Charmed season 2 episode 7 review: Ghosts of Parker past
In this week’s episode of Charmed, Maggie finds herself caught between Abigael and (the newly returned) Parker while trying to determine the truth.
Last week’s episode of Charmed saw Harry coming face-to-face with his darklighter as he rescued Macy. This week, Harry and Macy are back at Elder HQ sorting through their stock of old potions in order to suss out more information about Jordan.
According to the Book of Elders, the spell will reveal magical powers within a person. Maggie and Macy perform the spell, despite Maggie’s reservations, and symbols float into the air in a plume of smoke.
Harry uses the scarab to translate them in the Book of Elders and discovers that Jordan is cursed “by the breath of a dying witch.”
The map lights up as Maggie refutes the results, disbelieving that he could have done anything to warrant being cursed. Harry says they have no time to discuss as the area on the map is extra witchy, so they go straight away.
Meanwhile, Mel basically wanders the halls of SafeSpace this entire episode, worrying about Katrina, whose shop has been closed down since her run in with Marisol.
Mel finally finds Katrina, who is on her way to a mental health facility due to what she thinks is a breakdown. Mel pulls her away to talk and tells her that she isn’t crazy — the things she’s seeing and hearing are real.
On the other side of the portal, there’s a magical tree that produces fruit that protects people from magical powers. By the time Maggie, Macy, and Harry get there, the tree is destroyed and the fruit gone. It had been the whitelighters’ job to protect it.
They decide Abigael is behind it and orb to her, awkwardly interrupting her tryst with Susan and Susan. Abigael insists she wasn’t behind it, but instead, it was a “him,” and spells a mirror to show a group of demons hailing the demon overlord: Parker.
(We knew Parker would have to come back sooner or later, especially with all of this Jordan nonsense looming, but I’m still happy to see him.)
Maggie refuses to believe it because she knows Parker better than anyone. She demands Abigael take her to Parker to sort out what’s happening.
As Abigael and Maggie prepare to go through the portal, Abigael strokes Harry’s chest and says, “Don’t be a stranger. The Susans and I could use a fourth.” Harry looks shocked, and Macy is clearly pissed but trying not to show it as Abigael saunters off in her brocade gold and black suit. It’s a delightfully wicked and hilarious moment. Once they’re alone again, Macy asks Harry if he and Abigael are involved and he brushes it off, saying he wouldn’t be so stupid.
Macy shrugs and gives him the benefit of the doubt — danger is exciting. “Not when you’re thinking clearly,” Harry responds as a reminder of the elephant darklighter in the room. (Sidebar: This is our first episode of the season without Sexy Harry!)
Later, they’re back on task as Macy is boxing with Jordan and Harry sneaks in behind them. Jordan becomes suspicious and defensive so Macy punches him in the face. He threatens her and they leave, but they’ve successfully cloned his ring and gotten away with it.
Once Abigael and Maggie get to Parker’s compound, Abigael simply rings the bell, telling them Maggie Vera is out front for the Overlord. In moments, they’re cuffed and in front of Parker, who doesn’t look entirely not evil, but also a bit like the Parker we know and love when he sees Maggie for the first time in so many months.
But then he sees Abigael and chokeholds her in the air. So much for brotherly love.
The guards come in to take Abigael away and try to get Maggie, too, finding the potion in her pocket and assuming it’s poison. Maggie says it’s truth serum, promising she hasn’t been working with Abigael. Parker tells them to leave Maggie with him and clear the room. As soon as they’re alone, he hugs her tight, having thought she was dead, and tears fill her eyes. In a way, she thought he was, too.
It’s reminiscent not only of the Cole and Phoebe storyline on the original Charmed, but also of the moment Angel gets his soul back a moment too late in the season two finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
With all the heavy Macy and Harry shipping so far this season, it has been easy to forget how compelling the Maggie and Parker love story is. While relationships may not work out for the Charmed Ones, they’re sure fun to watch.
