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So, Melissa is in Nick's bed and she's got that demon in her ear and it makes her NOT a morning person. She pushes Nick across the room when he tries to kiss her. Cassie lies to her grandmother that she doesn't know who Heather was. Grams tells her that her mom's friends all went through a lot together. Um, understate much? Cassie wants to confide in her grandmother but Diana tells her that something in her Book of Shadows talks about their parents' Circle being punished by elders and she imagines that Cassie's grandmother was a part of that group.
At school, Diana tells Faye that their parents are dating. Heh. Melissa acts progressively crazier as the day goes on. Finally, she's writhing on the floor in pain. Luckily, she's the only person in the hall and Nick is the person who finds her. Despite how ridiculous that is, the actress playing Melissa is pretty stellar. She snaps into crazy calm demon and tells Nick that she's fine but needs him to help her find her family's Book of Shadows, which she hears is in the woods. Nick likes the ideas of just doing magic with her in the forest. She takes him to the woods and makes the poor guy dig into the dirt forever, until he finds a satchel. They take the satchel to the abandoned house and Melissa insists that they not open it until everyone is there. She's acting super spooky and kind of comes on to Faye, which of course we've all been waiting to happen anyway.
Dawn and Charlie have dinner together. Ew. Diana makes dinner for Adam and it's gross but they have a nice time together. So nice that clothes come off. Meanwhile, Melissa has almost blown her demon cover by screaming at everyone to wait to open the satchel. Before it can be gotten too busy with, they've called and interrupted Diana and Adam. When they get there, Nick knocks Melissa out. They tie her up and she has some NASTY talk to throw around.
Dawn and Charlie start to chant together and it looks at first as if something about to happen, but it doesn't. Dawn says that they waited too long to use their crystal now everything is screwed. Not as screwed as our young witches. First of all, something's moving in that satchel. Second of all, Melissa frees herself and holds scissors to Nick's throat and orders everyone else around. Meanwhile, Cassie has run home and told her grandmother that she knows she's a witch and needs her help. Melissa tells everyone to chant at the suitcase and it starts to open, but Grandma comes in and stops everything. Then, she performs an exorcism -- well, she's about to when she realizes that Melissa is no longer possessed. Now, the demon's in Nick. He runs out and they burn the suitcase, which is full of demon snakes.
Nick calls and says that they have to deliver the suitcase to him or he's going to burn down The Boathouse, where Adam's passed out hot dad is. He sits down beside Dawn and reminds her that she summoned him years ago! That bitch! He says he wants the Circle. They walk out and she calls Charlie and lets him hear what's going on. They are in a dry dock area when Charlie knocks Nick/Demon out. Dawn says that they have to drown the demon and Nick will be going along with it. So, Nick comes to right as Charlie's ducking his head under water and then it's demon-y but still Nick and all rather upsetting. Ultimately, it looks like the demon and Nick are drowned. Dawn and Charlie scram before Cassie and her grandmother find him lying by the water.
Melissa doesn't remember anything about her possession. Faye tells her that she's really glad that she's OK. They get a call from someone and Faye is stunned. Dawn tells Charlie that they did the right thing but he doesn't agree. Ya'll, Nick is dead? Cassie asks her grandmother what happened the night of the fire, but she says that she doesn't know. I'm a little bit surprised that the people on this show aren't as upset about Nick's death as I am. Does this mean the Circle won't be as strong? We see Faye comforting Melissa. And, we see Cassie looking out her window to where she would normally see a hot shirtless Nick.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!It's our usual beginning, with Melissa and Nick waking together. Nick has to shake Melissa and she says that she has a really bad headache. Yeah, a demon headache. Nick tries to kiss her and she seriously like pushes him across the room. That is a really lame demon- - if I'd been trapped in ole' catatonic Heather Barnes's body for 16 years, I'd be super ready to get it on with Nick. PRIORITIES, Demon. You can take over the world in a few minutes. Melissa apologizes and says that she doesn't feel well. She lies back down and you can see the demon slithering (hence the title of this episode) under her back skin.
