Good Witch Season 6 Episode 5 Review: The Mandala
Carissa Pavlica
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There is so much happening in each episode of Good Witch Season 6. Isn't it thrilling?
There was plenty of time to check in with all of the adults in Middleton during Good Witch Season 6 Episode 5, and they're all following different paths.
Well, not all of them, as journeys are shared by some, and those journeys are solidifying relationships of characters we've grown to love.
Not all relationships are as far along as others. Let's start with Joy.
Joy is steadily building friendships and gaining comfort in being part of a family again. She is already all-in with the Merriwicks and getting her first taste of the Merriwick/Davenport only drew her closer to her cousins.
It's so fun that everyone in town is deeply involved in the curse and how it relates to the Middleton Treasure. Without Joy, the next phase of breaking the curse would have never come to light.
Joy: I think this is a lot to take.
Abigail: Welcome to being a Merriwick.
It's apparent that Joy is a very caring person, and even though she's attracted to Carter, she did her best to help him with Mia.
She didn't even realize it, but by offering Carter advice, Joy helped him discover that Mia wasn't happy with him as he is, and he didn't want to change just to be in a relationship.
While Joy felt terrible about it, it wasn't too difficult to imagine them taking the next steps together when she picked up a sander to help him.
They have a lot in common, and even though she was the one who gave Carter the suit, she doesn't need him in a suit to appreciate what he has to offer.
We need to keep an eye on them!
Speaking of that curse and Joy's involvement in it, hearing the delightful limerick on the box wound up playing directly into Cassie's suggestion that Abigail and Donovan use a shortcut on a trip they were taking together.
Martha: Ah! There's something on the wood!
Joy: [reading] A breaking heart can only stop with luck, love, and one teardrop.
Martha: That's an intriguing little limerick. Lucky is clearly the emerald.
Joy: Love is the ruby.
Abigail: And if the teardrop is the diamond.
Joy: Finding it would stop the heart from breaking.
Abigail: Which would break the curse!
Cassie knew just where to send the couple so they would be forced to spend time at an old train (né stagecoach) depot that harbored a lot of secrets relative to the limerick and breaking the curse.
That location was so pretty, and their outdoor scenes are some of my favorites.
With so many things seemingly stacked against them, the last thing Abigail and Donovan need is to find fault with each other over little things. So what's cool about them is that they can punch each other's buttons without setting each other off.
That's an indication of a strong union. Thank goodness because the way Abigail taunts Donovan, a lesser man would probably take offense.
But they already know each other so well that it only makes their adventures more fun when they get snippy.
When the sign fell apart revealing the stagecoach info and ultimately the next clue for them to follow, I laughed out loud when Abigail said, "You're going to try to fix it, aren't you?" That could annoy someone else, but she takes pleasure in his quirks and vice versa.
Looking back on it, they accomplished so much with the train depot, the clock tower, and the statue, that it seems like their story took up the better part of the hour. But it didn't.
All of the plotlines got fairly equal treatment.
Maybe it's because the writing doesn't waste time, but uses every seen to tie into the larger arc of the hour.
You have to wonder, don't you, why Cassie doesn't just come out and share what she perceptively knows about the curse.
But then again, maybe she doesn't do that because of how it helps Abigail and Donovan grow as a couple.
That's similar to the way that she nudged Martha into her revelation about her daughter-in-law, Claire.
Sometimes, when we get to know someone, we get to know ourselves even more.
Cassie
It's said that many men marry women like their mothers, and for better or worse, Dylan sure married a mini-Martha!
Their similarities made them function like magnets. They were instantly repelled by the other. That's not good, especially when Claire is carrying a baby!
Claire: What I don't see is a baby section.
Martha: Perhaps we should think outside the crib. Oh! For example, these owl bookends would quite be a hoot!
Claire: Dylan and I are a little less hoot and far more elegant.
Martha: Oh. Far be it for me to want to liven up the baby's room.
Martha desperately wants to be a good grandmama, but she and Claire are like oil and water. Of course, we could see that their stubbornness and "all about me" similarities were at the root of their issues, and so could Cassie.
Did she purposefully show the two women a baby blanket that would cause Claire to push back on yet another of Martha's overtures? It sure seemed that way.
And when Martha wasn't realizing her culpability in the sour reception she was getting from Claire, Cassie reminded Martha of her own frosty feelings toward her mother-in-law.
