Paige Matthews

[amensisterfriend]

Ah, Paige...such an enigma for me, albeit mostly a likable and enjoyable one :) As some of us have chatted about elsewhere, her characterization tended to be all over the place, at least IMO. She'd rapidly go from really insecure, vulnerable and desperate to fit in to being super confident, the most overtly 'tough', and the sister most stubbornly eager to maintain her space and independence. (And sometimes all within the same episode!) Sometimes the writers made her The New Phoebe---the wilder, rebellious, fun loving, adorably kooky free spirit. Other times she was a lot more like The New Prue---sharp, judgmental out of concern for her sisters' welfare, a lot less carefree, etc.  I get that real life people can possess conflicting characteristics, but as a character I still struggle to wrap my head around just who Paige was supposed to be. 

 

I'd love to know how you guys perceive her! And which Paige-centric episodes were your favorites? Oh, and perhaps most importantly...which of Paige's hairdos did you like best?! 

[helenamonster]

I don't really have the time to get into an in-depth Paige discussion right now (though Lord knows I want to, she was always my favorite!), but I can't go to class without putting my two cents in on the hair thing. I liked in later years when she had the brown hair and would wear it in a ponytail. Like

 

 

I was obsessed with that hairstyle when I was younger and tried many times to (unsuccessfully) imitate it. Still dope all these years later.

[amensisterfriend]

Helenamonster, I'll look forward to reading your thoughts when you have time to type them! Meanwhile, take heart in knowing that I, too, like Paige's hair best when it's that rich brown. 

[magicdog]

 

her characterization tended to be all over the place, at least IMO. She'd rapidly go from really insecure, vulnerable and desperate to fit in to being super confident, the most overtly 'tough', and the sister most stubbornly eager to maintain her space and independence. (And sometimes all within the same episode!) Sometimes the writers made her The New Phoebe---the wilder, rebellious, fun loving, adorably kooky free spirit.

 

The initial idea was to make her the New Phoebe since she was the new youngest sister but IMO they should have let Paige be more Prue-ish in her personality.  The backstory they gave for the character was a girl who while rebellious as a teen, a bit of a party girl (there's always been a debate if she was a recovering alcoholic or  not) who took the reins of her own life, went to college, got herself her own job and an apartment in a tough city.  Plus she was raised as an only child so from her I'd expect her to be someone who is independent, a bit stubborn, and accustomed to doing things without necessarily consulting others.   Since her parents' death I'd expect her to feel a bit guarded and private. 

 

When Paige moved into the Manor so soon, I thought that was out of character for her;  if anything, I'd have wanted to see that happen by the end of that season.  Since it's been mentioned that Season 4 was a combination of two seasons worth of storylines merged into one, it makes more sense in retrospect, but still not what I'd have expected her to do.

[helenamonster]

I thought it was made pretty explicit that she was a recovering alcoholic? Again, my memory is getting fuzzy on this show so I could be wrong.

 

I always liked Paige. As someone else who was raised as an only child, I identified with her need for independence. I didn't see her so much as all over the place as I did someone who was caught between wanting to maintain that independence while also filling the massive shoes left behind by "superwitch" Prue. Phoebe and Piper, along with Prue, got to ease into the experience of discovering their powers and destiny together, but poor Paige was kind of just thrown into it, three years behind her older sisters and in the wake of both Prue's death and the big lead-up to vanquishing the Source. She also had to deal with the whitelighter stuff on top of it.

 

I think what really endeared me to Paige was her pretty volatile relationship with Phoebe in the second half of S4, which spilled over into S5, especially in "Sympathy for the Demon." Phoebe was downright nasty to Paige throughout the whole Cole is evil again thing, especially in "Marry Go Round." Like, Jesus lady, you are constantly surrounded by demons who enjoy fucking with you and you think Paige is trying to undercut you by getting the wrong dress and giving you horrible acne? Phoebe was such an absolute monster to her, and I don't think she ever once apologized when Paige turned out to be right. Paige is a better woman than I for not holding a grudge about it.

 

Just out of curiosity...a lot of other actresses were considered for the role of Paige. IMDb lists Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Brown, Tiffani Thiessen, Soleil Moon Frye, Susan Ward, and Eliza Dushku. I thought Rose McGowan totally fit the part, but out of any of these actresses (or others that were considered but that I didn't list), would you have been curious to see how they would have approached Paige? I'm a huge fan of Sarah Brown (the original Carly on General Hospital) and I kind of wish there was an alternate universe where I could have seen her as Paige.

[amensisterfriend]

It's funny, because I do think Paige was pretty inconsistently depicted for reasons I rambled about in my last post---and the idea that the writers couldn't decide between making her the 'new Phoebe/younger sister' vs 'the new Prue' certainly explains a lot of that for me, as Phoebe and Prue were such different characters---but I want to stress that I do really like Paige anyway. And god knows I admire her for successfully pulling off so many different hair colors! 

 

On rewatch, I think a lot of why I had trouble initially warming up to her is because I don't necessarily love the way the OTHER sisters and the Halliwells' overall dynamic changed after Paige's arrival---Phoebe went from a charming mixture of well-meaning innocence and wild child free spirit to a slicker quasi-'celebrity' advice columnist who generally seemed a lot less warm, sweet and funloving than before; Piper went from a quietly kind but slyly snarky, peacemaking and more lovable 'middle child' to a perpetually cranky, put upon hardass, etc. (These are just generalizations, of course---Piper and Phoebe certainly both had great and lovable moments in later seasons, but they were just a little harder for me to relate to and enjoy than they used to be!)

 

I guess some of the contradictions are what makes Paige relatable and complex, right?! After all, many of us are a mixture of snarky, cynical toughness and insecurity and vulnerability; a blend of affectionate eagerness to bond with an equally strong need for independence and space; quirky and free spirited yet pragmatic and clear thinking, pessimism and optimism, etc.. Maybe I'm just bitter because not having a better grasp of what's in or out of character for Paige makes it harder for people to ever write quality fanfic about her :) 

 

One thing that DID seem out of character for Paige for me was her Halliwell-esque need to constantly have a guy in her life and to feel mildly to majorly unfulfilled without one. (This is probably my biggest complaint about the overall show, which I otherwise adore!) Paige just seemed like someone who could be *contentedly* single for long stretches of time, so it annoyed me when the writers had her constantly dating a series of bland, forgettable love interests and/or saying stuff to her sisters about how desperately she wanted a guy even if it had been just an episode or two since she last had one :) I'm not trying to make this exclusive to Paige, though---as I said, that's an unfortunate Halliwell/most-female-characters-on-CW-shows trait. Only Prue was sometimes immune to it, but not always! 

 

That said, Paige was smart, genuinely caring despite not being sentimental and gushy, funny, energetic, snarky in a 'she GETS it and would be the kind of person to post on this board' kind of way, and often the surprising voice of insight and reason. I'm loving her more and more as I rewatch. And I like how her guilt over her past gave her a stronger motivation to do good in the present. 

 

 

 

I thought it was made pretty explicit that she was a recovering alcoholic? Again, my memory is getting fuzzy on this show so I could be wrong.

 

Yeah, having just rewatched all of S4 in one greedy gulp, I can confirm this---it's definitely canon that she identifies as a recovering alcoholic. 

 

 

IMDb lists Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Brown, Tiffani Thiessen, Soleil Moon Frye, Susan Ward, and Eliza Dushku.

