Episode 2.03 Unearthing Shadows

[Reyn]

Disappearing smilies are a pain, Terry! Some comments:

SPOILER: Click to show

Ha! Now - if you love me, I'm expecting a single red rose to accompany your next review! Thanks for the compliment - I'm glad the episodes have that 'charmed' feel - definitely what I was going for with each of them

Good point on the attractive front, most of the characters have been rather good-looking, although I would say Jackson is not so much attractive as he is brooding. There is a character coming up, however, who is very disagreeable looking, so hopefully that will give the show a nice balance

Jackson as a possible love partner for Phoebe, eh? Interesting - he is definitely a love partner for someone, though whether it's Phoebe remains to be seen!

Yep - the sisters do indeed receive new powers - although not quite the ones they were given on the show. I want to mix it up a bit, so Prue and Phoebe will gain a totally different power than the ones they were given on the show.

With the Shadows - I hadn't realised there was so much of an emphasis on them until you pointed it out, and now I wonder how I didn't see it! lol - but I must say that might have been due to a side project I've had in my mind for ages now - a spin-off show related to charmed but with new characters. Depending on how season 2 goes, I might start drafting episodes for it

Ahh yes the Agent - his identity forms part of the mystery arc of the first half of season 2 - he will be revealed at the end of episode 13/14 but until then there will be many hints and opportunities for you to pick who exactly he is.

The dog will definitely stay around - in fact I will have to write him into more scenes, because he is just too cute not too!

Glad you enjoyed the episode, Charmy, and thanks again for taking the time to read it! I hope you continue to enjoy the episodes, and post your awesome comments about them!

Thanks for the review, Vampwitch! I always enjoy your scene by scene breakdowns, makes it very easy to read and comment on!

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As I'm quite the Prue/Ryan fan, I enjoyed their first date as well. And I'm happy you liked it! There can never be too much Pryan love!

The hidden room is quite the mystery - and it will definitely be a part of the rest of the season. It has so much potential, and I love the thought of discovering all the amazing books and artifacts and items hidden there.

Why did The Man touch the book? Well - his superiors didn't want the girls to know about his Order before they were willing to reveal themselves. And is he evil? Definitely not. Mysterious certainly, but not evil.

The shadow demons were such fun! They'll definitely make a re-appearance. They're too good to simply forget about!

Ryan is definitely a little too good about knowing things! He's certainly more than meets the eye. Which is part of his appeal, at least to me. You never really know exactly what he's about. Adds to his allure!

It definitely would be difficult for Piper, especially in the situation she is in. As you say, she loves Leo, but the Elders seem intent on meddling with their lives. This is something she'll struggle with throughout the season (both her feelings for Leo and her thoughts about being in a relationship with him). And by the end of the season, she'll have come to a realisation about both. Whether or not it is a happy resolution remains to be seen.

Thanks for the Anne/Robert comment - I appreciate it! The backstory took a while to craft, and there was quite a lot of backstory information that I had to cut from the episode to keep it within correct length. I also liked Robert's character - because he's one of those 'morally grey' individuals - his actions weren't easily slotted into either the 'good' or 'bad' camps.

Thanks also for the quirks comment - I try to put as much character into the sisters as possible, and I'm very happy those quirks come through in their dialogue and actions! Means a lot to hear feedback like that, so thank you

Ha! Good ol' Leo! In this episode, he always seems to be one step behind, and then is chastised by Piper for it! Poor guy!

The spirit summoning scene was fun to write, and I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it! It was one of the scenes that I could see perfectly in my mind, and I think it would have been one of those 'atmospheric' scenes for the episode - the type of scene that really had a presence about it and was memorable. The darkness and the candles and the sisters in the attic - that's classic charmed to me!

There is definitely a lot of secret stuff in the hidden room! Let's hope it stays in the hands of the Charmed ones and doesn't fall into Madame E's hands. She could do a lot of damage with some of the items in that room!

Thanks again for the review, Vampwitch! I always lurve your reviews!

[melindacharm]

Interesting.. I find.

