Charmed 6.23 It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World (Part 2)

It’s almost disconcerting that season 6 would finish on such a high note. Part 2 of this season’s finale brings its biggest story to a close in a way that totally contradicts how it’s played out since it started; it was tight, cohesive, emotionally powerful, weirdly funny, and pretty exciting, too. Maybe I’m just happy to see this show being great again, but it actually feels like there’s some gears turning behind Charmed, still.

All season long we’ve seen Chris battle to bring about a better future for him and his family. As a character, he’s lacked pretty much everything to make him a commodity for the show, and the way that the writers mapped out his journey was muddled at best, but his death here is oddly devastating. He fought so hard to change his life, and to fall down at the final hurdle is totally defeating not just for him, but for Leo and his family too, who’ve done everything in their power to help. They may have succeeded, and Chris may still be alive, but the incarnation that we knew was gone, and that's a surprisingly painful truth.

Gideon’s death, on the other hand, was satisfying. Leo being the one to kill him works on a number of levels, but none more so to make him realise that he’s a father and a husband first and an elder and whitelighter second. By killing Gideon he made his allegiances clear. He’s no longer one of them, and it’s a revelation that feeds into his big arc next season.

Elsewhere, we saw a lot of silliness play out, but it’s all in such good faith that you can’t help but accept it. I really giggled at the creepiness of this new and not-so-improved-as-it-is-beguiling, world and the overly animated Phoebe and Paige, running around after their pregnant sister. But between the balloons, and those painful looking grins, you immediately feel how wrong and dark this story actually is. While they’re bouncing around, Piper is going through something serious, and potentially life-threatening. These past two episodes have really exploited that idea to its fullest, with Phoebe’s shooting, and now Piper’s labour troubles.

Of course, the spell is reversed, and Piper is able to give birth to Chris, as he starts his new, and hopefully more peaceful, life that he worked so hard to create. It’s a sad, but appeasing note to finish this season on.

As far as season 6 goes, it’s easily been the weakest year of Charmed so far. There was an obvious lack of cohesion, the characters were badly written, and the ideas and plots felt dried up, and half-assed. With season 8 only 22 episodes away, I can only hope the seventh brings the rejuvenated appeal that this finale brought about so well.

9/10