S01.E13: Manic Pixie Nightmare

[Lady Calypso]

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A BALL OF LIGHT — With life seemingly back to normal, Parker (Nick Hargrove) tips off Maggie (Sarah Jeffery) to a mysterious death on campus that might be of demonic nature.  After the sisters consult with Harry (Rupert Evans), they try to trap the creature, but they soon realize that not everyone can avoid its powers.  Meanwhile, Galvin (Ser’Darius Blain) remembers something from his grandma’s stories that could help Macy (Madeleine Mantock) overcome her dark side.  Melanie Mayron directed the episode written by Jessica O’Toole & Amy Rardin (#113).  Original airdate 3/3/2019. 
 

[Keywestclubkid]

I love you? What where did that come from? How did they get to love already? I didn’t even realize they were dating I’m lost 

[Primal Slayer]

• This was a very Charmed episode and I didnt mind it for the most part.
• It was nice at how much time TCO had together in this episode since I feel like they spend a lot of episodes apart and broken up into 2 sisters handle 1 storyline while another sister is paired up with one of the men in another.

• Still despise how much screentime and importance the guys have (outside of Harry).

• The Pixie actress was great and I liked just about everything they did with the character from beginning to end.

• Mel has THE WORST reaction timing, not only did she just stand there with more then enough time to freeze Harry when he took the book, she just stood there as some rando SHOOTS AN ARROW at her girlfriend! 

• Maggies powers continue to grow since she can now full on communicate and break spells, at this pace she will probably go full on telepath instead of touch telepathy. 

• Did Macy give up her virginity at the end? Is that what was implied?

[Keywestclubkid]

3 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

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• Did Macy give up her virginity at the end? Is that what was implied?

I hope not cause that is just Uber cliche he says he loves you so you automatically sleep with him? 

[Lady Calypso]

Yeah, so Galvin went back to kinda creepy territory for me this episode. I'm not even sure what bugged me about him again this episode, but now I do genuinely think I just have problems with the actor in romantic scenes. It was the scene where Galvin said that he wanted to help Macy out and I know I was supposed to be charmed (pun not intended) by his feelings for Macy and wanting to help her out, but he came off as pushy again and I think that has to do with the actor for me. 

Again, Galvin is great as a friend, but not appealing as a love interest. I didn't mind his scene where he was speaking to his grandmother but...I dunno, I still don't like Galvin and Macy as a couple at all. He's acting more suspicious than Jada, who definitely is hiding things. 

I feel like they're starting to go down a route with Jada where she'll turn out to be some traitor or she'll die, and that's a shame. Jada's a pretty great supporting character, and I've had a hard time getting into any of the supporting characters to begin with, let alone a love interest. I feel like Jada would make an excellent ally for the Charmed Ones. She has her flaws and secrets, but I genuinely enjoy her and Mel together. 

As for Parker...he's slowly but surely growing on me. The actor isn't great still but the idea of Parker, and Parker/Maggie, doesn't make me cringe as much anymore. Plus, it feels like the show FINALLY has gotten a good grip on Parker/Maggie, where it doesn't feel as rushed. I mean, I know it's still rushed, but it's starting to slow down a bit.

I absolutely LOVED Chloe. The actress played her perfectly. Hell, I felt a lot for her when she got her acorn heart back around her neck. That moment was brilliantly played by the actress. The story wasn't that appealing, as I knew Douche Film Guy was going to be in on it somehow, but Chloe was a great guest star. 

This episode was definitely on the lighter side, which worked for me. 

[Scousersal]

Galvin said I love you but macy didn’t say it back , anyone find that weird .There was no romance from Macy’s side imo just a sense of this guys said I love you , he’s willing to risk his life and I like him so I might as well. Wich is her choice but lacked passion 

Edited March 4, 2019 by Scousersal

[Stardancer Supreme]

This episode hit most of the feels for me.

The pixie situation was handled well! For once the supernatural threat wasn't truly evil. 

Mel! How on earth did you let Jada get hit by an arrow? You had enough time to stop the event from happening! Now I really want to know who Jada's adoptive parents are.

I'm through with Galvin and okay with Parker, although dampening his demon half will not be helpful to TCO. 

[iMonrey]

This show continues to settle down into a more manageable and enjoyable format and this episode felt like another throwback to the original series. Nice progression with the overall story arc on Parker and Macy, and nice demon-of-the-week story. Those of us who watch The Magicians recognized this week's guest douche too, hee. 