 

It's hard for me to imagine anyone else in the role at this point, which is a compliment to Rose! I'm among the few who likes Jennifer Love Hewitt, but I think she might have been too sweet, giggly and girly-girl for this particular part. Unlike Rose, I'm not sure she could have given the impression of having had a tough past during which she was a bit of a delinquent :) I'm intrigued by the idea of Eliza Dushku, but it would have been hard to see her as anything other than Faith (not that Faith and Paige don't have a fair amount of similarities, but still!) 

Edited April 14, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[amensisterfriend]

Edited to add a few pictures of Paige that I really like:

 

 

 

[helenamonster]

One thing that DID seem out of character for Paige for me was her Halliwell-esque need to constantly have a guy in her life and to feel mildly to majorly unfulfilled without one. (This is probably my biggest complaint about the overall show, which I otherwise adore!) Paige just seemed like someone who could be *contentedly* single for long stretches of time, so it annoyed me when the writers had her constantly dating a series of bland, forgettable love interests and/or saying stuff to her sisters about how desperately she wanted a guy even if it had been just an episode or two since she last had one :) I'm not trying to make this exclusive to Paige, though---as I said, that's an unfortunate Halliwell/most-female-characters-on-CW-shows trait. Only Prue was sometimes immune to it, but not always! 

 

It's hard for me to imagine anyone else in the role at this point, which is a compliment to Rose! I'm among the few who likes Jennifer Love Hewitt, but I think she might have been too sweet, giggly and girly-girl for this particular part. Unlike Rose, I'm not sure she could have given the impression of having had a tough past during which she was a bit of a delinquent :) I'm intrigued by the idea of Eliza Dushku, but it would have been hard to see her as anything other than Faith (not that Faith and Paige don't have a fair amount of similarities, but still!) 

 

As to the first point, yeah...I loved Henry, but Paige is the sister that I could have seen ending up single at the end of the series and being totally fine with it. And I know they wanted all of them to be married with three kids each, but I never really saw Paige as very maternal. I don't mean that as an insult, some people are kind of parents by nature and some aren't. Idk, I could have totally bought her staying single, really committing to her whitelighter duties, maybe working at magic school as well.

 

Funnily enough, I watched a movie on Netflix last night that had both Norman Reedus and Balthazar Getty in it (as well as, I think, the guy that played the pig in "Animal Pragmatism"). It was the land of Paige's ex-flings!

 

I think Paige's characterization depended a lot upon which actress they cast for her. Like, I feel like Rose inherently bought that kind of quirkiness with her (would any of the other actresses have dyed their hair bright red between seasons so that the writers had to add in a line about how a potion exploded in Paige's face? probably not lol). If Sarah Brown had gotten the part, I can't see the character being as off-beat. SB is a lot better with the more dramatic stuff. She has tear ducts of steel and is like a wind-up toy in confrontational scenes. Also, she has a gymnastics and martial arts background, so Paige probably would have been able to fight, so stuff like the switching bodies subplot in "Enter the Demon" wouldn't have worked lol.

[magicdog]

 

IMDb lists Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Brown, Tiffani Thiessen, Soleil Moon Frye, Susan Ward, and Eliza Dushku.

 

JLH would have performed the role in a similar manner to her Melinda character from "Ghost Whisperer".  She would have been competent, but not the character Rose ultimately made it - if anything she would have been better suited if the character had been the "second coming of Phoebe"  she was intended to be.

 

Thiessen would have been the opposite - I see her as a similar type of actress to Shannen Doherty.  She might have worked if Prue were to have been recast or if they had used the storyline in the comics and had Prue's soul placed in a different body.

 

Dushku was too associated with the Faith character to have been seen as Paige although she could have done it if she was wasn't.

 

Soleil Moon Fry could have pulled it off IMO.  I had seen a few eps of her run on "Sabrina" and I thought she was pretty good, especially with her comic timing.

 

it's definitely canon that she identifies as a recovering alcoholic.

 

 

From what I remember, Paige admitted to drinking alcohol a lot but quit drinking.  We never saw her go to or mention AA meetings or intense scenes like going through the DTs or falling off the wagon.  I had always thought of her as a once heavy drinker just on the brink but pulled herself back.  She couldn't have been too heavy a drinker since she was going to college and trying to have a career in social work.  I can see her quitting drinking after her parents died (seeing her as a wild teen in the 90s, I don't doubt she was kicking back in HS) but I don't think the show was specific in when this all occurred.

[amensisterfriend]

We actually do see her at an AA meeting in S4. Leo is there next to her. And, yes, she does identify as a recovering alcoholic---it's canon :)

[amensisterfriend]

ETA another Paige picture I like...if you hate Kyle, just pretend he's not standing next to her :) 

 

[Daisy]

We actually do see her at an AA meeting in S4. Leo is there next to her. And, yes, she does identify as a recovering alcoholic---it's canon :)

 

 

Paige + Leo are at the AA meeting (Long Live the Queen), to save the innocent that Phoebe saved (then condemned to death) because she also saved the Demon. The only real hint that Paige never drinks (and the cannon-y) bit, is that she always asks if it's apple cider or Piper goes "and apple cider for you." (she also has Perrier in Charmed Again, and is always drinking that or a clear liquid (ie soda) when she's at the club with everyone else). 

 

When she orbed down to see why leo wasn't answering her calls (LLTQ), she pushed the bottle of booze with a side of disgust, so I don't think it was ever heavily implied that she was an alcoholic but more of - she drank a lot as a teen - and then stopped. (and the stopping more than likely had to do with the fact that her parents died, and she thought she was a failure to them so she wanted to clean up everything - including drinking) 

 

that's how i always took it anyway. 

 

i was always hoping for Susan Ward (I liked her on Sunset Beach and Hercules. I think she would have done the storyline good, but i didn't mind Rose). I think really having a Quirk-ier Prue would have been a really good storyline for her. She was young - but had to grow up fast. she is all YAY! magic, but she grew up 100 percent in a non magical atmosphere. (like even the girls had some semblance of magic growing up, ie: the fairy tales, Grams herself, etc), Paige did not. 

i really do like they made her more and more 'white-lighter' ish though. 

[amensisterfriend]

Paige! I'm not sure I have a firmer grasp on her character than when I first wrote the rambling posts above, but I do like her. I'm actually always surprised by how much. You guys really helped by identifying that her main conflict is between maintaining the independent, slightly-off-the-beaten-path existence she's always led vs. becoming part of a close knit sisterhood, aka the power of three. It explains why she's so confident/stubborn/prideful (aka a little Prue-ish!) sometimes and so genuinely uncertain/vulnerable/loving but a little awkward about it she is at other times: she does want to play a key role in this new family, but she's not really accustomed to it. It's kind of like when someone as perennially single as I am suddenly sstarts dating---it's like, I care about this person and want to make it work, but how do I adjust the behavior/lifestyle/habits/general independence etc. that I've been so used to in order to make that happen?!

 

 I'm rewatching later seasons and finding that I really loved her as the head of The Magic School (still can't get over how hilariously not clever that name is, by the way!) I like how, as someone who was fairly troubled as a teen, she's so motivated to ensure that other kids go down a better path. The 'super determined social worker' role was a little too earnest and on the nose for me, but this allows her to combine her need to help people with her newfound knowledge and skills in magic. And Paige just so sincerely cares about the magic school (unlike, for example, most of her temp jobs), so we get to see the adorably eager, tries-a-little-too-hard sides of Paige that I happen to love. (I recently read something where someone talked about how easygoing Paige is, but I don't really see her that way!)  

