Charmed: The Power of Two (1.20)

It's a little frustrating that an episode centered around Prue and Phoebe's relationship doesn't result in any real surprises. Prue's mad at Phoebe's lack of responsibility and the fact that she hasn't got a job while Prue's job is hanging by a thread due to all the demons they're constantly battling. And that's pretty much it. You would have thought the show could have created some differing dynamics between them, but it turns out there isn't a whole lot to explore. It's all pretty one-note.

Despite however lightweight it is, The Power of Two does admittedly work. Jeff Kober is the type of actor who always excels in roles like this, and his storyline is fine here. There are a lot of plotholes and contrivances, and I guess the story is a little too similar to episodes like The Truth Is Out There... and It Hurts and The Witch Is Back (in terms of a guy on a killing spree through San Fran), but, again, it's fine. The resolution was pretty fun, and the Soul Ferrier was an intriguing bad guy who unfortunately never came back. Brenda Bakke seems to be channeling Bebe from Frasier here, but it works.

I was happy to see the San Francisco P.D. finally investigating all of Andy's unsolved cases. It's a little lightweight (this is Charmed, though), but it does finally answer a question that's been dangling over the character's head for months: how is nobody aware of all of this? The problem with the Andy character is that he almost forces the show to exist in some kind of reality, and since the show isn't smart enough to not be a little silly, Andy creates a level of ridiculousness that wouldn't affect the series if his character wasn't around. But I'm happy that they're addressing the elephant in the room.

I would have mentioned Piper's absence but supposedly Holly was M.I.A. for a medical operation or something, so that may have contributed to the lazy feel of a lot of this episode. The Power of Two is fine, if a little underwhelming considering how improved the show has become of late. C

Crimes of Fashion Charmed became notable as the show ran for the unfortunate, heinous, tacky and material-challenged outfits the sisters were forced to wear. Everybody assumes the tack began when the Evil One-Named Irish Clotheswhore Eilish joined the series in season two, but as you can see from this episode, the horror was always there. Crimes of Fashion is a new review segment that'll appear whenever an episode showcases a piece of clothing so outrageously ugly it deserves a special mention. The Power of Two featured Prue's transparent shirt, cut right down the front, connected by barely-there buttons exposing the fact that she's wearing nothing underneath. Where is she? A club? A tractor pull? Nope, just hanging around the kitchen. Ugh.

Credits
Guest stars Brenda Bakke (Soul Ferrier); Carlos Gomez (Inspector Rodriguez); Jeff Kober (Jackson Ward); Sean Hennigan (Tour Guide); Cristine Rose (Claire Pryce)
Writer Brad Kern Director Elodie Keene