Loner (The Secret Circle)

"**Loner**"
"Loner"
The Secret Circle episode
	Zachary (Dave Baez) trying to kill Cassie (Britt Robertson)
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 3
Directed by	Colin Bucksey
Written by	Richard Hatem
Production code	2J6253
Original air date	September 29, 2011
Guest appearances
	Logan Browning ; Dave Baez; Zachary Abel ;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Bound"	Next →; "Heather"
	List of episodes

Last updated December 12, 2022

"Loner" is the 3rd episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle , and the series' 3rd episode overall. It aired on September 29, 2011. The episode was written by Richard Hatem and it was directed by Colin Bucksey.

Plot

Now that the Circle has been bound, it seems that its members have lost their individual magic. The only way to do magic is to have at least two of the Circle's members present and that is something that Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) does not like at all.

There is a school dance coming and Sally (Logan Browning) asks Cassie (Britt Robertson) to help her organize it. Sally does not remember clearly what happened the previous night at the deck, so she tries to make Cassie tell her. Cassie avoids answering, saying that she did not see what exactly happened either.

Luke (Zachary Abel), a student at the school, likes Cassie and he asks Adam (Thomas Dekker) to introduce him to her. Adam does it and Luke asks Cassie to go to the dance with him, but she rejects him. Later, trying to find a way to stay away from Adam, she tells Luke that she will go with him to the dance.

Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy) takes the opportunity and uses the dance as an excuse to get closer to Nick (Louis Hunter) by asking him to the dance while Faye is trying to figure out a way to get her individual magic back.

Meanwhile, a man named Zachary (Dave Baez) appears in town and when he sees Cassie, he starts to ask questions about the Circle. He seems to know the truth about them and who they are and, as he says, he will not allow what happened in the past to happen again.

The members of the Circle search for information about him and they find out that he and his girlfriend Heather (a woman who died in the fire that killed the members of the adult's Circle sixteen years ago) were close friends of Amelia, Cassie's mom. Finding out about this, they believe that he blames their parents for Heather's death and now he is coming after them.

Dawn (Natasha Henstridge) and Charles (Gale Harold) find out that Zachary is back in town and he is asking about the Circle. They are trying to warn him to stay away from the kids. Charles meets him to warn him but Zachary hits him and goes to the school dance aiming to kill one of the kids.

The members of the Circle and Zachary confront him at the school and they manage to knock him down with magic. Dawn gets to the scene and they find an excuse for what happened to cover it up. Dawn tells them that she knows that man and that he has been vandalizing the school for years. Saying that she will take care of him now, she asks the kids to go back to the dance.

The episode ends with the members of the Circle trying to understand what Zachary meant when he said that Heather did not die in the fire but what Amelia did to her was much worse, while Dawn and Charles "mark" Zachary telling him to not get close to their children again.

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Loner" was watched by 2.12 million; exact same rating as the previous episode.^[1]

Reviews

"Loner" received mediocre/positive reviews.

Matt Richenthal from TV Fanatic rated the episode with 4.2/5. "The show [The Secret Circle] almost suffers from following The Vampire Diaries because it's not as fast-paced as that series (is anything?), which can make it feel slow. But I prefer to think of it as slow developing and enough seeds have been planted for me to anxiously tune in each week, curious about what will soon grow."^[2]

Katherine Miller from The A.V. Club gave a C+ rate to the episode saying that "The Secret Circle is concussed".^[3]

Tyler Olson from Crimson Tear stated that episode didn't have the charm the first two had. "Overall, this episode just didn't seem to have the same charm as the first two episodes. Let's hope that as they find more information about what happened to their parents, they will find the path they need in order to get into the pace viewers need."^[4]

Feature music

In the "Loner" episode we can hear the songs:^[5]

"Style" by Phil Ogden Band
"Girls Like You" by The Naked and Famous
"Lovesong" by Adele

Related Research Articles

<i>The Secret Circle</i> (TV series) 2011 American supernatural teen television drama

The Secret Circle is an American supernatural fantasy teen drama television series that aired on The CW from September 15, 2011, to May 10, 2012. It is based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. Set in the fictional town of Chance Harbor, Washington, the series focuses on Cassie Blake who, after moving to the town, discovers that she is a hereditary witch and becomes the sixth member of a secret coven. The series was developed by Andrew Miller and was picked up by The CW on May 17, 2011. On October 12, The CW ordered a full 22-episode season.

"Pilot" is the pilot episode of the CW television series The Secret Circle and the first episode of the show overall. The original teleplay was written by Andrew Miller, but was heavily edited by Kevin Williamson. It originally aired on Thursday, September 15, 2011.

