Good Witch Season Premiere Recap: “The Anniversary”

The last time we saw the folks of Middleton on Good Witch was back in October during the town’s annual Halloween festival when Cassie Nightingale’s college roommate Autumn Delaney visited with plans to spoil the festivities and get some revenge on Cassie, who she saw as the person who ruined her future. In true Good Witch fashion, Cassie was able to use a little magic to turn things around.

Jump months later in time with the season premiere focusing on newlyweds Cassie and Sam celebrating their one year anniversary. Cassie gave Sam the incredible gift of the hand-written lyrics to “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney that was autographed by the artist himself. Quite the gift, huh? Now Sam felt pressure to reciprocate with a gift just as spectacular – something beyond the beautiful bracelet he had picked out for her.

But first let’s take a second to comment on the opening sequence – much different from the previous 5 seasons – that focuses on Grey House rather than the cast members. It should also be noted that with the departures of Grace and Nick off to college the focus of the show will be much more on the adults of Middleton. It should be noted that Nick was back in Middleton for a short visit while Cassie mentioned getting texts from Grace, who seems to be loving her college experience.

Enter Martha Tinsdale, who’s on a mission to purchase the legendary mansion of Roderick Davenport, the 19th century scion of the most prominent family of Middleton’s neighboring town of Blairsville, hoping to beat her long-time frenemy Dotty Davenport, Roderick’s descendant, at purchasing the large estate.

As legend has it, Roderick was betrothed to Cassie’s ancestor Patience Merriwick, but Patience was actually in love and ran away with local miner William Spry. Roderick, being angered by this, placed a curse on any future Merriwick-Davenport relationships. As viewers know, this curse has been wreaking havoc on Dotty’s son Donovan and Cassie’s cousin Abigail Pershing.

Part of the season premiere was focused on Martha and Dotty competing to get the mansion with an assist from new Grey House guest Joy Harper (recurring guest star Katherine Barrell of Wynonna Earp fame), who told Cassie she was in town to land a job.

That job seemed to be as the renovator of the Davenport Mansion; but it also seemed Joy had an ulterior motive for being in Middleton. Not only was she recording her conversations with Cassie and Abigail (what is that all about?!), but she also had a handwritten family tree of the Merriwick family; and she seemed very possessive of an old book (could that be Patience’s diary) that “fell” off one of the bookcases in Grey House right at her feet. There was also that moment between Joy and Martha when she knew that Martha misspelled a word without actually seeing the spelling error. Could she be a bit like Cassie and Abigail or even a Merriwick descendant herself?

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Then there is the lingering issue of the curse between the Davenports and the Merriwicks. Martha not only shared the secret of the jewelry box that was discovered with Sam and Cassie but also with Donovan and Abigail. That secret was three hidden compartments at the base of the jewel box where Martha discovered a large emerald as well as a hidden compartment for the legendary Heart of Middleton – the heart-shaped ruby that has been the priced jewel of the Merriwick family – and also a spot for what appeared to be a large diamond.

While hunting for details on the curse at Roderick’s mansion, Donovan and Abigail discovered a letter – or to be more precise a poem – that was seemingly written by Roderick; but rather than it being a love letter it seemed to be the origin of the curse that referenced the curse would be permanent if a heart was broken. When Martha showed Donovan and Abigail the jewelry box and the jewels encased within, the ruby – the Heart of Middleton – had a crack in it that was never there before. Could this spill permanent doom for Abigail and Donovan?

Oh, and remember Sam trying to find the perfect gift for Cassie? Well, he went old school while they were celebrating their one-year anniversary at their lake house retreat. He presented her with two paper lanterns (paper is the customary gift for the first year of marriage), which they released out over the lake, standing arm in arm as a lilting cover of “Everything She Does Is Magic” played.

What did you think of the season premiere? Please share your comments below.

The next new episode of Good Witch will air on the Hallmark Channel on Sunday, May 10 at 9/8c.