Secret Diaries Chat
Episode #5 – All My Children Return

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by Selina Wilken
@SelinaWilken

Posted on 7:25 pm,
February 19, 2012

We hope you episode #5 of The Secret Diaries Chat, in which the hosts discuss the latest episodes of The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle, ‘All My Children’ and ‘Return’!

The hosts of this week’s podcast episode are Selina, Laura, Jen, Sonya, and Sarah.

Before the discussions begin, we briefly discuss the latest news regarding the renewal status of CW shows. Is The Secret Circle in trouble?!

The Vampire Diaries discussion: 1×15 ‘All My Children’

- Is Alaric dead?! The hosts don’t think so!
- Does this mean that Meredith is the Council killer?
- Will Stefan eventually go back to being good Stefan without any real repercussions of his actions as Ripper?
- Abby is now a vampire: what does this mean for Bonnie?
- Caroline said that Bonnie’s always the one who gets hurt when she tries to help Elena, is this true?
- Esther wanted to turn the vampires human, so why couldn’t they have just stayed that way?
- Daggered, undaggered… what’s the deal?
- The white oak tree mystery explained!

The Secret Circle discussion: 1×15 ‘Return’ (begins at 30:35)

- We all love Joe Lando as John Blackwell!
- Is he out for power or for Cassie’s safety?
- Does John know about the second Blackwell child? Is it Melissa?
- We discuss Ethan and why he’s scared to see John back in town. Is Ethan the Snape of The Secret Circle?
- Melissa: still an outsider! How did Callum not know she was a witch?!
- Is Lee still bad, and what will happen now that Eva is awake?
- We have fun with shipper names! Meet Laye and Jawn!
- Where does Eben get his powers?

The listener feedback section (begins at 58:40)

- We discuss if something will happen between Elena and Elijah (spoiler alert: we hope it does!)
- Could Meredith be a supernatural creature?
- So what’s the deal with the second Blackwell child anyway?
- The parents on The Secret Circle are always AWOL, what gives?

Next week we are planning on taking a hiatus from the podcast as there is no new episodes of The Vampire Diaries or The Secret Circle, but we’ll return before the end of the three-week hiatus! Be sure to leave your comments about what you want us to discuss during the break!

Contribute your theories and thoughts to the next episode of the Secret Diaries Chat by commenting on this post, emailing secretdiaries@hypable.com or tweeting us @SecretDiariesTV!

This episode's hosts: Selina Wilken, Laura Byrne-Cristiano, Jen Lamoreaux, Sonya Faria, Sarah Maloy

Gary65

As The Secret Circle is the 3rd/4th(depending on how you view the latest ratings for Supernatural) most successful show on the network, it’ll be fine.

Just a quick q though: If the head of the CW hits his head tomorrow and regains consciousness with an entirely different personality that hates TSC(this is the only reasoning I can see where it’ll get cancelled), and the show does get canned, what’ll happen to the podcast? DON”T LEAVE ME!!!!! :(

BTW as the witch responsible for turing her kids into vamps, Esther is the Original witch, not Ayanna. The only reason she is using the Bennett bloodline is cos its the only one around with a living bloodline(i.e. a living witch from 2 generations of the family)(a living bloodline being the key to releasing Esther from her coffin in the first place). The fact that they are descendants of Ayanna is merely ironic coincidence.

As for the White Oak tree, I think there are 3 possibilities:

1. Either it has been cut down every time it grows big enough to be conspicuous and a new one is grown(its safe to say that, even if they don’t cut it down when it gets too big, trees can’t live for 1000 years, can they?), in which case it is hidden in the sprawling forests of Mystic falls and will be nigh on impossible to find.

2. They grew it as big as they possibly could and then cut it down and made thousands of White Oak stakes, which are scattered around Mystic Falls/the world.

3. The tree was cut down and used to build a house, thus meaning one of the structures in Mystic Falls is made of White Oak and will also be harder to find as there are lost of houses and ruins around Mystic Falls.