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I really liked this episode, I dont know why it just seemed so good. It had so much darkness and curiousity in it. As if the reader is always wondering what will happen next. I like that element once in awhile. It adds a certain direction to the episode. Like you have a feeling that certain things are happenning for certain reasons.

I could picture this episode being done well as an actually charmed season episode. I always liked the Prue / Piper/ Phoebe relationship and I find that this one also has the old charmed type of flow. Hard to describe but its defenately there, and its a great thing!. The new later seasons of charmed such as season 6, 7, and 8. In my opinion seem to loose the whole bonding as sisters and its a totally different learning process when it became Paige, Piper, and Phoebe. Like the focus was no longer on the innocents but more on the charmedones personal lives... Its a drag. ANYWHO. Lol.

I thought it was good. I loved the beginning, the ending, and the suspense when you had it. Another of my favourite parts of this was the Piper / Leo relationship. It very much reminded me of my past relationship with a guy name Justin. Constant bickerring. It got the point across. I see alot of my character traits as Piper's defensive responses in this episode. hehe. . Its weird.

What I also noticed was that it focused not much on Phoebe which I wonder why?, and that Prue seems to be advancing and taking a liking to Ryan. This is good. Seems more believable in this episode. I liked alot of the elements used. Very good!.

The only real questions I have are the following:

1- Who is suit and why is he acting so mysterious?
2- Madame executive is a very confusing character to me. She seems evil and wanting some sort of action over the sisters.. Whats her plan? and what is she getting out of it??
3- Why was the guy able to touch the book? I forget who it was lol. My bad.

I dont see Phoebe / Jackson being good for each other but you never know.

[Reyn]

Glad to hear that, melindacharm!

And another review - you are spoiling me!

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I'm very happy that you enjoyed the episode, and glad to see that the Prue/Piper/Phoebe scenes were well received. I agree that the later seasons of charmed started to focus just on the sisters personal lives and stopped focusing on innocents and the sisters destiny of protecting them. Sometimes it was almost as if they had completely forgotten that destiny, and instead saw protecting innocents as an obligation that interfered with their 'me time'.

You mentioned in the 2.02 thread that Piper was your favourite character, so i'm very happy to hear that some of her responses and traits in this episode reminded you of you! I think it makes an episode that much better if the reader can see themselves in a character, because it enables you to better understand where that character is coming from. And poor Piper - having to deal with all these issues surrounding her and Leo's relationship! I think anyone else would say 'no, I'm done with this. It's too hard.' But Piper's willing to give it a chance. I guess we'll have to see where that goes.

Phoebe wasn't focused on much this episode, that's true. I try to structure the episodes so that one out of the three sisters is the focus of that episode, and then another sister is the focus for the next episode and so on. So 2.02 was very much a Prue focused episode, 2.03 was a Piper focused episode, and 2.04 is a Phoebe focused episode. So each episode will have a main plot that centres around one of the sisters, and the other sisters will feature in the b plots for that week. Then, the following episode will focus on another sister and the sister that was focused on in the previous week will go back to the b plot.

As to your questions:
1. The Suit is Madame Executive's Minion - the guy she gets to do all the dirty work for her. He's a demon and he works for her. But the reason he works for her is still unknown.
2. The question of who Madame E is and what is her plan is covered in 2.11 Origins - that episode is primarily focused on her. It is one of my favourite episodes, so I hope that you like it and it answers some of your questions!
3. The Man was able to touch the book because he is not evil. He's a good guy, and who he is and why he's there is explained in future episodes.

Heh - Jackson and Phoebe would definitely not be a good match! He's certainly not there to be her love interest Although if they did get together, what would that make them? Phoeson? Jackebe? lol

[melindacharm]

Very nice.

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I totally agree, in the beginning of the later seasons with Paige I felt that they were going in a good direction. Dispite the factors that stood blocking them. It didnt make sense for the sisters to change there destiny but now im thinking that because of there decision ( having somewhat normal lives) they suffured the consequences they did in the future. ( loosing Leo, Phoebe's death). To me it makes sense that they recieved ultame consequences for not following out there plans. They made a commitment in season 1 and seemed to forget it in season 6.


