Charmed: Sympathy for the Demon (5.7)

I mentioned it last review, but I'm not enjoying Phoebe's characterization of late. It feels like ever since she got her job at the paper, she's been almost entirely insufferable. She continues to be awful here, too, sniping at Paige for inadvertently summoning Barbas, and then whining that Barbas' arrival had interrupted her date with Ken Marino. She's truly becoming the most hateful hag around. What is her problem? There used to be something so sympathetic about Phoebe, somebody still trying to find their place in the world, but she's become colder and more obnoxious as the years have passed. It's really horrible to watch unfold.

What isn't horrible to watch is the rest of this episode. Billy Drago is insanely awful as always, but the fears of the sisters are far greater realized than in any of Barbas' other appearances. The fears ranged from the everyday (spiders) to the character-driven (Piper's fear of raising her child in a demonic environment), and the scenes where the terror infected the characters were all well staged. And I admit that the final scene of the story, in which Phoebe overcomes her fear and the bricks encasing the Manor fall away piece-by-piece, was sort of moving.

I'm also enjoying the Cole work, too. I always remembered disliking his season five appearances, but when he isn't pining over Phoebe there are some interesting elements to his breakdown. And Julian McMahon plays everything so well that you can excuse some of the weaker plotholes.

Sympathy for the Demon is a strong episode with a ton of great imagery (the doves, Phoebe beating Paige senseless), and a story that manages to stay true to the characters we've watched for the last four and a bit years. B+

Credits
Guest stars Billy Drago (Barbas); Jennifer Rhodes (Penny 'Grams' Halliwell); James Read (Victor Bennet); Ken Marino (Miles); Troy Blendell (Stimple)
Writer Henry Alonso Myers Director Stuart Gillard