Charmed: Charmed Again Part 2 (4.2)

It feels a lot like the writers stretched the season premiere to two hours because they thought it should be two hours based on the subject matter, not because they had a story that needed to be two hours. Charmed Again Part 2 has a couple of interesting moments, but in general it's pretty badly paced, too much time spent on stories that feel kind of silly. The most obvious is the idea of a forty eight-hour 'window' after a witch discovers her abilities, where she supposedly can choose between good and evil. It feels a lot like something casually pulled out of Brad Kern's butt to create some conflict, and it's never truly realized and has little effect.

Similarly redundant is the conclusion to the Inspector Cortez subplot. His presence isn't necessary at all, while the repeated cuts to Leo, Cole and Darryl trying to convince him to drop the investigation majorly slowed down the pace of the episode.

However, the sisterly interaction here is expertly scripted. Like part one, it feels surprisingly authentic, especially when you consider this is an Aaron Spelling show. Spelling series so often have new actors casually replacing other actors, and he could have easily gotten some personality vacuum '90s brunette like Susan Ward to take over and play Prue instead of Shannen Doherty. But you should at least appreciate that the show is trying a little.

Intriguingly, the two-parter doesn't end with the sisters hugging it out... as that's still a work in progress. Paige is a newcomer, Piper is uncomfortable with her, and Phoebe is hesitantly trying to bridge that divide. I love the direction the series is going in at this point. Prue's absence is hard to deal with, but it's clear that Charmed isn't over just yet. C+

Credits
Guest stars Finola Hughes (Patty Halliwell); Jordan Bridges (Shane); Yancey Arias (Inspector Cortez); Krista Allen (The Oracle); Ben Guillory (The Source)
Writer Brad Kern Director Mel Damski