Connie Burge always stated that Charmed was a series about three sisters who happen to be witches, and not the other way around. Prewitched, to me, is the series' finest depiction of Prue, Piper and Phoebe as not merely demon-hunters, but as real, honest women. It's a fascinating hour, one that explores the history of the sisters before they discovered their abilities, as well as depicting the power structure within the three of them. In the flashbacks, Prue is the sister eager to move away and start a life with her new fiancée, Phoebe is the troubled soul who thinks low of herself, and Piper is the one struggling to keep everything together. It's Piper who is the emotional heart of the flashbacks, stuck in a dead-end job that isn't her passion, lonely and single, and forced to seize control of the house and family when Grams dies.
The same themes affect the present day, too. Piper is understandably at that stage where she wants to move out. I mean, come on, she's married! I loved the discussions on the subject, Prue and Phoebe uneasy with the idea of Piper being open to attack as well as the two of them being more vulnerable as a result. But what the concept does bring about are some wonderful sisterly moments, like the three of them going to lunch, Piper in the process trying to ease some of their worries.
Even outside of the family drama, the demon story is a lot of fun. W. Earl Brown just hits that correct note between intentional campiness and parody, and I loved the idea of a warlock requiring to be killed nine times in order to become immortal. Equally powerful was the sense of danger attached to the story, Shadow randomly grabbing and murdering that poor woman right in front of the Charmed Ones. It's that rare Charmed situation where people truly are at risk, and people really do fall.
Prewitched is one of my all-time favorite episodes, a truly rich and powerful exploration into the Halliwell women, their flaws, their histories and their chemistry. The script is filled with neat little moments of interest (Grams debating whether to take their powers away, Piper bumping into Leo) and features some series-best performances, especially from Holly. Series classic, absolutely. A+
Credits
Guest stars Finola Hughes (Patty Halliwell); Jennifer Rhodes (Penny 'Grams' Halliwell); W. Earl Brown (Shadow); Sherri Saum (Ariel)
Writers Chris Levinson, Zack Estrin Director David Straiton
Ah, I could't agree more with this! The flashbacks were done so well, it actually surprised me really! Brown was one of my favorite villains in the series. Even though he lasted one episode, there was something so great about him, and the way he interacted with the sisters. It's a shame he didn't last longer...
ReplyDeleteAgain, AWESOME reviews.
Thanks a lot! Adore this episode.
ReplyDeleteThe flashbacks were nice. But otherwise, this was a dull ass episode.
ReplyDeleteI think this is one of the very best Charmed episodes, too. I don't know about A+, just because I'm weighing it against other genre masterpiece hours of television like, say, Buffy's "Restless" or "The Body" or Angel's "Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been". I don't think Charmed ever reached that level for even a single episode in its 8-year run but just on its own Charmed scale it was pretty great.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Charmed never reached the level of the shows you mentioned (I mean, obviously, heh), but I weigh grades on a show-by-show basis, so an A+ of Charmed equals the very best of that show, not that an A+ of Charmed is just as good as an A+ of Buffy or whatever.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!