Phoebe's descent into evil is unfolding masterfully. The past two seasons have very much been about evil trying to separate the sisters, Cole in particular driving a wedge between both sets of Charmed Ones. Here, it's not only her unborn child that is corrupting her and her powers, it's also her love for a man who isn't trusted by her sisters. It's all played pretty convincingly, at least until Paige comes along and steadfastly claims that Cole is evil and that both she and Piper believe that he's a bad guy once again. Seriously? Not the best way to handle it, honey. But I guess it then ensures that Phoebe becomes even more distant from the two of them, and those final couple of scenes in which she's lured to the dark side with a pep talk from the Seer were ridiculously chilling. This is suddenly a new Charmed where all bets are off. It's an interesting approach.The bones of this episode aren't hugely great, if only because the script doesn't seem to know what tone to reach for. The wizard story in particular is a victim of that, the show treating it as far more comedic than it probably should have been. And the Grimoire is such a cool idea (that of an evil doppelganger to the Book of Shadows) that it's a shame it wasn't given more focus, likewise unfortunate that it's never been mentioned before. Was it even mentioned post-season four? I'm blanking, but they really could have utilized that more.
Regardless of some of the faults here and there, the general direction the show continues to take is both ambitious and necessary, allowing the actors to play around with some heavier material. It's so easy for this show to sit back and churn out standalone episodes forever and ever (it's a direction Charmed ends up taking), but here the show has a focus and a drive that is making this entire arc really powerful. B-
Credits
Guest stars Armin Shimerman (The Wizard); Michael Des Barres (Dark Priest); Deborah Kellner (Julie); Debbi Morgan (The Seer)
Writers Alison Schapker, Monica Breen Director Timothy Lonsdale
It breaks my heart the show was never really committed again to planning and writing out long, focused, and gripping story arcs like this one. I get that the WB probably wanted more standalones but they still could have sprinkled in arc stuff here and there in a captivating manner. Was the writing team headed by Brad Kern really that stupid? There must be a reason Charmed became so disastrous at some points. I appreciate them attempting an arc in season 8 but it was so embarrassing that I kinda wish they didn't!
ReplyDeleteOy Charmed what a love/hate relationship I have with you!
Great review but I have a couple of things to say!
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I LOVED the way the Wizard story was approached. It was tackled with a great humour but when things turned nasty, it didn't feel strange, it worked. At least for me.
Phoebe's turn was so chilling, and the series never gets darker than that after this season. It's a shame, and like Nadim pointed out, any attempt to replicate it is slightly embarrassing.
Very excited to read your 'Long Live the Queen' post; IT BETTER BE A RAVE!
Nadim I used to rag on Brad Kern a lot in the past, but I think it was probably the network that demanded a lighter Charmed. Kern's forte appears to be lightweight garbage, but he is capable of intriguing drama every once in a while, as shown in seasons three and four.
ReplyDeletePanda I get a little nervous sometimes about these reviews and generally becoming too negative. For example, I praise a lot about Long Live the Queen, but I also discuss certain areas that I didn't think were that strong. Blah. It's hard, but I'm definitely trying to not be constantly negative, or coming at Charmed with a negative mindset already. And at least be a little self-aware of how nitpick-y I'm being.
Like I said in my Bite Me review, feel free to call me out if I'm being annoying and fussy. Heh.
Thanks for the comments, guys.