 

Do you guys see Paige as having a closer relationship with Phoebe or Piper---or about equal? Which of her careers/relationships did you like most and least? And, to continue our vitally important discussion from above...which of her hair colors do you love most?! I'm partial to the cherry red hair or the chocolate brown :) 

Edited February 26, 2016 by amensisterfriend

[4evaQuez]

Paige is one of my fave sisters - if not my favorite - so I'll be happy to contribute! :-)

 

 

I'm rewatching later seasons and finding that I really loved her as the head of The Magic School (still can't get over how hilariously not clever that name is, by the way!) I like how, as someone who was fairly troubled as a teen, she's so motivated to ensure that other kids go down a better path. The 'super determined social worker' role was a little too earnest and on the nose for me, but this allows her to combine her need to help people with her newfound knowledge and skills in magic. And Paige just so sincerely cares about the magic school

 

I genuinely loved her Magic School arc, and I hate how the show ended it. I remember when Phoebe had her vision, and seeing Paige as the headmistress of Magic school seemed to perfectly fit her character - much more so than a social worker or a whitelighter. I know the show needed something to do with non-magical Leo, but I just wish they could have incorporated him into Magic School without removing Paige.

 

 

Do you guys see Paige as having a closer relationship with Phoebe or Piper---or about equal? Which of her careers/relationships did you like most and least? And, to continue our vitally important discussion from above...which of her hair colors do you love most?! I'm partial to the cherry red hair or the chocolate brown :)

 

Definitely Piper. As I said in another thread - or maybe TWOP - Paige and Piper is one of my favorite relationships. I actually tie it with Piper and Prue. While the show often told us about Piper and Phoebe's great relationship, I felt it showed us Paige and Piper's relationship without having to pay their relationship lip service. Both Chris and Wyatt named Paige their favorite aunt/the aunt that taught them everything they knew about magic. We constantly saw Paige taking care of little Chris and Wyatt. Piper and Paige also had more times to bond as Phoebe was often missing in action. The 4th season because of the Cole/Queen of the Underworld arc, the 5th season because of her new career/budding Jason romance, the 6th season we actually saw Phoebe and Paige interact more in the second half of the season because of the Phoebe/Jason break up and Holly Marie Combs real life pregnancy. However, the 7th season Piper and Paige start to interact more again because of Phoebe's loss of powers/the Phoebe/Leslie romance. Lastly, in the 8th season, when Leo is put on ice, we see Paige being Piper's emotional support. Phoebe selfishly leaves Piper without a second thought for the third time in roughly 4/5 years. However, Paige tells Piper her reservations for leaving Piper all alone. When Paige goes on her honeymoon, she is constantly orbing in to check on Piper. Piper names Wyatt - her first born - after Paige, and, in the fifth season, she even credits Paige for bringing the family back together. Piper also convinces Sam to come see Paige in order to help Paige fill a void in her life Paige didn't even realize she had. Piper and Paige are the two who seem the least likely to like each other, but there was a mutual respect and love between them that never seemed there for Piper/Phoebe or even Paige/Phoebe.  I just wish we could have seen the two exchange, "I love you's" sometime during the course of the show.

 

I know most people think the sister dynamic is off in later seasons because of the arrival of Paige, but I think the changes in Phoebe's character is just as detrimental - if not more so -  to the lack of the sisterly feel in later seasons.

 

As for my favorite Paige hair color - I actually love the dark black from her season 4 debut. I also like the 7/8 season hair as shown a little above.

[amensisterfriend]

Yay---I'm so glad I'm not alone in loving her role with the Magic School! And, in my head, she kept right on running it while also doing a bunch of whitelighting ...regardless of canon :) 

 

There's a decent essay in Jennifer Crusie's "Totally Charmed" anthology that compares each of the Halliwell sisters to a fairy tale princess (which I get sounds beyond painful, but it turned out to be a surprisingly interesting analysis!), and it contained a lot of good insight about Paige along the way: how she's so very eager to help, always tries (sometimes too hard!), feels more uncertain than her sisters due to her past and the fact that she didn't grow up knowing about them or their world, and wants very much to connect and help but is also really independent, rebellious, and passionate in ways that could, under different circumstances, lead to darkness rather than the path of good that she determinedly travels down.  This is very sloppy paraphrasing, but the gist is that it made me miss Paige...and had me even more excited to finish rewatching S7 :) 

 

Did you guys like any of her romantic partners more (or less!) than the others? What kind of guy would you ideally see her with? I could actually see her with a few different types of people...and also as happily single :)

[amensisterfriend]

Also, I spent a delightful half hour this morning finding my favorite Paige pictures...only to subsequently realize that I no longer know how to post pics on this website :) Just know that the thought was there! 

 

I'm still rewatching and loving S7, and I have such mixed feelings about Agent Brody. I actually liked the idea of him and how happy Paige often seemed in his presence, but the actor was, IMO, pretty bad. And 'pretty bad' might be too generous an assessment ;)  

[pawneerangers]

Paige is my very very favorite!!! I said on the Unpopular Opinions thread that she is not just my favorite Halliwell but also one of my favorite TV characters. I think I see her like a combination of Prue and Phoebe in the best ways. She's funny, caring, kooky, animated, passionate and sometimes acts without thinking like Phoebe but sarcastic, smart, sometimes cynical, intense,  stubborn and independent like Prue. I love these questions because it made me ask myself why I love her so much. That's the best I could come up with lol. 

 

As for hair the only time I didn't like it was when it was really blonde. I love it brown, red and even strawberry blonde. I think she's so gorgeous in this really interesting and unique way. 

[pawneerangers]

I finally chose my avatar for this site and decided it has to be of Paige! I blame this thread lol. 

[amensisterfriend]

I think I see her like a combination of Prue and Phoebe in the best ways. She's funny, caring, kooky, animated, passionate and sometimes acts without thinking like Phoebe but sarcastic, smart, sometimes cynical, intense,  stubborn and independent like Prue.

 

I really love this description of Paige and have been keeping it in mind while watching! She's also this endearing, relatable combination of being sassy/confident/badass and vulnerable/uncertain. 

 

I read somewhere that Rose McGowan wanted Paige to be a little like "Lucille Ball", always getting into trouble, funny, spirited etc., so now I can't NOT see that when I watch too. Paige is obviously less 'ditzy' than a character like Lucy Ricardo, but she's got a lot of energy, always tries to help and get involved, gets enthusiastic about a task to the point of going a bit overboard, and is kind of quirky and adorably off-kilter, which is all kind of Lucy-esque :)

 

Thanks to everyone for giving me a renewed appreciation of this character. She even has my favorite 'P' name, by the way :)

 

Which are some of your favorite Paige-centric episodes???   

[EternallyCharmed]

This is a really interesting topic. I'm in the camp who feels like Paige is so different depending on the episode. Sometimes she's the one most open minded and ready to believe in anything about magic and other times she's very cynical and disbelieving for no reason. Sometimes she's the one who wants more than anything for everyone to get along and avoid conflict while pleasing people and other times she's the most confrontational. I agree with the people who said that they like her most of the time but don't know who she really is even though she was on the show for five seasons because she's so erratically written. I just saw an episode in Season 5, Happily Ever After, where Paige is all down on fairy tales and acts like she never had any interest in them, but in Season 4, there's a whole episode based on the fairy tales Paige used to dream up and they wrote her as this creative, imaginative and dreamy girl who loved fairy tales. That's just one small example of why I feel like the writers kept forgetting how they wrote her every episode. 

