Secret Circle Boss on Blackwell's Intentions, Retribution for Charles' Crimes and More!

By Vlada Gelman

Daddy’s home! And not only is The Secret Circle‘s John Blackwell back, but he’s sticking around Chance Harbor to stir up a whole cauldronful of trouble — and maybe even bump somebody off? Executive producer Andrew Miller tells TVLine that, yes indeed, we’ll see a major character go bye-bye in tonight’s installment (The CW, 9/8c), and, scarier still, there will be “more after that”!

Also on tap for the new batch of episodes: There will penance for Charles, Ethan’s secrets will be revealed, and, of course, the Adam/Cassie/Jake love triangle will get “more complicated,” teases Miller.

TVLINE | Let’s start with romance. Where is Cassie’s heart at in the upcoming episodes with regard to Adam and Jake?

Cassie’s heart is with Adam right now. Her heart wants to be with Adam. His gesture on Valentine’s Day really pushed it in that direction for her. The only thing that’s stopping her post-Valentine’s is the reappearance of her father. Adam’s seeming mistrust of Blackwell has driven a wedge between them. When we pick them up [tonight], she wants to be with him. They both want to see if the “written in the stars” thing really means something. Adam is now far enough away from Diana that he can concentrate on Cassie. They want to make a go of it. It’s just that damn Blackwell.

TVLINE | There’s also Jake. Will he just stand idly by?

No, Jake does not stand idly by. His feelings for Cassie are just as they were, and he’s struggling. He had a dalliance with Faye that was probably more out his frustration over not being able to be with Cassie than it was [about] his desire to be with Faye. We’re going to see Jake make a little bit more of an effort toward Cassie. He takes this really interesting position, because whereas Adam mistrusts Blackwell, Jake responds very strongly toward Blackwell. That’s going to make things more complicated for their triangle.

TVLINE | Blackwell told Cassie that he’s more or less powerless. Should we take his word for it?

He seems very trustworthy to me. I don’t know what to tell you. He’s got very soulful eyes. He seems like he’s telling the truth. All I can tell you is he’s a complicated man, and his version of reality is unique and all his own. It’s hard to say what the future holds for John Blackwell. [Laughs]

TVLINE | What ramifications does Blackwell’s return have for Dawn, Charles and Ethan in light of their shared history?

For all the adults – and ultimately all the Elders – his return is a shock. [It's] not as much of a shock to Dawn, as we’ll find out in this next episode, but for everyone else, we’ll see — one by one — how they react to him. Like [for] the audience, the man who he appears to be is completely different from the monster they were expecting. That creates some confusion and knocks them all back a little. The idea of John Blackwell, even in death, it’s like the Boogie Man. The reality upon his return is so different. It’s very hard to reconcile those two things. You’re asking if he’s lying or not about his power, but the people who really have something to lose are much more interested in whether that’s true or not.

Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s John de Lancie Cast as Secret Elder

TVLINE | Blackwell does seem to have some beef with Ethan and the Conant family.

In the next episode, that’s going to be explored a lot. Ethan has some secrets that he and Charles alluded to that we’re going to dig up.

TVLINE | Does John Blackwell know that he has a second offspring?

I can’t answer that, much as I’d love to. But I promise that it’s a question that will be answered.

TVLINE | Is the identity of the other Blackwell child something you plan to reveal before the end of the season?

Oh yeah.

TVLINE | Charles did quite a number on Jane. He also killed Amelia and Nick, and no one really knows about it except for maybe Dawn. How long can he get away with it?

Not long! Not long at all. [Laughs] He’s like a ticking time bomb. His offenses are piling up, and they affect everybody. He’ll have to pay the piper very soon.

TVLINE | Will the circle and the adults start to catch on to each other?

Yes. As the story moves forward, they’ll have no choice. Out of necessity, one group [will find itself] turning to the other for help and out of desperation… Ultimately, their paths will cross. They each have their reasons for staying quiet about everything, and those reasons will become moot in a few episodes.

TVLINE | How are you feeling about the chances of a second season?

It’s so beyond my level of smartness that I can’t speak to it. We have an incredibly supportive network and studio. We’re all collectively very excited with how the show is moving forward. We’re just trying to keep making the best episodes we can and really fulfill and satisfy what our fans and characters need from the episodes. I’m hopeful, because I think we’re really putting together a good show. So hopefully people continue to watch it, and we’ll be around for many more years to come.

