The Secret Circle - Bound (spoilers)

In the opening, Cassie sits on her bed, re-reading the note from her mother that she found in her mother’s Book. It warns her not to trust people and that some will come for her power, which is the only thing that can protect her. Cassie gets up and tries to light a candle by saying, “Give me light.” Instead, she opens her bedroom curtains and light spills in. What kind of witch doesn’t have to learn any spells? She doesn’t even use any Latin.

The two most mundane members of the circle, Nick, and Faye’s sidekick, Melissa, have secretly hooked up in the adjacent house. Nick insults Melissa by saying that he would never brag about sleeping with her, as if that’s not impressive at all. As Melissa gets dressed, Nick stands shirtless in his window, staring at Cassie. Cassie tries to close the curtains with magic, but she just breaks Nick’s window. By now it is very clear that Cassie’s problem is that her magic is too big for her. It’s a problem that the others share as well, especially Faye.

Faye’s paternal grandfather, Henry, is in town, visiting. He says hello to Faye on her way out of the house. When Faye is gone, Faye’s principal mom, Dawn Chamberlain, asks Henry if everything is alright, and he says, “If it’s not, I’ll let you know.” He doesn’t say this in a joking way, which lets us know that he’s wise to the magical goings-on of the town. After Dawn invites him to stay, Henry rudely reminds her that he owns the home. Dawn called Charles Meade (Diana’s father who killed Cassie’s mother, remember?) and asks why Henry is in town. We find out that Henry blames Dawn for his son’s death.

Class President Sally Matthews reaches out to Cassie at school, in the halls, and invites her to a fair. Faye catches up with Cassie and asks her to not let Diana bind the circle, because then their powers will be shared, and they will have some measure of control over each other. Faye is fine with her own powers being enhanced and doesn’t want “a fascist circle.” We get that. If you had cool powers, would you want five other kids controlling what you did with them? Cassie comes back with an “I don’t know you; I don’t want to know you; I don’t want any part of this.” Dial down the aggressiveness, girl. You aren’t Lux anymore.

Cassie enters chemistry class. Adam and Faye are in the class too. The teacher kind of looks like Barack Obama. Faye uses magic to cause Cassie’s beaker to explode, so Cassie sets Faye’s on fire and then causes it to explode as well. Shocked that her anger caused her to accidentally retaliate, Cassie runs out of the classroom and Adam follows. Adam informs her that she can’t stop her own powers, but he can help. After school, Cassie and Adam meet in the abandoned house the circle uses. Adam discusses the accident that killed Diana’s mom, Faye’s dad, Adam’s mom, Melissa’s mom, and both of Nick’s parents. And, allegedly, Cassie’s dad, but for some reason, we really think he’s alive.

The official story is that "kids" were all partying on a boat and a fire killed some of them. We are wondering why all six couples in the circle had children at such a young age...Clarification is needed there. Diana thinks that the parents died because they didn’t bind the circle and the magic got out of control. Adam tells Cassie that each witch is born into a circle and that their circle consists of six families. Binding a circle limits individual powers, but strengthens the group. Adam gives Cassie a magic lesson. Cassie says, “It’s like I’m living in a Harry Potter movie.” Psh, we like this show, but it isn’t nearly awesome enough yet to invoke an HP reference.

Meanwhile, Adam’s dad, Ethan Conant, meets with Henry and tells him about Charles Meade’s drowning scare. We found out that Ethan called Henry and brought him back into town. At first, Henry declares that this is impossible, because everyone in the parents’ circle was stripped of their power. At the fair, Cassie wears a belly-baring shirt with a cute jacket. So belly baring is back? Huh. Cassie helps Sally sell tickets and Diana tries to talk Cassie into joining the circle. Cassie resists again.

Henry spots Faye using her powers to win a carnival game, then catches up with Dawn, tells Dawn about Faye’s powers, and tells Dawn that Ethan was threatened with magic by Charles Meade. Bad move, Henry. She’s in league with Charles. Dawn points out that none of her generation has any power, because Henry’s circle took care of that. Sooo, the senior circle stripped the parents’ power after the accident? Dawn goes to Charles Meade and asks for “the crystal,” which is, apparently, the source of all the power they have left. Charles Meade gives Dawn the crystal.

The fair turns into a dance on the pier. Melissa sadly watches Faye and Nick dance with each other. Nick starts groping, and Faye pushes him off, smiles, and says “Do you honestly think I would get with you?” We love Faye so much. She wasn’t looking great in this episode. We like her hair down. Faye finds Cassie and makes some wind and thunder, challenging Cassie to stop it. Sally comes up to the two of them, and Faye pushes Sally hard enough that she goes through the pier fence and onto some rocks. Faye looks shocked, because she obviously didn’t mean to push Sally that hard. Out-of-control power again…

Everyone at the fair notices what’s happened and watches as Dawn rushes down to check on Sally. Henry sees this. THIS MAN SEES EVERYTHING. He realizes that Dawn must have used a crystal to save Sally. Charles Meade chastises Dawn for “wasting” the crystal’s power. He’s the worst. We cut to Faye who is NOT the worst. She can feel remorse! She is crying and saying that she didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt, but she just thinks things and they happen. This event is exactly what is needed to get Faye and Cassie to agree to bind the circle.

At home, Henry confronts Dawn about having a crystal, even though he thought all the crystals were destroyed. He says that he is going to a group that must be witch/warlock “higher-ups.” Dawn uses the crystal to give Henry a heart attack. We are sad, because he was cool. He was a little controlling, but it seems like he needed to be, because Dawn is diabolical.

Cut to Diana and Adam in the car. Diana shows insecurity about her own magical knowledge and her relationship with Adam, now that Cassie is in town. Adam comforts her and they kiss and say that they love each other. We really like Diana and we are going to be sad when she gets her heart broken in this love triangle. The main character always wins, especially when she has literal destiny on her side. The circle meets on the beach, around a fire and Diana binds them. The fire gets really tall when the deed is done.

This show is turning out to be as quickly paced as The Vampire Diaries. Two episodes in and we've already had two deaths and the unification of the circle. We have a few more answers about the past, and the heat is still on as to Charles and Dawn's plots against the children, particularly Cassie. This episode shows that Dawn loves Faye, so Faye is probably safe. If it came down to it, which side would Faye choose? The circle or her mother? This fledgling series is showing signs of becoming one of our favorite new teen shows.

Episode grade: B+