 

I think I see her like a combination of Prue and Phoebe in the best ways. She's funny, caring, kooky, animated, passionate and sometimes acts without thinking like Phoebe but sarcastic, smart, sometimes cynical, intense, stubborn and independent like Prue.

 

I think she's a lot more like Phoebe than Prue. Paige, like Phoebe, is driven by instinct, intuition and impulse. She's always trying to make up for a rebellious past and deal with the impulsive part of her that could lead her back intro trouble, just like Phoebe. She's never as sure of who she is or what she wants to do with her life, which is also much more like how Phoebe was at the beginning of the show than Prue. Paige isn't written consistently so I'm sure in some episodes she's like Prue, but most of the time she reminds me a lot more of Phoebe. And as someone else observed, by the time Paige came on the show, Phoebe herself no longer seemed like Phoebe!

 

I like Paige and think Rose did a good job, but her coming on the show confused things for the writers because for the first few seasons they wrote the sisters' personalities and behavior as being heavily influenced by their birth order. They were used to writing Prue as the oldest who could be too judgmental, protective and intense, Piper as the middle child who used to be the shyest and wanted everyone to get along, and Phoebe as the passionate and rebellious youngest child. Then when Prue died they not only had to create this new character of Paige but shift the sibling roles so that Piper was suddenly the oldest, which like someone said made her grumpy too much of the time, and Phoebe was the middle child who they suddenly had no idea how to write.    

 

Sometimes when people say they didn't like Paige I think maybe they just didn't like the way other things about the show changed when she was on the show. I'm with those who would have liked to see the later seasons with Prue, Piper and Paige instead of Phoebe. 

 

As for hair the only time I didn't like it was when it was really blonde. I love it brown, red and even strawberry blonde. I think she's so gorgeous in this really interesting and unique way.

 

She has a look that reminds me of movie stars from the 40s. I agree that she has a really unique beauty.

[amensisterfriend]

She has a look that reminds me of movie stars from the 40s. I agree that she has a really unique beauty.

 

I think I read somewhere that the actress loves classic movies and that era...?! And sometimes Paige gives off an 'old soul in a modern woman's body' vibe to me too. Since the Halliwells lives a heck of a lot of lives in one form or another, I guess that makes sense :) 

 

Don't we learn in a few episodes that Paige is really artistic and that she doesn't think in as "linear" a way a Piper and, presumably, Prue? That always made sense to me---she's kind of creative, resourceful and a marches-to-the-beat-of-her-own drummer kind of woman to me :) 

 

Which are some of your favorite Paige-centric episodes???

 

A Paige from the Past is a special favorite, though it still makes me cry every freaking time! 

[helenamonster]

She has a look that reminds me of movie stars from the 40s. I agree that she has a really unique beauty.

 

Yes, Rose reminds me so much of a classic film star. Paige was the perfect sister to be the focus of "Charmed Noir" based on Rose's looks alone. 

 

Don't we learn in a few episodes that Paige is really artistic and that she doesn't think in as "linear" a way a Piper and, presumably, Prue? That always made sense to me---she's kind of creative, resourceful and a marches-to-the-beat-of-her-own drummer kind of woman to me :) 

 

When she was first introduced we saw her painting a lot. She didn't keep up with it in later seasons at all, I don't think. In-show explanation could be she got too busy with the witch/whitelighter/magic school duties, but I'm sure it was really because the writers just forgot.

[4evaQuez]

I love A Paige from the Past and Charmed Noir.

 

I have a question, who takes care of Paige after the death of her parents? When I look at Charmed wikis, it says her aunt took care of her. But in what episode is this mentioned?

 

Lastly, am I the only one a little disappointed we didn't get to see more of Paige's (adopted) family? Are we to believe she didn't have any cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. I would have loved to have learned more about Paige.

[magicdog]

She was adopted by The Matthews:  Her adoptive dad was a firefighter and her mom a homemaker.  I don't recall their first names though.  After they died in the car accident (Paige was 16 I think), her Aunt Julie and Uncle Dave raised her until she moved out on her own.  We see Paige talking via telephone with her uncle in "Charmed Again".

 

I agree we should have met her aunt and uncle since she did stay in touch with them - but the writers were infamous for forgetting the details of their own world building.

Edited March 15, 2016 by magicdog

[Lady Calypso]

Oh, Paige. The lovely Paige Matthews, the one who I could probably spend a lot of time talking about why I love her. So let's just jump into this most likely long post, shall we?

First off, I appreciate that she never changed her last name to Halliwell. She may have finally considered herself a Halliwell, but having her still be a Matthews really goes to show how much she appreciates her upbringing and how that's impacted her. Even after dealing with her adoptive parents' deaths in A Paige From the Past, she never forgot where she came from. Even when she stopped mentioning that part of her life, I think she carried that throughout her entire life. I relate to that on a level because I was also adopted. I don't know my birth family, and I highly doubt I'm going to develop witchy powers anytime soon, but there's always that curiosity of knowing who they are. Also like Paige, I love my adoptive family and I will always consider them my family. She's lucky in that she found her biological family and got to meet all of them. 

She would have been around my age (22/23) when she met her sisters for the first time, so the fact that she handled it a lot better than she could have goes to show how strong she is. I love that she fought to become a social worker. Becoming a social worker allowed her to help the kids who were like her. Plus, I find that she became the sister who was the best at helping others. Phoebe could have become that person with her psychology degree, and as much as Phoebe's advice column did help people and she did public appearances, Paige helped in a more direct way. Phoebe could hide behind her writing and she never had to meet the people that she helped. That's not a bad thing, per say. She was helping people, of course, and even before the newspaper, Phoebe was trying to help people in any way that she could. But Paige went right into social work, to help people she knew needed the help. She had to deal with the situations up front, even if she was just doing admin work for a while. She also helped with the few charges she was given, and she never turned down an opportunity to help. She threw in her heart and soul into being a social worker, even when magic and demons got in the way. She fought hard at the beginning to keep her job and to find a way to balance magic and work. 

Then she became a social worker, and gave that up to be a full time witch, to find another way to help people. I guarantee that wasn't an easy decision for her to make, and she had to deal with her choice afterward and she never did turn back. That takes a lot of guts. Her calling was always helping people who needed it, and she never disappointed me in accomplishing that. I rewatched that season eight episode, Jung and the Restless, and the fact that Paige's dream was to find enlightenment and her fighting to save her charge just made it even more clear that she has my utmost respect. Ok, there was a small dark period where Paige moved in with Richard in season six, but I won't fault her for wanting to follow her heart. 

Paige was definitely a mix of Prue and Phoebe for a long time there. They never quite figured out which 'sister' they wanted Paige like. She took on the youngest sister traits so they could have Phoebe mature, but they also wanted a new Prue, so they gave Paige some of her traits. But I also feel like there's a reason why Paige was closer to Piper than she was to Phoebe. At least, that's how I see it. I can name many of my favourite Piper/Paige scenes, but I can't even recall many Paige/Phoebe sisterly bonding moments. They did a good job in balancing Paige with all the sisters, even if Paige never met Prue. 

