I’d like to begin my recap of 90210‘s Jan. 28 episode by saying this: While I’m not entirely sure what the hell I just watched, I do know that I loved it, and I never wanted it to end. Annie (Shenae Grimes) should get shot more often!

Just before Annie went into surgery — she was actually awake and fine, so I’m not sure what surgery she was even having — she told Liam (Matt Lanter) he’d be better off if he’d never met her, which obviously meant she was destined/doomed to dream about an alternate universe in which she’d stayed back home in Kansas.

It’s A Not-So-Wonderful Life

At first, things seemed pretty OK. I mean, who in their right mind would complain about waking up engaged to the perfect human specimen known as Chris Zylka? But as soon as she found out she was estranged from now-famous rapper Dixon (Tristan Wilds), Annie was on the first flight to California to set things right.

Upon arriving in Bizarro Beverly Hills, Annie found her friends to basically be exaggerated versions of their season-one selves: Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) was a fame-whoring boozehound, Silver (Jessica Stroup) was a bitchy gossip blogger and Liam was a law-breaking badass with Ty (Adam Gregory) as his beautiful sidekick.

Annie’s absence in this universe apparently prevented Ade from losing her part in Spring Awakening, thus allowing her to be discovered, and keeping her from getting pregnant and dating Navid (Michael Steger). Some might say Ade would have been better off in this universe, but whatever.

Oh, Teddy (Trevor Donovan) was also “straight” in Annie’s alternate reality, but it seemed like Naomi (AnnaLynne McCord) was the only person incapable of seeing past his facade — so, naturally, she agreed to become his beard!

After an evening of life-ruining — Annie somehow caused Dixon to lose his street cred, Liam to get arrested, Silver to re-think her entire life, and Naomi to shack up with big gay Teddy — she called everyone together to drop some straight-up truth bombs. My favorite line of Annie’s was definitely to Silver: “If somebody had been around to reach out to you, then maybe you wouldn’t have stayed such a colossal bitch.”

(Side note: If every one of Annie’s dreams includes a subtle Secret Circle reunion — Chris and Jessica Parker Kennedy were both present and accounted for — then I say, “Keep dreaming!”)

Back To ‘Reality,’ Which Also Sucks

In true Wizard of Oz form, Annie awoke from her dream with inadvertent words of wisdom and encouragement for her dumb-ass friends — but in true 90210 form, nothing went as planned. Silver tried to take back the signature she forged, but Teddy found out and got pissed; Naomi tried to reconcile with Max (Josh Zuckerman), but he didn’t look too happy to see her; and Liam tried to move on from his recent tragedies, but ended up breaking some dude’s headlight with his helmet.

I have to say, I really enjoyed all the call backs to previous characters and story lines in this episode. In fact, this entire season — from the West Bev reunion to the surprise return of Annie and Naomi’s moms — has felt like a gift to long-time fans, thanking us for our loyalty in good times and bad.

(Now if only Liam and Annie would get back together, our giftset would be complete!)

So, did you enjoy this week’s episode as much as I did? Do you think Annie and Liam will finally see they belong together? And how do you predict Naomi and Max’s little ‘reunion’ will go? Drop a comment with your predictions, and your favorite part of Bizarro Beverly Hills.

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

More 90210 on HollywoodLife.com:

1. 90210 Recap: Liam’s Rescue Mission Ends With A Gunshot
2. 90210 Scoop: Arielle Kebbel Previews Vanessa’s ‘Redemption’ Episode
3. 90210 Recap: Vanessa’s Return Puts Annie & Liam In Danger

Following Jane’s death, Cassie (Britt Robertson) was trying to keep from falling apart on the April 26 episode of The Secret Circle. But in a moment of weakness, she couldn’t help kissing Adam (Thomas Dekker), who — judging by the look on his face — didn’t seem to mind all that much. That was my first clue that our young Mr. Conant remembers more about his feelings for Cassie than he was letting on.

