Love is in the air (for some):

The episode begins with Faye waking up in Jake’s bed. She tells Jake that this is the last time they will ever be together, until they sprawl back onto the bed again. At school Cassie confesses to Diana that she felt her father’s energy when she was using the medallion in the basement last night. Faye arranges a girls sleepover with horror movies, pillow fights and no moping about ex-lovers, especially Adam. Diana is a bit down in the dumps as this will be the first Valentine’s in a few years that she has not spent with Adam. However, Diana seems to be the last thing on Adam’s mind as he asks Cassie out for dinner. The witch admits that she has other plans with the Valentine’s Day sleepover, and supposedly Adam has no idea that it’s the 14th of February as he says it’s: “so random”.Faye gets an exciting Valentine’s gift from Lee.

Voodoo Lee brings Faye a very special Valentine’s Day gift: a voodoo. Supposedly the creepy contraption is meant to suck out all of Faye’s weak magic if she rests it on her bed for the next few weeks.

Cassie sees the dead:

Isaac is back in Chance Harbor and once Jake pushes him around for a bit he lets him speak. The witch hunter wants Jake to give him the medallion so he can give it to the council meaning they won’t hurt him. Cassie activating the medallion has put her in great danger…

Once again Cassie parades down to the basement to try and contact her father by using the medallion, but a hooded figure, wearing the same outfit that Blackwell was wearing on the day of the boat incident, is there. She bolts up the stairs and luckily Adam is ‘randomly’ there. They both go back down, but the mysterious figure has vanished. Cassie explains that she wants to find out about her father for herself. There was a symbol on the robe so Adam actually wants Cassie to talk with Jake as he might know what it means. Jake explains that the symbol belongs to an old witch coven. What is strange is that they were all killed: Cassie is seeing dead witches!

A magic sleepover:

At the sleepover, Faye ends up falling on the voodoo and breaking it, while Melissa and Diana take some Devil’s Spirit. The three witches all join together to perform a spell that will make the pizza guy hot and Diana will kiss him. It goes horribly wrong however, as Diana ends up puckering her lips for Lee! Faye gives Lee her voodoo which he should be able to fix. Diana does get her wish when the pizza guy finally comes and Melissa has to drag her off him!

Jake meets with Isaac and he confesses that it was Blackwell who killed the coven in a church. He used the medallion to take their power. Cassie activating the medallion means that every witch whose power has been stolen from Blackwell can sense the medallions presence and they want their magic back.

Sacred:

At home, Cassie’s medallion ends up sliding across the table by itself. What Cassie doesn’t know is that two ghosts are standing outside. Cassie ignores this and heads to the sleepover. The witch puts a dampener on the mood when she tells the group that she is seeing dead ghosts. Faye finds a way to make things a bit more interesting though by bringing in a weegie board to contact the ghost. Cassie puts the medallion in the middle and after lots of stiff giggles ‘Sacred’ is spelt out. After these strange events, Cassie is not in the party mood so she decides to go to Adam’s. The minute Cassie is out of the door Jake turns up at Faye’s to warn Cassie that she is in danger. Melissa and Faye tell Jake that she is on her way to Adam’s. When Cassie is driving her car, the medallion around her neck begins to strangle her. The witch loses control of the car so it turns over and crashes. Luckily, she exits the upside-down vehicle without a scratch on her body and follows one of the dead ghosts.

Adam has arranged a cute Valentine’s dinner for a blond girl, however a blond male walks in on the surprise instead. Jake and Adam realise that something bad must have happened to Cassie so the two team up to find her.

They find Cassie’s car, but no Cassie inside. Jake explains that when witches die, some of their power stays where they were murdered and so the ghosts might lead her to the church where they have power. Right enough, Cassie ends up in a church where a group of ghosts surround her. Jake and Adam come to her rescue and Adam pulls out a knife. However, the ghosts possess him and put the blade to his wrist. They give Cassie an ultimatum: hand over the medallion or they will kill Adam. Cassie has no choice but to give them the medallion. However, when she is about to hand it over she holds the medallion in a fist and some of it breaks off. Adam is released from the ghost’s possession.