The story of the White Oak will follow one of these paths(or a combination of them) IMO. One thing we can say for sure though is that the Lockwoods know where it is. The werewolves were the ones who grew the new White Oak after the Original family torched the first one and fled the area. And seeing as the Lockwoods are on the Founder’s Council(Mr. Lockwood was even head of the Council), it would make a lot of sense for them to know where the ultimate vampire killing weapon(s) is that their ancestors cultivated so long ago. Does anyone else see this as a way of bringing Tyler back into the story(where the hell is he anyway?)?

Quick 2nd q though: in the past, the witch spirits that inhabit the abandoned house have shown very little tolerance for vamps, especially ones that intend to harm their living brethren. Why did they not try and attack Damon to save Abby? I know it says they left the house after Bonnie resurrected Jeremy but we have seen hints of them still being there(when they helped Stefan hide the coffins form Klaus). Do you think it is because Abby abandoned her daughter and they still have not forgiven her and have truly abandoned her(this being the reason Abby lost her magic)? Or is something else at play?

If Meredith is a supernatural creature, she could have shot Alaric to incapacitate him and tie him up or something. She knew he had his ring on so it wouldn’t matter if she shot him in the head. He’ll still heal. I doubt she’s killing Council members. I can’t really see where the story would go from there and there has been talk of making Meredith a more long term fixture in the show. Most likely, she knows who is killing them and is trying to track them down.

Remember that Klaus can’t be daggered. As a half werewolf, the silver in the dagger heals him instead of stopping his heart(we learned from Mason that the werewolves started the silver-is-fatal rumor for exactly this reason. Cos silver heals weres)(the dagger must be made of silver as it is the only element that can electro-statically bond the While Oak ash to it and thus kill an original. We learned this when the dagger was first introduced by John Gilbert). That’s why Klaus didn’t drop when Kol was daggered.

I think Esther will come back at some point, looking like a frickin’ hedgehog with White Oak stakes sticking out of her everywhere, screaming “OK kiddies. Time to die” xD

I love to theorize and, as of late, this new theory has been creeping up on me. We all know how Elena will do anything to protect those she loves, even give up her own life. What if something truly traumatic happens in the season finale and Elena is almost killed and has to drink vamp blood if she is to heal. As a result of saving her and/or this traumatic event, someone close to Elena(Matt maybe?) dies. Elena is wracked by guilt and Caroline’s words that its her fault that people get hurt ring in her ears. As a result she decides to bring an end to the suffering she has caused so many others and right Stefan’s wrong(she can say this to him down the phone. Would be a really cool line) and throw herself off Wickery Bridge(where she should have died when her parents did, had Stefan not saved her) and dies. End of season 3 finale.

Start of season 4: Stefan gets there and pulls her out of the water. He performs CPR and brings her back. Episode continues with whatever other stories are going on. At the end, she can freak out about the sunlight, at which point she realizes what has happened. The vamp blood she drank had not left her system when she jumped off the Bridge. Stefan did not resuscitate her. She is in transition. End of ep 1 of season 4.

I know its a very morbid and long winded theory but Elena has to become a vamp before the end of the series IMO and this has been bouncing round my head for days. Just wondering what you think. How do you think Elena will become a vampire?

Anyway, on to The Secret Circle. I’ll report back if I have anything to say(which I prob will) and if I don’t fall asleep(2am here. Can’t sleep). I applaud you if you actually read my entire comment. Awesome show guys :D
- Misswriter18
  
  I like your idea about Meredith being a siren… It makes sense… Hmm… AND that means Alaric won’t be dead!!!
- https://twitter.com/#!/SonyaWrites Sonya Faria
  
