Minor seismic activity points to darker things afoot, as a shadowy figure is going around Hilltown with nefarious intent. Macy’s new promotion comes with a major downside. Maggie gets a little closer to Parker. Having rewritten her past, Mel must make some decisions about her future.

There’s never a dull moment in Hilltown is there? Last week it was ghosts, this week it’s other creatures of myth making an appearance as the guardians of a certain bit of mythical (and highly dangerous) gear are being targeted by a mysterious shadowy force. This gives the girls the chance to get acquainted with these creatures, which results in hangovers and some severely dented egos.

Meanwhile at the lab, with the new bosses having taken over, Macy goes to a meeting about personnel changes expecting the worst. However, though it turns out she’s getting a promotion, it’s at the (literal) expense of someone else, and that’s problematic for her on a number of levels. As if it wasn’t bad enough for the poor girl, worrying about whatever this ‘darkness’ is that she’s carrying inside of her.

Mel’s finally trying to make a go of her life again, but has had to start at the rather lower rung of the employment ladder which is bar work. Still, it has its perks, and it’s getting her out of the house. Unfortunately it isn’t helping her get her college work done, and Harry is faced with the awkward task of encouraging her as his student while also making sure she doesn’t neglect her witch-ly duties – something needs to give, unless she wants to cheat with her powers.

And then there’s Maggie. We find out early on that she’s decided to make use of Harry’s magical orb to have little fantasies about Parker so that she can stay away from him. However, when the pair of them are apparently given Lucy’s blessing to be together, it seems like happiness might be on the cards for the littlest witch, but has the course of young love ever run smoothly?

There’s a lot going on this week – multiple plot threads, added mythos and the appearance of a lot of different creatures. Each one of the girls gets some genuine development here – some good, some bad, but all relevant to seeing the characters actually grow. There’s plenty of genuine surprises as well, and a sense that the overall meta plot involving our mysterious bad guy might actually be starting to pick up a little pace at last.

Verdict: Still not what you’d call top flight genre entertainment (it feels like it’s awkwardly straddling the supernatural and teen romance genres, but – at least for the moment – it’s just about balancing) but it’s definitely into a more solid groove than before. 7/10

Greg D. Smith