Charmed (1998 - 2006): Review By Vamp

All right, time for my second favorite Charmed episode of all time! I'd like to point out here, that I will be reviewing my top five favorite episodes of all time, and going from my favorite of all time, to my fifth favorite of all time. I'd love to, like I said, review EVERY SINGLE EPISODE, but I don't have that kind of time, nor that much wording ability in me, so I'll just review the top five. This was definitely one of the funniest episodes of Charmed, and I don't mean that in a bad way, I mean that because Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, and Holly Marie Combs fed off of each others acting abilities and everything, making their roles as sisters all the more believable and convincing, and it also allowed them to crack the jokes all the more, making certain episodes, like this one, all the more funnier, and laugh inducing, and what an episode this was! This is an interesting one too because Banshees have always been another one of my favorite mythological killing creatures, lolz.

The director of this episode was John Behring and he himself has directed a total of ten episodes of Charmed, and of these ten, this is definitely my favorite. It's always interesting to see the different ways that they can fit these creatures and stuff into this show's story and pit the sisters against different evils every episode. Behring's vision for this episode was definitely an awesome one because it gave us such a good episode! The writer for this episode was the same as the writer who wrote my favorite Charmed episode of all time, "Bite Me," and that is Steven Kheel. Kheel makes an incredible screenplay, and an even better story for this movie, working tightly together with the director, these two do fabulously, and introduce us to an episode that has a lot of action, as well as great everything. These two did great, and their vision was definitely worth the watch.

The visuals in this movie, as is the case with every single episode of Charmed, are incredible and awesome to see because as I'll continue to say, it's always interesting to see how they spin the looks and other things on these creatures that we all know and have come to love. I'd just like to at first mention the looks of these Banshees, for they are really, really, really cool looking, as is most of the things in the episodes of Charmed, lolz. They're these pale blue skinned women, with bright blue eyes, and long snow white hair. They'd be smokin' hot if they're fangs weren't so huge and dog=like. lolz. Anyhow, they're really neat to see, and my description only goes so far. Another aspect of THIS episode that looks good, is the fact that you get to see Belthazor's Demon form in it. It looks really cool, he's like a big bald red guy, with black tribal markings all over his face. It's what I call WICKED. lolz. Anyhow, the visuals in this episode are done extremely well, and it's worth watching JUST for the visuals, and that'd be a waste if it was all you focused on.

The storyline of the movie is an awesome one as well. Because, at the same time that it is interesting to see how they make the creatures and demons LOOK, it's also interesting to see how they fit the demons and creatures into an awesome and adventurous story, and making a cool way of pitting them against the sisters. This one does an awesome job of that, too. The story, like I've said, really gets your attention, and makes you laugh A LOT! It's just great to see the sisters acting like, well SISTERS! In this episode we get to see an airier side to life at The Manor. Phoebe is just getting over Cole, or at least trying to, while at the same time, Prue is trying to find the right man, without at the same time getting hurt, too bad. All of these conflicting things are going on, when the sisters cast a spell to track the Banshee that is terrorizing the city, and it seems to backfire, and what's more is Phoebe becomes a Banshee herself, leaving Piper as the one who needs to find and save Phoebe.I'd like to explain some things about banshees now. A banshee is a demon, duh, that is much like a Siren. The only difference between a Banshee and a Siren, is that Sirens use their scream/call inside of a persons mind, and Banshees use their scream/call through a persons ears. Make sense? I hope so, that's the only way to explain it. Also, a Banshees call is above a human's hearing level, and their Scream can cause all the blood vessels in your body to burst, making you drown in your own blood. Banshees feed on pain and anguish in a human being, and that's what calls them to their victims. Also, if a Banshee turns it's screams on a witch, that witch will become a Banshee themselves, and be cursed to feed on the pain and anguish of others, unless that which causes them anguish can cause their anguish to cease, BEFORE they make their first kill. There, now you know a thing or six about Banshees. lolz. So, if you've gathered it from this little bit, this story really does well to capture your attention and get you into it, holding it there for the entire episode.