Valentine’s at its best:

Faye and Diana are arguing over Diana stealing Melissa away, when they realise that Melissa is not in the room. They find her lying on the floor; she has taken far too much Devil’s Spirit! Both girls reach out their hand for the fragile witch and she takes Diana’s instead of Faye’s. Diana decides to leave the sleepover, but Faye tells her to stay as it is clear Melissa needs her. The three witches end up having a more satisfying Valentine’s than they expected. Lee takes the voodoo to his ex-girlfriends bed and it seems that Faye was just a pawn in helping cure his ex…

Cassie and Adam have their dinner date after all. Cassie admits that she doesn’t want to know her father, after he has killed so many witches. However, she should have realised this sooner as it seems Blackwell is back in town!

What did you think of this week’s ‘Secret Circle’? Think Cassie has chosen the right guy? Will Blackwell be pure evil?

Click here for the original article.

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Fisher’s Challenge:

Paul brings Olga and Joseph to Orlando, Florida where they meet the fiery boss of Emerge Talent, Holly Caputo: “What sparked my interest about Holly, she was like a firecracker!” You’re in the wrong business Paul, you should be a comedian! There is a lot going wrong with the appearance of the agency: the sign outside is just a piece of paper, there are stains on the carpet and most of the walls are painted purple! Models walking into the agency will not want to be represented by them when they put no effort into their branding. Holly’s employees are stuffed into a tiny (purple) room with no air conditioning. The fashion expert is shocked to learn that the workers don’t know the difference between catalogue and advertising: they have “zero experience”.

Emerge Talent has been in business for five and a half years, but the falling economy has put a dent in their productivity. Holly represents a stagger 900 models and Paul wants her to bring this extortionate number down to 50. Fisher goes crazy with the comp cards on the wall. He rips them down and repeatedly shouts: “that is not a model”.  It is time for Paul and his team to meet Emerge’s models, before everything else gets out of hand.

Short Auditions:

One by one the models stride in, hope and excitement shining in their eyes, until Paul forces them out in about… ten seconds. With 25 years of experience under his belt, Paul is able to tell straight away who can and who can’t be a model. He explains that most new models who are starting out need to be 15-18 years old and the perfect height for woman is between 5’9” to 6ft and men should be 6ft to 6’2”. However, most of the aspiring models auditioning are either too old or too small and those who do fit the bill have a bad portfolio. Fisher tells one girl to smile; she reveals sparkling teeth attached to large gums. Paul wants Holly to own up to her mistakes and say that it was her fault that she didn’t make her smile when she first auditioned and for many other things going wrong with her business. Holy needs to understand that if she phones up a casting director in the future with the news that she has found a great new model, will they be excited to meet the girl (Paul gives us some groovy dancing to illustrate their excitement), or while they think: “she may have just had a brief meeting with the gummy bear”?

Fisher brings in the rest of Holly’s staff and gives them a mission: find a star in the next 24 hours. Holly is also told to take responsibility and become a leader to guide Emerge’s employees. When they leave the building Paul tells Olga and Joseph that Holly is just not getting it, they can’t spend a long time trying to help Holly get it. However, instead of letting Paul ramble on, Joseph interrupts and says that The Network is supposed to help people change. He really should have kept is mouth shut.

Cracking the Shell:

Early the next morning, the youth staff members go scouting for models at a school. They are able to find four models they believe will reach Paul’s requirements. Paul explains that they have not found a perfect model, but they are getting better at knowing what to look for. It is revealed however that Holly did not go with them; she didn’t even give them a strategy. This sends Paul over the edge, so he has a one on one meeting with Holly about whether they should continue with this process or not. Psychic Paul believes that Holly has had an experience which has changed her and has made her want to help people. It turns out that Holly was in a car that flipped over five times and she is lucky to be alive. Paul thinks that instead of doing little things for a lot of kids Holly should be doing something special for one kid.

Emerging?

The decorating of the agency begins. Paul tells Joseph that if he ever sees purple ever again he will fire that person responsible for it. Joseph asks if he is going to change his shirt. Paul is wearing a purple shirt! He is in purple hell!

