Charmed: Black as Cole (4.8)

He's spent most of season four whining about 'bounty hunters', so it's only fair the show actually utilize Julian McMahon for a change. Black as Cole sees the series attempting to dive head-first into moral ambiguity once more, and it's an effective hour all about Cole's history. Finally we have somebody out there who wants Belthazor to pay for his crimes, and this time it's cleverly not another demon but in fact another human, whose husband Belthazor killed.

The story also ties in with Phoebe's latest predicament, of whether to accept Cole's proposal or not. There are some intriguing attempts to depict rehabilitation and redemption here, with Piper and Phoebe accepting of Cole's past atrocities, and Paige not so into it. Paige displays some extremely conservative opinions here, believing that Cole isn't worthy of support due to his history, despite entirely missing the point that it was Belthazor's actions, and not the man Cole is today. There are two distinct sides of Cole, one that is heroic and loving of Phoebe, the other pure evil. What makes Paige's opinion carry some water, however, is the fact that Cole can blur those lines by simply 'embracing' his demon side, as he does here. There's always that lingering possibility that he could potentially be consumed by it.

Piper and Leo's baby subplot surprisingly avoided merely remaking the Reckless Abandon baby comedy in season two, and was actually pretty funny. I always like that uncomfortable humor of having baby-substitutes getting horrifically destroyed. Like Niles and the 'flour child' on Frasier years ago. I think Popular did something like that at one point, too, with electronic babies. I loved the gag where the baby's leg just fell off as Leo picked him up. Heh. This is a strong episode all-round. A

Credits
Guest stars Vincent Angell (Sykes); Heather Dawn (Emma); Bonnie Root (Susan Coleman)
Teleplay Brad Kern, Nell Scovell Story Abbey Campbell Director Les Landau