RINGER: Secrets, Lies, and Mirrors. Lots of Mirrors.

Sarah Michelle Gellar makes her (potentially) triumphant return to the small screen tonight with the premiere of her new drama Ringer on the CW. Starring as estranged twins Bridget and Siobahn, SMG is also an executive producer of the series. This Nice Girl had a chance to watch the first episode in advance, and I can tell you without a doubt that you’ll want to tune in for at least the first two episodes.

Why do I say that if I’ve only seen the first episode? Because I’m hoping the second episode moves past the somewhat clumsy exposition and symbolism of the pilot to deliver on the potential of the twisty, turny pilot. Let’s address the clunkers right off the top: the mirror-as-symbol conceit has to go. Twins, mirrors, they’re mirrors of each other, I get it. I lost track of how many times that visual aid was used, but I do know that it was about 5 times too many. Also, yes, green screen and editing technology have come a long way, but there’s a point where putting your playing-identical-twins actress in seemingly impossible physical contact with herself goes from “cool” to “smug”. Ringer went there.

Now let’s move on to the “potential” I mentioned above. Ringer is a drama, yes, but it’s also a thriller. See, Bridget is the only witness to a brutal murder and she’s in protective custody until she can testify, but she doesn’t feel safe. Not even a little bit. She eludes her guards – including Nestor Carbonell – and hightails it to see her estranged twin, Siobahn. (FYI, loving the sisters’ names. Yes, I’m a name geek.) A touching reunion leads to the revelation that no one in Siobahn’s charmed, New York City high glamour life knows about Bridget. Well, she is a former stripper/recovering addict, so I can understand that it’s not common knowledge, but even Siobahn’s husband doesn’t know about her. All the better to trick you with, my dear! The sisterly bonding doesn’t last long, however. Siobahn disappears, leaving Bridget with two choices: report her sister missing, thereby drawing attention to her own whereabouts, or assume her identity. Two guesses on which she chooses.

As Bridget tries to walk in Siobahn’s Manolo Blahniks, she quickly discovers that her sister doesn’t live quite the charmed life she thought. Deception, infidelity, and insincerity seem to come with the glamour. Not to mention the fact that it appears Bridget isn’t the only one bad guys want killed. SMG does an admirable job playing the two sisters. Although we see Siobahn briefly, it’s enough to believe her as an Upper East Side society wife. Bridget, meanwhile, is alternately tough, bewildered, awed, and scared. SMG plays her with a hint of vulnerability to remind us that her life didn’t follow the same path as her sister’s (which is a story I hope we explore), and that stepping into Siobahn’s life isn’t effortless for her.

Most of the first episode is spent on Bridget and Siobahn, of course, but I’m almost as excited to see Ioan Gruffudd on my TV screen as I am to see SMG. I’ve been a fan of his since his Horatio Hornblower days, and even sat through both Fantastic Four movies because of him, so I’m delighted that he’s part of this project. Kristoffer Polaha, most recently of Life Unexpected, is another welcome actor who promises to complicate Bridget’s life.

Ringer fits in nicely with the more adult tone of Nikita and ought to broaden the CW’s demographic, a goal they seem to be moving toward slowly but determinedly as some of their teen soaps age past their expiration dates. But please, producers, recognize that your more adult audience is savvy to metaphor and quit with the mirrors already.

Ringer premieres tonight, September 13, at 9/8c on the CW.