Diana (Shelley Hennig), meanwhile, was coming to terms with the discovery of her true paternity. She was clearly finding it hard to be around Cassie at Jane’s wake, and insisted on not telling the rest of the Circle until they knew for sure whether or not she was John Blackwell’s daughter. Being Diana, she came right out and asked Charles (Gale Harold), who admitted he and Diana’s mother had been separated before she got pregnant. Charles assured Diana he was her father no matter what, and told her to stay away from John.

Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) and Jake (Chris Zylka) tried easing the “pain” of Jane’s loss with Dawn’s (Natasha Henstridge) prescription pills, but all they found in the bottle was Faye’s family’s crystal. No, wait, that’s a good thing! Ah, if only things were that simple in real life.

At the abandoned house, John and the others were looking for the remaining crystals, at which point Faye and Jake showed up with the crystal they had found. When Jake informed them it was dead, John told them it could be recharged with the power of the Circle. In the meantime, he sent Chance Harbor’s newest dynamic duo, Adam and Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy), to locate Adam’s family’s crystal.

Adam and Melissa headed to the Boathouse, where they bonded over a bottle of booze. Once again, Adam let on that he still loves Cassie. Could it be that he’s been hiding his true feelings all along? Either way, I don’t want them getting back together. I’m so over the whole “written in the stars” thing. Besides, if Jake and Faye didn’t make such a hot couple, I would totally be rooting for Jake and Cassie to get it on. Anyways, by a stroke of luck, Adam remembered the cloaking spell his grandfather used to cast when he was little and uncovered the hiding place of the final crystal.

Back at the abandoned house, Faye’s crystal was stolen using magic, presumably by the traitor helping the witch hunters. The Circle decided to go after it themselves, without John’s help. Aside from Cassie, no one — including Diana — really trusted him. Jake thought to reach out to Isaac, who he believed would have turned on Eben. When the Circle went to rendezvous with Isaac in the woods, Ian — another witch hunter — told them Isaac had been killed by Eben. He also informed them the traitor had run away and was hiding from Eben.

Elsewhere, John paid Dawn a visit and asked her to keep a close eye on Charles, who was planning on leaving town with Diana. For her cooperation, John promised Dawn her powers back. He also revealed his plan to get rid of the elders. It’s clear John is manipulating the Circle to get what he wants, but we’re still not sure what his endgame is.

Finally, the search for Faye’s crystal led the Circle to Hudson Fields, an abandoned amusement park, which might be the creepiest place on earth. (Like Faye, I have a fear of clowns.) There, they discovered the bodies of several witch hunters. Cassie and Diana spotted the traitor running away, so they gave chase. When they finally caught up with him, they were shocked to see it was… Nick! Yes, the same Nick (Louis Hunter) who got possessed by a demon and was drowned by Charles. Unfortunately, he managed to get away before they could get any answers.

What did you think of tonight’s episode, HollywoodLifers? What do you think John is up to? Do you think Nick is alive? Is he a ghost? Is he possessed? The possibilities are endless! Fill me in on your theories in the comments section.

— Josh Rosenblatt

I hope Cassie (Britt Robertson) and Adam (Thomas Dekker) enjoyed their first — and potentially final — night together, because it’s pretty much all downhill from here. John (Joe Lando) showed up on Cassie’s doorstep on the March 22 episode of The Secret Circle to clue them into the whole your-love-is-a-curse thing. Cassie tried to play dumb, but John was basically like, “Look, I know you guys had sex last night. Your lawn is covered in dead birds!”

With the cat officially out of the bag, Cassie and Adam paid a visit to sweet/crazy Jane (Ashley Crow) for more information. She confirmed the couple’s fears about the Blake-Conant curse, leading Adam and Cassie to down a special elixir that would make them forget how much they love each other. (Score one for Team Jake!)

And speaking of Jake (Chris Zylka), the golden-haired beauty went a wee bit off-the-rails this week. After waking up with a fever — and a ridiculously small pair of boxers (no complaints) — he started hallucinating, eventually trying to murder Adam and revealing that he killed Calvin.

