What happens when Valentine’s Day comes to Chance Harbor, a town full of witches? All Hell breaks loose. Ghosts, possessions and drugs complicate the lives of our favorite witchy teens as two characters’ obsessions put the ones they care about most in danger.
This is a recap, so there are spoilers!
It is the morning after Faye and Jake’s roll in the hay. Faye claims she wanted to sneak out before she had to realize what a mistake she made. Jake tells her that she knew what was going to happen. They agree to never let this happen again; they don’t want to feel the shame again. They stare at each other. They kiss. Time for round two.
Cassie tells Diana what happened in the basement of the Blackwell house and how she feels connected to her father. She plans to go back to the house and try again. Diana is not in the best of moods; it is Valentine’s Day, and the recently single girl wants the day to be a boy-free zone.
Melissa is at her locker and Faye walks up. Faye despises Valentine’s Day too and lets it slip that she fell off the Jake wagon. Melissa is concerned Faye will repeat history, but Faye says she has the power because she left Jake high and dry, wanting more. Faye wants the day to be free of boys too, and she invites Melissa to a slumber party. Melissa invites Diana and Cassie to Faye’s “Screw Valentine’s Day” slumber party. Faye objects, but they promise not to talk about boys, so with Melissa’s encouragement, Faye agrees.
Cassie forgot a book in her car, so she goes outside. She bumps into Adam, and he asks her out, but she declines because she promised to go to Faye’s party. He asks her out on a date for another night, and she agrees. She gets the book from her car, and a hooded figure is seen behind a school bus. Cassie, who does not see the figure, exits her car, and the figure is gone. The hooded figure wears a black robe similar to the robe Blackwell wore in Cassie’s visit to the past.
Lee goes over to Faye’s. She comments about how he has failed to get her individual power, but he has another trinket guaranteed to work. He gives her a power totem; if she keeps it under her bed, it will draw out her weakness and replace it with pure power. She says it is lame and vows not to try it.
Isaac, a witch hunter, visits Jake. Jake slams Isaac against the wall. Isaac claims that the memory Jake saw was only part of the story. Blackwell tricked the witch hunters sixteen years ago. This is a case of perception and how truth can be seen in different ways. Isaac says he can stop the witch hunters from attacking Cassie; all he needs is the medallion. Witch hunters can’t use the medallion (so Isaac claims), but the witches can cause great evil with it, so the medallion needs to be with the council. Jake refuses. Isaac hits Jake’s weak spot—Cassie. Isaac tells Jake that the only way to protect Cassie is to give him the medallion. Evil will be attracted to Cassie now; the only way to save her is to give him the medallion. Jake is not 100% convinced, but Isaac’s words are making him think.
Cassie is in the basement of the Blackwell house. She has the medallion; she sees the hooded figure, screams, and runs out. Adam is upstairs. Cassie and Adam go back downstairs, but no one is there. Adam and Cassie discuss Cassie’s determination to find out more about her father; Adam is concerned because he thinks Blackwell was dangerous, but Cassie still wants to find out everything for herself. Cassie tells Adam that the robe is like the one her father wore and about the symbol on the robe. Adam suggests telling Jake about the symbol because the witch hunter knows about symbols.
Diana arrives at Faye’s. Faye teases Diana about how much stuff she brought; Diana bumps into Faye, knocking Faye on to her bed. The power totem breaks. Faye leaves the room. Diana thinks about leaving, but Melissa says they just need to loosen up, so she brings out the devil’s spirit. She tells Diana that it is herbal and safe. They both do the drug.
Cassie shows the symbol to Jake. The symbol belongs to a coven from Europe that was destroyed years ago. Jake says that he doesn’t know what the connection is to her father.
Melissa and Diana are giddy. Diana wants to make out with the pizza guy, but he has to be hot. The three girls form a circle and think of the hottest guy ever. The doorbell rings. They rush down, and Diana opens the door. She kisses the guy there, but it is not the pizza guy—it’s Lee. Faye breaks up the kiss and has Lee come in. She wants him to fix the totem. Diana and Melissa are disappointed Faye broke the “no boys allowed” rule.
Cassie is home alone, getting ready to go to Faye’s. She puts the medallion on the kitchen counter. It slides on its own toward the French doors. Outside are two hooded figures.
Lee is worried about the girls being on devil’s spirit because it destroyed his former girlfriend. He says he can fix the totem. The pizza arrives. This time Diana successfully kisses the pizza guy. Cassie arrives. Melissa takes more of the devil’s spirit.
Jake goes to Isaac and tells him that dead witches are haunting Cassie. According to Isaac, Blackwell killed the coven at a church and took their powers. The medallion has the powers of many witches; since the medallion has been activated, the dead witches want their powers back. The medallion is filled with a thousand cursed souls, and evil is attracted to evil. More will come and want their powers back. The only way Cassie will be safe is if Isaac has the medallion. Since the medallion could kill Cassie, Jake seems to be convinced.
Cassie tells the girls about the recent events. Faye has an idea about how to contact the dead—a Ouija board. The board doesn’t work until Cassie puts the medallion on it. The medallion moves by itself and spells “sacred.” Melissa and Diana giggle while trying to come up with ideas about what the word means; after they are out of ideas, they want a group hug. Faye leaves. Cassie, Diana, and Melissa hug. Diana and Melissa run upstairs, still giggling. Cassie gets a text from Adam. Melissa comes back down. Cassie tells Melissa that she is going over to Adam’s. After Cassie leaves, Melissa gets the drug. Jake comes over. Melissa tells him that Cassie went over to Adam’s.