Yes, I am curious as to what will happen in the Piper / Leo relationship. This is because I know there history and I know how each character feels about the other. Piper - dedicated, loving but reserved. While Leo is understanding, helpful, but trying desperately to have a life with Piper while balancing his charges.


I like how you are rotating the sisters to have equal control in the episodes. Like one episode is one sister etc. However I do think that you should add more of the sisters opinions to certain episodes because it helps the reader see their point of view. Even if the episode is not about them. You see sometimes another character can help develop the plot for the main one while remaining in the backround. Hard to do but good when its done correctly.


lol funny jackson / Phoebe comment. I will be reading upcoming episodes and thanks for the answers. They make me wonder..

[Reyn]

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That could be very true - they really did seem to adopt a 'saving innocents but only if it doesn't get in the way of my personal life' mantra that I felt was way off the original sisters viewpoint in seasons 1-3. I definitely think the girls resented having this charmed destiny thrust upon them, and felt that it was unfair, but they always seemed intent on saving innocents in the early seasons, and sometimes even enjoyed it. They were happier with their lives in the earlier seasons, before all the drama of the later seasons started.

The Piper/Leo relationship is an interesting one. It's clear both love one another, but who they are and what they do make it difficult to be with one another. Leo has his duty to his charges and Piper has her duty to protect innocents, and that leaves precious little time for the two to spend with one another. Their relationship is fun to explore, but if things keep progressing as they are, expect quite a few bumps in the road.

Fair call I'll try to include a few more opinions from the sisters who aren't being focused on. Hopefully as the season progresses (and each of the sisters is involved in their own subplots) you'll see more and more of their opinions and thoughts covered, even though they aren't the star of that particular episode.

Ha! I always like hearing the names of couples that people like to pair up. I know that Piper and Leo were Pleo, and Prue and Andy were Pandy, but I don't think Phoebe and Cole or Paige and Henry were even given names. Either way, they're fun to create, with all the possibilities!

[melindacharm]

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Now that I think back, Ya it is true. Most of the drama that did happen in the later seasons didnt even fit the description or the path they followed in season 1. Think of season 8 with Bille / Christy, if Prue had still been there would they have had to choose between there destiny and there mortal lives? I highly doubt it.


I am expecting bumps, hehe it would not be their relationship if otherwise.


thanks, and I dont mean to be difficult. Again just opinions. They dont even have to be big things just hints now and than will do.


HA! Never heard of that. Ever. Weird, they suit. What about Coebe, and Penry. Not so great but I try.

[Reyn]

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Hints I can manage

And ha! I like Penry - has a nice ring to it!

[melindacharm]

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Didnt think you'd find it as amusing as you did. Way to go!!.

[Active Engaged]

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203 review.

Well, this online movie I'm trying to watch is taking FOREVER to load, so I read a bit of this while it loads, watch it and then come back and read a little more.

Lol at Jackson discovering that secret room. I wonder... Is he a demon? ... Yeah, I'm sticking to that "consider ALL the magical possibilities and trust no one" policy. Lol

I've said this one million times but I'll say it again, and I'll probably say it next time but... I really like the tone of this and the other episodes. It's so dark and creepy, the way charmed should have been.

Having a creepy room full of skeletons is .. well, creepy. Good creepy though. Makes me wonder who -or what- lived there and why he/it slaughtered that many people. *shrugs* I guess I'll have to read on.

PIPER
Oh, nothing much. Found a hidden
room in the club filled with occult
books.
(beat)
Followed a trapdoor down to a room
filled with skeletons.
(beat)
The usual.

Lol. ^

Hmm maybe "they" (elders, whatever you want to call them) are the cloaked people from the previous two episodes. It sure would explain a lot. Oh, and I hope the Elders remain mysterious and don't become what they were in Charmed. Wow, I'm badmouthing charmed a lot. Strange how it's my favourite show. *shrugs*.

Haha, >

you little disappearing angel -

I wonder how Ryan is connected to M. E. I mean, it's obvious he's the agent but what's he going to do, and how is he going to do it? I guess I'll just have to read on.