  We always read your comments no matter how long they are! About your White Oak tree theories. The tree was actually burned down not cut down. But that really only means one of your theories isn’t plausible. It’s possible that a new tree could have grown where the old one was burnt down. But that might make it too easy for Klaus to find. Supposedly Michael had the only dagger that was made from the tree but there could be others we don’t know about. Do you think that maybe Elijah will help the Salvatore’s find the tree? We know he doesn’t want to die but he’s still not happy with the way his siblings have been acting.
  - Gary65
    
    Sorry. My theories related to the new tree, not the old one. I think the new tree was cut down/turned into stakes/cut up and disguised as some sort of structure. A thousand year old tree would be really huge and would stick out like a sore thumb. I find it incredibly unlikely that the tree depicted on the wall, being worshipped 300 years after the Originals fled, is still standing. Could imagine the size of it by now if it was?
    
    Given the lengths Elijah has gone to protect his family thus far, I doubt he would ever actively try to put them in danger. Its also worth noting that Elijah doesn’t even know the tree exists. Only Rebekah and Klaus do and I highly doubt they intend to share that info with the Salvatores any time soon.
    - https://twitter.com/#!/SonyaWrites Sonya Faria
      
      That makes much more sense! That’d be really interesting if it was hidden as something else. That would obviously make it much harder for them to find. Especially if it was built into a structure somewhere. I can’t imagine the Salvatore’s or Elena not finding out about the tree somehow. Everyone in Mystic falls is always in everyone else business
      - Gary65
        
        Oh they’ll def find out about it. I just don’t know how. Unless Klaus and Rebekah tell someone else to help find it and that person betrays them and tells Elena. Or maybe they’ll call Tyler and Tyler will find something that belongs to his dad that contain’s the tree’s location(maybe George Lockwood’s diary or something?)That or Bonnie will see it in another one of her psychic dreams, like the one she had telling her she needed Abby to open Esther’s coffin.
        
        EDIT: OMG I just had a great idea. What if Klaus tracks down Tatia, guessing that she knows where the tree is? Could this be how we get introduced to the first Petrova doppelganger? That would be soooo cool. And then maybe Elena/Katherine finds out about the tree when Klaus tells her, thinking that she’s actually Tatia. That would be soooo epic(and confusing) :D
Gary65

I think we all want to see the parents to get their power back and quit this crystal rubbish but, unfortunately, I can’t see that happening for a good few eps. In the interim, do you think its possible that, if John were to get his hands on a crystal, it would reopen his access to not only his Circle magic but his dark magic too? We saw in ep 5 how the crystal is a force of good magic, as it had a strong repulsive effect on the demon that was possessing Melissa. But, in the hands of a witch with dark magic, could its power be used in such a manner?

You were talking about how the power of magic can be intoxicating. As we learnt from previous characters, John was a good guy but the power of black magic took control of him and made him evil(kind of like the ring in Lord of the Rings). If his path to magic is restored, will the intoxication begin again? It would be good of the writers to really explore the extent and history of John’s black magic and, unless they do another flashback ep, this is the only way I can them doing it.

Having read all the books, I can almost assure you that all the parents were witches. You won’t find out until book 3 but the way the births of the current circle comes about is really really twisted. But if you read book 1, you’ll know that there are 12 circle members and there are 12 houses on Crowhaven Road, with one Circle member coming from each house normally. But that aside, I’m almost positive that all the parents were witches.

I assumed that the reason Callum was pumping them full of devil spirit was because he wanted to get them hooked on it, at which point he’d start charging higher and higher prices and it wouldn’t matter what they had to pay, they’d pay it cos they were so addicted to the drug. Its a common trick used by real drug dealers to get more clients.

While I think Lee is beginning to truly care for Faye, I still think he’s taking advantage of her. He just broke the totem to win her over again. Maybe its my instincts but I just had this feeling that, once the totem has stolen enough power, the stolen energy cannot be actively used until the connection is severed and the totem is broken. This would explain why Eva woke up the moment Lee snapped the totem. Alternatively, the show’s producers could have just montaged the Laye kiss with Eva waking up for dramatic effect but I think there was more to it. Still don’t trust Lee. Not by a long shot.

