This is one of the more famous episodes of Charmed. Even though it has two of the all time great scenes in the series, I still will only give it a 9 due to how illogical it is and how flawed its moral is.
Many of the best Charmed episodes deal with time travel, and this is a rare trip into the future. Except I've never taken this future nearly as serious as many of the other reviewers here. For me, the future here is too unrealistic to be anything but satire, and Prue's future self isn't even close to being consistent with her character. The future Piper is believable, but Leo would leave his daughter behind and divorce Piper? How does that even work between a whitelighter and a witch? Anyway, their interplay is actually my favorite part of the episode.
The two all time great scenes here is first when Piper is tasked with binding the powers of her daughter and Leo shows up. She can't do it, and the acting from Brian and Holly is just heart-wrenching. Holly also looks gorgeous in this.
The other great scene is when Phoebe is executed. Absolutely pulse pounding scene with amazing acting from Alyssa. Bravo!
Much of this episode just feels different than other Charmed episodes. It feels darker and more earnest. The tone, acting, and the great scenes I mentioned make this a fan favorite. However, even though I enjoyed watching this a little more the second time, I still had some serious questions.
How does Prue using her power to pay back a jerk lead to Phoebe killing someone ten years later? The sisters have used their powers for personal gain and pay back many times already. Piper freezes people whenever she gets annoyed with them or if she just needs a little more time to think. Prue has also used her power when annoyed and for petty revenges on several people. I don't see causing the neighbor to fall victim to his own dog poop as a much greater crime than things they've done already. So, why did this push the Elders over the edge?
And if Phoebe had a premonition and KNOWS someone is a murderer, then I'm not sure her dispensing magical justice is such a moral wrong. It seems similar to me to protecting innocents from demons, with the only difference being that it is a mortal. Except, sometimes mortals can be worse than demons.
This all works better if the writers had the guts to have the sisters do a more serious immoral use of their powers. As it is, this seems like abusive overkill by the Elders.
Many of the best Charmed episodes deal with time travel, and this is a rare trip into the future. Except I've never taken this future nearly as serious as many of the other reviewers here. For me, the future here is too unrealistic to be anything but satire, and Prue's future self isn't even close to being consistent with her character. The future Piper is believable, but Leo would leave his daughter behind and divorce Piper? How does that even work between a whitelighter and a witch? Anyway, their interplay is actually my favorite part of the episode.
The two all time great scenes here is first when Piper is tasked with binding the powers of her daughter and Leo shows up. She can't do it, and the acting from Brian and Holly is just heart-wrenching. Holly also looks gorgeous in this.
The other great scene is when Phoebe is executed. Absolutely pulse pounding scene with amazing acting from Alyssa. Bravo!
Much of this episode just feels different than other Charmed episodes. It feels darker and more earnest. The tone, acting, and the great scenes I mentioned make this a fan favorite. However, even though I enjoyed watching this a little more the second time, I still had some serious questions.
How does Prue using her power to pay back a jerk lead to Phoebe killing someone ten years later? The sisters have used their powers for personal gain and pay back many times already. Piper freezes people whenever she gets annoyed with them or if she just needs a little more time to think. Prue has also used her power when annoyed and for petty revenges on several people. I don't see causing the neighbor to fall victim to his own dog poop as a much greater crime than things they've done already. So, why did this push the Elders over the edge?
And if Phoebe had a premonition and KNOWS someone is a murderer, then I'm not sure her dispensing magical justice is such a moral wrong. It seems similar to me to protecting innocents from demons, with the only difference being that it is a mortal. Except, sometimes mortals can be worse than demons.
This all works better if the writers had the guts to have the sisters do a more serious immoral use of their powers. As it is, this seems like abusive overkill by the Elders.