Overall, great episode. 8/10.

[Nerf]

My review (finally!):

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I think this is my favorite episode so far. Granted, I haven't finished the second one... I know, I know. But, as you know, I read through half of that episode several times. I didn't want to do that again, I just wanted to jump into a new episode. I do love the wonderfully creative plot you have for the 2nd one, but I just have a lot of small issues with the writing, as I think we discussed. It made me drag through parts of it. This one sucked me in and kept me reading. Good story and also good writing. There is marked improvement in this episode over the other two. And I know you have improved a bunch since writing this, and have probably done edits to this episode that you haven't gotten around to uploading. But yes. A well written, intriguing story.

I like how it was Piper centered. She is just such a great character. I just noticed a few minutes ago that the first episode was evenly spread out with the sisters and their plots, the second one was Prue centric, this one about Piper, and it looks like the next one focuses on Phoebe. Nice job at keeping the episodes evenly dealt between the sisters, instead of having several episodes in a row focus on one character. As we know, with the show they had S1 be mostly about Prue, S2 mostly about Piper, and S3 mostly about Phoebe, with Prue having a lot of episodes focused on her throughout all of them. Good to see that, at least for now, you aren't "playing favorites."

About Piper and Leo: Good on Piper for being so angry. In the show they just glossed over the fact that he had been gone for so long. Maybe they had seen some of each other in offscreen-ville, but who knows. Here it was quite realistic how she was feeling. For the most part Leo was well written, but I could see that you struggled in some parts with his dialogue. Oh, one thing: you are very redundant with the whole "love" thing in their scenes. Meaning that several times in a scene, during the description, you would write "he loved her", "she loved him." They love each other, we get it. It was just laid on a little too thick and got redundant.

Quick mention of Prue and Phoebe. They didn't do much this episode. Not a bad thing at all. I have such trouble when writing Charmed stuff in relation to feeling like I need all the main characters to have something to do in each episode, a subplot of their own. With Prue, I probably would have written a scene of her first date with Ryan and probably a larger bit of her at him at the cafe before Piper and Phoebe show up. But I like your way better. It just flows easier and doesn't fill the episode with unnecessary scenes. As for Phoebe, other than her scene at Public Records, she was just there with Piper, helping her. This, along with some Charmed books, makes me realize that I don't need to pack in a bunch of subplots into my stories. At least not all the time. Some times it just works better to just have characters "there."

The room. I'll get my complaints out of the way first. With the trap door and Piper going down, while Phoebe is scared and stays up top... that seemed completely wrong to me. Their places should have been swapped. Phoebe is not a wimp. At all. Piper, on the other hand, is a wimp. At least at this point she still was. As is evident from seeing the skeletons, screaming, and running like hell (which I enjoyed). But I just can't get over the fact that Phoebe acted like a wimp and allowed Piper to go down there on her own. That's not like her. I don't think anything would have changed if Phoebe had been the one to go down there. But if it was necessary for Piper to be the one, I wish there would have been some conversation between the two. Piper scared about going down, Phoebe offers to go down, Piper finally and, regrettably, realizes it would be better for her to go, as she has the freezing power, and tells Phoebe to stay up there in case something happens and she needs to get help. The way you have it, Phoebe comes off VERY badly and not in character.

Second. You later have the room be lit by some unseen light, as if from a spell that activates when someone enters the room and turns off when they leave. But when they were first in the room they needed a flash light the whole time. And if the room is self lighting, why was there a bunch of candles/candle holders in the room? Not a big issue, but a quibble that took me out of the story for a minute as I went "Huh?"

Third. They have dead bodies/skeletons under the club. And they don't call Darryl? I know, he doesn't know about them. And they don't want the police to be traipsing through the hidden room, as they may confiscate all of the stuff in there. But still, it just seemed weird for them to not even consider it. And now they are just going to leave them down there? That's just... odd. And creepy.