The one thing I loved about Paige is that they actually gave her a best friend. Ok, Glenn disappeared after season five, to my disappointment, but she had someone who she trusted fully, and someone who was proven to be trustworthy of the secret. Paige didn't hesitate in knowing that she could tell Glenn about her being a witch and him accepting her. That's rare to come by in the sisters' lives. It took them a while to tell Darryl, especially after Andy's death. Paige always found the right people to tell her secret too. Glenn and Henry both accepted her with little question. 

Paige fit into both Piper and Phoebe's lives very easily. Even if it took a while for them to really accept her, it was clear to see why they finally embraced her when they did. She was supportive of them very quickly, and she really tried hard to fit into their lives, even if she was being compared to Prue. I do think her characterization could be fluid, but she always held the same basic traits, which mattered to me the most. She was just always very loving, supportive and probably the least selfish out of all the sisters. Again, a trait she shared with Prue. 

In another post, I'll go into detail about my favourite Paige episodes, my favourite Paige storylines, and storylines I wish happened with her. But I think this is a great start! 

[amensisterfriend]

What a phenomenal pro-Paige post!  I have to admit that it's only with this most recent rewatch that I've started to truly LOVE Paige. I always liked her, but the fact that her characterization seemed poorly defined and inconsistent frustrated someone super obsessive like I am who needs to feel like I have a firmer grasp on who characters are supposed to be :)  Posts in this thread---along with a little creative fanwanking---have given me that clearer idea of who she is, or at least who I see her as, and now she's skyrocketing up towards the top of my favorite characters list :) 

Quote

She threw in her heart and soul into being a social worker,

I think she throws her heart and soul into pretty much everything, which goes a long way towards explaining why I've come to love her so much. She's got a lot of spirit, energy and heart. I love that same passionate intensity about Prue and even Phoebe as well, but Paige throws herself into things with a little more joy than Prue and tends to be less focused on her personal needs and goals than Phoebe. I agree that she felt like helping people both supernaturally and otherwise was her true calling, and I love how she often viewed it as more of a pleasure and privilege than just an obligation. I love how she independently researched and practiced witchcraft---I, too, would take a certain geeky pleasure in knowing as much as possible :) 

One of the facets of Paige's character that at first seemed annoyingly inconsistent to me was how she'd vacillate between being all gung ho about togetherness, bonding, fitting in with her sisters, making sure everyone was getting along etc. and then, sometimes even within the same episode, be really obstinate and annoyed, insistent on doing things her own way, resentful about having to consult other people and give up her time and space etc. But I actually get it now---being an only child and living independently for a long time before suddenly acquiring these sisters who need you to live with them and realizing you have a whole destiny to follow is a massive change and explains a lot about her that I initially had trouble wrapping my mind around.  As someone who's lived alone for a long time now, I totally get feeling torn between wanting to connect and bond and just really wanting/needing to stubbornly take my own path. 

And the thing about Paige that resonates with me most and which has already been touched on here and otherwise is that she's a searcher and kind of a restless (and slightly odd!) soul. She's often not quite sure if and how she truly belongs, tries a bunch of different career paths and even hair colors, and beneath her snarky toughness and apparent bravery sometimes feels really uncertain and insecure about her role as a sister, a witch and just a person.  

Quote

In another post, I'll go into detail about my favourite Paige episodes, my favourite Paige storylines, and storylines I wish happened with her. But I think this is a great start!

I can't wait to read it! 

Edited July 9, 2016 by amensisterfriend

[Lady Calypso]

I so agree with every point that you made! I was extremely tired when I was writing my own post, so I didn't get to fully articulate my thoughts!

16 hours ago, amensisterfriend said:

I think she throws her heart and soul into pretty much everything, which goes a long way towards explaining why I've come to love her so much. She's got a lot of spirit, energy and heart. I love that same passionate intensity about Prue and even Phoebe as well, but Paige throws herself into things with a little more joy than Prue and tends to be less focused on her personal needs and goals than Phoebe. I agree that she felt like helping people both supernaturally and otherwise was her true calling, and I love how she often viewed it as more of a pleasure and privilege than just an obligation. I love how she independently researched and practiced witchcraft---I, too, would take a certain geeky pleasure in knowing as much as possible :) 

This part, in particular, is just so well worded and expresses every feeling I have about our little firecracker here. She was absolutely fine with being a witch. She quit her job to become a full-time witch, after all. Maybe a little selfish there because she lost all income she was bringing in to the household, but she was doing it for noble reasons. I think that was where Prue was heading before she died. I do think her having her photography would have allowed Prue to be able to also be an almost full time witch on the side, so she could balance both. 

Ok, so there are many, many Paige-centric episodes which are my favourite. Even episodes where she may not be the focus, but it impacted her as a character. 

A Paige From The Past is one I will always cherish. Between that one and A Knight to Remember, I will always choose the former. It just really dives into Paige as a character and we don't get enough of those moments, especially when it comes to her past. It's also why I love Sam, I Am. I actually used to dislike that episode because I was never a fan of Sam. But rewatching it? It's actually really good and Paige gets to deal with her biological father. Centennial Charmed is also an interesting one because although it deals primarily with Cole and his obsession with Phoebe, it's Paige who has to remember the alternate universe, not her sisters. She basically dealt with it herself and she did a good job in bringing her alternate universe sisters together to defeat Cole once and for all. 

Also, Baby's First Demon is an odd favourite, but I love Paige's overprotectiveness over baby Wyatt. It differs from Phoebe's overprotectiveness, because Paige uses magical means to save him from demons, which is why his middle name being Paige's adoptive last name is so significant and it makes me see why she is so important to the series. And Sympathy for the Demon isn't exactly Paige centric, but it has excellent Paige moments. 

Love's a Witch is one that I can watch more than once. It's not amazing in any means, but Paige gets some excellent moments by not actually killing Richard's ghost fiancee, and she finds a way to save her instead. Season 6, as much as I love it, doesn't have a lot of good Paige-centric episodes. Not even Wrong Day's Journey was particularly great for me, but it was nice to see Paige conjour her own Mr. Right, one of the less common times she uses magic for pure personal gain and nothing else. Charmed Noir is one that I haven't seen in a very long time, but one I remember enjoying. The very few that I like in season 7, I guess. Payback's a Witch is amazing, amazing, amazing. I can not praise that episode enough. Any episode with Henry/Paige is good, though....ok, that's a lie. Any subplot involving Henry/Paige is good for me. 

Other storylines of Paige's that I liked? I love that she took over the 'Cole is shady as hell and I don't trust him' mantle from Prue. It helps that she has fresh eyes on the situation, but she was always the sister in season 4 most wary of Cole and his intentions toward Phoebe. Piper flip flopped but was mostly on Team Cole, and Leo didn't get much of a say in any of it before he became 'bros' with Cole. Paige was always wary about Cole, but she at least tried to give him a chance. I also liked her going through temp jobs. That arc of season 6 was kind of fun to watch, and I enjoyed some of her jobs. I just think it had more potential to be greater than it already was. 

There are some storylines I wish Paige got more of. One of them was her developing her Whitelighter side more. I wanted to see her have more charges, rather than the one every season. She was a witch first, of course, but they never developed her Whitelighter side besides being able to orb and telekinetic orb. I know that's kind of where she got her caring for other people side from, but I wish it became more prominent in her life. Imagine if she had a better charge for a witch in season 8 (was Billie even her actual charge?), and that could have been a good recurring arc for Paige. 

