Spoiler Alert: Secret Circle Boss on the Fall Finale's Major Cliffhangers and What's Next!

[The following story contains major spoilers from this Thursday’s episode of The CW’s The Secret Circle. If you haven’t watched yet, turn away now!]

The Secret Circle signed off this week with its last new episode until January, leaving some big cliffhangers in its wake. Below, executive producer Andrew Miller weighs in on some post-“Balcoin” questions we’re mulling as we head into a long hiatus.

WHO IS THE OTHER BLACKWELL CHILD? | Right before taking off, witch hunter Isaac dropped this bomb: There’s another Blackwell offspring in the circle! So… it has to be Faye, right? After all, her mom was obsessed with Blackwell and the dark-haired gal’s got a knack for stirring up trouble. “The emergence of the second Blackwell offspring will be revealed in due course,” Miller teases, before adding that Faye will continue to be frustrated by Cassie’s ability to do solo magic. “It will drive [Faye] to seek out alternative ways to separate herself from the group and find power on her own that probably will have terrible consequences for other people.”

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IS JOHN BLACKWELL STILL ALIVE? | Could Cassie’s mysterious pops actually have survived the fire 16 years ago? Miller is cagey about that mystery as well, but he does promise that “we’ll get more of his background and exactly what happened to him” in future episodes. Meanwhile, finally knowing who her father was will lead Cassie to “understand something about herself that she never knew,” says Miller, which will take all the characters to “interesting and dark places.”

IS JAKE GONE FOR GOOD? | Our magic 8 ball says, “Not likely.” Although his portrayer Chris Zylka isn’t a regular – yet! – they “hope to use him in more episodes down the road,” reveals Miller. “We’re figuring that out right now.” When he does eventually return, Miller warns that Jake still might not be trustworthy even though he tried to save Cassie. “When Jake was trying to take Cassie away, I believe he was trying to do that, but I think he would have sacrificed the whole other circle,” explains the EP. “He’s still an enigma.” In the meantime, Jake’s absence will “open up possibilities” of the romantic variety for Cassie, including the potential for something with Adam.

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WHY DIDN’T THE WITCH HUNTERS KILL JAKE? | Leader Isaac has “his clutches on Jake in a way that he’s very confident,” explains Miller. “He doesn’t have to kill him because he knows he still has a lot of power to wield.” As for the mysterious council that Isaac alluded to, their history “will surprise us and goes back longer than anyone thinks right now.”

HOW SCREWED ARE CHARLES AND DAWN? | Short answer: Very. Their botched spell on Jane will cause big problems, widening the rift between the two. More importantly, “they’ll start to question the mind-F they’ve done on themselves” with the things they’ve convinced themselves they have to do.