A simple trip to a lake house turns eventful when witches are involved. Concerned about her grandmother Jane Blake, Cassie and the others (minus Melissa who’s out of town with her mother) go to Henry Chamberlain’s home. ‘Beneath’ isn’t about what’s in the water; it’s about what emotions the teens have kept hidden from each other since Cassie got to town. As many of us know, pushing thoughts and feelings down will only make them come to surface with an uncontrollable force. On tonight’s episode, tempers flare and lust boils during a stormy night by the lake.
The members of the circle are still shaken up from the attack by the witch hunters. Combined with Nick’s death, Cassie, Adam, Faye, and Diana are ready to snap from the stress. Faye, Adam, Diana, and Jake meet Cassie at her house. Faye wants to know how the witch hunter Luke caught on fire. Cassie confesses that she might have done the deed. Adam is not convinced; they were surrounded by iron and sulfur, so the circle couldn’t perform any magic. But Cassie recounts how she felt a surge when she screamed, and this leads her to conclude that she did kill Luke. This infuriates Faye, and her jealousy and frustration burst forth. Faye did not want the circle bound because she enjoyed doing magic on her own; she wants her independence back, and now it seems Cassie has what she most desires.
To deflect Faye’s ire, Cassie shows them the paper Calvin Wilson left her. None of them recognize any of the markings. Cassie thinks the initials “JB” stand for Jane Blake, but we know that they stand for John Blackwell, her father. At first, Cassie wants to go to Henry’s cabin alone, but since Henry is Faye’s grandfather, she insists on going. Eventually, everyone agrees to go.
We know Henry’s dead. Dawn, Faye’s mother, knows he’s dead since she killed him, which is why she’s not happy to see Faye go to the lake. However, she can’t stop Faye; after her daughter leaves, she calls Charles Meade. Charles reassures Dawn that Henry’s body is hidden. In the back seat of his car is Jane. Dawn tells Charles to send a fake text to Cassie to throw her off the trail.
Cassie and Jake drive to the lake. Jake has one goal on his mind—learn more about Cassie. Are his reasons pure? No. Jake is a witch hunter, and he knows more about Cassie’s magic than she does. Cassie inherited dark magic from her father, making her more powerful than her friends. Cassie drives, but Jake steers the conversation to her family. Cassie’s from a long line of witches, and both of her parents were witches. Jake suggests that because old magic is the most powerful magic she might learn more about her powers if she traces her lineage. Perhaps the paper might help? Jake is disappointed when Cassie tells him she left it at home so she could concentrate on finding her grandmother.
A storm comes. The five arrive at the lake house. Faye steps out of the car, and she stares at the lake for a few moments. She thinks she hears a voice say “help me.” The power is out, so candles are lit and the generator’s turned on. Cassie finds Jane’s scarf, but there is no sign of Jane or Henry. Cassie is relieved when she reads the text from “Jane” telling her Jane is on her way home. Because of the lateness of the hour and the rain, the group decides to stay the night.
Faye notices a leak. On the floor are wet footprints. Faye follows them. At the top of the stairs are red boots. She turns. The footprints are gone. The boots have vanished. Something besides the alcohol is affecting Faye. Needing to relax, Faye takes a bath. One moment the water is fine, the next the tub is full of mud and weeds. She screams. Diana and Cassie come to her aid, but the water’s clear again. Faye confronts Cassie and accuses her of using magic to make her see things so she will look crazy in front of Jake. Cassie denies messing with Faye’s mind and wanting Jake to herself. Faye doesn’t completely believe her and appears jittery and jumpy. Magic is definitely distressing Faye, but Cassie’s not the source.
We leave the lake house and join Dawn and Charles at the abandoned house in the woods. Charles discovered the circle’s secret lair, and he needs Diana’s Book of Shadows to find a spell they can use on Jane. Killing Jane will draw a lot of unwanted attention, but they need to prevent Jane from stopping their plan. Dawn is ecstatic when Charles reveals the crystal he took from Henry’s house. With a fully charged crystal, Charles and Dawn can perform magic. Stripped of their witchy powers sixteen years ago, they have to use crystals. They have drained one crystal, and Dawn salivates at the possibility of doing magic again, but Charles denies her this pleasure. Charles was sad, but his grief has morphed into confidence. He oozes creepiness as he asserts his new found power over Dawn. Dawn comments that he hasn’t been himself lately, which is why she should have the crystal, but Charles is tired of her speaking to him like one of her students. Charles has grown a spine; he’s a confident witch who refuses to follow Dawn like a lost little puppy anymore.
Teenagers alone in a house. Booze found in an unlocked cabinet. Yes, I know what’s going to happen next, partly because the show is on the CW, but mostly because I remember when I was a teen many years ago. Their boozy game of “Truth or Dare” brought back some memories for me, none that I will share here. The game is used to reveal more about the characters. Faye dares Diana to take off her shirt; Diana does, and Adam quickly covers her with a pillow. Diana asks Faye how many lovers she has had; two, admits Faye, breaking the myth that she is not as promiscuous as rumored. Adam asks Jake why the hunters didn’t put him in the circle with the rest of them. The others don’t want to talk about this again, but Jake says probably because he is stronger than them. Adam doesn’t believe Jake. Faye interrupts Adam’s accusations by asking Cassie “truth or dare;” Faye warns Cassie that her question will be about if Cassie only likes other women’s men. Diana interrupts Faye and dares Cassie to kiss Jake. Cassie kisses Jake. Adam looks away. Faye erupts. Faye calls Cassie a boyfriend stealer. Cassie tells Faye to stop blaming her for Faye’s problems. Aggravated, Faye leaves.