Them not even suggesting that Phoebe try to get a premonition is odd. Not bad that she doesn't get one, but for them to not even bring up the idea seemed weird. And speaking of powers... It annoyed me when Piper didn't try using her power in the scene where she and Leo and the tradesman (which I assume is a construction worker in Australian speak ;D) were attacked by the shadow creature. Here it seems as if she just stood there and let that guy get killed. Sure, things happened fast. But at this point in time, Piper was still prone to freezing things in fear/panic. She didn't. It would have been fine if she had tried to freeze it, but it didn't work, which also would have made things more interesting. But she did nothing and that annoyed me.

As for the room in general. Cool idea. Creepy, hidden room? Awesome. It also seems to be even more important than it initially seems. The Elders (or Founders, I guess they are here) want the sisters to find something that will be useful to them in the future, the Line Speakers want something stolen that they believe the sisters aren't ready for, and Madame E thinks some of the books could be useful to her. Interesting. About Madame E, I like how her role here was quite small, just enough to keep her in our minds and keep her in the story. But a big thing was revealed. She has an agent in the sisters' lives. Jackson doesn't seem to have enough contact with the sisters, other than Piper, so I don't think it's him. The most obvious choice would be Ryan, but I'm thinking you had him in "the room" as a decoy. For us to think it must be him. The other thought is that it might be Leo. The would be quite a bold move to have it be him, but it would be interesting and exciting. Besides, maybe he was gone for so long because he was working for Madame E. I know you are keeping the Founders unseen in this series, so we can't get the truth from them. Would be shocking... although not as much now, since the idea is in my head. But still. Hmm...

Speaking of the Line Speakers (heh) they are quite a mystery. Which I know is your intention. They don't seem to be good, or evil. I'm not sure what they are. At one point in this episode I thought maybe they were actually the Founders, and The Man was some kind of Uber-Whitelighter. But... no. As for Mr. Man... I will have to read the 2nd episode soon, as I know he plays a large role there and Prue meets him. And now he has erased the entry on himself from the Book. It didn't protect itself, so it didn't view him as a threat. But still, the question remains why he and the Line Speakers are so intent on keeping themselves hidden from the sisters. I wonder, though... if he was in the Book, that means that one of the sisters' ancestors came across him before. Maybe even Grams. I wonder if that will come up...

As for the plot, it was a good, inventive story. Wrapped up a little quickly at the end, but I'm not sure what else you could do. One tiny bit confused me. When Phoebe was talking to Anne, Anne said that the club was Robert's residence. So... he lived at the club? Was it a house before? Or was that where his business was? It wasn't clear and it confused me a little.

Oh, one more thing. Ryan has quite the car, which I didn't realize until I looked at the pictures after reading. And Piper's first "Bond" joke was hilarious and I could see/hear it in my head so well. Love her and Phoebe spying through the window. That's them, all right.

Anyway. Even with my complaints, this was still the best written episode so far. I'm excited to see where things go from here. Sorry this wasn't the most eloquent review of mine. I'm sick with a bad cold and I can't think very well, especially with trying to come up with the right words. Oh well. Deal.

[Reyn]

Some review replies!

[spoilers=Active Engaged]I can definitely say that Jackson is not a demon - he's just a regular human guy, with his own motives and goals.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the tone of the episode - I've tried throughout the season to give BAM a moodiness and a darkness that I felt Charmed lacked in the mid to later seasons. I much prefer the 'darker' episodes when they are done in other shows, and I think for a show like Charmed, which concerns itself with demons and monsters and other nasty beings, it makes sense for the girls to experience a bit of darkness themselves.

Woo - quotes! I like quotes in reviews - lets me know whether dialogue worked the way I wanted it to! Good to see you liked that exchange!

The Founders as they are called here will definitely not become like they were on Charmed - I have a very specific plan for them and their Order (during this season, but especially the next). At the moment not much has been said about them, but we'll focus on them closer to the end of the season.

Ahh Ryan. Interesting guy that he is. How is he connected to ME? Is he connected to ME? Guess that's something you'll have to follow in later episodes![/spoiler]

Thank you for the review, AE! I love hearing your thoughts and I'm glad you enjoyed the episode!

