This review may contain spoilers

A particularly nonsensically plotted episode, "Return" finally introduces the near-mythical John Blackwell (Joe Lando) ... and he's pretty boring.

He claims that when his generation was stripped of their powers, his regular and dark magic were both also taken. Powerless and repentant, all he has done since the boat fire has been to protect Cassie (Britt Robertson).

Initially, she talks tough to her father, but by the end of the episode, she seems to have forgotten her conclusion from "Valentine" that a mass murderer/serial killer (remember the Nodaris coven?) like John Blackwell is not to be trusted. Also, John has spent the last 16 years in hiding. The first thing he says to Cassie is that no one can know that he's alive.
He subsequently reveals himself to Jake (Chris Zylka), Adam (Thomas Dekker) and Ethan (Adam Harrington), through not actually caring about the secrecy he said he wanted.

Several times we they have been warned that the witch hunters are coming imminently. They have twice kidnapped Cassie and threatened the lives of the entire circle. They are demonstrably dangerous murderers; so when their first move is to circle Cassie's house with magic deadening ash and salt, Cassie turns away all offers of help and the boys let her. Not only are the witch hunters in town and know where the kids all live, they have been inside the house setting who knows what traps and monitors in place. The kids all wander around like it's not a war situation with the enemy right in your face. There's no way to justify this as quirky characters, it's just breathtakingly bad writing.

Eben (Sammi Rotibi) takes Cassie and casts a spell on her that compels her to kill her father. He finds out that John is alive because Jake strikes a deal to trade Blackwell for Cassie. Giving Cassie to John, Eben takes Jake and is about to execute him when the circle comes to the rescue. Eben is impaled through the chest, but somehow disappears while the kids are busy.

Against her will, Cassie attacks her father with a needlessly extended death program that involves knocking him down and circling him with a slowly advancing circle of fire. The circle saves her from killing her father, even if later they wonder if it might not have been better to have allowed his death.

In other news, Callum (Michael Graziadei) finds out that the girls are witches. Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy) finally realizes that Callum is scum. Callum is confirmed as a voodoo practitioner. Lee's (Grey Damon) power sucking totem is revealed for what it is, although Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) certainly doesn't seem to have been affected. Lee's girlfriend, Eva (Alexia Fast), wakes up from her coma. Also, Lee breaks his totem as a gesture of good faith to Faye, whose suspicions are allayed enough by this act to make out with him.

Points Of Interest

1. Cassie's grandmother, Jane, is still not well enough to leave the clinic; although, Cassie has told Diana (Shelley Hennig) and Charles (Gale Harold) that she is returning that night because Cassie wants to go home.

2. In "Masked," the witch hunters used iron sulfide to stop witch power use. In "Balcoin," things built from ashwood did that job. Here, they use ash and salt.

3. Cassie has a new job at a coffee shop. She is not a natural; although, Adam shares his serving skills, which seem pretty good.

4. Lee's Eva, the coma patient, is being kept at his house, not a hospital or other care facility.

5. Diana does not remember kissing Lee.

6. The cold iron in the manacles the witch hunters cuffed Jake with would prevent his power use. What are they, fairies?

7. John (who is staying) and Jake have formed a Cassie protection alliance.

What Worked

The warm familial type interaction between Cassie, Diana and Charles that began the episode was nice. Displaying reasonably sharp characters with a sense of humour. Things pretty much go downhill from there.

They finally address the idea that the witch hunters are using spells when one expects them to be bloody minded and knowledgeable, but powerless mundanes. In particular, Cassie wants to know how Eben bespelled her. John knows that Eben is not a witch. They speculate that a witch (other than Jake) is working for the hunters.

What Didn't Work

See above.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"The Secret Circle" stars Britt Robertson, Thomas Dekker, Joe Lando, Chris Zylka, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Phoebe Tonkin, Grey Damon, Michael Graziadei, Shelley Hennig, Sammi Rotibi, Adam Harrington, Gale Harold, Alexia Fast. "Return" was written by David Ehrman, and it was directed by Brad Turner.

"The Secret Circle" airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.