The Show must go on… Contracts and Pesky Things Like That…

At the end of S3, we were left with Prue and Piper’s fates unknown. Phoebe, Leo, and Cole were stuck in the Underworld with orders from the Source to be killed.

We come back in S4, where a few days have gone by. We learn Prue’s dead, Piper is grieving and Phoebe miraculously escaped the Underworld. We never find out how Phoebe accomplished this feat. It is also never mentioned in any of the years to come.

Paige: There’s A New Witch in Town

Patty (the sister’s mother) had a forbidden affair with her whitelighter, and gave birth to Paige (Rose McGowan). She was raised by loving adoptive parents, who were killed in an auto accident that should have killed Paige, too.

The sisters all become “Charmed Again” in the season opener, and Paige discovers she is telekinetic with a twist. Since her father is half whitelighter, she has these powers also. She has something called telekinetic orbing, whereby objects disappear and reappear where she wills. It is also revealed that she can orb, disappearing and reappearing where she focuses.

The writers were unsure how to write Paige’s character, and a shift happens as the season progresses. The early part of the season has her acting more like Phoebe, (a youngest sibling role). About midway through, the writers realize their mistake and have more similarities to Prue (since Paige grew up an only child). This works for her and the storylines.

Because she is new to the family, she will not be taken seriously the way Prue was. Piper and Phoebe need her as a witch, but not so much as a sister. This will play out through much of the season with Paige being on the outside of things.

A touching episode featuring Paige is Paige from My Past. Visiting her past, Paige relives the day her parents were killed. She faces the moment that should have killed her, and learns that she was destined to become “Charmed”.


Piper: Audience Avatar

It was planned that Piper express the sentiment of the fans. She grieves for Prue, has a lot of anger at how her sister was killed, and wants to quit witchcraft. She also is having trouble connecting to Paige. Piper has some beautiful poignant scenes in her grief. Stay tuned for Hell Hath no Fury, as Piper unleashes anger on everyone she blames for Prue’s death, and ultimately must face the true source of her anger: Prue.

Piper is forced into being the lead witch, which easily could have been picked up by Phoebe. Piper doesn’t have that strong fierce passion as Prue did. She is more nurturing and protecting, and still wanting that normal life. Her new position will make her come across whiny, shrewish, and resentful.

Her power up until Season 3 was freezing time. With the untimely death of Prue, she had just recently developed a power to explode anything around her which the show refers to as molecular manipulation (just go with it). This power will protect the newly formed Charmed Ones.


Phoebe: The Baby Makes Her Do It

Phoebe starts the season trying to alleviate the tension between Paige and Piper. She is forced into middle sister, and this is a mistake for Phoebe because she has always been the baby of the family. As Season 4 progresses, we see a very big change in Phoebe for the worse, mediating and peacekeeping just isn’t Phoebe’s nature.

In early seasons, Phoebe battled darker elements in herself from her past. She had come so far and was so endearing in early Charmed. We will see no more of this. The character from here on out will be written as self-centered, irresponsible, and will be forced to the audience as the “star” of the show. This will be quickly noted in the opening credits where Alyssa Milano is featured in the first frame once held by Shannen Doherty.

Phoebe heads on a path of destruction where she will become not only the Queen of the Underworld, but carry the heir to all Evil.

She will turn her back on her sisters, gallivant in the Underworld, and push Paige out a window. Never taking accountability, she will often use the excuse that “The baby made her do it”. (She really says this).


You Can Pick Your Friends, But Not Your Brother-In-Laws…

Cole has been a demon hundreds of years, and a good guy for about three months. He’s got a lot of bad karma to make up for. Phoebe refuses to acknowledge Cole’s past. Paige, on the other hand, upon learning what Cole really is, becomes horrified. This will be the first rift between Paige and Phoebe.

Cole will have to confront his past in Black as Cole, and he loses his demonic powers in the process. Cole’s story will take us through his depression of having to be mortal, his search for purpose, and how the void within him is filled. (Filled with the essence of all evil).

Why tune in for Season 4?

Watch to see how the aftermath of Prue’s death plays out. Watch it to see the changes that occur for Piper and Phoebe. Watch for the revenge of the Charmed Ones on the Source. And watch for the very well played arc that has Cole becoming the new source of all evil.

Set up Cole and Paige against each other. Set up two lifelong sisters, and one out of place, beginning witch sister. Set up a brilliant assassin against a new witch. And we get a very strong end to the season.

In Charmed and Dangerous, the sisters finally face the Source of all evil. In this episode, we also will meet The Seer, (Debbie Morgan). In a suspense-filled, last hurrah to Prue, the sisters will defeat the Source, but only because Cole ultimately saves them all. This event leads to the storyline that leads Cole and Phoebe to become King and Queen of very bad things.

Long Live the Queen is the happy couple's coronation, where the plans go very wrong. Phoebe creates a situation that puts her in the position of making a choice between killing her husband or killing Piper.

In a very touching scene which is very well played by Alyssa Milano, Phoebe makes her choice and vanquishes Cole. But never fear, he is still contracted for the following season.

Behind Every Evil Source is an Evil Woman..

The Seer (Debbie Morgan) is the brains behind this entire dark demonic plan to rule the Underworld. She has served under many Sources of Evil and now feels it’s her time. She tricks Cole into taking the power of the Source, and helps things along in his courting of Phoebe.

To make her plan succeed she needs Phoebe to become pregnant with Cole’s evil demon spawn (which she provides an evil chocolate aphrodisiac). Her ultimate plan is to steal the heir from Phoebe’s womb in the aptly titled Womb Raider, and thus become the Queen of all Evil. In the final showdown, the Seer self destructs and the evil spawn takes out half of the Underworld.

In the end, the sisters are offered an out. The Angel of Destiny offers them a vote, majority wins to see if they want to continue their witchcraft. The only reason for the choice is that they tipped things in favor of good, Prue’s gone, and they can finally rest.

Since we still have Seasons 5, 6, 7, and 8, it’s safe to guess what the decision is.

We also learn in the last seconds of the season, that Piper is pregnant.


Honorable Mentions

Rose McGowan does a fantastic job in joining the cast. The rest of the actors have been together for three years, and filling the spot left from the recently fired Shannen Doherty wasn’t an easy task. Her character by the end of the season becomes my favorite. Paige is smart, down-to-earth, and a genuinely nice person. Her alienation by the two sisters makes the audience root for her more.

Both Julian McMahon and Holly Marie Combs are both very strong actors who bring so much to their roles. Holly has tremendous raw emotion in her grieving scenes. Julian brings devilish delight to playing evil. Alyssa Milano also does a great job portraying Phoebe’s dark side.

Why a drop in my rating?

The audience has to give a lot to accept that there could be a new set of Charmed Ones.
Time is wasted on trying to get the characterizations right for the new Charmed trio (silly mistakes that didn’t have to be made).
By making Paige and Piper so powerful, the writers had to do something to solve the problem. Their fix was to make Piper and Phoebe toappear to be very dumb at times.

Stay tuned?

Next season look forward to whacky pregnancy hijinx, and the return of Cole!

I would love for you to read my reviews of
Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3








Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older