Charmed: Death Takes a Halliwell (3.16)

Once again, I'm really enjoying Prue. In general, she's such a sad character. She's always been so isolated from her sisters in a way, forced to be a mother figure from an early age and forced to be the responsible one when both her guardians die and the other flees the family. Even now, she's the odd one out in terms of relationships, and has put all of her focus this season onto demons and tracking down evil. Death Takes a Halliwell iss another excellent episode that focuses in on her isolation, made even more apparent via her interaction with the Angel of Death. Here's a woman who has the weight of the world on her shoulders, and here she learns that she can't always do what she thinks is the right thing.

This script is surprisingly ambitious, exploring ideas of morality and mortality, and forcing Prue to come to terms with death itself. The Angel of Death is an inspired creation, a complex character who is neither good nor evil, but somebody doing a job that needs to be done. Death is inevitable, it's not a force that can be reckoned with or something that can be fought. The scene where Prue has to watch Inspector Davidson die is heartbreaking. She goes against her natural instincts, but it's what needed to happen.

Cole once again is slipping seamlessly into the cast, and he still has demons attempting to hunt him down. The Seekers were hilariously creepy with their vampire teeth and their floatiness. Equally fun was the cute subplot with Piper and Leo arguing over to where to sit that ugly Whitelighter lamp-thing.

Death Takes a Halliwell is that rare Charmed episode that aims just that little bit higher than normal. It explores some tough themes and nobody really wins in the end. Prue is still alone, but she has overcome her fear of death somewhat. It's not necessarily something to get angry about. It's the inevitable event that nobody can ever completely prevent or prepare themselves for. A

Credits
Guest stars Keith Diamond (Inspector Reece Davidson); Simon Templeman (Angel of Death); Christopher Shea (Seeker #1); Wade Andrew Williams (Seeker #2)
Writer Krista Vernoff Director Jon Paré