As for ideas of what to do during the hiatus, you could have character discussions and talk in depth about where you see the story going and where you want it to go. You could pick 2 characters(one dead, one alive) and ask if you could exchange them(i.e. write one off and bring another back), would you do it? You could review the previous seasons(eps in the case of TSC) and talk about how you felt when you first watched it, what was done wrong( e.g. killing Lexi grrrr), what shocked you, what you saw coming I dunno. I’ll let you know if any ideas come to me.

Great show as always. Can’t wait to listen in again :D
Gary65

I think Esther will come back at some point, looking like a frickin’ hedgehog with White Oak stakes sticking out of her everywhere, screaming “OK kiddies. Time to die” xD
- Crazy_caramello
  
  bahahah!
- https://twitter.com/#!/SonyaWrites Sonya Faria
  
  It would be really interesting to see her come back but I’m not sure how she would! She said she needed the bloodline of the Bennett witches and now Abbie is a Vamp. Any theories how she could come back?
  - Gary65
    
    I don’t think she needed the bloodline of the Bennett witches to do magic. She just needed a living bloodline. She could easily have used Jonas and Luka Martin when they were alive. I’m sure there are loads of witch bloodlines with a living link to make it manifest that Esther could tap into.
    
    In the ep, she said “You are the descendants of the witch, Ayanna. She was a great mentor of mine and I think its only fitting that I draw from her bloodline.”
    
    This makes it sound like she has a choice in where she wants to draw her power from. IMO so long as there is a living bloodline for Esther to tap into, she can draw from it as she pleases.
http://twitter.com/purplehrdwonder Caitlin Kelly

Yay, listener feedback timestap!

I don’t think Alaric is dead but I am getting tired of seeing him as a punching bag for the various supes of the series anymore. He’s a capable hunter–he stabbed an Original this episode!–but keeps getting either shunted aside (see: end of season 2) or maimed/killed. And with the ring working less and less, it’s worrisome.

Someone commented that the ring has been off whenever Meredith is present, but the first time we got any hint of that was when Damon killed Ric early on and it took longer than usual for him to revive; Damon commented that Ric should get the ring looked at before Ric stormed out. That was long before Meredith was introduced so I don’t think she has anything to do with that.

Thanks for the great show as usual!
Misswriter18

The Vampire Diaries:

I don’t think Alaric is dead, but that might just be a hope… I adore Alaric, and I don’t want to watch Elena lose another adult in her life.

I am beginning to really love Klaus. I think he can be really sweet, but no one trusts that he’s sincere… I think his infatuation with Caroline is sincere (in the way Klaus is sincere), and I hope they keep exploring this connection.

The Secret Circle:

I was kind of disappointed with John Blackwell. I felt like they’d made such a big deal about how evil he was, and then he seems sort of good. I don’t think he’s perfectly good, but I also don’t think he’s really bad. But I expected more from him. But, Joe Lando did a great job. I wasn’t disappointed by his performance, only the character….

About Lee’s girlfriend… I really think she’s the other Blackwell child… I don’t see any other reason why they’d bring this character into the picture. If she is, maybe the Devil’s Spirit messed with her dark magic somehow and destroyed her health or made her overdose… Just an idea.
- Misswriter18
  
  With regard to my mention of Lee’s girlfriend being the Blackwell child…
  
  I guess if the child is in the circle, she can’t be. But, do you think that the witch hunters have their information right? So, could it still be Lee’s girlfriend?
  - https://twitter.com/#!/SonyaWrites Sonya Faria
    
    She would have to be related to someone in the circle, and if she was a Blackwell than she would be related to Cassie. But I personally think it would be someone we already know is a member of the circle. Meaning one of the main characters.
- Gary65
  
  Isaac said in Balcoin “Cassie Blake isn’t the only child of Blackwell in the Circle.” As Eva is not a member of the Circle, she can’t be Cassie’s half-sister. And I’m pretty sure there was a story saying that Eva ended up in a coma after she got into a car crash while high on Devil’s Spirit. Did anyone else hear that or was it just me?
  - Misswriter18
    
    I don’t remember that. I just remember saying that Devil’s Spirit took her away from him. But hey, I might have missed that.
    
