Under its Spell, My Enchantment continues: Charmed Season 2

Why do I Love It So?

Season 2 enters what I consider to be Charmed’s heyday. The mythology is spellbinding, the characters have grown and expanded since S1, and the powers are fun to watch. When this season was originally airing, I couldn’t wait for the next episode. Let’s give you a quick glimpse of what this season holds:

But first, Prerequisites

You really need to watch S1. No cheating.

Charmed, Season 2

Season 2 shows so much creativity. There is a lighter feel to Season 2, which is needed since viewers were caught by surprise with the death of Andy in S1’s finale. Word has spread throughout the demonic world that the charmed prophecy has come to be and that the sisters are alive and growing stronger. They will face even more dangerous human and supernatural threats.

Season 2 explores ethical and moral issues when it comes to such great power. Hard lessons will be learned for the women. And the three will have conflict over how to handle some of these problems. They play the balance of deeper questions with fun episodes and lighter moments, making this a must-see season.

The Sisters:

Prue is deeply affected by Andy’s death and will throw herself into her work and witchcraft. At work, the competition in the art world has put much stress on the staff. The demands of this and her Charmed duties pull her in two different directions. Prue is the first of the sisters to develop a new power, astral projection. Coupled with her telekinesis, she becomes quite the force to be reckoned with.

In the fun Ms. Hellfire, Prue takes a walk on the leather clad side when she meets Bane (played by Antonio Sabado Jr), a very handsome hit man doing dealings with demons. Bane will also turn up later in the season to heat things up with this super powerful witch.

Last we saw Piper, she struggles the most with her witchy identity. By the end of S1 she learns that Leo, her boyfriend, is actually a Whitelighter. He’s a being that has been bestowed with other worldly powers, and serves as a guide and helper to witches. He works for an ambiguous good force known as the Elders. Dating between witches and whitelighters are forbidden. Because of this, Piper will try to move on and date a new character, Dan, while trying to live a normal life free from demons, powers, witchcraft, and anything out of the ordinary. But her heart is truly with Leo.

Her story and the ethical questions that are raised when the sisters cross lines are explored in Awakened and continue later in the season with Astral Monkey (really, that’s the episode name ;)). We meet the character of Dr. Williamson in these episodes. Piper gets extremely sick with no chance of recovery, but she does just that, thanks to a personal gain spell cast by Prue and Phoebe. The consequences that result from this make the sisters realize why certain rules are instated, and why sometimes life must take its course.

Phoebe, after casting a smart spell in the neat Painted World, where she temporarily becomes a genius, decides that what she really needs after all is college. We will find some innocents at her campus. In the episode Ex Libris, a student is murdered by a supernatural force in the college library. Phoebe will also come to terms with her past self in Pardon my Past, as she learns the reason why out of the three sisters, her powers are the weakest.

Phoebe continues to charm this season. She has come along way from her S1 introduction. She shows her family how much they mean to her, and how they are her inspiration. It can be a little bittersweet to see how much progress she makes, at the same time confronting who she once was, not only in this life, but her past one. This is Phoebe's struggle, and she will definitely endear herself to the audience.


Morals of the Story

The episode Morality Bites is my favorite of the entire series. The threat comes from a human, and the sisters are sent to their own futures to learn the biggest key to who they are: protectors of the innocent, not punishers of the guilty. We get a glimpse of just what these Charmed women can do as the sisters powers will grow over the years, and how if they ever expose themselves, witch trials can start all over again.

Another series highlight is the episode Chick Flick where a demon is releasing horror flick creatures off the movie screens. This episode is such fun, with lots of great one-liners and banter that mock the craziness of being chased by Bloody Mary and the Chainsaw Man.

S2 also delves into what happens if another human steals their powers. As a result, Piper will be at odds with her sisters when the question of “Who should be saved? What defines an innocent? and How far can we go to save someone?”


Other members of the Charmed gang

Dan (Greg Vaughn) will move in next door and date Piper. He will often be at odds with Leo.

Another cast member that has been added is Jenny, Dan’s niece. She was brought in to help bring in a younger demographic, but this backfired. She is in a few episodes, with a forced introduction, and drags down the scenes she is in. She disappears mid season.

Detective Darryl Morris is still in the sister’s lives. He is now their inside person for the police dept to help cover for them on supernatural cases. Darryl is very grounded and does not want to know the girls secret. But by She’s a Man Baby, A Man(ahh, the titles), he’s sucked right in (literally, you’ll see.). He always takes the levelheaded approach, and is very pragmatic about what he sees.

Less than Charming Moments

Season 2 starts to show bigger inconsistencies, with the introduction of the family tree. The logic on the show can be extremely questionable. It can drive you crazy if you start to pick at some of it too carefully.

Bringing in Jenny was a mistake. She never fit into the ensemble. Her character feels forced into the script.

The episode that Old Black Magic needs to be destroyed and erased from everyone’s memory.

And just so everyone knows, love triangles give me headaches.

Acting and Notable Performances

The acting continues to be strong for the three female leads. Prue shows heated chemistry with Antonio Sabado, Jr. Holly Marie Combs is an amazing actress, and plays many touching scenes including a very heart wrenching one. Alyssa does wonderful with her portrayal of Phoebe, and gives a touching performance in Morality Bites.

In this season, the balance of the characters are at its best. This will also hold true for Charmed, Season 3. The three actresses play off each other in such a natural and lovely way. It is so nice to watch, especially when they are enjoying silly banter, and being just sisters.


Naming Names

Writer Krista Vernoff will go on to the show Greys Anatomy and Javier Grillo-Marxuach will eventually write for Lost.

Anson Williams of Happy Days fame directs Awakened.

Shannon Doherty makes her directing debut in the season finale Be Careful What you Witch for.

Musical guest stars:
Cranberries
The Goo Goo Dolls
Dishwalla


The Ever-Important Aaron Spelling Factor

In my review for Season 1, I mention that Spelling shows are known for their jiggles and fluff. While we aren’t at the point of fluff, the jiggle factor has definitely kicked up a notch.

A new designer named Eilish was hired for S2. While shows can lead the way for clothing and accessory trends, you’ll see that this doesn’t hold true for Charmed. Eilish has a tendency to dress the sisters in the ridiculous and not always flattering clothes. S2 is very, very mild compared to what is to come in future seasons. However you will see the beginning of the infamous jiggling that Spelling is noted for. It starts with Prue’s attire. No longer does she wear bras, and the shirts are all very revealing. And she starts wearing these to work.


Gossip Mill

Due to fans demands, Jenny was taken out of the show. She disappears midway through S2.

Aaron Spelling liked to pull current music groups into his shows and that is why the P3 nightclub was added.

The network did not want any main leads outside the three sisters. Holly Marie Combs fought for Brian Krause to be brought on permanently as Leo Wyatt. She wanted the Leo and Piper pairing to work. (It worked, Krause was a main stay for the rest of the show’s run).

DVD Information

As I have mentioned in my Season 1 review, Charmed has been released in a Seasons 1-6 boxed set. Seasons 7 and 8 are not included in this.

I highly recommend the season by season sets. First, the S1-6 boxed set is extremely expensive, and is not even inclusive of the entire series. Second: Seasons 5 and 6 are not worth getting. Just get the DVDs by season for the best run of the series.