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Charmed: Season Four, Part Two

“Some sisterhoods can be fixed. Some cannot.”

(This review covers the rebooted series Charmed episodes 4.07 through 4.13, and includes spoilers.)

Bar maybe the first, every season of Charmed has felt like it’s been stopped in its tracks at some point before the finish line. The second had to halt production and wrap up its story at the beginning of season three due to COVID, to very mixed results. The third had to hastily write Macy out in the finale due to Madeleine’s decision to leave the role. Now the fourth has had to act as a quick wrap-up for the series due to the massive clear-out of legacy shows at The CW. I wonder how Charmed would look now if it had been able to stick to its guns and do things on its own terms.

For the most part, this season is probably mostly in line with what was originally expected, but it felt like the ideas that worked on paper did not work on screen. The Unseen, who began wreaking havoc in the first part of the season, put their plan into action in these final episodes, raising “The Lost One” in order to revamp the magical world and take back the power they believed they had lost with the Charmed Ones in power. Unknowingly, they bring back a member of the first trio of Charmed Ones – Inara.

The history of the Charmed Ones' power has always been a huge mystery ever since the second season revealed Ishta, another member of the original sisterhood. Here, the "Destruction of the Sisterhood" is linked back to the fractures that grew between Inara, Ishta and their third, oddball sister Ishani. It’s worth noting these women were not connected by blood, but by a shared interest in keeping the world safe from The Conqueror. I’m glad this was delved into, but for whatever reason the finale skipped over any logical rebuilding of their bond, instead favoring a confusing decision on their part to sacrifice themselves. I’m not sure if it was due to the shorter episode order, or the need to force things to a close following cancellation, but the story jumped from A to Z, and didn’t bother filling in anything in between where the OG sisterhood’s reconnection was concerned. Again, the story worked on paper, but was not executed very well when it came down to it.

Where our central trio are concerned, these final episodes were much stronger, and gave each sister a chance to come to terms with different personal struggles and hardships. Maggie, who finally understood her anger and guilt over Macy’s death, made sense of her feelings and reconnected with Jordan. After a year of flings and one-night stands, Mel began a proper relationship with Roxie, despite the latter’s seven year sleeps mucking things up. Kaela suffered her first major loss when Dev was caught up in a Charmed Ones vs The Unseen confrontation, but overcame it in time to join her sisters in their battle against Inara. Each of these character threads felt borne out of a full understanding of these women and everything they’ve been through.

I also appreciated the twist on the shared blood the three sisters have. Rather than opting for the obvious (and having Dexter Vaughn reveal himself to be Kaela’s birth father), the show instead introduced Macy’s decision to donate her stem cells to cancer research, following her father’s death. Kaela, whose previous illness was brought up earlier this season, was one of five people who received Macy’s donated cells, allowing her the opportunity to join the Power of Three in Macy’s place. While it was a far fetched idea, I really loved that this donation Macy had made was absolutely something she would do, not just because she was a science nerd, but because she had a deep understanding of the importance of cancer research. It also meant that not only was Kaela joined by blood, she was also someone who had earned her place in the sisterhood, given she was one of five people who received Macy’s stem cells who could potentially have stepped in as the third sibling.

Another set of sisters were also introduced here, though they remained off screen. In the final episodes, a mysterious whitelighter named Diana crosses paths with Harry. Her vague references to an alternate world with another “Charmed One with incredible powers of premonition” were about as subtle as a fireball to the face, but were kind of rewarding for fans of both versions of Charmed. Even more rewarding were the final moments of the finale, where Mel, Maggie and Kaela are transported to this alternate world, finding themselves in front of a very familiar porch.


Multiverses are a bit of a hot topic at the moment, thanks to Marvel’s domination of TV and film, so I’m not surprised that other properties are attempting to cash-in on the hype with their own takes. Whether or not this storyline would have worked, I would have been more than willing to see OG characters reappear, even though this multiverse thing felt like an act of desperation to keep this series on the air.

Either way, we won’t be afforded the opportunity to see the Halliwell/Matthews meet the Vera/Dansos. Four seasons of Charmed have really flown by, and while I do think the series never quite hit its full potential, it has honestly been a fun and silly journey. I will always feel a little disappointed with how hard certain OG fans, writers and cast members fought this show from the get-go (even if they did have some valid points), because their support and input could have been the right guiding force for Charmed 2.0 – it certainly helped Roswell, New Mexico. It feels like dead air to talk about that rift right now, but that hasn’t stopped redundant writers of the original's weaker episodes from chiming in.

Potions and Notions

Before the finale bungled the ending of this season’s story, the penultimate episode “Be Kind. Rewind” played with time travel in a really fun way, depicting a worst case scenario ending, and even incorporating Josefina back into the season’s major narrative.

Before Roxie entered her sleep, she left Mel in charge of the The Blue Camellia. This would have been a very Piper thing to do, since she owned a night club herself in the original.

I really missed Abigeal this season.

Harry felt a tad underused this season, without his love story with Macy to keep him firmly tied to the sisters.

Spells and Chants

Ishani: "Macy Vaughn's stem cells went to five other people, and none of them became a Charmed One. Forces much stronger and older than I am chose you for this because of who you are, deep down. And now you need to make a choice. Are you going to be their sister or not?"

Harry: "Why on earth would a Charmed One from your world do all this for our world?"
Diana: "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

Mel: "You are our sister. Biological and chosen."

Mel: “We're stronger than we've ever been. I know we can handle whatever we encounter on the other side of that door.”

6 out of 10 Timeline VHS's.

2 comments:

  1. Panda, I'm not sure if congratulations or sympathies are called for. Maybe both? Congratulations on completing reviews of the original Charmed *and* the reboot -- it's a huge accomplishment. But sympathies that the new series didn't get a chance to realize its potential. That has to be frustrating.

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  2. Unfortunately, I gave up on this show in season four. I wanted to like it, but it just never delivered. The original Charmed was great and had a lot of potential back in the day (alongside Buffy) but it went downhill after Shannen Doherty left after season 3. This reboot struggled with a lot of inferiority issues to start with, and then history repeats itself, the best actress leaves in season three, and then the show is doomed...Such a pity.

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