Faye is in Adam’s jeep. She sees a little girl in a yellow raincoat, so she gets out and follows the girl.
Cassie is in Henry’s study when she finds a picture of the girl Faye saw. Jake sneaks up behind her. Finally, Jake has Cassie alone again, and he tries to get her to do magic on her own. Cassie resists; she doesn’t understand his fascination with her abilities. “Not all witches are created equal,” he tells her. Some witches are born with certain skills, and Jake claims Cassie is afraid to tap into her baser emotions. For a moment, Jake sounds like Darth Vader as he tries to goad Cassie into doing magic. Instead, she kisses him; she’s been accused of a lot, so she decides to make one accusation true. Jake pushes her away.
Diana and Adam argue. Their anger turns to lust.
Cassie is outside. She sees the little girl in the yellow raincoat and follows her. She finds Faye in the woods. Faye is relieved that Cassie can see the girl too. Faye realizes that she is the girl. When she was six, she spent the summer there, and she almost drowned; her grandfather pulled her from the lake. After she tells Cassie the story, Faye runs to the lake.
Everyone meets at the lake. Faye walks into the water. She knows she’s supposed to do something or find something, but her emotions are too turbulent to hear the message clearly. Cassie sees the little girl at the end of the dock. Cassie goes to the end of the dock and puts her hands in the water; the water bubbles, and Henry’s corpse comes to the surface.
At home, Cassie tells Jane that Henry is dead. Jane is genuinely surprised. Charles’s memory-altering, mind-control spell worked. Jane says she didn’t make it inside Henry’s house, but Cassie shows Jane her scarf. Both ladies are perplexed.
Since Henry wasn’t killed properly, his energy lingered at the lake house and guided Faye to the lake. Cassie seeing Faye’s visions proves two things: one, Cassie is more powerful than the others, and two, Faye and Cassie have the potential to be great friends. Faye subconsciously reached out to Cassie; without Cassie, Faye would not have found her grandfather’s body. However, if Faye allows her darker emotions to dictate her actions, then she and Cassie will become great enemies.
In this episode we finally see more depth to Faye; she’s more than a clone of Nancy from ‘The Craft.’ She has moments of vulnerability, and she reveals that she’s not as wild as she portrays. The dynamic between Faye and Cassie has shifted; their friendship will definitely progress, but it’s the path that is in question.
Also showing she has more “beneath” the surface is Diana. She is willing to live her own life and is open to change. Adam is afraid of change and is the one reluctant to let go. When Adam drops Diana off at her home, Adam thinks they are back together, but Diana tells him that he needs to find out what it means to be apart from her. Diana ends their romantic relationship. She doesn’t want to go backwards, and she’s not sure if being with him is right. Adam shows that he is not really as nice as the first episodes presented him. He tells Diana that he doesn’t want her to be okay without him. That’s not love. That’s being possessive. Last night was goodbye sex, Adam; learn to be your own person and Diana might take you back.
If Adam is not the choirboy I thought he was, then what about Jake? Externally, Jake is a lying, cold, and calculating witch hunter, but tonight’s episode is about finding what is underneath. Cassie fascinates Jake, but he could be feeling more than just curiosity. Perhaps he pushed her away during their private kiss because he was surprised he could be feeling more for her. Jake is a danger to the group, but he could also become helpful to the circle because he’s the only one that knows the truth about Cassie.
Inside Cassie is an unknown, untapped well of dark magic. Is she like her father? Tonight we learn that she does have some similarities with Blackwell. At the abandoned house, Charles remarked that he and Dawn were having a good time being witches until Blackwell came to town. This echoes Faye’s statement about how everything was fun and exciting before Cassie arrived. Cassie, like her father, is a rock disturbing the calm waters of Chance Harbor. The ripples Blackwell created caused the deaths of many people. What will the ripples Cassie has created do? And can the circle prevent history from being repeated?
We were exposed to some of what the characters have been hiding, but there is more to learn. Teenagers are fluid creatures who slide from one extreme emotion to another. Discovering one’s self takes time; swimming in a sea of hormones mixed with magic makes the journey toward adulthood even more tumultuous for the circle. It will be interesting to see how they navigate the rough waters ahead and who completes the trip. In the world of ‘The Secret Circle,’ surviving the journey is not guaranteed. They have lost Nick, and their mentor, Jane, is under the control of another. The leader of the circle, Cassie, has no idea what power she wields. This is a treacherous time for the circle, which means it’s a great time to be watching this show.
If you missed last week’s episode be sure to read our ‘The Secret Circle: Masked’ recap to catch up
