Witches of East End – Season 1

After the first episode I was thrilled, in love with ‘Witches of East End’! Witchcraft has always interested me. And the combination with all of the drama and tension that was there during the pilot made me crave for more. Could this be one of the new series of 2013? I’d only seen one episode yet, and there were nine more to come. Recently the series finale aired and a second season has already been announced. Would ‘Witches of East End’ live up to all my expectations, and more importantly, is a second season really such a good idea?

During this first season we go through some of the lives of the Beauchamp family. We learn that mother Joanna (Julia Ormond, ‘Mad Men’) and her daughters Ingrid (Rachel Boston, ‘American Dreams’) and Freya (Jenna Dewan-Tatum, ‘American Horror Story’) are cursed and have been living among us ‘normal’ people for centuries. Due to this curse the girls die every twenty to thirty years and are reborn to start all over, always ending up in death and rebirth though. This time Joanna decides not to tell the girls about their powers so they could have a normal life. But when her sister Wendy (Mädchen Amick, ‘Freddie’) all of a sudden shows up after not being in contact with her family members for years, she brings some news that could change everything for the Beauchamps. Ingrid is forced to tell her girls their secret because of that, causing a chain reaction of chaos to unravel.

This season of ‘Witches of East End’ revolves around a shapeshifter who’s coming after the Beauchamps. Someone from their past is back and out to destroy the family. We’ll find out who that enemy is piece by piece, as we learn more about the family’s history and previous lives. The darkness around this story makes all the puzzle pieces fall into place and builds up the tension more and more each episode. Their enemy isn’t going to stop before he/she gets his/her way, which means the family is in great danger. Every week we find out a little bit more about the many secrets this family is hiding and who could be the person who is after them.

Freya’s complex relationship with her fiancée Dash Gardiner (Eric Winter, ‘Good Christian Belles’) and his brother Killian (Daniel DiTomasso) makes sure all the romance lovers out there get what they want as well. The love triangle they’re in brings a lot of excitement and future mother-in-law Penelope (Virginia Madsen, ‘Scoundrels’) plays the perfect parent you love to hate. But let’s not forget the other women in this series. With guest appearances by Freddie Prinze Jr, Jason Winston George, Joel Gretsch and Enver Gjokaj they are assured of some romance and drama of their own as well. Overall it’s a great cast, which makes for great acting and on-screen chemistry.

The comparison with ‘Charmed’ is easily made with shows like these, something I already mentioned in my previous review about the ‘Witches of East End’ pilot. It’s very clear the shows have multiple similarities. But I’m still convinced that this doesn’t harm the series in any way. ‘Witches of East End’ tells a beautiful, great, new story even though some things may be the same. Besides, in my opinion, ‘Witches of East End’ focuses more on young adults while ‘Charmed’ was a series also (younger) children could watch. The darkness of the show asks for a more mature crowd, which, personally, I love. I adored the pilot as I already mentioned and have to say that this opinion didn’t really change over the course of the rest of the series. With the season finale we close one chapter and open up another filled with new questions and adventures. Something I'm already looking forward to! I’m still very enthusiastic about the show and can’t wait to watch season two when it airs.