Season 4 General Discussion

[The Matriarch]

With a "demon assault" having claimed the life of beautiful witch Prue Halliwell at the end of Charmed's third season, her sisters Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) are left behind to mourn in their ancestral San Francisco mansion as season four begins. However, it isn't long before Prue's place is taken in the household (and the series) by the girls' half sister Paige Halliwell (Rose McGowan), who, like the late Prue, possesses telekinetic powers. It does not take long for Paige to contribute to the family coffers by taking a "mortal" job as a social worker, providing her with ample opportunity to activate her magical powers for the forces of good. Meanwhile, Phoebe's boyfriend, Cole (Julian McMahon), having successfully purged himself of his demonic alter ego, Belthazor, decides to leave town for a while to become accustomed to his newfound benevolent mortality. Cole returns just in time to rescue Piper and Paige from a powerful demon called The Source (Bennet Guillory). Though successful in this endeavor, Cole sacrifices his human form to The Source, who, in concert with manipulative female demon The Seer (Debbi Morgan), bamboozles Phoebe into marrying Cole's doppelganger. Before long, Phoebe is impregnated with the baby from hell. Season four ends as the Angel of Destiny (Dakin Matthews) appears before the Halliwell girls, offering them a demon-free life if they will vanquish The Source and its minions.

Discuss everything season 4 here.

[Deleted]

I first posted my reviews of each season during S8 at a different site. My feelings for them haven't changed much in the last few years. Because they're a bit controversial and always get conversations going, I decided to post them here so here goes.

SEASON FOUR

This used to be one of my least-favorite seasons until 6, 7 & 8 came along. Now it's just so-so.

For me, it's much too dark and doesn't have the humor that I love so much about Charmed. I also felt like Paige was pushed at us, the way Billie and Christy were in S8, and being a huge Prue-fan, didn't appreciate it. I'll admit I howled over her huge boobs (best bit of the season and the last time there was a backlash for using magic for personal gain!) and felt bad for her when she went into the past, but that was about it.

Piper was never meant to be the oldest and it shows. She's so busy with her own life with Leo, she can't keep her sisters out of trouble or under control, the way Prue could. But Holly's portrayal of the Fury was one of her best acting jobs. As an only child and a social worker, Paige should've started caring for and taking care of her new sisters. Even tho the youngest, she could've done that, letting Piper and Phoebe still be themselves rather than forced into molds where neither fit.

Speaking of, I thought it would've been a lot better if Phoebe had realized what was happening with Cole and helped him beat it. Her becoming evil by choosing him over her sisters was way too much for me. And the fact that Alyssa looked her ugliest during Phoebe's wedding still makes me howl to this day! That dark hair with those spiky bangs!! UGH!!!

But the season *did* include the best mourning scene of the entire series, that of Phoebe's after vanquishing Cole/the Source when the sisters comforted her. Bringing Cole back in S5 was a HUGE mistake--they should've let him stay dead after this!!

The worst part of this season was showing the original Source's face. He was *so* much scarier as just a hooded character with a deep resonant voice, who could possess anyone--something I felt they should've taken more advantage of. Never knowing who was possessed by him could've been terrifying! Once we saw his face, he was just another actor with a bad makeup job.


C-/4 out of 10/Mediocre

[Lexi]

Now this was the season that I found in the middle. I wasn't a big fan of seasons 5-8 but loved seasons 1-3. This showed the transition between the two different sets of Charmed Ones.

Charmed Again Parts 1 and 2 and Hell Hath No Fury were three of my favourite episodes from this season and from the whole show. I loved Holly's acting, especially opposite Brian and Rose. Alyssa's I wasn't so impressed with, but the way that Holly came across I could really believe that she had just lost her best friend and sister - I really do think she used what had happened in real life with Shannen being fired and that made her scenes so much better!

Paige...I liked her a lot more than I liked Phoebe, although Phoebe at the start of S4 reminded me of herself in the first three seasons, she was still the baby in some ways but that was just for the first few episodes. Paige should never have been the baby, it never made sense, as an only child she would have been better taking Prue's role as protector once Piper and Phoebe had shown her the ropes.

Phoebe changed way too much during this season for me though. She went from being the protector of the innocent to the queen of all evil. None of it made sense. If she had sided with Cole to protect someone I could have understood it a little more, but she never did, it was just because she loved Cole. She should have helped him beat the evil not help him give in. I was so glad when the Seer stole her baby and was vanquished - although I would have liked to see more from the Seer - I really didn't like the idea of the evil spawn. It was all getting too much by the end of the season!