The next day Paul is enraged because Joseph has not put up the improved comp cards onto the wall. He finally gets hold of him and he does it in two minutes. The agency is given a sheek black and white French vibe and Holy even gets her own office. Holly is also left with a group of aspiring models and even better: there is a really cute girl called Chanisty who could become a star model!

JT’s Challenge:

At The Network’s Headquarters Olga admits that she has booked castings with Sole Society and Silver Jeans for Annelise. JT still doesn’t get what Olga sees in Annelise and Joseph feels the same way, but he won’t say anything because: “Olga’s from the Bronx, she’ll kick your ass!” Fisher appoints JT instead of Olga to aid the aspiring model in her two auditions. JT believes that Annelise should get an extreme makeover as this might help her get more bookings. Annelise is not too happy about this so JT phones Olga about his idea and she is not having any of it. Annelise is all about her edge and a complete makeover would shatter her individuality.

Make It or Break It?

JT and Annelise head to the first casting for Sole Society. It goes well, however when the director asks Annelise to smile more, she doesn’t do it. The boss believes she can’t take direction and thus: Annelise fails to get booked. The aspiring model is disappointed, but there is still hope with Silver Jeans and their fall campaign. Things don’t go too well at first because she is unable to fit into a size 24, however she fits perfectly into the 25. Michelle makes a decision on the spot and books Annelise! Michelle was swayed by her edge and the gap in her teeth. Annelise’s has finally booked her first proper modelling job. Kudos goes to Olga for not giving up on her dark horse!

“In 1962, no one had heard of the Beatles. No one expected to be famous, who was not born rich or titled. And there was no such thing as youth culture. But then David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton went to New York.”

As the opening titles suggest, We’ll Take Manhattan follows the love affair between photographer David Bailey (Aneurin Barnard) and his muse Jean Shrimpton (Karen Gillan) as they fly to New York in 1962 for a Vogue photo shoot. However, what they didn’t realise was that the ground-breaking photos Bailey captured would revolutionise the face of fashion back in Britain.

Director and writer, John McKay launches the BBC4 drama straight into Bailey and Shrimpton boarding their flight to New York. The first question that springs to mind: why is Jean carrying a teddy bear?

Luckily simplistic snapshots then show us how the pair ended up on their Manhattan adventure. In 1960, Bailey quits his job at a lesser known photographers because he has bright ambitious dreams to bring a fresh edge to fashion. Quickly afterwards he lands a job with Vogue. When Bailey first meets the aspiring model, Shrimpton, she instantly becomes his muse. Vogue offers Bailey a chance to shot for the breaking the rules ‘Young Idea Goes West’ feature and he accepts, on one condition: Shrimpton is his model. After much reluctance from the magazine’s old fashioned editor, Lady Clare Rendlesham, the two are finally jetting off to a stressful paradise. They are warned that if the photos turn out bad then both their careers will go down the bucket. The lovers only have one chance to wow in New York.

The photo shoot itself takes its toll on both Bailey, who wants to be accepted, and Jean, who struggles with the pressures of being a model. The film expresses the contrasts between the old and the young, the rich and the poor and changing and maintaining. Both Jean and Bailey are working class youngsters living in an era where the high class elder generation are calling all the shots (no pun intended). Their photo shoot is all about breaking free from the stereotypical word they live in. Lady Jane is the perfect symbolism of the people in society Bailey detests: she is more in touch with artificiality whereas Bailey focuses on the vibe of the city. The only thing remotely similar between the two is their stubbornness. As the week tares on, Jean falls into an identity crisis. Fashion is essential in expressing your personality and with each different style of clothing Jean is forced to wear, this damages her individuality. She can’t choose her own image and thus; her soul suffers as a consequence.

Doctor Who sidekick, Karen Gillan, started out as a model herself so this was by far her perfect role. She brought a great edge to her performance which no doubt shows she has a bright future ahead once her time on the sci-fi show ends. However, it is rising star, Aneurin Barnard, who steals the show with his portrayal of the cockney charmer, Bailey. Gillian and Aneurin scenes together are magical and they easily enthral you into Bailey and Jean’s story.

From the beginning you are absorbed into a tangle of light humour, energetic performance and a sixties soundtrack to die for. The 60s youth revolution was an era time will never forget and McKay has captured how it all began.