Speaking of, Mel takes Katrina to their house and shows her a video of Marisol and Maggie. A confused Katrina recognizes Marisol’s voice. Mel tells her it’s her mother who died over a year ago and that Katrina isn’t crazy — she’s a medium.
Back at the compound, Maggie catches Parker up on everything — well, mostly everything. He’s disappointed that she doesn’t fully trust him, but she responds that the last time they saw each other, he was trying to quell his demon side, not embrace it.
Parker says he’s ruling over the demons to try to make peace, not start a war. Maggie still seems wary, so Parker says he’ll prove it. He grabs the truth serum from his coat, but Maggie stops him before he takes it.
“Trust is earned,” she says, ever the empath, and Parker nods, removing her magic-binding handcuff. He asks how he can earn hers back, so she asks for his help in discovering who killed the magical tree in the woods. We learn that Abigael was Godric’s first choice for the demon overlord. She’s still bitter that Parker is now in charge and says she’ll prove to Godric she’s up to the task.
When Maggie and Parker come to see who killed the trees, a group of demons (including Abigael) are being tortured. Maggie convinces him to stop torturing them and Godric and Abigael exchange a meaningful look — Parker’s a wimp.
Back at Elder HQ, Macy tries on Jordan’s ring, but she can’t move anything. They decide to do a provenance spell and extract the powers from the ring. Poor Harry has so much PTSD now over his darklighter that even this conjures up bad memories.
He asks Macy if she had feelings for Sexy Harry. Macy says she doesn’t know what she felt and Harry presses her again, but she responds, “He was a part of you.” It’s so sweet, but Harry doesn’t see it that way. Instead, he sees himself as only pieces.
Meanwhile in her cell, Abigael is eating a bowl of gruel which turns out to have been dosed with Maggie’s truth serum. She confesses to having killed the tree so she could try to get a leg up on Parker. He asks if she’ll ever stop trying to kill him, and she says no. Godric orders the guards to take her to be executed.
Maggie tells Parker not to do it, but he’s afraid he’ll look weak. He doesn’t have a lot of time to think of an alternative, though, before Godric knocks on his door to get him for the execution.
Right as the masked demon raises the knife to Abigael’s chest, Parker stops him and pronounces that a worse punishment will be for her to be stripped of her demonic powers and be imprisoned as a mortal for the rest of her life.
The demonic crowd cheers, and after it’s over, Maggie thanks Parker for saving Abigael’s life, who, in turn, thanks her for saving his, and they soon retire to the boudoir. *wiggles eyebrows*
Harry and Macy do the spell and see the past of the ring. Jordan’s ancestor stole it from a witch who cursed him and his ancestors because of it.
Speaking of Buffy, the curse contains Faith’s favorite catchphrase “Five by five,” cursing all the men in Jordan’s family to die before their 26th birthday. Jordan is 25.
Katrina is still trying to wrap her mind around her new identity, but she does know she has feelings for Mel and they kiss. (Mel’s storyline this episode is basically a little rom-com.) It can’t go too much further, though. Katrina is leaving, after all, in order to get to know herself better.
She asks Mel to watch over the store. “To what could have been,” she says and kisses Mel on the cheek. So I guess it’s more of a rom-dram (but I’m guessing this isn’t the last we see of her).
Maggie wakes up in Parker’s bed the next morning and gets up to go, but he doesn’t want her to leave. With her at his side, he could truly make peace. Besides, they really do love each other. And so he proposes. (Aside from the insane world they live in, aren’t they both, like 19?)
Abigael is back in her cell. It turns out Godric is the one who stole the fruit from the tree, and he gave it to Abigael before she was ever drugged or before her powers were stolen — which means her powers are, in fact, still intact. Thanks to the brilliant play, Godric is now loyal to her, which means Parker is Abigael’s number one target…
Next. Charmed season 2 episode 6 review: Macy dances with the devil. dark