Only then did Martha understand how she could be the bigger of the two and warmly welcome Claire into her family.
But for everything that Cassie knows about others, she was, once again, unable to ascertain how her dreams would unfold.
With all that she does to help her friends along on their journeys, it's apparent that she would make a terrific teacher.
But as anyone who wishes to move into a different career later in life knows, it's not easy to make that leap.
Cassie has all of the life experience and a tremendous education that would greatly benefit students. What she doesn't have is the experience as a teacher.
Even if she had wanted to become a teacher of the holistic arts, her work at the Bell, Book, and Candle would come in handy. She's always practicing.
What Alicia couldn't have known is that Cassie is always teaching those around her. She never stops imparting what she knows to those she loves. And sometimes to those she doesn't because that's how she comes to love them.
Hanging out in the quad, Cassie couldn't help but reach out to a student she thought was struggling. It's what she does. She sees an opportunity to help, and she jumps in with vigor.
She commanded the attention of nearby students with her skillful guidance, and it wasn't long before word of her unique skills reached Alicia -- well after she had already told Cassie she couldn't take the chance on her.
It's going to be fun watching Cassie teach, and if I know Good Witch, we'll all learn a thing or two about art along the way.
Did you know about the mandala and it's importance to the issues at hand?
I sure didn't, but when Cassie offered her hand to Sam so that he could feel the healing power of working with one, I was intrigued.
He worried about ruining something she had spent so long creating, but that's why she created it.
She mentioned the impermanent nature of all things, and that's exactly what a sand mandala represents -- the impermanence of human life.
That's apropos to what Sam was experiencing with Adam.
Nobody could have imagined that Adam would get diagnosed with a tumor on his spine. Not Adam, not Sam, and not Stephanie. They were all rather gobsmacked.
Even with his deep faith, Adam couldn't help but be frightened at what lies ahead for him.
It's daunting to get a diagnosis like that, and it's even harder to maintain a cheerful demeanor while fighting it.
But even though Adam is still relatively new to town, he's found lasting friendships. It makes more sense than ever why he and Sam found each other.
Not because Adam would need Sam's skill to heal him, but because they are both similar in the way they offer help during a difficult process.
Sam uses his bedside manner and his physician's training in much the same way that Adam uses his spiritual guidance to help people through illness.
Adam is a chin-up kind of guy. He was thinking about the way Sam must have felt treating a friend even as he was struggling with his own feelings on his diagnosis.
Sam: You made me a mix-tape?
Adam: Yeah! I know how you like to play music while you're in the OR.
Sam: [laughs] You didn't have to bring your own.
Adam: Oh, yes I did. That '80s pop you're playing? Isn't gonna cut it.
Sam: What's wrong with '80s pop?
Adam: So many things.
By making Sam a mixtape, Sam would feel comforted while performing the surgery. He would have Adam's joy in the room with him while he worked to remove the tumor.
It's hard to believe that Adam and Stephanie only just admitted their love for one another on Good Witch Season 6 Episode 4, as he's now leaning on her to pull him through a terribly difficult time.
Stephanie can hardly believe he has so much faith in her, as was evident when she urged him to share his ailment with his parents.
Stephanie: Right now, the chaplain could use a chaplain.
Cassie: Right now, the chaplain could use a Stephanie.
Once again, Cassie showed Stephanie the way. Adam has exactly who he needs in his life to get him through the trying time.
His predicament allowed him and Stephanie to learn a bit more about each other, too. Stephanie has no idea how to play Gin, but she was willing to roll with it to make him happy.
She also had no idea Adam was so smitten with cheese crackers filled with peanut butter.
Stephanie: You shouldn't go through this without your family.
Adam: I have you.
Stephanie: Yep. You definitely do.
He used those crackers to take some of the pressure off of Stephanie. Always the giving chaplain, he hasn't stopped caring for those who are caring for him. It's so beautiful.
Waiting for surgery is one thing, but waiting during surgery is another. That's where we'll find ourselves during Good Witch Season 6 Episode 6.
As a preview to that installment, I had a chat with Kylee Evans who plays Stephanie.
I'll be running that article this week so you can find out how she feels about Stephanie and Adam, and what has surprised her during the season so far.
There is still so much excitement ahead even though we only have four more episodes left in this season. Hasn't it just flown by?
Remember that you can watch Good Witch online right here via TV Fanatic, and please join me below in a conversation about the show we love.
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.