I guess my only gripe would be that I was hoping this version would steer away from "magical community" creatures like Pixies, etc., because that was sort of the downfall of the original series; it just got too silly once they started adding fairies and elves and dwarfs, etc.

Still, the bits with Harry acting all manic were pretty funny, I have to admit. He's really grown on me much more than I ever expected when this thing started. The actor just sells it. I loved his "in cognito" disguise too. 

[Lady Calypso]

2 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

 Still, the bits with Harry acting all manic were pretty funny, I have to admit. He's really grown on me much more than I ever expected when this thing started. The actor just sells it. I loved his "in cognito" disguise too. 

True, although thinking about this, why Harry didn't drink his own potion after he got pixie'd the first time (not even by Chloe but by his pixie book) is beyond me. I mean, he even suggested the potion for Parker and Evil Douche Film Guy but he didn't take it himself? C'mon, show.

I also realise that it's bugging me how quickly the sisters are advancing their powers. We're not seeing them actively practicing magic much and suddenly, Maggie can use some sort of mind control to get Parker and Harry to snap out of the spell? Like, with no degree of difficulty whatsoever? I'm all for giving Maggie some more active powers since she's been fairly useless in actual demon fights, but they're really neglecting the new witch status of these sisters. I mean, with Macy, she has telekinesis and not much has actually been done with her powers, besides moving small objects with her mind so that's fine, but we're also not seeing her practice magic. With Mel, she seems to be a little less consistent in terms of how long her power lasts when she freezes objects and people. But now with Maggie, she does have the most interest set of powers (telepathy and empathy) and it makes sense to advance her powers since there's a lot she should be able to do, but it's too quick and easy for me to really buy. 

I mean, the original series had the sisters slowly advance their powers until they basically stopped showing any growth which pissed me off, but this series has them moving too quick and it seems like a lot of their development has been offscreen. We don't even get to see the Book of Shadows much, besides one scene here and there. 

[AngelKitty]

I actually yelled at the tv when Harry got spelled by the pixie dust a second time. They knew it could affect him. He should have stayed away!

Other than that it was a fun episode.

[Primal Slayer]

5 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

True, although thinking about this, why Harry didn't drink his own potion after he got pixie'd the first time (not even by Chloe but by his pixie book) is beyond me. I mean, he even suggested the potion for Parker and Evil Douche Film Guy but he didn't take it himself? C'mon, show.

I also realise that it's bugging me how quickly the sisters are advancing their powers. We're not seeing them actively practicing magic much and suddenly, Maggie can use some sort of mind control to get Parker and Harry to snap out of the spell? Like, with no degree of difficulty whatsoever? I'm all for giving Maggie some more active powers since she's been fairly useless in actual demon fights, but they're really neglecting the new witch status of these sisters. I mean, with Macy, she has telekinesis and not much has actually been done with her powers, besides moving small objects with her mind so that's fine, but we're also not seeing her practice magic. With Mel, she seems to be a little less consistent in terms of how long her power lasts when she freezes objects and people. But now with Maggie, she does have the most interest set of powers (telepathy and empathy) and it makes sense to advance her powers since there's a lot she should be able to do, but it's too quick and easy for me to really buy. 

I mean, the original series had the sisters slowly advance their powers until they basically stopped showing any growth which pissed me off, but this series has them moving too quick and it seems like a lot of their development has been offscreen. We don't even get to see the Book of Shadows much, besides one scene here and there. 

The powers are....yeah..I agree. They are so inconsistent as well, one day Macy uses her hands for TK then she uses her mind then she has to bop her head around. The actress who plays Mel just really needs to work on her freezing technique because it is so unoriginal and flat (palmed), she just holds her palm up to freeze, palm up to unfreeze and no force behind it. But Maggie not having premonitions really shows what this show is lacking, the sisters arent able to be proactive. They have to constantly rely on someone else to clue them into the problem and rely on someone to help with save the day.

[CheezyXpressed]

Maggie has had this power since the Harbringer episode, so it was nice seeing her use it again here.

I enjoyed Harry. He's usually the best thing of Charmed, so I'm glad he's still killing it.

I liked seeing Madame Roz again and I liked that Galvin has to go on a quest. I...I don't like that Macy slept with Galvin just like that. He says he loves her and he's undertaking this huge quest for her, so she just invites him upstairs? I don't know, it seemed cliche and unlike Macy. Oh well, she can do whatever and if she wanted to do this it's fine. It just seemed like a reward for Galvin more than Macy making this decision. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it properly, but she didn't even say "I love you" to him so I'm not even sure if she feels the same way.