Verdict: 3.5/5

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Paul is horrified when he visits a modelling agency that has ventures in both modelling school and even birthday parties!

Fierce is Fake:

Lynne Hix is the boss at Fierce modelling agency in Rapid City, South Dakota. The business has been suffering from money issues so Paul is urgently brought in to help. Along with his assistants, Joseph and Anna, Fisher is shocked when they bump into the agency building as it looks more like a thrift store. Worse, through the window they can see a group of young girls walking a runaway. Lynne explains that she is testing the aspiring models; some will join the agency, others will not. This is not what Fisher wants to hear as Lynne is giving these girls false hope. To be a professional model you need to be at least 5 ft 10 and none of these girls reach that height. He tells them that they have been ripped off. Lynne should be running a modelling agency not a scamming school!

Runaway Tare Up:

Fierce is the only modelling agency in 500 miles meaning they have their own territory to seek new faces. However, those aspiring models who have been ripped off will tell their friends not to join the agency. This means that the market has been polluted and Fierce’s reputation will be destroyed. Paul meets some of Lynne’s models and it turns out they are too small. However, there are three models, Jordan, Amelia and Jasmine, who do fit the bill, but they do not have good pictures or composites. Lynne is not spending enough time developing these three aspiring models and is therefore wasting their careers. Lynne’s employees understand that Fierce has to only be a modelling agency; no schools and no birthday parties allowed. After much consideration Lynne finally agrees with them. Joseph and Anna hunt for weapons to destroy the runaway (the symbolism of Lynne’s modelling school). They find hammers and the runaway is smashed into oblivion.

Paul’s Plan:

Fisher believes that the best way forward for Fierce is to become an international placement industry. This means that Fierce will search for new faces across Rapid City. They will then place these aspiring models with modelling agencies all across the world and Fierce will always be their home agency. Better portfolios are necessary for the models to land deals with other agencies. Paul Alexander (who has shot for Vogue) comes in to take professional pictures of Jordan, Amelia and Jasmine. Fierce is given a gorgeous makeover and the three models are successful in gaining representation across the globes most fashionable cities. Lynne has stuck with Paul’s advice, but Fierce is no longer a part of ‘The Network’. Paul is now in the process of setting up a new network agency in Rapid City.

Victory in New York:

The three models that Fisher sent out to New York Fashion all succeed in getting booked. Both Meghan and Mariana try out for Vivienne Tam. Meghan doesn’t win them over, however Mariana triumphs! Bobby has castings with both Tommy Hilfiger and Andrew Buckler. He is deemed too young for Hilfiger, but he does get a booking with Buckler! After a long struggling week Meghan too finally gets booked for an impressive show with Custo Barcelona. Paul even flies to New York to see Meghan flaunt her stuff on the catwalk. All three models do very well in their shows and have a bright future ahead of them.

My Thoughts:

Remodeled continues strong in its second episode. Even with the similar story pattern, there are enough engaging scenarios to keep the show from falling into boredom. We’re not sure what happened between Lynne and Paul after the show, but Paul creating a network in the area means Lynne’s business is doomed, which is quite sad. Paul flying out to see Meghan at New York Fashion Week shows that she is his star pupil and we’ll just have to wait and see how the three models get on as the show progresses.

Fisher’s Fun Fact:

Out of the top 100 models in the world today not one of them is from New York City!

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Cassie Receives a Warning:

The person that saw Cassie when she travelled through Jake’s memories is coincidently in Chance Harbor! The fragile woman, called Lucy Gibbons, arrives on Cassie’s doorstep. She explains that for the past sixteen years she has been reliving the events of the boat incident. Lucy is a psychic and she tells Cassie that every moment leaves its own imprint and since Cassie went back in time her memory of the boat fire has been altered. For sixteen years she has been hiding from the witch hunters and one of them recently found her. However, he didn’t come for her, but to ask about Cassie! The witches are coming for her!