I also wish we had an episode where she met Prue. I was always curious about how that relationship would have worked out, and I do think they could have actually been quite close as sisters. I just feel like the show messed up, particularly Brad Kern, when he assumed that Prue could be forgotten about. All because he didn't want to spend the money to use her picture, even. Would it have been a lot of money? Probably. But why be so selfish and not give the fans what they want, especially after eight years of loyalty? Why not take the chance and ask Shannen if she'd like to make a cameo instead of assuming she wouldn't want to? They could have had Shannen only interact with Rose. I know they were in a movie together before Charmed, so I don't think they would have had a problem together. I love this show, I do, but I sometimes sit down and wonder why when they made so many mistakes. 

I also wish we got introduced to Henry earlier. Maybe season 7 could have been different if they made different choices. They gave Phoebe and Piper so much of the heavy arcs that Paige often got stuck with the lesser ones. Paige usually got the two episode arcs, which sucked. They did try at the beginning, but I feel like they stopped caring at some point. Paige's relationship with Richard and her temp jobs had so much potential. Paige becoming a teacher at Magic School had more potential. Hell, even Paige and Kyle could have been better than it was. Paige/Henry was so good and it satisfied me with the knowledge that it was the final season, but imagine if we had two full seasons of them. The first season would have been their relationship leading up to the marriage, and the final season would have been Paige as a married woman, with responsibilities, without her carefree nature. Hell, maybe we would have seen her get pregnant and seen some of that being explored. Maybe Paige as a married woman would have had more struggles between the charges she was being given and being with her husband. Maybe that would have led Phoebe into a different, non-romantic storyline as she became a mentor to Billie (or another young witch). 

I guess that's all I really have at the moment, although I definitely have more to say about Paige. But again, I'll leave it at that and see what you guys have to say.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Lady Calypso

[amensisterfriend]

My beloved Paige!!! For those of us who initially struggled or even still struggle to get a handle on who her character is supposed to be, I came across these classifications of her as an ENTP that really worked for me. Even if you don't put much stock in Myers Briggs/MBTI in general, I think a lot of these descriptions nicely capture the core of her character. I plan to refer to them when---let's face it, IF---I ever muster the discipline and talent to write Charmed fanfic :)

http://funkymbtifiction.tumblr.com/post/135073461514/charmed-paige-matthews-entp

http://mbtinpopculture.tumblr.com/post/145728401457/paige-matthews-entp

[Blandings]

Spent some very quality time on this thread this morning. I am very excited to open my mind to loving Paige more as I watch the later seasons again. A lot of the analysis here made me think I've really underestimated the character. If nothing else, at least I feel more connected to her more than I do to Phoebe for the last four seasons of the show! I will also give serious thought to which of her hair colors I love the most. 

[EarlGreyTea]

I'm rewatching Season 4 for the first time since probably its first airing, and I have to say I think Paige was introduced pretty gracefully. They didn't stop mentioning Prue and didn't act as though she never existed, as a lesser show might have done. Paige's backstory was actually fairly well thought out too - as in, it wasn't too much of a retcon at all since the Sam/Patty affair was established before then. Makes me wonder if the writers had the possibility of Paige in their back pockets, just in case. In-universe, it makes sense that Fate had another sister waiting in the wings, in case destiny needed to re-align itself.

I like that Paige wasn't immediately one of them. The other two were reluctant to get close to her, and their bond took time to organically form. It was also respectful of Prue's character to have Piper clinging to her memory, to the point where she was distant from Paige. And having Paige introduced to magic and fighting helped breathe new life into the show.

I also liked that the sisterly dynamics shifted. Piper having to become the oldest sister was hard for her and it changed her a lot. I really enjoyed Phoebe as the youngest sister, and I kind of missed her in that role, honestly. Having her as the go-between was awkward, as it should have been. They all suffered growing pains in season 4.

And as for the hair debate, I think Rose looked simply stunning in her first season with her dark hair. She, Alyssa, Shannen, Holly, and Julian are some of the most beautiful people Hollywood ever produced, IMO. If nothing else, the show always had that going for it.

Edited October 15, 2017 by EarlGreyTea

[Esmeralda]

Many fans think that the writers did the Sam/Patty thing in case something happened to one of the stars.  

I don't think so.

At the time of the filming of 'P3 H2O' the three actresses were best of friends - Holly and Shannen were bridesmaids at Alyssa's wedding...  The problems didn't start until Season Three when suddenly Alyssa became more popular than Shannen, who was supposed to be the big star.

'P3 H2O' just showed the similarity between Piper & Leo and Patty & Sam, nothing more.

When Spelling fired Shannen, he truly lucked out in already having a reasonable explanation for adding another "sister".

I always wonder what would've happened after S3 if Ted King (Andy) had decided to stay so Brian Krause (Leo) would've only been part of S1...

 

As for the change of the sisterly dynamics, I think it was the worst decision the show made.  Paige was *never* the baby of the family, even if they tried to turn her into Phoebe V.2  She was raised as an Only Child, which is much closer to being an Oldest rather than the Baby.  They should've let her take over the role of leader, but in a different way than Prue - helping her half-sisters get over their big sister's death (and not by telling Piper to hate Prue, but to tell her to try to make Prue proud of her by being the best big sister to Phoebe - the true Baby of the family - that she could, so she wouldn't have had an excuse to turn into Poor, Poor Pitiful Piper - yes, teenaged Paige might have felt that way about her parents' death, but no way an assistant social worker would've given such horrible advice, especially to someone who was already an adult!  Rather than turning back to Piper, Piper the Fury should've become Piper the Banshee and remain that way until she stopped feeling sorry for herself) and then lead them by treating them as adults rather than as children like Prue did, so they all could've progressed rather than regressed as they did.  

Edited October 15, 2017 by Esmeralda

[EarlGreyTea]

2 hours ago, Esmeralda said:

As for the change of the sisterly dynamics, I think it was the worst decision the show made.  Paige was *never* the baby of the family, even if they tried to turn her into Phoebe V.2  She was raised as an Only Child, which is much closer to being an Oldest rather than the Baby.  They should've let her take over the role of leader, but in a different way than Prue - helping her half-sisters get over their big sister's death (and not by telling Piper to hate Prue, but to tell her to try to make Prue proud of her by being the best big sister to Phoebe - the true Baby of the family - that she could, so she wouldn't have had an excuse to turn into Poor, Poor Pitiful Piper - yes, teenaged Paige might have felt that way about her parents' death, but no way an assistant social worker would've given such horrible advice, especially to someone who was already an adult!  Rather than turning back to Piper, Piper the Fury should've become Piper the Banshee and remain that way until she stopped feeling sorry for herself) and then lead them by treating them as adults rather than as children like Prue did, so they all could've progressed rather than regressed as they did.  

Now this is a great point re: Paige never being the baby. I'm an only child too, and I can't imagine easily falling into a sisterly dynamic after years of being the only. How weird it must have been to be thrown into the mix and having to share everything. But I also think that even if Paige had never come into the mix, Piper would still have stepped into the oldest sister role even if it had been just her and Phoebe.

I'm watching the episode where Paige goes back in time to see her parents. Some great work on Rose and the writers' part. It also fleshed out her backstory, and I loved seeing how she grew up. The actors playing her parents also did a great job, I thought, of portraying loving parents who were at the end of their rope. Her having such a conventional upbringing was a nice contrast to the other girls' childhoods. I actually almost wish they were still alive when the series began, that's how much I liked them.

