Charmed: They're Everywhere (2.7)

All the stuff about the Halliwell's dad never really goes anywhere. They raise Victor in part because of how dedicated Eric is to his own father, which is in sharp contrast to the fact that Victor abandoned them and seemingly doesn't give two hoots about his kids. This is all fine, but the fact that it goes nowhere fast and nothing is really achieved as a result of such breezy references severely impacts on the episode. What's more vapid than something so standalone are lazy attempts to make a standalone episode more important. And considering, with hindsight, that Victor's early season characterization is casually dismissed once you get to the James Read years, episodes like They're Everywhere become even more redundant.

Eric is the latest in a long line of charisma vacuums on this show. I know Misha Collins has improved as an actor since this episode aired, but he really is appalling here, like a vacant block of wood in search of some kind of purpose. The story isn't that great either. First off, there's the lazy contrivance of Phoebe interning at the hospital, the half-assed romantic subplot she embarks upon with Eric, and the heinous disregard for historical artifacts. Does Eric just get away with destroying an ancient text? Or did the writers assume that little nugget of information was irrelevant? And what the hell was up with the editing throughout the episode? Anybody else notice the distracting choppiness of everything?

The magical subplot is effective in parts, but it's unfortunate that the story revolved around the two love interests currently on the show. One is a safe, dull hunk. The other turns out to have an even sleazier twin brother. It's all very, very dumb. I always get conscious about trashing this show too much, since there's always a breezy likability about it, but this is the latest in a long line of season two stinkers. D

Credits
Guest stars Misha Collins (Eric Bragg); Dean Norris (Collector #1); Eddy Saad (Ben Bragg); Jim Antonio (Collector #2); Marcelo Tubert (Tour Guide); Lochlyn Munro (Jack Sheridan/Jeff Sheridan)
Writer Sheryl J. Anderson Director Mel Damski