Mysterious Medallion:

Cassie has forgotten the spell that her father cast to unlock the medallion. She hopes to find another way to access its power so she can protect the Circle from the witch hunters. The symbol on the medallion is the same as the one on the ceiling of Blackwell’s old basement. Cassie is able to slightly access its power there, but it makes the whole house shake. Jake is about to flee from the breaking building, but Cassie says she is unable to move so he tackles her to the ground, ending the trance. Adam catches the two together and he is angry because he doesn’t think this is the right way to protect the Circle. This delving into the dark side could harm everyone and he makes Cassie agree that the Circle’s magic should be enough protection.

Cassie is not ready to let go over her new medallion lead however, so she and Jake visit Lucy at her hotel. Lucy explains that for the Circle to be protected they need to join together and unlock the powers of the medallion. The pair return to Cassie’s house to collect the medallion. However, it has been stolen! There is only one person who knows where to find it…

Cheers to Adam:

Ethan and Diana have spent the day preparing a ‘surprise’ party for Adam. They both give cute toasts to the birthday boy: Ethan’s is short, whereas Diana being Diana gives a heartfelt speech about how Adam has always led her down the right path (Cassie should be taking notes). Once the speeches are over Cassie confronts Adam about the stolen medallion and he confesses that he took it. All Adam wants to do is help Cassie make the right choice. Nevertheless he gives it back to her and confesses that he has no right to make Cassie’s choices for her. However, he wants Cassie to realise that Jake doesn’t have the same motives as her. Cassie asks Jake if he has ever killed a witch. His silence is as good as a yes, meaning he is not as good as Cassie thought.

Faye and Melissa have been sharing the Devil’s Spirit that Callum gave to Faye. Instead of giving the witches real magic; it makes them as high as a kite. The wind blows away the rest of their stash so they have no choice but to make Callum come to the party to give them more Devil’s Spirit. Callum gives them what they have been after and he takes a shine to Melissa. He is going to stay for longer, but Jake comes and helps Faye get rid of him.

After the party Cassie tells the Circle about how Lucy can help them unlock the Medallion which will protect them from the witch hunters. The majority of the Circle agree to do the spell, so Adam has no choice but to go along with them.

Crystals are stolen, witches are stabbed:

Lucy looks scared to death when Dawn appears at her hotel room. Dawn knew that Lucy was in town because of a red scar that has appeared on her palm recently. She had marked the psychic years ago for betraying her and the red scar meant she was in Chance Harbor. It turns out that Lucy was meant to have protected Blackwell on that night sixteen years ago. Dawn explains that there is only one way for Lucy to redeem herself; tell her where the family crystals are.

At Adam’s party Charles is able to spike Ethan’s drink. Charles sneaks in on Ethan when he is asleep on a coach at The Boathouse Bar and Grill and he is successful in retrieving the crystal.

Lucy arrives at Dawn’s later that night. Dawn lets her in as she believes the psychic will give her the whereabouts of the crystals. However, Lucy stabs her! She is on the witch hunters side! She tells Dawn that after tonight the Circle will have no power…

Charles is unable to receive an answer from the door when he turns up at Dawn’s house. He looks through a window and sees Dawn lying on the ground with blood dripping from her stomach. He breaks in and uses the crystal to bring Dawn back to life.

The Awakening:

The Circle meets with Lucy in the woods and she guides them through various chants to unlock the power of the medallion. Cassie reveals that the medallion is getting warmer as the witches keep chanting spells. However, as the spells prolong Melissa explains that she is starting to feel ill like the night of the Fire/Ice dance. Cassie breaks the Circle. Lucy explains that the medallion was taking their magic! It is so powerful because it steals witches magic. Cassie remembers the words her father used to unlock the medallion and she sends fire blasting in Lucy’s direction. It seems as though Cassie is going to kill Lucy, but she instead tells Lucy to never come back to Chance Harbor again. She can now activate the medallion to protect the Circle.

Jake is devastated when Cassie tells him that they are not the same. He quickly finds a rebound and kisses Faye! Melissa meets up with Callum to gain more of the Devil’s Spirit. She explains that it helps her deal with Nick’s death. Will Melissa become addicted to the drug?

Lucy confesses to a head witch hunter that she was unable to retrieve the medallion. This means that Blackwell might come back to take the medallion and he could rise again. Lucy admits that Cassie was too strong. The head hunter says that he is going to have to meet the popular Cassie and he kills Lucy!

Click here for the original article.

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