Season Three is most definitely my favourite charmed season. Though the series goes down a remarkably darker path, the stories and plots in this season were almost always on point. It was the first season I felt that the writers cared about all their characters. This season is one of the most important in the series; Phoebe meets half demon Cole, Piper defies the elders to marry, and Prue’s journey as a Charmed One comes to a (far too early) end.
The first thing that comes to mind when people think of the third season is the Phoebe/Cole relationship. As a character Cole is probably one of the most complex the show has, along with Prue. His relationship with Phoebe really echoes the whole, good girl/bad boy story. Of all the sisters to fall for a demon, Phoebe would definitely be the one.
Piper is finally likeable again. She may have a hard time with it, but here for some reason I really felt for her A LOT more than I did when she was caught between Leo and Dan. Her defiance of the Elders is when I really started to love Piper, seeing her fight for the man she loved. She and Leo really made such a sweet married couple.
Prue, not having a major love interest to anchor her like the other two, was a little bit of a non-presence. Her moments usually revolve around the main demonic plot of the week. Still, she wasn’t completely left alone. The show turned out amazing episodes like ‘Death Takes A Halliwell’ to really focus on her. I also love how she became the super witch this year. It’s so fun that the Prue form ‘Something Wicca This Way Comes’, who was so against being a witch, has embraced it so well. Of course, it’s a role that Paige will try to fill again come season 5.
The episodes of the season are without a doubt the strongest of the series. While there are a few plonkers here and there, the majority of them are brilliant. The darker atmosphere of this season really suited the show, especially as it was so light for the first two seasons. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy that kind of show, it’s just that it was really necessary if a show is to evolve. The fun sisterly element of the show was never lost though, despite the heavy stories this season, in fact it was highlighted even more.
Another reason people remember season 3 for is Prue’s death. I like to think that this season inadvertently acted as a way to show that her job of raising her sisters was almost done. They were finally able to go one without her. It’s not that I was happy to see her leave, just that in a way it almost felt quite poignant.
Best Episode: All Hell Breaks Loose. No question.
Worst Episode: Wrestling With Demons. It tries to capitalise on something that really ended up being the worst part of the episode.
Best Character: Prue is amazing here. Cole’s introduction was also pretty great.
Worst Character: There isn’t really a character that I’d put here this season.
The thing I like most about reading your reviews is seeing your new found appreciation for Prue (if I remember correctly, you hated her back in the tv.com days). Apart from Piper, Prue was always my favourite. I loved how Piper's grief was handled in season four, since Prue was so much more than Piper's sister. Piper really idolised her, and the loss of Prue really saw the sisterly moments slowly go away.
ReplyDeleteThis is my favourite season too. There are so many classic installments here (AHBL in particular, but Pre-witched, sin francisco, anything Prue centric - DTAH, Primrose Empath, etc. is up there too). I love how Piper's new power was handled, with the oven gloves and the hiding in the basement (even if in the long run she became a bit over powered).
The first few episodes of this season are troubling though. (A bit like Buffy's third season - absolutely amazing, but it takes three or four eps to get there. Although, I actually love Anne and Faith, Hope and Trick...so, eh...).
-tvfan332
And I actually do have a blogspot thingy, but for some reason I'm not allowed to comment using that account. Eh...I only have two entries anyway. And the 's' button on my laptop broke, so at the minute writing long entries is out of the question (despite what this sizeable comment suggests, heh).
I'll link it below anyway. :P
http://tvfan332.blogspot.com/
Thanks for reading!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I actually hated her before. But looking back now I really think a lot of that was my (then) hatred of Shannen Doherty. I've since come to realize her greatness, and Prue's for that matter!
There's so many classics this season. Obviously I'll be elaborating more in my episodic reviews.
I've followed your blog! Looking forward to some more reviews in the future.
Could not possibly agree more. This was the perfect season and really showcased the show's strengths. From forbidden loves to sister-dynamics, everything just clicked. The demons were original, the holdiday-special episodes were brilliant. The finale is hands down my all time favorite charmed episode. It was just so wonderfully written, acted and directed. Thanks for this Adam. It really brought back the good times for me.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny. I agree with most of what you said, but I don't love it as much as I love S2. I think a lot of it was Piper and Leo - my favorite couple became irritating right after they got married. And then there's also the sister who was my favorite - Phoebs - suddenly putting Cole in front of her sisters and magic and innocents. I hate that one of the last things she said to Prue was a lie, that she had not vanquished Cole.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I definitely don't think Prue was done raising her sisters. Had she never had to, they might have done better without her, but as was, both deteriorated horribly without her. One of the signatures that I use at other sites shows that clearly:
http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo61/Just_Es/Sigs/wod4.jpg
Of course, that was more due to Connie Burge basing them on her three sisters being replaced by Brad Kern basing them on I'm not sure what. I hate that this was the last season that had Burge's stamp on it.
Here's my season review:
SEASON THREE: Losing part of their Destiny
Although this wasn't my favorite season, it came close. The characters were more developped--the Halliwells were both witches and sisters--the closeness between the sisters was there. The idea of Phoebe falling in love with a demon, especially after us finding out that a demon, Anton, is her soulmate, made for a ton of suspense. No doubt Cole was the best male character on the show, he truly had so many different sides, and Julian played them all so very well. If only Phoebe hadn't turned into a lovesick brat, putting Cole in front of innocents and her sisters.
There was constant foreboding about Prue, ending up with her dying saving an innocent; to my knowledge the only one who has--saving a family member doesn't count.
And Piper & Leo and their marriage and her getting her new power (undoubtedly setting them up so that the girls still had a way to take care of demons once Prue died) was perfect, even though I wish they could've found a different one. Once a single Charmed Ones could destroy demons just by using her own power, she no longer needed her sisters, the way Prue still needed hers, since her TK didn't kill. Originally Piper could only push people away with it, not actually kill them. That would've been much better, because personally I think that changing Piper's power from time manipulation to molecular manipulation is the worst mistake made on the series--it set up Piper to be much too powerful and allowed her to take over the show, so the show was about her and her husband and her sons, and, oh, yes, didn't she have a couple of sisters, too, and didn't they also have powers?
I also think that everyone looked their best in this season. I loved the blonde in Phoebe's longer, fluffier hair. I loved Piper getting rid of her bangs and letting her hair grow, and I loved Prue's longer and fluffier, too. Leo looked his best (until S8!) and so did Cole and Darryl, who became a closer friend.
For me, the first three seasons make the perfect trilogy. It has nothing to do with Prue vs Paige, who became my favorite sister of the second set of Charmed Ones just because the other two deteriorated so horribily, but just the way it's set up, with S1 being Prue's love story, with her guy a mortal, S2 being Piper's with her guy an angel and S3 being Phoebe's. with her guy a devil. Finding out about their destiny in S1, living it in S2, losing part of it in S3.
When Shax turns and says, "The End", I truly thought it was and a lot of times think it should've been. It's why I stopped buying DVDs after I got S3, and never planned on buying any other until another fan showed me how to add S4 and S7 (minus some episodes) as the much-better ending.
A-/8 out of 10/Very Good!