The actor tells THR that his character Charles may reach the tipping point and lose "his mind," and the impending arrival of John Blackwell won't help matters.
The Secret Circle returns to television this week, with the dynamic between the adults (Ethan, Dawn and Charles) in Chance Harbor seeing a dramatic shift.
Actor Gale Harold, who plays Diana's father Charles on the CW witch drama, revealed seven things to The Hollywood Reporter viewers should look out for in the coming episodes.
1. A 'Substantial' Shift Is Coming: With Adam's drunk of a father Ethan becoming a major factor in Dawn's ultimate endgame, the Charles and Dawn's relationship will continue shift: "I'm fairly sure the shift will be substantial." The former Queer as Folk star offered a theory as to why Dawn is treating Charles badly as of late, saying, "I think she's trying to play me against myself. Her bringing Ethan into any sort of understanding of what's going on is kind of moronic. It's like giving a kid a loaded weapon." But Ethan, who at the end of "Fire/Ice" kept the crystal from Dawn, may be a pawn. "Dawn is trying to bring [Ethan] into the chess match to cause distraction," Harold teased.
2. Tension Between Charles and Dawn Ramps Up: "It's very suspect as to what Dawn has been up to and who else has been brought in. It ramps up the tension that he has day to day," Harold says. And from the looks of it, it seems very few people are aware of it. From an actor's perspective, he sees it as a good thing. "Whatever is going on with Dawn, it's more interesting for me not to know too far ahead because that's how she's operating," he explains.
3. Will Dawn Be Brought Down?: One hopes Ethan is intelligent enough to realize that he may at a disadvantage with Dawn, but Harold offers this observation: "Dawn seems to feel like no one is up to snuff to keep up with her." But will Charles be the one to bring her down? "I don't think it makes much sense for Charles to do anything overt. I think he'll do what he has to do, but I don't think he's going to be aggressive," Harold says, citing Nick's death in an earlier episode. "There's not going to be an encore of that."
4. Will Charles Reach the Breaking Point?: Harold hopes that Nick's death will be addressed again, saying, "anything that keeps the stakes escalating is good," but believes Charles has closed that chapter (for now) -- and that means seeing a different side to him. "He's gone through the guilt, he's gone through the panic. He's got to take a step back and start being more manipulative himself, unless he loses his mind," he says. "Then who knows what's going to happen. I think that could be very exciting because he would be a loose cannon and there would be revenge."
5. John Blackwell's Return Causes a Stir: Cassie's father John pays a visit to Chance Harbor in a future episode and his presence affects everyone, to the where things are completely up in the air. "He can't come back and just simply say, 'I'm trying to take care of my daughter,' " Harold says. "Then again, how does he try to do it? If he makes an allegiance with Dawn, then that puts my character in a whole other place. He becomesa direct conflict because there's no way that Charles is going to stand by."
6. Diana May Find Out About Charles' Secret Soon: "At some point, Diana's going to have to find out something [about Charles' power]. Whether she finds it out through someone else or if she walks in on Charles doing something that spills the beans, to me that would be interesting."
7. Adults vs. the Circle?: There may come a point when the parents, who are seeking to "reconfigure the structure that we lost when John Blackwell was 'killed,' " and the circle may have to converge at some point. "[The circle] is building their powers so quickly that then you've got an interesting interfamily rivalry going on," Harold says. "It's really like a chess match."
The Secret Circle airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on the CW.