Cassie's making her breakfast as Grandma is arranging flowers. She says that she can't believe that Cassie had to witness Heather's accident. She mentions that she knew Cassie's mother and had been housebound for years. Oh yeah? She asks Cassie what she had been doing and Cassie says she was hanging out with the girls. Grandma says she's happy that Cassie has made friends with them and that it makes sense because their parents were all good friends. She says that her mother and her friends went through a lot of tragedy together. She says that she'd like to have dinner with Cassie that evening and tells her that she can tell her anything. Cassie's mute.
At school, Melissa is all jittery in the hall. Girl is WORKING that demon. She bumps into Dawn and is like, "WATCH IT!" and then backtracks when she realizes she just screamed at the Principal. Awesome. Dawn tells her to watch where she's going and Melissa twitches down the hall. Cassie tells Diana that she wants to tell her grandmother about the Circle stuff but Diana says they'll get their powers stripped by the Elders (their parents). Cassie says she doesn't like lying to her grandmother. Diana is afraid that exposing themselves means they will never find out about what happened on the boat.
Charlie is waiting for Dawn in her office. She says that they're not equipped to help their children yet. Charlie says it's a blood moon tonight. Hmm. Dawn says they should start talking by phone again. Outside the office, Phoebe tells Diana that her dad is there and she's probably getting expelled. Heh. Diana tells her that, in fact, their parents are dating. That's what I like about Diana. It almost feels like she knows everything there is to know already and is like super evil or something. Faye is not happy with this news. Here comes Melissa. She opens her locker and is freaked out by the bell ringing. She can't concentrate and then she gets a demon jolt or something and starts writhing on the ground. Nick sees her and asks her if she's OK. Then, she gets all normal and acts like nothing happened. She tells him that she found her family's Book of Shadows. Well, she found her mom's diary talking about burying the book in the forest. They decide it will be a secret between them. A Secret Line.
Later, Nick has been digging for hours. He wants to stop but Melissa tells him to keep on. Finally, he reaches a suitcase/trunk thing. Meanwhile, Cassie is eating with Grandma. She tells Cassie that she's a lot like her mother. She says that Amelia kept things from her because she thought she wouldn't understand. She says that she'll never forgive herself for not reaching out to her. She pleads with Cassie to not make the same mistake. Cassie gets a text to come to the abandoned house immediately. She leaves, without even asking for permission. Kids these days.
At the house, Melissa is really rude to Nick when he wants to open the suitcase. Faye gets there and is annoyed. Melissa says that she found her family's Book of Shadows, which annoys Nick and I guess creates a Secret Triangle. Then, she tells Faye that the book is just for the two of them. Faye wonders if she'll hold it over her head like Diana does and she gets real sexy close and says that Faye is her best friend and she'd do anything for her.
Dawn and Charlie are on his boat. She wants to know if he wants the crystals as much as she does. She tells him to not lose focus. Meanwhile, another dinner. This time it's Diana and Adam. She's a horrible cook. She misses when they were the only two witches that they knew. I guess she told the others about their powers. She wishes sometimes that it was still just the two of them. Dessert is ice cream and whipped cream. She squirts some on his neck and licks it off. That's what I'm talking about Secret Circle! Then, it turns into kind of a food fight, which is fun.
Back at the house, Cassie arrives. Faye is annoyed and Melissa says that she thinks all of the Circle has to be there to open the suitcase. Faye wants to do it and Melissa screams, with an extra deep voice, that everyone needs to stay away from the damn suitcase. She crazy. She's so good right now. They're aware that this is weird stuff now, they even see the demon slither along her forehead. Meanwhile, Diana and Adam are getting it on. Symbolically, Cassie's text calling for help is what stops them. Cassie tells Melissa that she thinks it's a demon. Adam and Diana arrive and, when they turn around, Nick knocks Melissa out. They tie her up and deduce that she's got a demon inside of her. Then, she comes to and starts writhing around. She asks what happened. She asks to be untied and Nick starts to, but Cassie stops them. She screams that Nick is a worthless loser and it's seriously scary. They don't know what to do. Cassie does.
