S02.E14: Sudden Death

[Lady Calypso]

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WORSE THAN EXPECTED - The Charmed Ones must track down an enemy to save one of their own. In the course of their mission, Maggie (Sarah Jeffery) comes face to face with Parker (guest star Nick Hargrove), Macy (Madeleine Mantock) solicits Julian’s (guest star Eric Balfour) help, and Mel (Melonie Diaz) and Harry (Rupert Evans) uncover a monstrous truth.  Also starring Poppy Drayton and Jordan Donica.  Stacey N. Harding directed the episode written by Tommy Cook & Jeffrey Lieber (#214).  Original airdate 2/28/2020

 

[iMonrey]

So I guess Julian's aunt is the head of some cabal trying to stamp out magical beings, right? And we've waited 14 episodes to find this out? Didn't it seem like something completely different when this season began? Weren't we told that the demon world was simply at war with witches and they were the ones wiping them out? 

How dumb is Maggie supposed to be, anyway? Did she really think she could sneak off on the pretense of taking a phone call and that Abigael wouldn't notice she was gone for 15 minutes? 

And why, exactly, do the Charmed Ones keep going to Abigael for help anyway? I think the show is struggling to keep the character relevant because it really doesn't make any sense.

[ursula]

Are we supposed to ship Harry and Macy when they’re bending over backwards to make Julian so attractive and his dynamic with Macy so much more interesting to watch? 

This episode had Harry and Mel split off in their story. Last episode it was Harry and Abigail. I remember maybe one Harry and Macy adventure early in the season. Since then the show seems to go out of its way to keep them apart. They talk a lot of their non-existent relationship but that’s just it... it’s non-existent. We don’t see much if anything of whatever it is Harry/Macy are supposed to be to care. So whenever it comes up in conversation, it’s just irritating because I’d rather see more Julian/Macy at this point.

 

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

And why, exactly, do the Charmed Ones keep going to Abigael for help anyway? I think the show is struggling to keep the character relevant because it really doesn't make any sense.

Sadly I think this is what inevitably happens when a show is headlined by POCs and a white character gets a spot... the writers become biased towards the white character. You can tell even with Harry and how he has a far more important role in the reboot than Leo did in the Originals. And now Abigail keeps eating up screen time and the IQ of the Charmed Ones because the writers are too attached to the structure where the POCs exist to prop white characters even when the show demands it should be the reverse. 

[GaT]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I think the show is struggling to keep the character relevant because it really doesn't make any sense.

The show is struggling because none of it makes sense.

[ursula]

50 minutes ago, GaT said:

The show is struggling because none of it makes sense.

They have some interesting ideas - war between demons and witches, uneasy truce with the demons.... Jordan's curse... the Charmed Ones going underground... the new human element with humans fighting against magic in general... Harry's Darklighter...

 

The problem is that they're trying to do them all at once! Just 1, at most 2 of those storylines should be enough for one season. But they've crammed everything into one season with plots being introduced and resolved within episodes... or left on the back-burner for many episodes until they're immediately resolved.

Maggie discovering that Parker was still alive was something they could easily have stretched out over several episodes, but they had Macy find out in one episode, and immediately created a situation in the next episode where she had to tell Maggie. The Charmed One being legally dead should have season-long ramifications but it's barely even an inconvenience. 

They also haven't properly defined their mythology. I get the feeling that they're deliberately keeping things vague and over-complicated so that they can have as much liberty to make stuff up as they go along.

[Cranberry]

The writers expect me to believe that no one even considered putting Harry's "two sides" back together before this point? Seriously? It's the first thing I thought of when we learned they were split, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

What the hell is Macy on about, saying she has no idea where Harry stands? In episode 11 of this season when they had that argument about Julian and Abigael, he said to her, "You know damn well how I feel about you. So, please, don't make this harder than it already is."

I like Abigael but she's not serving any purpose at this point. I don't like Parker and he's also not serving any purpose at this point. The writers need to figure out what to do with them or get rid of them.

[ursula]

8 minutes ago, Cranberry said:

What the hell is Macy on about, saying she has no idea where Harry stands? In episode 11 of this season when they had that argument about Julian and Abigael, he said to her, "You know damn well how I feel about you. So, please, don't make this harder than it already is."

Meh. Knowing “damn well how I feel about you” didn’t stop Harry from making out with Abigail or running to her rescue the moment she called. And if Harry has ever actually declared his feelings for Macy unambiguously, it certainly didn’t happen on screen. Their entire relationship is written and portrayed very shittily, which is par the course for TheCW and interracial relationships. I have zero investment in them and I’m crossing fingers that the writers backtrack on this “romance” they clearly don’t want, and let Macy end up with Julian.