    But if she was in a coma due to a car accident, how do we know that it didn’t also have to do with magic?
    - Gary65
      
      Oh it wasn’t in the show. I’m pretty sure I read it in an article on Hypable announcing who was cast as her character.
      - Misswriter18
        
        I guess it’s time for me to look in to that. :P
- https://twitter.com/#!/SonyaWrites Sonya Faria
  
  I get what you’re saying about Blackwell. I’m still convinced it’s an act and I’m thinking we will see his real side when he interacts with the adults on his own. But we’re going to have to wait quite a while for that :(
  - Misswriter18
    
    Yeah… I agree. It does seem like he’s acting a certain way for Cassie. And his interactions with adults could be a whole lot different. It is so frustrating that we’ll have to wait so long. It feels like forever.
Theaterboy1

I really hope you are right about The Secret Circle!! There are only two shows that I would be extrememly upset if it got cancelled and The Secret Circle is one of them. LOVED this episode!! I am still thinking the other Blackwell child is Jake and this episode “Return” only added to my suspicions.
http://twitter.com/RachelgurlFL Rachel Gay

i dont remember abby being turned into a vamp when did this happen?
- http://hypable.com Selina
  
  Damon bites and kills her, and then later we see her lying on a bed and someone says she’s in transition. It happened really fast! But basically it was the only way the Salvatores could think of to break the witches’ mother-daughter power without actually killing them.
  - http://twitter.com/RachelgurlFL Rachel Gay
    
    oh yeah that’s right thanks
http://wizforum.proboards.com/ Nieriel

That interview you were talking about where they talked about Alaric’s ring not working was because it was running out of juice just because it’s been used so much. Also I don’t believe Meredith is supernatural…so if they wanted to kill Alric off that would be a way for him to go.
- http://wizforum.proboards.com/ Melissa West
  
  For the Secret Circle I believe John still has his magic but is laying to Cassie. I feel he doesn’t want anyone to know he still has power, but he wanted the Medallion for even more power.
  - https://twitter.com/#!/SonyaWrites Sonya Faria
    
    YES! I’m glad you agree with me that Blackwell is a big fat lier!
  - Gary65
    
    I already know all this but you should put a spoiler alert in for the people who haven’t read the books.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=20902563 Kristen Kranz

Just a little comment about the discussion on the latest episode:

While I sympathized for Bonnie at the end of the latest episode, I felt that she & Caroline were being incredibly unfair by blaming Elena for the turning of Bonnie’s mother. Elena is the one character on this show that has lost more than any other. She never asks anybody to make sacrifices for her, they do it of their own accord. Elena has made many, many sacrifices for the sake of her friends & it seems wrong of them to shut her out when all she is trying to do is be a friend to the few people she has left in her life.

Elena has lost her biological parents, her adoptive parents, & her aunt to death. She has lost her brother to distance in order to keep him safe. She has lost love due to Stefan’s need to save his brother at all costs… you look at the amount of loss each character has survived, no human character has suffered more than Elena. I think Caroline & Bonnie would do well to remember that Elena has lost more people than anyone should before they graduate high school. Despite all of this, Elena is not a puddle on the floor covered in her own tears… She fights to keep everyone safe.

I understood what Caroline was getting at with that speech, I just couldn’t help but feel badly for Elena. All she ever does is try to do the right thing & she is always being blamed for what everyone else does… How can she control what the Salvatore boys choose to do? Shutting her out just seems wrong.
- http://twitter.com/RachelgurlFL Rachel Gay
  
  well said…

Secret Diaries Chat Episode #5 – All My Children Return

Secret Diaries Chat
Episode #5 – All My Children Return