Also, after seeing this episode, they definitely missed the boat on Paige/Leo. They had a nice warm chemistry.

Edited October 15, 2017 by EarlGreyTea

[Esmeralda]

I hated that episode.  Again it was making Paige be more like Phoebe than an Only Child.  I can't see her behaving that way, especially with the way her parents treated her.

[Guest]

On 12/06/2015 at 4:37 PM, Daisy said:

 

 

Paige + Leo are at the AA meeting (Long Live the Queen), to save the innocent that Phoebe saved (then condemned to death) because she also saved the Demon. The only real hint that Paige never drinks (and the cannon-y) bit, is that she always asks if it's apple cider or Piper goes "and apple cider for you." (she also has Perrier in Charmed Again, and is always drinking that or a clear liquid (ie soda) when she's at the club with everyone else). 

 

When she orbed down to see why leo wasn't answering her calls (LLTQ), she pushed the bottle of booze with a side of disgust, so I don't think it was ever heavily implied that she was an alcoholic but more of - she drank a lot as a teen - and then stopped. (and the stopping more than likely had to do with the fact that her parents died, and she thought she was a failure to them so she wanted to clean up everything - including drinking) 

 

that's how i always took it anyway. 

 

i was always hoping for Susan Ward (I liked her on Sunset Beach and Hercules. I think she would have done the storyline good, but i didn't mind Rose). I think really having a Quirk-ier Prue would have been a really good storyline for her. She was young - but had to grow up fast. she is all YAY! magic, but she grew up 100 percent in a non magical atmosphere. (like even the girls had some semblance of magic growing up, ie: the fairy tales, Grams herself, etc), Paige did not. 

i really do like they made her more and more 'white-lighter' ish though. 

She also explicitly says to Shayne in Charmed Again

"So much for how well you know me cowboy. I don't drink. I used to have kind of a problem during liquids… lot of problems, actually, but that's all behind me."

A problem with alcohol makes an alcoholic. 

On 15/10/2017 at 11:32 PM, EarlGreyTea said:

Now this is a great point re: Paige never being the baby. I'm an only child too, and I can't imagine easily falling into a sisterly dynamic after years of being the only. How weird it must have been to be thrown into the mix and having to share everything. But I also think that even if Paige had never come into the mix, Piper would still have stepped into the oldest sister role even if it had been just her and Phoebe.

I'm watching the episode where Paige goes back in time to see her parents. Some great work on Rose and the writers' part. It also fleshed out her backstory, and I loved seeing how she grew up. The actors playing her parents also did a great job, I thought, of portraying loving parents who were at the end of their rope. Her having such a conventional upbringing was a nice contrast to the other girls' childhoods. I actually almost wish they were still alive when the series began, that's how much I liked them.

Also, after seeing this episode, they definitely missed the boat on Paige/Leo. They had a nice warm chemistry.

In regards to Phoebe, Piper was always in the "Prue"-role with her anyway and always came across as a maternal figure to Phoebe even when Prue was alive. 

So, yeah, stepping into the older sister role would be easy when it's the natural place you are. 

If Phoebe had suddenly stepped up as the responsible "leader" it wouldn't have been natural. 

On 16/10/2017 at 11:59 PM, Esmeralda said:

I hated that episode.  Again it was making Paige be more like Phoebe than an Only Child.  I can't see her behaving that way, especially with the way her parents treated her.

This doesn't make sense. How is "acting like Phoebe" and being an "only child" mutually exclusive? 

Kids with no siblings can go through rebellious stages too. 

[Esmeralda]

2 hours ago, Lost said:

She also explicitly says to Shayne in Charmed Again

"So much for how well you know me cowboy. I don't drink. I used to have kind of a problem during liquids… lot of problems, actually, but that's all behind me."

A problem with alcohol makes an alcoholic. 

In regards to Phoebe, Piper was always in the "Prue"-role with her anyway and always came across as a maternal figure to Phoebe even when Prue was alive. 

So, yeah, stepping into the older sister role would be easy when it's the natural place you are. 

If Phoebe had suddenly stepped up as the responsible "leader" it wouldn't have been natural. 

This doesn't make sense. How is "acting like Phoebe" and being an "only child" mutually exclusive? 

Kids with no siblings can go through rebellious stages too. 

 Yes, only children can have rebellious stages as teenagers, just like Prue the Oldest did.  Paige was an assistant social worker who had graduated from college.  Making her act too much like  the rebellious free-spirit Phoebe originally was just made no sense, no more than trying to have Piper act like Prue or Phoebe act like Piper.  It was that whole season that made all of them act too much like the ones they weren't. Maybe eventually after they accepted Prue's death Piper and Phoebe might have morphed into those roles, but not right away, not such a huge switch.  It's part of why S4 is my second-least favorite season, just before S6, and part of why I count S4-8 as the alternate-universe spin-off of Charmed.

Edited December 2, 2017 by Esmeralda

[Guest]

33 minutes ago, Esmeralda said:

 Yes, only children can have rebellious stages as teenagers, just like Prue the Oldest did.  Paige was an assistant social worker who had graduated from college.  Making her act too much like  the rebellious free-spirit Phoebe originally was just made no sense, no more than trying to have Piper act like Prue or Phoebe act like Piper.  It was that whole season that made all of them act too much like the ones they weren't. Maybe eventually after they accepted Prue's death Piper and Phoebe might have morphed into those roles, but not right away, not such a huge switch.  It's part of why S4 is my second-least favorite season, just before S6, and part of why I count S4-8 as the alternate-universe spin-off of Charmed.

I assumed you were referring to the portrayal of Paige's rebellion in "A Paige from the Past" which was the episode being discussed. Apologies if not. 

I don't think present day Paige was portrayed much like Phoebe at all. They both had the "wild" side in common, the one Piper never had and the one Prue repressed due to helping raise her youngest two siblings. 

But, outside of the flashbacks, I don't think Paige was shown to be like, say, season 1 Phoebe. She was just a carefree soul. That doesn't make her any less responsible in a good job. 

Now, season 5 on the other hand... but then I think it wasn't what Paige always was that turned her into what she became later, it was the effect that this huge change in her life had done. Suddenly, she was a witch with magical powers so her career was no longer forefront of her mind, but her duty as a witch. And then being unemployed for a certain amount of time kind of had a negative effect on her personality, resulting in a Phoebe-lite kind of bimbo-ish phase through late season 5/early season 6. 

[Esmeralda]

Looks like we can just agree to disagree on this one.

[Guest]

Well that's told me to shut up. :(

I just don't see how anything Paige did in season 4 can be classed as her being played as the "wild" one. She spent more time discussing her wild past. 

[Esmeralda]

No, that doesn't mean shut up.  It simply means that if we keep discussing it, we'll just go around in circles, so let's discuss a different aspect of Paige.  Of her temp jobs, which one did you like the best?  I honestly enjoyed the dog walker especially when the dog was my favorite Joe Millionaire.

[nightwing877]

Of her temp jobs I liked the magicians assistant job at the retirement home, because it reminded me of my own grandparents and the actress playing the old lady who almost lost her husband I've seen in many shows. 

But the dog walker and phoebe's assistant are a close second and third. 

[andromeda331]

I admit I love Paige as Phoebe's assistant because she really makes Phoebe look incompetent. But I also really liked the magician's assistant job at the retirement home. I hate the Romeo and Juliet episode with Richard and the Callaways but I really liked the earlier scene of Paige with the grandmother. It was a nice scene. 

