell, you bastard, I call BS! He had to know the circle was turning against him and the only way to get them to use that last crystal and work with him was to let Eben go and take one of their own with him.

Why else would he send all of the other witches away to help Cassie while he dealt with Eben, knowing fully well he didn't have enough power to take him on? Granted, Faye wanted to stay and help, but what are the odds Faye really slipped from his grasp?

The kicker is that I really have absolutely no idea. From one moment to the next, it's like Blackwell is a ping pong ball going back and forth. One minute I'm certain he's completely evil, and the next I sense good in him. Perhaps the end game will be that he lies somewhere in between, as do we all. The game they are playing with him is freaking fantastic, though. Not being able to determine the truth just makes The Secret Circle all the more compelling.

Join us back her one more time this season next week for The Secret Circle season sinale. Keep your fingers crossed that these two episodes kick some butt in the ratings and we make it to season two. I think the show has definitely earned the privilege, don't you?

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.