[spoilers=Nerf] I remember our discussion about 2.02! I can understand you not wanting to reread it again, and to be honest, the only major thing that happens during that episode is the resolution (for the most part) of the Prue/Andy situation. Prue also gets shot at - the aftermath of which is continued in future episodes. Regardless, it was a few years ago that I wrote that episode, and I have indeed learned a lot since then. Hopefully you won't have any similar issues with future episodes!

Focusing on one sister per episode, and alternating that focus was the plan for the season - I think it makes it easier to stick with a show when you know that, even if the current episode doesn't focus on your particular favourite, they'll at least have some involvement in the episode, and they will be the focus of an upcoming episode. I'm definitely not playing favourites - and I think if I looked at all the episodes so far, the character with the most episodes dedicated to them would probably be Phoebe (who, as you know, is my least favourite sister).

Ahh - I'm very glad you liked Piper's angry outburst! As you said - that particular part in the original season 2 of charmed really annoyed me, because it made no sense. Leo's been gone for months and hasn't spoken to Piper at all in that time, and when he returns she has nothing to say to him, except to give him a 'come hither' look and a kiss? To me, that's completely out of character for her. As to the 'love' descriptions - whoops! I'll have a look at that. There's probably a few of them in there, as when I write I write description and thoughts for everyone in the scene. So I might have a 'Leo loves her' 'Piper loves him' description written down for each of them (Leo thinks that about her and she about him, but the two don't know what the other is thinking, so for them it only happens once), not thinking that the reader will read that twice from both perspectives and it might get repetitive. Another thing to add to my edits list for 2.03, it seems!

Regarding the scenes - I had thought about including a few more Prue/Phoebe scenes - but after looking at the episode I realised I really didn't have the space and so I cut them out. Sadly, I think this is something that I don't do as well now, as I'm finding that when I write these days, I put everything in, and then have trouble taking scenes out, because "they're too important - I can't take them out!" So later episodes have a habit of being longer than these earlier episodes.

Ahh - the piper/phoebe trap door scene! I think that scene has become infamous for me, as it is the scene from the episode that receives the most flak. To be honest, I understand why - Piper is a wimp, and she wouldn't have just gone down there to investigate. Unfortunately for me, I think I didn't describe and explain the reasoning behind Piper's quick decision to take matters into her own hands and investigate the trap door herself. When I wrote that scene, I wrote it with the mindset that although Piper is skittish and not one to investigate things, she would feel as though she needed to be the one to do so here because this was her club, and therefore the trapdoor and wherever it led were her responsibility. It's my fault that I didn't make this clear in my writing, and that this didn't come across in the scene (where it appears that Phoebe and Piper's characters are reversed). This will be something I'll change in the edited version. (And annoyingly, I just checked the 2.03 edited version I've had sitting on my desktop for a while, and I see that I have changed that particular scene in it. Scene now reads:

As the dust clears, both sisters peer into the darkness revealed by the opening of the trapdoor. Despite the flashlights beam, it is hard to see anything but the floor. The sisters look to each other once more.

When Phoebe makes a move towards the trap door, Piper takes a deep breath and steps forward. A look of trepidation flashes across her face, before she reels in her nerves, and with an expression equal parts determined and slightly alarmed, stops her sister with a hand to her arm.

PIPER (CONT’D)
No - it's my club. I'll do this.

Raising an eyebrow at her sister's words, Phoebe holds her gaze, then understanding, nods and steps back, allowing Piper access to the trapdoor. Gathering her strength, Piper takes a deep breath, then with flashlight in hand, begins climbing down the ladder attached to the side of the vertical passage into the darkened room. Jumping the final few steps, she turns around and shines the flashlight into the room.

Coated in dust, it is hard to make anything out, however she appears to be in a tight hallway. As she walks slowly down the hallway, Phoebe's voice is heard.

PHOEBE (O.S.)
So what's it look like, Piper?

Waving away cobwebs that are in her way, Piper coughs as dust enters her lungs.

PIPER
It's dark and dirty and disgusting.
(screwing up nose)
And it smells like something crawled in here to die.

PHOEBE (O.S.)
(deadpan)
Sounds like the apartment I used to rent in New York.

