Charmed review: Emotions run high as Charmed sisters seek out answers

As the charmed ones grieve for their mother, they set out for closure by summoning a spirit to determine whether they can trust their witch advisor.

Before we get into the episode, where were those opening titles at? The original Charmed title and theme song were so well-loved, and so it feels a bit odd beginning the episodes without them. The reboot is attempting to create its own voice and story and therefore having opening titles reflecting the original’s may have seemed old-fashioned and cheesy. However, I think a lot of fans from the original show are going to miss the nostalgia for sure.

After last week’s episode, the sisters, Mel, Maggie and Macy, are faced with a dilemma: trust the apparent spirit of their mother communicating through their Ouija board who warned the sisters that Harry, their Whitelighter and witch guide, was an imposter, or trust Harry, who argued that the spirits in Ouija boards are tricksters. Having to lean on each other to figure out which side was lying took its toll on the girls as they begin to disagree a lot and use “majority rules” as a way of making decisions.

This obviously leads to near-disaster as Mel, convinced that the spirit communicating to them is their mom, and Maggie, in a vulnerable position after becoming agitated by her powers of telepathy, both decide to unleash the spirit from the Ouija board. The spirit appears in the form of their mother and the girls become almost certain Harry is the liar. Even Macy, who is generally objective and feels detached from her mom because she was abandoned as a baby, gets taken in by the spirit and finally agrees with Mel that they must imprison Harry.

Maggie, the youngest sister, basically saves the day. Having the initial desire to be comforted by her mother after feeling that her mind-reading powers are ruining her social and love life, Maggie soon realizes that she can’t sense the spirit’s thoughts and begins to get a bad feeling. Her older sisters overrule her instincts and almost make a catastrophic decision. They eventually realize that Harry is on their side and vanquish the demon imitating their mother, also agreeing to act more like a unit and make agreements together rather than via “majority rules.”

Throughout the episode, Maggie expresses her jealousy toward her older sisters’ active powers of freezing time and telekinesis as they appear to have more control over their abilities. Maggie attempts to block her powers using gloves but this doesn’t work and she becomes upset when she begins to read her friends’ thoughts, even during sex — which is an amusing scene. As Maggie’s power is more passive and her character is quite insecure, she definitely begins to feel helpless to people’s opinions, and as though she can’t do anything as productive as her sisters can.

However, Maggie becomes the character who uses her empathy to realize that the spirit is a fraud, being praised by Harry, and begins to attempt to control her powers by following her own voice rather than wanting to listen to other people’s. Maggie gives both her older sisters advice, and comments that they are both just as stubborn as each other, showing how important and influential her character will be in the series, particular to keep the sisterly bond alive which is pivotal to the girls’ power of three. Maggie has become the character promoting sensitivity and showing that being in touch with your emotions and being able to connect with others is not a weakness.

The showdown of the episode, whereby Maggie uses the selfie camera on her phone to destroy the evil spirit, was a bit of an anticlimax. Harry explains that showing the demon their form, using a mirror, for example, would vanquish it. But the fight seemed a bit too rushed and easy. I understand the writers needed time in the episode to develop the relationships in the show a bit more, but I personally would have liked to have seen more action. If you’re following the show for the drama rather than the fantasy element, then the lack of a fight scene may have been perfect for you.

Each sister had to face their romantic fears as well as their spiritual fears in this episode as Maggie decides to trust her instincts and break up with her casual boyfriend, Mel agrees to not get angry with Niko for sleeping with her fiancé before they got back together, and Macy apologizes to Galvin for pushing him away and not allowing herself to get close to people. Although the premise involves witches and demons, the show is focused on three sisters trying to grow and develop as people, which is what makes the story so relatable. As much as I love the drama intertwined with the supernatural, I feel the pacing and excitement in this week’s episode didn’t quite live up to the hype generated from the pilot.

What did you think of the episode? Did you enjoy the drama or did you feel there should have been more action? Let us know in the comments!