Meanwhile, Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) was up to her expressive eyebrows in crazy ex-girlfriends. Eva (Alexia Fast) tried to enlist her help in bringing Lee (Grey Damon) back from the dead, but Faye managed to flip the situation around in her favor, allowing her to get back her powers and kick Eva’s ass. Double play! Still, something tells me we haven’t seen the last of that pesky redhead.

OK, now here’s where things got really crazy: A final confrontation between John and Dawn (Natasha Henstridge) revealed that, not only is there no such thing as a Blake-Conant curse, but John made the whole thing up to keep Cassie and the circle safe! Had Ethan and Emilia not fallen in love and tried to run away all those years ago, the circle would have been able to fight off the hunters together.

So now there are really four sides in this war of witches: The circle; the hunters; Dawn and Charles (Gale Harold); and John — because I’m not quite ready to label him a “good guy” yet.

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter for more Secret Circle updates

If Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) was a real person, I would kick her in the shins for what she did on the Feb. 2 episode of The Secret Circle. Her increasingly troubling addiction to Devil’s Spirit aside, she committed a major no-no when she [Spoiler alert!] totally made out with Jake (Chris Zylka)! Doesn’t she know it isn’t smart to piss off Cassie (Britt Robertson) now that she’s all hopped up on crazy dark magic?

But maybe I’m just letting my inner Cassie-Jake shipper get the best of me on this one. After all, Faye dated Jake before he ever met Cassie and Jake walked in on Cassie kissing Adam (Thomas Dekker) a few episodes ago. So even though I’d love to see Cassie and Jake make beautiful blonde babies, he’s technically fair game to any member of the circle. Well, except Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy), because she apparently isn’t allowed to have any fun at all.

And while we’re on the topic of relationship drama, Shelley Hennig wasn’t kidding when she told HollywoodLife.com that “there’s still some ‘Diadam’ happening.” She gave a super-emotional speech at Adam’s birthday party, which got me — I mean her – a little choked up. (I’m a man! Men don’t cry!)

But aside from the raging hormones of Chance Harbor, this week’s episode was still plenty meaty. After getting her hands on her father’s medallion, Cassie met up with the witch who confronted her in Jake’s memory last week, and she convinced the circle to perform a spell to release the power of the bling. Little did they know, they were being tricked into trapping their powers in the medallion! That’s when bad-ass Cassie nearly lit the woman on fire in order to get the truth out of her: John Blackwell is, in fact, very much alive.

I can’t say the same for the witch, though, whose throat was slashed by her mysterious witch-hunter master when she reported her failure. Cassie claims the circle is “ready” for the hunters to bring it — but I’m not so sure.

What did you think of this week’s Secret Circle? Are you mad at Faye for hooking up with Jake, or does she have every right to steal her ex-boyfriend back? With John Blackwell be a friend or foe? And when is Melissa going to do… anything?!

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter for more Secret Circle updates

Is it just me, or has The Secret Circle been on fire (pun intended, whatever) since it returned from hiatus? And the Jan. 19 episode definitely kept the momentum going, as Cassie (Britt Robertson) entered Jake’s (Chris Zylka) memory to find out what really happened the night of the fire — but she ended up learning a lot more than she bargained for.

For staters, it wasn’t the original circle that set the fire — it was the witch hunters. And John Blackwell didn’t burn up like everyone thought. In fact, he may not have died at all. Cassie and Jake paid a little visit to John’s grave and opened up his coffin at the end of the episode, only to discover… an animal skeleton in his coffin!

Mind. Blown.

Meanwhile, Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) spent the episode away from the circle as she continued executing her plot to gain her solo powers. But an annoying obstacle was thrown in her path this week, one by the name of Callum (Michael Graziadei), a not-so-friendly friend of Lee’s (Grey Damon.) Though he ended up supplying her with an “herbal enhancement” to help tap into her powers, he also told her about Lee’s ex-girlfriend Eva. She’s in a coma right now, but if you’ve been keeping track of scoops, you’ll know she won’t be there for long!