I think as the scene reads now, it more deftly explains the reasons behind Piper's decision to investigate herself. If you think it still needs work, however, let me know and I'll see what I can do about further improving it.

Regarding the activating/deactivating light spell and the candles about the room - again, this is my fault due to not mentioning it, but the incantation that lights the room is fickle - sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Originally when it was cast - it worked all the time, but time has led to the spell more often not working than working - hence the reason for the candelabra's. I don't mention any of this in the scene, as the girls at this stage have no idea of the history of the place - but I'd like to think the light incantation was something that Robert was going to get around to fixing, but he was rather busy with other things (re the shadow souls we find out about later). So he left the misfiring spell alone, and since then as more time has elapsed, the spell has become less and less stable. All the girls need to do to fix it is to find the spell and 're-energise' it as it were - and no doubt they probably do that at some point off-screen.

The bodies? Well - I guess you have me there I didn't have them call Darryl, because the Darryl in this season doesn't know about them, and as you'll see in later episodes - he's not exactly the 'oh, you're witches? Cool - can you help me with these cases?' Darryl that we had in the original season. As to leaving them there - my original plan with them was to have them disappear once the Shadow Souls were vanquished - they were tied to the Shadow Souls, so once they were gone, the bodies would disappear too. When it came time to writing the episode, I clean forgot about this. Since you mentioned it, adding a small sentence after the SS's vanquish that shows the bodies disappeared would tie up the 'bodies under the club' plot point. Looks like I need to add a few things to this episode!

The Phoebe premonition thing is difficult for me - because (in my opinion) all to often Phoebe's premotion power is used way too much in charmed fanfiction. It's like the fix everything magical crutch - don't know how to introduce a particular baddie? BAM - give phoebe a premonition. Don't know how to link people who have nothing to do with the sisters to the sisters? BAM - give phoebe a premontion. Don't know what to have the sisters do next? BAM - phoebe has a premonition and knows exactly what to do. I agree that trying to get Phoebe to have a premonition would be a logical thing to do - but I'm wary of over-using Phoebe's premonition power. Throughout the season, I've tried to weave plotlines and stories into the episodes without relying on Phoebe's premonition power. Sometimes I think that perhaps this leads me to not use Phoebe's power much at all - but I have tried to moderate the use of her power so that she doesn't just become the girls 'psychic yellow pages'.

Fair call with the Piper using her powers on the Shadow Soul point - I'll edit the scene to include her trying to freeze it, but not being able to, since it is, in effect, a ghost. And yep - tradesman is my aussie way of saying construction worker I do tend to see construction workers as those guys who stand outside on scaffolding and build buildings, though, whereas tradesmen are more multipurpose guys who work indoors. Weird, I know.

I am happy you liked the inclusion of the room! You'll see it again (several times, in fact), and things the girls find in the room will be important as well. You just can't pass up a room full of weirdo occult items and books - makes for a great treasure trove of potential B story plot hooks!

Madame E does indeed have an agent in the sisters lives - and although I won't say who it is (that is revealed in episode 2.13) I will say that each episode in the season has several hints that will tell you who the agent is if you can a) find the correct hints (there's red herrings, of course) and b) figure out what they mean. Can't have a good mystery without a few hidden clues, right?

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Line Speakers and their Order - so they'll be about. Their motives are probably best descriped as 'morally grey', and you'll see evidence of this in later episodes. Although tied to their order, the man is important on his own - and you are correct with your musings that one of the sisters ancestors had dealings with him. Who that was will remain a mystery, however - for now

Apologies for the confusion about Robert - he lived at the club's address, but it was a house during the time he lived there and was only later converted to a club. I should probably add that in somewhere too.... the edit list is getting long!

Yay! You mentioned Ryan's car! The time it took for me to find a car that was 'just right' for his character! You wouldn't believe. But the car is very important to him, and there's a reason he has a vintage car and not a sparkly new one. It is an awesome car though, am I right? Happy to hear you liked Piper's bond joke! I always enjoy hearing favourite lines and quotes![/spoiler]

Loved the review, Nerf, and I very much appreciate your comments and suggestions! As to not being eloquent - I say pishaw to that! It was a fantastic review, and I feel very lucky that you not only took the time to read the episode, but that you provided such fantastic feedback!