"Bound" is the 2nd episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 2nd episode overall. It aired on September 22, 2011. The episode was written by Kevin Williamson & Andrew Miller. It was directed by Liz Friedlander.

"Heather" is the 4th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 4th episode overall. It was aired on October 6, 2011. The episode was written by David Ehrman and it was directed by Dave Barrett.

"Slither" is the 5th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 5th episode overall. It was aired on October 13, 2011. The episode was written by Dana Baratta and it was directed by Liz Friedlander.

"Wake" is the 6th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 6th episode overall. It was aired on October 20, 2011. The episode was written by Andrea Newman and it was directed by Guy Bee.

"Masked" is the 7th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 7th episode overall. It was aired on October 27, 2011. The episode was written by Michelle Lovretta and it was directed by Charles Beeson.

"Beneath" is the 8th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 8th episode overall. It was aired on November 3, 2011. The episode was written by Don Whitehead & Holly Henderson and it was directed by John Fawcett.

"Balcoin" is the 9th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 9th episode overall. It was aired on November 10, 2011. The episode was written by Andrew Miller andAndrea Newman and it was directed by Brad Turner.

"Darkness" is the 10th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 10th episode overall. It was aired on January 5, 2012. The episode was written by David Ehrman and it was directed by Chris Grismer.

"Fire/Ice" is the 11th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 11th episode overall. It was aired on January 12, 2012. The episode was written by Holly Henderson and Don Whitehead and it was directed by Joshua Butler.

"Witness" is the 12th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 12th episode overall. It was aired on January 19, 2012. The episode was written by Dana Baratta and it was directed by Eagle Egilsson.

"Medallion" is the 13th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 13th episode overall. It was aired on February 2, 2012. The episode was written by Andrew Miller & Andrea Newman and it was directed by Liz Friedlander.

"Valentine" is the 14th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 14th episode overall. It was aired on February 9, 2012. The episode was written by Roger Grant and it was directed by Dave Barrett.

"Lucky" is the 16th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 16th episode overall. It was aired on March 15, 2012. The episode was written by Katie Wech and it was directed by Joshua Butler.

"Curse" is the 17th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 17th episode overall. It was aired on March 22, 2012. The episode was written by Don Whitehead & Holly Henderson and it was directed by John Fawcett.

"Sacrifice" is the 18th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 18th episode overall. It was aired on March 29, 2012. The episode was written by David Ehrman and it was directed by Nick Copus.

"Crystal" is the 19th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 19th episode overall. It was aired on April 19, 2012. The episode was written by Micah Schraft and it was directed by Omar Madha.

"Prom" is the 21st episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 21st episode overall. It was aired on May 3, 2012. The episode was written by Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead and it was directed by Alex Zakrzewski.

"Family" is the 22nd and the last episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 22nd and last episode overall. It was aired on May 10, 2012. The episode was written by Andrew Miller & Andrea Newman and it was directed by Dave Barrett.

References

↑ Bill Gorman (September 29, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'X Factor,' 'The Big Bang Theory,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'The Office,' 'The Secret Circle' & 'Mentalist' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011.
↑ Matt Richenthal (September 29, 2011). "The Secret Circle Review: Hesitant Heroes". TV Fanatic.
↑ Katherine Miller (September 30, 2011). "Loner". A.V. Club.
↑ Tyler Olson (September 30, 2011). "The Secret Circle - 'Loner' Review "A new person starts asking about the groups power."". Crimson Tear.
↑ "Season 1, Episode: 3 "Loner" Music". TV Fanatic.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Bill Gorman (September 29, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'X Factor,' 'The Big Bang Theory,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'The Office,' 'The Secret Circle' & 'Mentalist' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011.

[2] Matt Richenthal (September 29, 2011). "The Secret Circle Review: Hesitant Heroes". TV Fanatic.

[3] Katherine Miller (September 30, 2011). "Loner". A.V. Club.

[4] Tyler Olson (September 30, 2011). "The Secret Circle - 'Loner' Review "A new person starts asking about the groups power."". Crimson Tear.

[5] "Season 1, Episode: 3 "Loner" Music". TV Fanatic.

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v t e The Secret Circle
Episodes	"Pilot" "Bound" "Loner" "Heather" "Slither" "Wake" "Masked" "Beneath" "Balcoin" "Darkness" "Fire/Ice" "Witness" "Medallion" "Valentine" "Return" "Lucky" "Curse" "Sacrifice" "Crystal" "Traitor" "Prom" "Family"
Related	The Secret Circle (book series)