And then there was Adam (Thomas Dekker) and Diana (Shelley Hennig), who made a brief attempt to figure out where they stand — even after Adam’s kiss with Cassie last week. They want to figure out how to be friends, but I’m thinking they should just get back together and be done with it. In my mind, Cassie and Jake are the real soul mates on this show. End of story.

Lastly, the adults were up to their own brand of shenanigans this week, as Dawn (Natasha Henstridge) gave Ethan (Adam Harrington) a crystal and sent him after Charles (Gale Harold.) He got what Dawn wanted, but he decided he’ll hold onto it for a while. Maybe he’s not quite as easily manipulated as she thinks!

OK, let’s talk: Will not-dead John Blackwell be a friend or foe? Are you rooting for Faye to get her own powers? And the ever-important question — Do you want Adam to get back with Diana, or keep pursuing Cassie? See you in the comments section!

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter for more Secret Circle updates

The Jan. 12 episode of The Secret Circle confirmed two things we already knew: Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) is out of her mind, and Chance Harbor High School should probably have more than one chaperone at its next dance. Beyond that, it also gave viewers something they’ve been waiting a long time for. Cassie (Britt Robertson) finally gave in and locked lips with…

…Adam (Thomas Dekker)!

That’s right, Cassie chose Adam over Jake (Chris Zylka). In her defense, Jake has been out of the picture for a little while — and she certainly didn’t expect him to walk in on her and Adam kissing! But whatever happened to her not wanting to hurt Diana (Shelley Hennig)?

Meanwhile, desperate for her own powers outside the circle, Faye snatched a page from Cassie’s family’s book of shadows to share with her super-hot voodoo buddy Lee (Grey Damon.) And unsurprisingly, the spell required to steal Cassie’s dark energy involved Lee unzipping Faye’s dress.

What Faye didn’t realize, of course, was that she was nowhere near ready to handle that kind of power. Not only did her actions put the students at the dance in danger, but Cassie, Diana, Adam and Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy) — who got a grand total of five on-screen minutes this week — all suffered as a result.

The rest of the circle was understandably pissed at Faye for putting their lives in jeopardy, but Faye countered with a very good point of her own: Hasn’t Cassie put the circle in just as much danger — if not more? She’s the one who released the demon that killed Nick (Louis Hunter), she’s the one who brought witch-hunter Jake into the circle, and she’s the one who almost killed Adam with her mind.

Cassie countered by saying that all of those events were accidents — but I’m starting to wonder how long Cassie can keep up her little innocent act. The more she chooses to embrace her Balcoin powers, the worse things are going to get. For everyone.

So what did you think of this week’s Secret Circle? Were you happy with Cassie and Adam’s long-awaited kiss? And how badly do you want to see Faye and Cassie throw down in some sort of epic witch fight? Leave your opinions in the comments section below!

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter for more Secret Circle updates

As Cassie (Britt Robertson) continues to embrace her Balcoin heritage, her dark powers will start to take their toll on the people in her life — beginning with Faye (Phoebe Tonkin)! “This week, you’ll really get to see them go toe-to-toe,” Britt tells HollywoodLife.com about The Secret Circle‘s Jan. 12 episode. “Cassie’s not digging Faye. … The level of the aggression she ends up going at Faye with is probably her darker self within.”

While Britt acknowledges that Cassie and Faye have never really seen eye to eye, the latest development with Cassie’s powers will complicate their “frenemy” status even further.

“Cassie’s now getting what Faye always wanted: her own individual power that she doesn’t have to bother anyone with,” Cassie explains. “She can do her own thing, and Faye’s jealous. She doesn’t understand why Cassie gets it, so she wants to find a way to get it all for herself. The two of them will get to explore their own individual powers in different ways.”

And what about the other people in Cassie’s life — specifically Jake (Chris Zylka) and Adam (Thomas Dekker), the brooding gents vying for her heart?