[Guest]

I detested the dog walker. Crap storyline in a crap episode of a crap season. 

52 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

I admit I love Paige as Phoebe's assistant because she really makes Phoebe look incompetent. But I also really liked the magician's assistant job at the retirement home. I hate the Romeo and Juliet episode with Richard and the Callaways but I really liked the earlier scene of Paige with the grandmother. It was a nice scene. 

It was laughable to me. Paige needed like three temps or whatever to organise Phoebe's office, and had to organise Phoebe's emails or whatever. 

Phoebe is one person who writes one column, how much work and people would it actually take to organise her office/work? Lmao. 

But it's always funny because the set is clearly the police station set redressed to be the Bay Mirror and there's only two private offices, one for the editor as you would expect, and out of all of the reporters the advice columnist is the one to get the other office? Nobody more important at the paper who would warrant it? Lmao. 

[nightwing877]

6 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I admit I love Paige as Phoebe's assistant because she really makes Phoebe look incompetent. But I also really liked the magician's assistant job at the retirement home. I hate the Romeo and Juliet episode with Richard and the Callaways but I really liked the earlier scene of Paige with the grandmother. It was a nice scene. 

Yeah the part with the grandmother was the only nice scene in the episode. Too bad the episode didn't turn into Paige helping that grandmother as an innocent only without the Richard and the Callaways plot. It could of made Paige reveal more about her adoptive family. 

 

I remember Paige and her story with giving Darryl powers. I didn't mind that, just because it gave Darryl some story.

Edited December 5, 2017 by nightwing877

[Eva Marie]

I belong to the club of Rose-haters (on this show, not as a person). Robin Tunney from The Craft would've made a perfect Paige for me. In fact, she could've been Prue as well. Rose just never looked comfortable on the set, her delivery was stiff and the sister chemistry wasn't there with her.

[Guest]

On 19/02/2018 at 10:23 AM, Eva Marie said:

I belong to the club of Rose-haters (on this show, not as a person). Robin Tunney from The Craft would've made a perfect Paige for me. In fact, she could've been Prue as well. Rose just never looked comfortable on the set, her delivery was stiff and the sister chemistry wasn't there with her.

I think she had some chemistry. I liked the sarcastic nature of her banter with Piper, and whenever they even attempted to write a sister scene she worked really well with Phoebe. 

Phoebe/Paige scenes are actually a highlight of season 4/5. They go through the whole range of interactions through all the arcs, fall outs etc and it works. 

I feel the major problem was once we got to season 6 the sisters were written apart more and more. Each episodes tended to cover three different plot lines with little interaction between the three. Whenever they were together it was all about Leo or Chris or Billie and it kind of robbed the sisters of their spotlight because when they did have it they chose to focus on Jason or Richard or their marriages etc. 

[Esmeralda]

On 2/19/2018 at 4:23 AM, Eva Marie said:

I belong to the club of Rose-haters (on this show, not as a person). Robin Tunney from The Craft would've made a perfect Paige for me. In fact, she could've been Prue as well. Rose just never looked comfortable on the set, her delivery was stiff and the sister chemistry wasn't there with her.

Personally I wanted her to be played either by Tiffani Theissen (although, of course, she wouldn't be cause she didn't want to be known as the actress who kept replacing Shannen Doherty) or Jennifer Love Hewitt (she would've if she wasn't up for a movie) rather than Rose.  But knowing what Rose went through, I'm glad it wasn't either.  I just wish it had ended after Season Four like Rose thought it would.

Although what I *really* would've preferred is if they left Paige out.  Leave the whole Evil!Phoebe storyline out and have Piper & Leo and Phoebe & Cole trying to save innocents (their TRUE destiny - not destroying the Source) without the Power of Three, but letting Prue still be the Oldest by having her talk to them via the spirit board would've been much better than what we got stuck with, especially for just one season.  After that they could've done the Charmed Sons spin-off and it would've been accepted, no problem especially if they found actors better than Wes Ramsey and/or Drew Fuller to play the sons.

If the two who play the brothers in Supernatural played the Charmed Sons....YES!  We'd still be watching it and have no need for a reboot!

Edited February 24, 2018 by Esmeralda

[helenamonster]

22 hours ago, Lost said:

Phoebe/Paige scenes are actually a highlight of season 4/5. They go through the whole range of interactions through all the arcs, fall outs etc and it works. 

I feel the major problem was once we got to season 6 the sisters were written apart more and more. Each episodes tended to cover three different plot lines with little interaction between the three. Whenever they were together it was all about Leo or Chris or Billie and it kind of robbed the sisters of their spotlight because when they did have it they chose to focus on Jason or Richard or their marriages etc. 

I agree with the second paragraph, but I also think there were a lot of great Phoebe/Paige moments in late season six. With Piper on the sidelines due to Holly's pregnancy, I thought we got a lot of really meaningful Phoebe/Paige interaction. I hadn't noticed it when season six first aired, but when I was rewatching the show a couple years ago it really stood out.

[Guest]

On 25/02/2018 at 7:02 PM, helenamonster said:

I agree with the second paragraph, but I also think there were a lot of great Phoebe/Paige moments in late season six. With Piper on the sidelines due to Holly's pregnancy, I thought we got a lot of really meaningful Phoebe/Paige interaction. I hadn't noticed it when season six first aired, but when I was rewatching the show a couple years ago it really stood out.

I see what you mean. Sometimes the actors make it work in spite of the writing. 

I think the show was incredibly lucky it got the leading ladies it did (Rose McGowan's questionable acting aside LOL). Because they really did a lot to sell the ridiculousness of the show, and with lesser actresses I don't think the show would've been as well received as it was and it certainly would not have lasted 8 years. 

It was like with Julian McMahon, he really sold Cole's story, even when the writing went off the boil for him in season 5. 

[magicdog]

On 2/24/2018 at 1:46 PM, Esmeralda said:

Although what I *really* would've preferred is if they left Paige out.  Leave the whole Evil!Phoebe storyline out and have Piper & Leo and Phoebe & Cole trying to save innocents

Actually that was something I suggested back when Season 4 was airing!  I liked how 4 magical beings were trying to fight evil - without having the power of three.  However, I would have wanted that to continue for about 1/2 of season 4 while events are set into motion for the reconstitution of the Charmed Ones, whether that meant bringing Shannen back, recasting Prue, or bringing in Paige.

 

Quote

 letting Prue still be the Oldest by having her talk to them via the spirit board 

I'd have liked this (the spirit board was all but forgotten), and perhaps Prue could have guided them to their destiny.  

[Eva Marie]

On ‎2‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 6:11 AM, Lost said:

It was like with Julian McMahon, he really sold Cole's story, even when the writing went off the boil for him in season 5. 

Boy, do I disagree with this one...but I've already argued this point plenty elsewhere. I actually think that a properly vulnerable and emotional actor could've salvaged this mess of a story. Julian sold HIMSELF as a hot product, but not the story. Now that I've seen enough of him in other things - I verify my initial verdict of his acting as correct: he can be really great in his limited range, but getting him to emote or drop the super-confidence is hopeless business.

I agree on the 3 original actresses being amazing and putting life into the most pedestrian writing. As wonky as Rose was - she still managed it occasionally as well.  She did it just often enough as not to sink the show.