Shannen Doherty, of course returns to her role as Prue Halliwell, the oldest sister, and the one who was my favorite. Prue in this one is just trying to find the right guy whom she can fall in love with, and be happy, and she doesn't want to get hurt either. Prue is also acting as a mediator, on one hand she's trying to help Piper get through her whole blowing things up problem, and on the other hand she's trying to help Phoebe get over Cole. Prue pretty much just goes along with the ideas in this episode, and tries to make everyone happy, but she's more focused on getting Phoebe's mind off of Cole. She does this by showing Phoebe an article about a mysterious killing and it works, but in the wrong way, as Phoebe automatically assumes that it was Cole, and gets ready to vanquish him, so Prue helps her to try and vanquish him. However, they learn that this killing has to do with a Banshee and NOT Cole, and so they cast a spell for her to be able to track a Banshee, but it turns her into a Dog! Now her hearing can pick up on a Banshee's call, allowing her to track it, but she loses her powers and her speech abilities! However, as she runs off, she is hit by a car, and the man driving it has a soft spot for Dogs, and so she falls in love with him, as she is recuperating from the break in her hip. Shannen Doherty does wonderfully in this episode, and she just MAKES this character what it is, and I'm really sad that she wasn't able to see the entire show out like Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano did, but what she got out was brilliant. In this episode she really gets down Prue's emotions at wanting to find the right guy, as well as her worries about Piper and Phoebe, and portrays them incredibly well, making her performance one that we can really relate to, as well as one we can feel for. She gives us an incredibly convincing and believable performance, and I'm definitely glad that she was chosen because she was definitely a great casting choice for the show, and I missed her character a lot.

Returning of course to her role as Piper Halliwell is Holly Marie Combs. Piper in this episode is still trying to get used to her new powers. Her new power, is the reverse of her old one. With her old power, she was able to slow down atoms, allowing her to freeze things, this new one, like I said, does the exact opposite, speeding the particles up, and causing things to explode. The only trouble with this, is the fact that she still is not used to it, and when she wants to freeze things, they explode, and when she wants them blown up, they freeze, so she's silently losing it. Trying everything, and it's not working. She locks herself up in her room, not coming out for anyone, and not acting out on anything. That's however, when she learns that there is a Banshee on the loose, and she goes to try and stop it with Phoebe and Prue, but that's when Prue turns into a Dog. Now Piper has to worry about finding Prue, and soon after this, Phoebe becomes a Banshee, and runs out, leaving Piper and Leo to figure everything else out, but what Piper realizes, is that Cole is the only thing that can save Phoebe now. Holly Marie Combs, like Shannen Doherty, has been with the show all the way up to this point, and has done brilliantly with her role, making me positive that she cannot be replaced for the role, something which, thankfully, never came up. Holly Marie Combs brings out all of Piper's worries, issues and problems and makes the character all the more believable and convincing, as well as making the character able to relate to and feel for. She was definitely another great casting choice for when they put the show together, and as I've already said, I'm glad that she stayed with the show throughout the entire series.

Alyssa Milano also returns to her role as Phoebe, who else would(No that's not a bad or derogatory statement either). Phoebe is probably going through the worst time out of the three sisters, as her boyfriend, a demon whom she trusted a lot, had betrayed her, killing a witch, and disearning her trust. Now Phoebe goes on a tirade, of fights and such, as she adds to the Book of Shadows about Belthazor's human form, Cole. That's when Prue's attempt at a distraction works, as she touches a page of the book of shadows and sees a girl being attacked in a phone booth in an alleyway. She doesn't miss a beat as she accuses Cole for the attack, since she touched the page of the book about Belthazor, and she gets ready to fight him, but when her and Prue use the summoning spell for Belthazor to bring him to them, it doesn't work and he resists, and not long after, the realize that Phoebe's premonition came from Belthazor's page, but just the other side. The side about Banshees, and so now they must fight the Banshee to save the girl, which they're able to do, but now Prue is a dog, and one that has run away at that. Now Phoebe offers to become a canine to track the Banshee, and as she goes up to the attic to the Book of Shadows, she stops to cry, finally breaking down, and the Banshee zeroes in on this, attacking her, and turning her into a Banshee, to feed off of other people's pains and anguishes. Alyssa Milano, like Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs, does wonderfully in this role, and could definitely not be replaced by anyone for the role. She just has all of Phoebe's emotions, sorrows, pains, and anguish down in this episode, and makes her a character that you can definitely relate to(Minus the demon ex-boyfriend thing), and feel for, and she delivers us one incredibly convincing and believable performance. She was definitely another great casting choice for this series.