[iMonrey]

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But they've crammed everything into one season with plots being introduced and resolved within episodes... or left on the back-burner for many episodes until they're immediately resolved.

They're not so much resolved as they are changed. When the season started we were told the demon world was at war with witches and wiping them out. Then we found out Parker was Head Demon, and when he was about to marry Maggie there was a sort of cease-fire, more or less. But then Abigael usurped him as leader of the Underworld, so where do we stand now? The COs keep going to Abigael for help like she's on their side or something. I don't get it, and I don't know where this "war" stands at this point.

I also don't know why the COs are still in hiding. The demon world knows they're alive. Whoever sent Darklighter Harry after them clearly knows they are alive. Abigael even knows where they live.

Speaking of which, how has nobody discovered their invisible house?  Especially when they try performing rites out in the front yard like in this episode? Does nobody ever go up to the roof of that building?

In the pilot episode they gained the power of three just by holding hands. Now they have to perform some kind of spell? And something is blocking them from making it work? 

[Camera One]

On 2/29/2020 at 9:18 AM, iMonrey said:

So I guess Julian's aunt is the head of some cabal trying to stamp out magical beings, right?

When she dramatically turned around at the end, I thought she was just some random woman.  Clearly, we were supposed to be shocked, but I couldn't remember who she was.

Another lame episode... it was cringey watching Maggie's idiotic "plan".  I'm not sure what the drama is... doesn't Jordan still have a fiancé?  For all the "jeopardizing the peace between witches and demons", Abigael just let them walk out of there, so who cares?

I'd rather watch a still shot of that chocolate souffle than that boring subplot with the CEO of Safe Space, whatever his name is.  He and Macy have no chemistry, and their conversation was tedious and pointless.

Then, there was Harry and Mel walking through a dark building.  Scintillating stuff.

It's only fourteen episodes into the season and there's no steam left.  I can't even imagine what they plan to do with the remaining 9 episodes.  

[Keywestclubkid]

8 hours ago, Camera One said:

It's only fourteen episodes into the season and there's no steam left.  I can't even imagine what they plan to do with the remaining 9 episodes.  

Spin their wheels for 8 of them then shove everything into the last one... Good god they need a showrunner  that knows what the fuck they are doing next season

Edited March 4, 2020 by Keywestclubkid

[mammaM]

10 hours ago, Keywestclubkid said:

Spin their wheels for 8 of them then shove everything into the last one... Good god they need a showrunner  that knows what the fuck they are doing next season

Do we even know if there is a next season? I can barely watch it, I come here, read how horrible the episode is and then delete it from the dvr without even watching it

[Keywestclubkid]

1 hour ago, mammaM said:

Do we even know if there is a next season? I can barely watch it, I come here, read how horrible the episode is and then delete it from the dvr without even watching it

yes it has ... 

[mammaM]

31 minutes ago, Keywestclubkid said:

yes it has ... 

Thanks.

Though, I'm pretty sure I'll be done with it before next season happens

[Keywestclubkid]

9 hours ago, mammaM said:

Thanks.

Though, I'm pretty sure I'll be done with it before next season happens

I'm right there with you ... this feels more like a Whitelighter show then it does Charmed ... and the spinning of the wheels on everything and the stupid stupid choices they continue to have the girls make its frustrating .....

[Camera One]

On 3/4/2020 at 7:59 AM, Keywestclubkid said:

Spin their wheels for 8 of them then shove everything into the last one... Good god they need a showrunner  that knows what the fuck they are doing next season

And the thing with this horrible season is there isn't even anything interesting to shove into the last episode.  I can't see a satisfying resolution to this season because all the subplots are tedious.

[tennisgurl]

I have no idea what the arc of this season was, if anyone really grew as characters, or what the hell the point has actually been. There are some plots that have decent ideas (especially the backstory for Light/Dark lighters and Jordan's curse) but they dont have much in the way of follow through. Lots of ideas, lots of characters, so everything just feels very thinly sketched. I also think the show made a mistake in not doing a few more "magic creature of the week" the way that they did last season. One off episodes get a bit of a bad wrap, but I think that they can do wonders for a show, they can allow for more character development, more world building, and they can slowly build up to their bigger overreaching plots. This season was just PLOT PLOT PLOT without much of a break. I also feel like basically getting rid of the Elders and the rest of the magical community was a bad call. It made this all seem so small, but it never really felt like the stakes were raised in a way to justify it. 

They need to do another retool or something soon, if they want to keep going.