“Jake represents the dark side of Cassie,” Britt explains. “He has all the information on witch hunters and all that dark stuff no one else seems to know about. That’s why she needs him. That’s why she wants him. He represents something no one understands.”

On the flip side…

“Adam represents the good side of her, and there’s the cosmic connection they felt from the moment they met each other,” she says. “It’s that tug of who she’ll end up choosing versus who she is. With the Adam side of it, Diana [Shelley Hennig] is also her best friend. So to betray Diana would be devastating to their friendship. Of course, now that they’re broken up, it’s definitely a possibility.”

As for that pesky “other Balcoin” out there, Cassie is sorry to report… that there’s nothing to report.

“I don’t even know if the writers know,” she admits. “But hopefully it’ll come out soon; I need to know ASAP. We all have our own individual theories, but I’m sure it’ll be someone no one expects, because that’s what [the writers] always do.”

OK, lay your thoughts on me: Are you hoping to see Cassie go darker-than-ever? Which guy should Cassie choose? And who could the ‘other Balcoin’ be?! Hit the comments section, friends!

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter for more Secret Circle scoop

2012 is going to be a dark year for Ms. Cassie Blake (Britt Robertson). Not only did she learn about her Balcoin heritage on the Jan. 5 episode of The Secret Circle, but she also summoned some serious dark magic for her most epic spell yet — and I’m not talking about the choking spell that almost killed Adam (Thomas Dekker.) That one was a no-no.

Cassie’s history lesson came courtesy of Diana’s (Shelley Hennig) super-hot grandma Kate (Stepfanie Kramer) who made a surprise trip to Chance Harbor this week. Right from the start, she was all kinds of suspicious of Dawn’s (Natasha Henstridge) motives for dating Charles (Gale Harold) — and for good reason!

(Sidenote: Let’s forget Cassie’s lineage for a minute and focus on Diana’s. Between Gale Harold as her dad and Stepfanie Kramer as her grandma… Hot damn, that’s a good-looking family tree.)

But Cassie remained Kate’s bigger fish to fry, so she lured the poor girl out into the woods with promises of exorcising the evil powers inside of her. Her real plan was to take Cassie through a whole bunch of nonsense — which for some reason involved a giant twig — then knock her out and bury her alive. (What a bitch, right?) The only way for Cassie to escape was to summon some serious dark magic and expel herself from the ground. Which she did, and it was incredible.

Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) was also up to no good as always, but this time, she dragged Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy) into her shenanigans. Desperate to use magic outside of the circle, she tracked down a young voodoo apprentice — played by Friday Night Lights‘ Grey Damon, who has somehow gotten even better looking — for a little power boost. But she got more than she bargained for when he started drawing symbols on her boob.

Despite all the boob-touching, Faye’s little voodoo hottie didn’t actually get her any power — but I’m thinking this isn’t the last we’ll see of him. She gave him a pretty sexy look as she walked away, and we all know that Faye’s eyes are the real stars around here.

Personally, I can’t wait to see just how dark Cassie gets by the end of the season. It’s fun watching someone as tiny and adorable as Britt Robertson go to a place you wouldn’t expect. And based on Cassie’s reaction to using her dark magic, I’m thinking we’ll be seeing a lot more of it. Very soon.

“I liked it,” she said. “The feeling of power. I know that it isn’t right … but it felt really good.”

And I can’t think of a better way to end this recap than by discussing the return of everyone’s favorite v-necker Jake (Chris Zylka)! He may have disappeared on a boat in December, but he’s still very much in Chance Harbor. He made two glorious appearances this week, first in Cassie’s dream — where she killed him (awkward) — and then lurking outside Cassie’s window, which was also kind of awkward. But still totally hot.

So what did you think of the episode? Are you looking forward to Cassie getting even darker? And just for fun, who do you think Cassie belongs with — Jake or Adam? Drop your every thought in the comments section below.

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter for more Secret Circle updates