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Charlie and Dawn have lit a bunch of candles and hold hands around a crystal. They start a spell that calls for the whereabouts of other crystals. Lights start shimmering around the candles for a moment, but it doesn't work. Dawn says that they waited too long. The crystal is used up. She says that she was an idiot to think that Charlie could help her and she stomps off.
Cassie rushes home and tells her grandmother that she knows she's a witch and she needs her help. Meanwhile, Melissa gets loose and throws Nick against a wall and holds scissors against his throat. She starts to cut him and Diana, Nick and Faye try to perform a spell that heats up the scissors, but she throws him on the floor instead. She makes the others perform a spell around the suitcase. It starts to open when Cassie and Grandma arrive. Grandma performs a quick little thing that closes the suitcase. Then, she throws the shears out of Melissa's hand. Melissa says the old woman is no match for her, but Grandma shows her that she has a crystal. Melissa shrinks away from the crystal and is seriously giving a kind of virtuoso performance here. Grandma knocks Melissa out then orders the kids to get all ready for some sort of spell.
Dawn is having a drink at The Boathouse while the others are performing some sort of exorcism at the house. Suddenly, Grandma stops. Melissa is no longer possessed, but someone else in the room is. Grandma holds the crystal up to each of them. It's Nick. He runs off. There are demons in that suitcase. What a bitch! They have to either drown or burn demons, so Grandma grabs some lighter fluid. They put the suitcase in a bathtub and let her rip.
Nick runs through the forest and is tripped up by the writhing demon thing. He is also very compelling in demon form. I don't know what this says for the show, but more please. Grandma says they need to find Nick. She says that demons want to find human form and witches are the most powerful humans. Nick calls Adam and says that he has to bring him the suitcase or he'll burn down The Boathouse, where his dad currently is. So is Dawn. Nick sits beside her and calls her Dawn. She tells him that it's Miss Chamberlain. He tells her that he's not Nick, he's the demon that SHE SUMMONED. Holy crap. This is one shady lady. He says that he wants the Circle. The demon wants to inhabit her body. She tells him to come outside with her and secretly calls Charlie and lets him know where she is. He takes off after her.
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On the docks, demon Nick says he wants the Circle's power. Then, Charlie jumps out and knocks him out. Dawn says that he knows what they have to do. They have to drown it. Nick. Dawn says something about drowning it is the only way to save Nick too. I don't know. Charlie drags him to the water and puts him under, at which point, he comes to. He starts fighting and it's really upsetting. He seems confused about what's happening. But, also, wouldn't Nick be stronger than Charlie? Cassie and Grandma hear a noise near the docks but get there as Nick is laid out on the dock. Dead. Or dead-looking. What? I LOVE HIM. Charlie and Dawn are gone.
Back at the house, Melissa tells Faye that she doesn't remember anything. Faye says that she was really mean to her. She says the day was blurry and Faye says that she's glad she's OK. They get a call. Faye takes it. She seems devastated about Nick. Meanwhile, Charlie and Dawn are in his car and Charlie is distraught. Dawn says it was the right thing to do. Charlie says that he killed a child. It doesn't feel right. Dawn takes his hand and thanks him for saving her life. Damn, she's manipulative. At The Boathouse, Adam tells Diana that the police are saying Nick hit his head and drowned. They wonder if he was trying to get the demon out himself. He says Nick had it worse than any of them. He never knew who he was. She says that she couldn't take losing Adam and she makes him promise to not get lost.
At their house, Cassie tells her Grandma that Nick would be alive if she'd confided in her earlier. They vow to have no more secrets. Cassie wants to know what happened the night of the fire, but Grandma doesn't know. Cassie says she misses her mom. What good is magic if you can't save the people you care about? For real though. Grandma says that witchcraft is dangerous and attracts darkness. She says that she's not going to let anything happen to Cassie.
We end with a sad musical montage of Dawn and Charlie standing in different places, in darkness. Adam and Diana are still holding each other at The Boathouse because no one has a curfew. Faye is holding Melissa as she sobs, poor thing. Cassie goes to her room and stares out the window, across the way, where beautiful Nick used to creep. Seriously?
Jeff Long is a writer/performer in Brooklyn. He can be reached at jeff.long75@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @jblong.
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