Charmed season 2 episode 11 review: Bad blood
This week’s episode of Charmed finds Macy and Abigael battling for Harry’s affections even as Macy grows closer to the dashing Julian Shea.
Last week’s episode of Charmed saw Harry and Macy finally confronting their feelings for each other, or at least Harry’s feelings for Macy, while Maggie worked to break Jordan’s curse. This week finds Macy following her heart as Harry coldly suggested she do, sending her straight to Colorado and into the arms of the dashing Julian.
Long gone is the shy, virginal Macy of season one. After they share some wine and stories of childhood trauma, Julian bids Macy a goodnight, but Macy invites Julian to bed…
The next morning, in a gorgeous bright blue satin nightgown, Macy is making breakfast when Julian’s aunt Vivienne (who raised him after his parents died in a car accident) comes in. Macy is all wrapped up in sexy science land and casual references to Theranos when she hears her phone buzz and sees the four missed calls from Mel telling her that Harry is sick.
Back at Elder HQ, Mel and Harry are still doing actual witch stuff, having just rescued a witch from a Malignant and returning with a nasty cut on Harry’s arm. Mel pours a potion on his arm to heal it, only for black spots to appear on his other arm. When they turn to the Book of Elders for help, Harry collapses.
Mel scours the Book and can’t find anything so decides to call Macy, but a still freshly scorned Harry asks her to call Abigael instead. Mel’s eye roll says it all.
Meanwhile, Maggie and Jordan are in New Orleans at an AA meeting for survivors of magical experiences where Jordan is speaking about his birthday ghost encounter and Maggie is looking for the symbol Mel and Ray found on their mission. Someone at the support group comes up to them after the meeting and has the symbol tattooed on his hand. He invites them to a party with a group of “off-the-grid” magic followers.
Over a bowl of vegan gumbo, Maggie tells Jordan just how serious it is and gives him an out, but Jordan reminds her the curse isn’t broken yet, and he’s onboard. Now that he serves a purpose, and they’ve given him a personality beyond boxing, he’s pretty fun.
The party is at a night club, and the skeezy guy from the support group soon leads Jordan and Maggie to a darkened corner where the woman who Ray and Mel faced down waits to buy the boomerang knife from the darklighter that the Charmed Ones recovered. But when Maggie tries to learn more about the buyers, they instead offer glowing neon drugs, the same color as the darklighter poison. Maggie tries to end the whole thing, but Jordan, so stupid and brave, grabs one and shoves it in his mouth.
Back at Elder HQ, Abigael has an antidote that can heal Harry — if it’s actually the parasite she thinks it is. Otherwise, he’ll die instantly. (Once again, does Abigael actually care for Harry? I’m not sure at all where she stands which is what makes her such a fun character.)
Macy, ever the scientist, declares they have to rule out all other possibilities before using Abigael’s antidote. (We haven’t gotten to see Macy wear her science hat as much this season, so it’s been to get that back in her character with the Julian storyline.)
Unfortunately, the lab equipment in Elder HQ is less than ideal. Thankfully, there’s a knight in shining start-up money just a phone call away.
Harry is getting worse by the second, and Abigael blots the sweat from his face, asking him to wake up. He manages to do so asking for Macy, and the look on Abigael’s face is one of betrayal. Whether it’s hurt because she loves Harry, or because she hates Macy, is still unclear.
Julian sends his aunt Viv with the Airmid, the fictionalized version of the Theranos machine that actually works. (This premise is ridiculous, but whatever.) But now that Viv is away from Julian, she tells Macy what she thinks of her: that she’s seducing Julian for his money and to get into the company.
Macy pleads with her, telling her she doesn’t have time because Harry is dying. Viv finally says that if she agrees to break it off with Julian, she can use the Airmid. She makes Macy call and do it on his voicemail right then. Harsh! (For all the hubbub about the Airmid, she was happy to hand it over and leave once Macy dumped Julian!)
Back in New Orleans, the drugs have kicked in just in time for some weird ritual to start in the club. A shaman/demon leads a ritual at the front of the club. He opens a coffin and drops the black amber into the mouth of the body inside before conducting electricity from the mesmerized bodies in the room and channeling it into the corpse. As the spell continues, the life force gets sucked out of the people in the room, and Jordan is next…
Simultaneously, Harry’s eyes glow orange and he lunges for Mel, trying to kill her. Abigael watches for a while, finally deciding to do a spell and knock Harry out. Mel agrees to let Abigael make the antidote, but they won’t use it until they hear from Macy, who soon returns with the Airmid and begins the test.
Maggie calls for Mel and Macy to help, and of course, they’re paralyzed as to what to do. But Harry is himself again and tells them to go — he trusts Abigael (who looks oh so satisfied to hear him say it in front of Macy).
Macy makes Abigael promise not to use the antidote until the results come out of the Airmid showing the demonic toxin, but what good is a demon’s word anyway, even when she’s half-witch?
Maggie has basically become Buffy this season. Once her sisters are there to watch over Jordan, she runs to the stage and knocks out the demon, breaking his staff to end the ritual. But it’s too late — the corpse in the coffin is gone and has been reanimated.
Macy, using science for the win again, tells Mel to freeze Jordan’s feet as she heats his head so they can create a current to shock him back to life. It luckily works, and as soon as Jordan wakes up, Mel and Macy port back to Abigael’s apartment just in time to see her injecting Harry with the antidote.
Harry seizes as the potion courses through him, and Macy turns on Abigael, but within moments, he’s healed and Macy has to deal with the fact that she was wrong. She and Mel take Harry home, but not so soon that there isn’t a lingering moment between Harry and Abigael.
As the episode ends, Jordan and Maggie grow closer, having survived their first mission together, and I actually want them to kiss now! Meanwhile, Macy and Julian reconnect at SafeSpace where he quickly assesses that his aunt intervened in their relationship. They kiss and make up as Harry rounds the corner like a lovesick puppy dog.
Next. Charmed season 2 episode 10 review: It’s a love polygon. dark