Wacky shenanigans with monkeys ranks up there with baby poop humor in my list of all things awful, but Astral Monkey reaches the once-believed-to-be-impossible feat of not being indescribable garbage. It's actually a pretty wonderful meditation on cause and effect, morals and guilt. The ambition of the script and the concept of questioning the sisters' actions sticks out like a sore thumb on a show like Charmed, but judged on its own it's one of the series' strongest episodes, anchored by an emotional rollercoaster of a performance from Holly Marie Combs, who really works wonders with strong material like this.I loved Piper's conflicting emotions over Dr. Williamson's transformation. On the one hand, he's himself responsible for playing with forces beyond his control, and his obsessive determination to prove the sister's abilities highlights some form of madness. On the other hand, the sisters messed with fate, and these were the repercussions. But, without a doubt, Dr. Williamson was a good man, his untimely fate a result of merely being so wrapped up in his desire to help others. Piper's anguish was beautifully played, as was Prue and Phoebe's more gung-ho attitude to stopping him.
Prue's subplot with movie star Evan Stone was less successful. I can appreciate the parallels between both stories (characters being forcibly put under the microscope), but it felt a little hollow. Prue was never interested in Evan, he was kind of a scumbag. Eh.
Astral Monkey successfully explores some dark territory for once, with the sisters acknowledging that they can't always save the day and can't always do the right thing when it comes to innocents. They're flawed ladies, not picture-perfect goddesses. A-
Crimes of Fashion Does Prue's backless, frontless shirt actually qualify as "clothes"?
Credits
Guest stars Matthew Glave (Dr. Curtis Williamson); Jim Davidson (Evan Stone)
Teleplay Constance M. Burge, David Simkins Story Constance M. Burge Director Craig Zisk
The only problem I had with this episode is that Prue, Phoebe and Leo refused to acknowledge that Piper's actions, along with their own in "Awakening", started this whole mess in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little confused The Rush Blog. How did Piper's actions do anything? She didn't cast the spell to cure herself, the only thing she did was to ask Prue and Phoebe to reverse it, so that the others infected could live and the disease wouldn't be passed on to anyone else. She had no way of knowing that Leo would save her so I do not understand why you blame Piper. Unless it was getting sick in the first place...
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DeleteShe snuck illigal fruit in the club
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ReplyDeletePiper's greed led her to purchase South American fruit THAT HAD NOT been inspected by U.S. Customs, so that she could get a cheap commodity for her club. Because of this act, she became infected with Arroyo fever. And due to Prue, Phoebe and Leo using magic to cure her, Dr. Williamson became obsessed with finding out what really happened to her.
ReplyDeleteNeither the Charmed Ones or Leo ever bothered to acknowledge that their actions in "Awakened" had led to the mess in "Astral Monkey". It was a habit of "CHARMED" for not allowing the its protagonists to acknowledge or pay the price for their transgressions.