But I am not happy to hear about your cold! Here's hoping it goes away very quickly and you remain flu-free for at least the next 12 months!

[Ren]

Hey there! I feel like I should probably apologize for being so gung-ho about the series and then dropping off the face of the earth for a week. I forgot that “Reading Week” for me, translates into “Free Babysitter/lackey Week” for my cousins. Not that I mind in the slightest. Anyway, that’s my life story. This review is kind of short compared to the other two, but it’s because I’m not writing it as I read.

SPOILER: Click to show

First of all, I loved that there was a crazy secret back room to Piper’s club, lol. Of COURSE her club would – through a series of the most random unlucky coincidences ever – contain a hexed back room. Love it. I smiled through the whole beginning, and I’m really intrigued by the moveable wall connecting it to the storeroom. It makes me suspect that the Charmed Ones are going to be using that room upon at least an occasional basis, if not a fairly regular one.

Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting Leo wise from you. I don’t think I had really put too much thought into it, but season 2 was an important season for Piper and Leo. Even with her being admittedly annoying at the height of the Leo/Dan drama, “Awakened” is one of my favourites; it’s great on at least three or four different platforms, and I feel like kind of an idiot (rightfully so) for being surprised by Leo's appearance, haha. It was a very, very, VERY pleasant surprise though; it made this girl pretty darn happy. Piper’s reaction to Leo was perfect, as was his painfully dumbass-male blunder through his explanation for his absence. I cringed inwardly when his response to her ‘why are you here’ question was, “…I’m here because of the room you found.” ….. what. a. dolt. And his second attempt started off just as rough, despite the time he had to try and come up with something a little better. It was adorable, and so Leo, lol. The two scenes gave me the same feeling I get when I watch P3 H20 and he manages to say exactly the wrong thing, and I just shake my head and think, “You love her so much. And you are such a stupid, stupid boy.” I thought that was excellent, and then you went and made it even better by bringing Phoebe and Prue awkwardly into the mix.

Difficult? Difficult?! I’ll show you difficult, you little disappearing angel –

;D I read that part over more than once. Glorious. It made me so happy. You capture a lot of the essence of the characters both as siblings and as individuals, and it’s a pretty great thing. Oh, and before I forget, I have to mention how much I love that Piper keeps referring to Ryan as “Bond,” much to Prue’s exasperation, haha. I’m loving that the nickname is going to stick. Ryan is such a sweetheart. Constantly confused (poor boy), but an absolute sweetheart. I really like him.

The next little quirk that really stood out for me was the way Leo showed up just after the girls had already figured out exactly who/what they were up against via a combination of the book, and a little creative research at city hall. Hilarious. Piper’s, “Honestly Leo, where have you been?” quip was great. Poor Leo. He really can’t win against the three of them, and the slow pace of the elders never really did much to help him out, haha.

Ummmm while we’re on the subject, can I just say I’m looking forward to Piper and Leo’s “first date” probably more than Piper and Leo? Is that sad? …Yeah. It’s sad. Let’s move on.

Oh right! Okay. Last thing. Purple robed man? Driving me crazy! Is he good, is he bad, WHAT?! I’m seriously convinced that he has to be good. Madame Executive trying to send her little unnamed minion after the books in the room only to have purple robed man show up like a scene later? It’s just too coincidental. Besides, the line speakers knew EXACTLY what books to go after, and Madame Executive was only thinking about what the books could potentially hold. It was a really general precaution on her part. Purple robed man is good. He’s totally good. He touched the book… although I guess he’s probably powerful enough to find a way around that... but he spent all that time with Prue last episode and while she irritated him, he wasn’t at all close to killing her. He’s good! He has to be good. Right? Ughhhhhh. Whatever. I am so not thinking about it anymore. Done. As of now. Or now. Or…

Lovely. As I now know to expect ;D. Here’s hoping for another boring Arthurian Tradition class tonight .