Copyright © 2011 TVLine Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Secret Circle Scoop: Death Strikes Chance Harbor!

by Natalie Abrams

The grim reaper will be paying a visit to Chance Harbor on The Secret Circle.

Now that John Blackwell (Joe Lando) has returned to town, the circle is in even more danger. And by the end of Thursday's episode, there will be with yet another death. (RIP, Nick) This week's outing also marks the reunion of Dawn (Natasha Henstridge) and Blackwell, who seem awfully friendly in the promos. Could Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) by the mysterious other Balcoin child? TVGuide.com turned to executive producer Andrew Miller to get the scoop:

What happens now that the Balcoin medallion has been destroyed? John Blackwell says he's going to be sticking around to "protect" Cassie (Britt Robertson), but it seems like he was only after the medallion and now has to use different means for his endgame.

Andrew Miller: Yes. It's the medallion itself that obviously spoke to him and brought him out. No one knows better than Blackwell how powerful the medallion is, not only to stop people, but as a tool for his own safety. If that was the ultimate weapon for safety, the idea that it's lost is troublesome to him in terms of the safety of his daughter. [Blackwell's] presence alone heats things up for his daughter. While he claims ... that he's a changed guy who does not have magic, and while he's admitting to all these things that he did and trying to come clean, there's no denying that who he was is still a pain in the ass for people. People will come after him and people will come after Cassie. So, it kind of remains to be seen how much his protection is going to help Cassie or hurt Cassie.

Will we learn more about Blackwell's history? And will it be similar to the L.J. Smith novels?

Miller: Well, it's different from the books. I mean it's different and similar. We've taken the richness of the characters and twisted them a little bit. Even his relationship with the adults in the show is vastly different from the way it was in the books. The number of people he has related to him in the circle is different from the book. Those two story points alone take him on a different path, but there are similarities to the book that are insanely fun and cool coming up.

With Blackwell back, will we finally find out who the other Balcoin child is?

Miller: Yes. And soon. The fun of that information isn't just an unmasking, but also a realization of how complicated the past really is and how it's really starting to push the present into the future. By future I mean the season finale. So, his presence is going to kick up a lot of stuff. We'll learn much more about the 16 years. We'll learn much more about why it's so important to stop now.

What can you tease about Dawn and John Blackwell's reunion?

Miller: They have fantastic chemistry. His return is completely messing with the expectations of our characters. For Cassie, she has come to expect this devil of a man in her life and he doesn't seem anything like that. For the adults, they've had 16 years to stew about who this guy is and create this boogieman character in their heads. Dawn's version of that is vastly different than Charles' (Gale Harold) version and Ethan's version. Who Ethan (Adam Harrington) is expecting and what Ethan wants to do about it to protect his relationship with Adam (Thomas Dekker) is what we're going to feature in Thursday's episode. We get a glimpse of what Dawn's expecting. I think for Dawn, it's like this pause button that happened when she was 16 or 17 years old. Now she's finally getting to take her finger off the pause button because he's back. She's been dreaming of this meeting for a long time.

What will Jake (Chris Zylka) and John Blackwell's working relationship be like in trying to protect Cassie?

Miller: In his efforts to win Cassie over and ... win over the trust of the circle, Jake plays an important role because he is in desperate need of father figure, almost as much as Cassie is. He saw his dad get brutally murdered. He fell in with the witch hunters because of Isaac (JR Bourne), since he represented a father figure to Jake. Now here's this fatherly guy with a beard and a fancy coat who's bringing Jake in and trusting him in a way that Jake doesn't get a lot. I think Jake starts off very Team Blackwell. It'll be an important part to Blackwell's desire to win over Cassie.

What can we look forward to as The Secret Circle heads towards its first season finale?

Miller: We're going to see magic, death, and sex, and not necessarily in that order. Thursday night we're going to see death. The people of Chance Harbor have lived death-free for too long. [The victim is] someone we know and, I think, like a lot. With that intensity will come new relationships and more intense relationships on a romantic level. That's the sex part. Then [for] magic, what Blackwell brings to the table is confusing. It's both helpful and hurtful. There are people out to get him and there are people he's out to get. Our circle will be roped into the middle of that as they try to figure out if he's someone they can trust to lead them or if it's someone that they need to band together and fight against.

The Secret Circle airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.

Article from TV Guide. I assume it’s copyrighted, but that wasn’t stated.