Mel not using her powers is kind of odd, considering she was the one who was into being a witch. She can use a hex, but can't use her Charmed power? Come on, that's just lazy writing.

[iMonrey]

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 I...I don't like that Macy slept with Galvin just like that. He says he loves her and he's undertaking this huge quest for her, so she just invites him upstairs? I don't know, it seemed cliche and unlike Macy. 

They haven't really gotten into why she's still a virgin. It does not appear to be something inspired by religion in her case. It's more likely that she has focused so exclusively on her education and career that she's never had anything close to a regular boyfriend. So it's possible she didn't regard her virginity as something monumentally important to her, just something she was kind of embarrassed about because she'd never lost it.

[CheezyXpressed]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

They haven't really gotten into why she's still a virgin. It does not appear to be something inspired by religion in her case. It's more likely that she has focused so exclusively on her education and career that she's never had anything close to a regular boyfriend. So it's possible she didn't regard her virginity as something monumentally important to her, just something she was kind of embarrassed about because she'd never lost it.

That's how I viewed it too and the I read an article where the writers didn't want to make a big deal about it, so I get what they were going for with the scene. It's just that, Galvin is risking his life for Macy and says I love you so Macy rewards him with sex, even though we didn't even get an I love you from her. It just felt like it was for Galvin instead of Macy and Galvin.

[tennisgurl]

I think the show is finally settling down into a pretty solid series. Granted, it has some noticeable flaws, like I wish we saw the Charmed Ones practicing magic and expanding their powers more often, and some of their "Woke" moments can still be handled rather on the nose, but its making good strides.

I liked the case of the week, and the literal manic pixie dream girl was pretty clever and I liked how everything turned out. The actress was really good, and I was glad that she turned out not to be evil and made it out alright. Maybe they can call the now organized Pixies and ask them for help some time down the road? Her many "quirky love affirming" jobs cracked me up, that was too real a parody. 

Oh Harry, drink your own protection potion! It was fun seeing him all zonked out on pixie dust though, and not gonna lie, hipster is a good look for him! I liked that he got to interact with Maggie more, and that they continue to deal with the aftermath of his trip to hell, even in small ways. 

Galvin is a better character than he was before, but I just dont see the romance between him and Macy. They work just fine as friends, and the scenes with his grandma were nice, but I just dont see the chemistry, not romantic anyway. 

Parker has also grown on me a bit more, and while the actor isnt amazing or anything, I think he does better with fun scenes than he does with angsty ones. And they have slowed things with him and Maggie so they arent immediately announcing them OTP without any of the work, which is a good call as well. His powers are pretty cool too, and super useful! 

Come on Mel, use those powers! You can freeze time, use it! I hope that she and Jada remain a thing, I like Jada a lot more than her cop/private eye ex. She was nice, but Jada has a lot more personality, and she and Mel are cute together.

[Rockstar99435]

22 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I liked the case of the week, and the literal manic pixie dream girl was pretty clever and I liked how everything turned out. The actress was really good, and I was glad that she turned out not to be evil and made it out alright. Maybe they can call the now organized Pixies and ask them for help some time down the road? Her many "quirky love affirming" jobs cracked me up, that was too real a parody. 

I loved that the sisters were all "Maybe you pixies should band together and protect yourselves." It used to drive me nuts on the original Charmed when the magical beings would just expect/demand that the original sisters to be their bodyguards/protection. I'm glad these sisters didn't jump and volunteer to be the guardians of the pixie hearts. It fits better with the empowering women to empower themselves theme to have the pixies learn to take care of themselves and not rely on others for protection.

[rubyred]

I agree with those who aren't feeling that Galvin is working as a romantic interest; he starting crossing over that manipulative/gaslighting line again when he basically pressured Macy into accepting his help, characterizing it into a situation where she's closing him out "again". And unfortunately she caved to that. Made me uncomfortable. Their relationship is so poorly drawn that his "sacrifice" on her behalf has no true emotional stakes. Which makes her then having sex with him seem even less romantic or sexy and more like a reward. Which, ugh.

In short, I hope he dies.

[Camera One]

I liked this episode, and this series is starting to grow on me more.  I still kind of wish this series didn't use the "Charmed" name/legacy... the connection has added nothing to this series at all.  This new show could have eventually stood on its own as a separate story loosely inspired by "Charmed".  This was probably the first episode for me where I found the humor actually funny.  The Pixtionary was amusing and cute.  

[Chas411]

Despite the bad acting I prefer Parker to Maggie. They whiny dramatic faces and sighs when she’s around Him are eye rolling. She used to be a lot livelier.