Starring as Phoebe's demonic ex-boyfriend, Cole, is Julian McMahon, whom you all know as Dr. Doom from the Fantastic Four, and also as his role in the hit television series, Nip/Tuck. Cole has been going through nearly as rough of a time as Phoebe has, only he's been going about it differently. Trying everything that he possibly can to allow himself to revert back to his demon form, and forever leave his human form alone. He even summons an alchemist to change his blood, making him immune to the sisters' vanquishing potion, the one dealt specifically to kill him, and makes them powerless to stop him. That's when he feels the pull as Prue and Phoebe try to summon him, and he knows that they are going to try and vanquish him, so he resists it, and is not pulled in by it. Allowing him time to have the Alchemist perform that ritual. However, when he is being pulled to the sisters a second time, he goes, and is surprised to find Piper. He jokes around as he finds out that Phoebe has been turned into a Banshee because of his betrayal, and soon he is attacked by Phoebe herself. Soon we find out that Cole really loves Phoebe, and that he didn't kill the Witch by his own will, but rather he was fooled/forced into it against his will. Julian McMahon has been in this series since this season, the third season to be exact, and so far he's done wonderfully, making his character's pain, anguish, and attempt to get over Phoebe incredibly realistic, making him a character that you can definitely relate to(To an extent you can) as well as one you can feel for, and his performance is one that is both convincing and believable. He was definitely a great casting choice for this character when they brought him to the show, and he remained that way throughout all the episodes that he was there.

Starring, of course, as Leo Wyatt, the Sisters' whitelighter, is Brain Krause. In this one Leo must try and get his wife to get over the fact that she has become a lethal, and potentially dangerous weapon, that can cause things to blow up at random, and stop her from losing her mind. He also tries to get her to get a hold on her emotions so that she can in return get a hold on her powers. At the same time he is also trying to help Phoebe get through her troubles with losing Cole, and the fact that he killed a witch, which is something that seems to be almost as hard, if not MORE hard, than getting Piper under control as well as Piper's powers. What's more is that he finds out that there is a Banshee on the loose in the city, attacking residents, and causing death. So when the sisters cast a spell to track the Banshee, Prue turns into a Dog, and he is there to calm them down when they think that the spell had backfired, assuring them that now Prue could hear the Banshee's supersonic call, and be able to track her, it's just not in the way they had imagined. He then goes to get more information from the Elders, and is too late when he returns to tell Piper and Phoebe about the fact that when a Banshee turns her deadly scream on a Witch, that witch will become a Banshee herself, and not long after he tells Piper, Phoebe becomes a Banshee, and now he and Piper are left to try and get Cole to turn her back, and save her BEFORE she makes her first kill, turning her into a Banshee, causing her to feed off of pain and anguish for the rest of her life. Brian Krause, as I've said in my review for my all time favorite episode, "Bite Me," has been in this series ever since Season One, and has done fantastically in this role as well. Making his characters emotions, worries, and everything else, as well as his characters drive to make everyone feel better down, and makes them all so realistic, in turn making him a character that you can relate to(Minus the whole Guardian Angel thing), and really feel for. His performance is one that is definitely convincing and believable, making me think that he is yet another great casting choice for the show when they were doing casting. I'm glad he was never replaced because no one else could play this role either.

All in all this was another wonderful episode of Charmed, and my second favorite episode of Charmed of all time. The directing of this episode was definitely done by someone who definitely knows what it is they are doing, and does it well, and that fact was only added to by the fact that the writers knew what it was that THEY were doing and HOW to do it, giving the Director a killer story/screenplay to work with, and brought it to life. The visuals in this episode help a lot too, as they are really realistic as well as incredibly awesome to see, as well as behold. It's a visual experience as well as an awesome movie. The storyline of this movie, as I said, is an awesome one, and really helps to capture the viewer's attention, and hold it there for the entire episode, and that is only helped along by the actors who all do wonderfully. The actors all deliver fantastically convincing and believable performances, and make the episode that much better. If you've never watched this show(I know I've said this), then you have NO idea how much you are missing out on because it is one awesome and incredible show. This is definitely my second favorite episode in what is my favorite television series of all time!!!!!