Charmed - Hyde School Reunion

So the ongoing story about Piper’s (Holly Marie Combs) grown up son, Chris (Drew Fuller), a whitelighter from the future seemingly distant from his mom, much to her disappointment, offers a possibly troublesome detail. So Piper wants to know why Chris is avoiding her, and Chris tells her father, Victor (James Read), exactly that, the news leaves them all contemplating how the present might update the future fates of them all. Time travel arc will probably cause scientists and critics of the theory a bit of anxiety and aggravation, but I have always been fond of its use as a storytelling device. Chris loves Victor, his grandfather, and immediately hugs him upon meeting, communicating to him their dear closeness. Piper’s fate is left as a possible bummer, but with Chris’ presence in the past involved so dramatically with the 3, and Leo also often back and forth between both planes of existence, a future could very well be altered in one way or another. The central plot of the episode is an amusing farce on the class reunion and returning to school as an adult, meeting old friends and foes once occupying the same locker halls, with the old memories resurfacing. Except with Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) if old wounds and refreshed feelings, reflections of who she once was and how that persona (although no longer her) begins to resurface, she has the magic to return to her old high school hellcat. Even worse, as her old high school hellcat persona emerges, this Phoebe uses her magic to “influence” everyone else at the reunion, with chaos resulting and a wild party breaking out. Phoebe and two of her former gang (Jeffrey Pierce, the adorable Leslie Margherita) decide to crash a police station to revisit their friend now in prison (Rodney Rowland), morphing their faces to resemble public defenders! Well, Rowland, understanding that his current crime was his third strike meaning he was bound for a long term, sees this as his chance to break out and “urge” Phoebe to use her magic to help him…the three realize the fun is over. Rowland has put Margherita away somewhere and won’t reveal her location as Phoebe had involuntarily left their area momentarily, returning home, having Piper and Paige send her back. Rowland wants her to use her magic to help him rob an armored truck! Phoebe will try to lure him to her home so that Paige can assist her in stopping him. The clever trick involving Chris’ face and demons out to get him in order to defeat Rowland is quite a doozy.

I always forget that the dialogue snaps back and forth among the cast, and the camera/editing moves among them effortlessly. I have to say I am always impressed with this. It is all about timing and talent. This show had both. Charmed will never be included in the conversation as some Mecca of television, but it had a good run. It sure wasn’t boring. The special effects were a bit eh, but this wasn’t necessarily about wowing you with all that. It was about young women, their love lives, how magic serves as a benefit and nuisance, and all the dangers that arise unceremoniously against them due to having their powers. I really enjoyed the chemistry of Combs and Read, as their daughter/father relationship is presented as warm, genial, and loving…despite admitted early failure as a father, Read does indeed make up for lost time. Phoebe alternating between elegance and punk rock personas, her past and present selves, tickled me for sure. I just have always liked Milano, especially on this show. This must have been a hoot for her to get to perform…like dual roles that have that thread of connective Phoebe tissue that ties them. Paige doesn’t have much to do but her magic at the end does lend help to Phoebe in her time of need, capitalizing on Chris’ dilemma to eliminate their own.