Cassie drives. The medallion moves up to her neck and chokes her. The car swerves. Cassie loses control of the vehicle, hits a fence, and the car flips. Cassie is fine. She gets out of the vehicle. She sees a hooded figure in the field; she yells at it, but it doesn’t respond. Cassie chases the ghost.
Adam has prepared a romantic evening on the boat. Jake comes by and tells him that Cassie should be there; they need to leave because she could be in trouble. Adam takes a knife before following Jake. Adam calls Diana, but Diana is not happy that Adam and Jake are looking for Cassie. “Maybe she found a third boyfriend,” she says. She tells him that Cassie is not there and then hangs up. The guys go looking for Cassie.
Diana and Faye talk. Faye thinks Diana is upset about being replaced by Cassie. Diana says that Faye is the one worried about being replaced. Diana thinks Faye should be a better friend to Melissa, but Faye reminds Diana that she dumped Melissa in junior high when she started dating Adam. Faye pauses. She notices that Melissa is not there. They find Melissa having convulsions in another room. Melissa took the rest of the devil’s spirit. They get Melissa to the bathroom. Diana holds Melissa’s hair as she vomits. Faye can’t believe Diana did the drug with her. Diana can’t believe Faye introduced Melissa to the drug.
Jake and Adam find Cassie’s wrecked car. Jake says all ghosts can do is appear and disappear; he thinks the ghosts are leading Cassie to the church where they all died.
Cassie chases the disappearing-reappearing ghost through the woods. She comes to a large church. She stands in the doorway; on the floor is the name of the church, Sacred Heart. Cassie enters. She yells for the ghost. A hooded figure appears. Then another. Then another. Cassie is surrounded. The dead witches close in on Cassie. Adam and Jake enter. Adam, with knife out, runs to Cassie; Jake wants to wait because he doesn’t know what they are up against. A ghost appears in front of Adam. Cassie yells at Adam to run. The ghosts surround Adam. The robes drop to the ground. Adam’s eyes roll back; he doesn’t respond right away. Jake figures out that the spirits have taken possession of Adam. Using Adam to communicate, the witches demand the medallion. Jake tells Cassie what he knows, and he has to confess to getting his information from Isaac.
The witches want their powers back. Jake wants Cassie to give Isaac the medallion. The spirits make Adam start cutting himself with the knife. Jake tries to tackle Cassie, but she uses her power to push him aside. She holds out the medallion; possessed Adam holds out his hand. Cassie clutches the medallion and crushes it. With the medallion destroyed, the witches know they cannot get their powers back, so leave Adam’s body. Adam and Cassie hug.
Jake goes to Isaac. He gives the witch hunter the small piece of the medallion that remains. Isaac does not hide his disappointment; now Isaac cannot protect Cassie and Jake. Jake wants to know why Isaac wanted the medallion intact; witch hunters can’t use the medallion, so why does he need it? Isaac refuses to answer and tells Jake that anger has made Jake weak and incapable of seeing the truth. Isaac leaves.
Faye puts the power totem that Lee fixed under her bed. She tells Diana to stay. They both say they will be there for Melissa. The three watch movies. Faye says she is done with boys for a while; Diana says Lee is a good kisser. Faye tosses her pillow. A pillow fight erupts.
Lee has a totem just like the one he gave Faye. He wraps a cloth around it. He is in a room with a woman hooked up to medical equipment. He tells the unresponsive woman that he has found a way to help her.
Adam takes Cassie to the boat. Cassie likes what Adam planned. Cassie admits that Adam was right; she let the idea of her father overshadow the reality. She no longer wants to know who he is, and she says he can stay hidden and out of her life. She wanted to believe he wasn’t a bad person because if he is evil, then she could be evil. Adam tells her that she is amazing. They kiss passionately.
This is one of the best episodes of the season. The dialogue was to the point and didn’t slow down the quick pace of the show. Each storyline had enough time to develop a complete arc. We learned more about the characters as they interacted with each other. The possession of Adam was a creepy, scary moment, and we saw that Jake cares about Cassie, but he is not exactly the most courageous person in the room. Physical strength does not always equal courage, and the way Adam charged into the church revealed what type of person he is and how much he cares for Cassie, making the kiss with her have a lot of meaning.
The show was balanced between two sets of three; this way, the characters got more time on screen. It was good to see Melissa—well, not good that she almost overdosed—but good that the character wasn’t out of town again. I was concerned about the direction the devil’s spirit story was going, but the writers were able to use this thread to bring Melissa closer to Diana and Faye and to show us new sides to the three girls. I would enjoy another story featuring these three having to fight an evil force together.
Sometimes we hurt the ones we love. Cassie’s obsession with her father almost got Adam killed, but she was able to find strength and sacrifice the one object that could lead to her father. Jake was willing to whisk Cassie away and abandon the rest of the circle, but Cassie chose others over the selfish path. She gave up her father and power in order to save Adam and possibly the circle.
Faye’s need for individual power almost got Melissa killed; Diana was right to put some of the blame for Melissa’s near overdose on Faye. Melissa is responsible for her own actions, but it was Faye’s need for power that drew her to the devil’s spirit, and she did share it with Melissa. Although she saw Melissa almost die, Faye is still in pursuit of freedom from the circle. She put the power totem under her bed; she is not thinking of the possible consequences of her actions, and Lee knows this, which is why Faye is perfect for his plan to cure his girlfriend. Cassie might be tempted by dark magic again, but she demonstrated that she has the ability to let go of an individual goal in favor of another. Faye has had times when she has seen the errors of her ways (“Fire/Ice”), but she has not taken the leap forward that Cassie has.
If you missed the previous episode, be sure to read our ‘The Secret Circle: Medallion’ recap.
