A convenient storm, an abandoned house full of teenagers, and truth or dare. The ingredients for a perfect episode were all there in The Secret Circle “Beneath.” But did it really deliver?

The Secret Circle Beneath Review

The plotline for this episode was interesting, but I’m still not totally sold on this show. Still, I’m not giving up on it. Below I discuss my love/hate relationship with the character of Adam Conant, why Jake will inevitably turn “good” and more.

Is Adam a jerk or just a lost soul?

Adam Conant (Thomas Dekker) looks like he’s wearing eyeliner, all the time. Right? (But I don’t think he is.) And he’s pretty emo, actually. I cannot decide if I feel sympathy for him, or I think he’s a big ol’ jerk. How do you guys feel about him?

He’s having such a hard time letting go of Diana, even though it’s obvious to everyone that he has a thing for Cassie. Something he said in a previous episode about how he was lost before he had Diana and doesn’t want to be alone made me annoyed. I understand what he means, but it comes off as kind of controlling. Ditto in his lines tonight about not wanting Diana to realize she doesn’t need him. It’s soclose to being sweet, but rubbed me the wrong way.

Will the show reveal that Jake’s a jerk and then redeem him?

Is Jake (Chris Zylka) in any way truly falling for Cassie, or does the show plan to off him by the end of this season? If they do, then the circle is incomplete. So it seems like Jake is going to be redeemed. I don’t find that this actor really has any charisma, for me, though. So it’s kind of a bummer. I liked Nick more. This Viking (that’s what we call Jake) needs to learn how to smize!

Is Faye your character TSC character, too?

A boatload of praise shall now be dumped upon the actress Phoebe Tonkin as well as the writer’s for Faye Chamberlain in this episode. She’s my favorite. I love her witty lines, how obviously flawed (and such a teenager) she is, and even her fashion style.

Meanwhile, Cassie isn’t just playing dumb

I’m so over this naive Cassie (Britt Robertson), and I wonder how much time it’ll take for her to earn some street smarts. The one thing in her corner is that she didn’t overlook the fact that her Grandmother’s scarf was in the house. I also like that Cassie has every right to assume the initials of “J.B.” are for her Grandmother and not Jacob Blackthorn. Er, Eric Blackthorn? Blackthorne? Either way, that last name is kind of a joke as it screams “I am evil” from a mile away.

And she  did have a slight moment where she asserted herself against Faye. That was good.

Either way, I want to see more spirit and spunk in Cassie. You can be understanding and likeable without being a wet blanket of complacency. Cassie needs to give us charm or spunk or nerd appeal…something! I hate to use the phrase, since I’ve never even written fanfict, but Cassie is a total Mary Sue.

It’s hard to build a case for an already naive character when her storyline has her increasingly attracted and blinded by a character the audience knows to want her and her friends dead. Rather than worry about how she’s in peril, I just sit and wonder how she could be so stupid. She’s closer to Jake than anyone else, and rather than let his constant “I know everything about witchcraft” statements make her suspicious, she’s eager to let him teach her what he knows. She’s so damn trusting of him, but mistrustful of just about everyone else.

Do you think Cassie is too trusting? If Faye isn’t your favorite character, who is? And do you prefer Adam or Jake?

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