
Piper is dealing with the ritual humiliation of going to her high school reunion. It's a tried-and-tested comedy plot device, and unsurprisingly the traditions flow through the episode. Piper is nervous about being considered unsuccessful, she has an embarrassing run-in with her old high school rival, she makes a fool out of herself, she eventually realizes that high school was forever ago and that shit really shouldn't bother her anymore. But while the story is rote, Holly Marie Combs works her magic to create Piper at her most endearing, cute and funny. Her interaction with Missy Campbell was hilarious in the subtlety within her performance, while her transformation into Terra was equally a lot of fun.
There's also great chemistry here (just like last episode) between Piper and Prue. They even get their own little catfight, too! Shannen and Holly are so great together, and I loved Prue's palpable anger when she was demanding that Terra get out of her sister's body. The resolution to the story was also pretty ingenious for this show.
The two subplots, one involving Phoebe investigating Cole's ancestry and the other introducing a minor love interest for Prue, are a little too under-developed to create much resonance, but the Piper A-story is ridiculously well-constructed, the episode balancing successfully the absurdist aspects really well with the heavy drama. It's kind of a Charmed classic, and by far one of the greatest uses of the eventually worn-out 'sister gets possessed' idea. A
Credits
Guest stars Chad Willett (Justin Harper); Rainn Wilson (Kierkan); Paige Rowland (Terra); Andrew Bowen (Businessman)
Writer Krista Vernoff Director Chris Long
One of my most favorite episodes. But, "Hottest chick at the reunion" lol...Prue makeover made Piper look like an uptight librarian. What happened to some of the cute and fun outfits Piper would wear at the club in season 2? Anyways, Holly was amazing becoming Tara and then as herself again.
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