Charmed 5.04 'Siren Song'

In ‘Siren Song’ we see how much of a struggle Cole goes through to get Phoebe back, with his demonic powers pushing Phoebe even further away. Also, Leo gets pregnant! This episode is actually far cleverer than I used to give it credit for and it surprisingly argues Phoebe’s case against Cole in a way we’ve not seen so far this season.

A Siren, who lures married men and their wives to their deaths, targets Phoebe and Cole in ‘Siren Song’. Piper’s baby switches her and Leo’s traits to help them understand each other better and Paige helps a future whitelighter who has lost her way.

Cole’s struggle to win Phoebe back always got to me. Despite all his faults he really loved her and Phoebe’s complete lack of compassion towards him is once again, quite frustrating during ‘Siren Song’. What happened to the woman who was left mourning his death in ‘Long Live the Queen’? All this being said she actually has all the more reason to feel a bit of hatred towards him given what happened with the Siren, who really mucked things up for them. It was the first time I actually felt sorry for Phoebe during this whole thing but his powers, the only thing he could do to get back to Phoebe, were what lead to him hurting her. I think this is the point where it became obvious that any hope for reconciliation was null and void but this episode is the first this season to really investigate their crumbling marriage in a clever way.

Piper and Leo always seemed like a couple who got each other, what probably changed this for them is Piper’s pregnancy. Switching their traits around was silly, but fun to watch unfold, particularly ‘the crying thing’ and seeing the poor guy have to get the hang of being a Charmed One. I liked seeing Paige get in touch with her inner whitelighter. They never really touched much on that side of her before so it was great to get a small taste of it, since it’s such a significant part of her. And, it’s something that will be mentioned again during ‘Sam I Am’ later on in the season but it’s really starting to become apparent how shaky her position in the series is starting to become.

I am a massive fan of the amazingly brilliant Melinda Clarke, and her appearance here in no way marred her great track record. She sits perfectly well into the role of the Siren with such ease it’s ridiculous. I know it’s not all that much of a stretch given her previous roles, but her great work here shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Moments when the writers utilize their better characters is when Charmed shows it's inner greatness and 'Siren Song' is a great example to deter those naysayers who speak against this season.

8/10