S01.E18: The Replacement

[Lady Calypso]

Quote

REVELATIONS — When Harry (Rupert Evans) mysteriously disappears, a substitute Whitelighter, Tessa (guest star Chloe Bridges), surprises the sisters.  With Galvin’s (Ser’Darius Blain) return imminent, Macy (Madeleine Mantock) knows she must tell him her decision about her demon side.  Niko (Ellen Tamaki) is curious when she sees that the Sarcana has cleared out and calls Mel (Melonie Diaz) for clarity, but when Mel arrives she is alarmed at what she discovers.  Meanwhile, Maggie (Sarah Jeffery) is trying to figure out how she can pay for college and turns to Macy for guidance.  Greg Beeman directed the episode written by Marcos Luevanos & Zoe Marshall (#118).  Original airdate 4/21/2019 

[AnimeMania]

Galvin kills Mama Roz, I wish it was the other way around. At least it seems like it will be the last time we will see Galvin for a while.

[Primal Slayer]

I thought this was one of the best episodes of the season. Fairly tight, A LOT of sister interaction, new Whitelighter is enjoyable and it was very serious. Still not into the sisters powers growing every other episode but apart from that, I liked it.

[UNOSEZ]

Good episode.. I liked Maggie and Macy's growth this episode.. With witch stuff and in life... Especially Maggie... Niko is just plain annoying to me so her sticking around is meh... I liked Tessa and she was right that the girls needed some work... I am kinda bummed that the show took out TWO black love interests this week... It was one of the non story things I enjoyed about this show.. That it had an actual black couple... And an interracial couple that didn't have any white ppl... Which even in our much more diverse age is still something you rarely see... In-universe  it makes sense for both characters to leave right now.. Still a bit of a gut punch... Especially Jada who seemed to be someone we could've learned a lot from but was really under-utilized.. And kinda treated bad by mel in the end. As soon as Jada didn't or couldn't help Mel with her harry situation because she had other stuff going on.. Mel just deaded everything... I get it that you may need a second to recalibrate.. Anywhoo So i hope they pop up again

[Cranberry]

I really like Tessa and I'm bummed that she's only a guest star. The girls and Harry became like family way too soon; it's fun to see the trio push back against their whitelighter (and to see her realize they're more of a handful than she expected!).

I'm also glad to (hopefully) get rid of Galvin; while he did improve in his most recent episodes, he's always had a controlling/guilt-trippy air about him and I never quite bought the attraction between him and Macy. More disappointed to lose Jada, although I will be surprised if she's gone for good.

I like that Nico knows Mel is a witch now; I'm interested to see what will happen with that (and whether the spell Mel placed on her will hold).

I think this was one of the tighter, better episodes. The girls worked together well and didn't look incompetent, Maggie's identity storyline raised some interesting questions and had the right amount of weight, and the show seemed to trim some fat in removing a couple love interests (at least for now). It feels like the writers are settling down a little now that they know the show's renewed and they don't have to throw everything but the kitchen sink at us to hold our interest.

[UNOSEZ]

9 minutes ago, Cranberry said:

I'm also glad to (hopefully) get rid of Galvin; while he did improve in his most recent episodes, he's always had a controlling/guilt-trippy air about him and I never quite bought the attraction between him and Macy.

I know he wasn't the greatest character.. But like you said he was growing.. And at least to me.. As someone who while genetically I'm mixed race I tend to just label myself black.. He was an important step for me to see... Especially on this network... With a track record for black male characters that is... Let's just say not great... Especially the young adult age group.. Because you do have Diggle on arrow and Joe on the flash.. But chuck on riverdale.. Wally on the flash.. Jax on legends... Jimmy on Supergirl.. I mean they hated Jimmy from the jump... And folks we're posting macy should be with harry or anyone besides galvin from the jump as well.. So I was hoping the show.. As its wanted to be more inclusive and represent more.. Would stick with him as a character.. And more over as a love interest for a main character 

[iMonrey]

I'm not really invested in whether Mel winds up with Niko or Jada. The show never really invested enough time in the relationship with Niko before killing it off and Jada is still something of an enigma. I am curious where they're going with the whole "Elders are Bad" plot though and what they can do with the Sarcana now that Fiona has apparently wiped most of them out. They never really developed that plot point either. 

I do think this episode hit some nice emotional beats like Maggie realizing the's half black and Macy struggling with telling Galvin she wanted to keep her evil side after everything he's been though to get the tool necessary to exorcise it from her. I can see where they are both coming from.

[Stardancer Supreme]

Galvin was just a poorly written character with an actor who had no chemistry with the sisters.  He only became more interesting with a demon in him.  I'm not going to miss him. Macy deserves better.

Why didn't Mel claim to be sick on the night of Niko's engagement party?  Now we are stuck with a character who should have been erased off the TCO board.

A nitpick: I thought Macy died as an infant, according to the flashback. Maggie describing it as Macy being stillborn doesn't make sense.  Macy was a dead child.

I actually like the new Whitelighter.  She might be the one to teach TCO how to step up their game.

I'm mad that we didn't get a Sarcana led episode before wiping them out.  We should have seen a least something from Fiona's perspective.  Maybe she becomes the Source?  At least Jada survived the carnage. 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Stardancer Supreme

[Jacks-Son]

On 4/21/2019 at 9:03 PM, Cranberry said:

Maggie's identity storyline raised some interesting questions and had the right amount of weight, and the show seemed to trim some fat in removing a couple love interests (at least for now).

I really liked this episode and this story-line especially.  Maggie recognizing that she never identified with her African-American lineage and therefore felt like a cheat if she used that lineage simply to get a scholarship.  Well done show!  I like that the writers not only wrote that in, but also decided to weigh in and come down on a certain perspective and didn't leave it up to some wishy-washy non-decision. Not many shows have the willingness to bring up the topic.  I also like that Maggie asked Macy for advice.

Bye bye Galvin.  Never liked him, so if he's gone, good.  He didn't deserve her also as far as Niko vs Jada, I think the show had already decided to go with Niko breaking the memory/history wipe.  Although I kind of liked Jada and thought her Elder-hate was enlightening to Mel despite the whole Fiona strategy destroying the Sarcana.  I thought Jada was this modern reboot's answer to Leo.

I actually miss Harry, and Tessa is a hoot, but this show needs more male characters, preferably a person of color.  @UNOSEZ you mention a dearth of African-American males in fantasy shows.  If memory serves me right, you and I used to bitch about Dolls' death in the "Wynnna Earp" forum. I was the Flushing, NY guy and you were raised nearby.  Am I imagining things?  If so, I apologize.

Good episode with plenty of fun, except the death of all the Sarcana members.  Speaking of that, I think Mel should have brought Niko back into that hidden room.  Those ARE people whose deaths' should be investigated and no one is more qualified to assist in that investigation than Niko.

[UNOSEZ]

1 hour ago, Jacks-Son said:

I really liked this episode and this story-line especially.  Maggie recognizing that she never identified with her African-American lineage and therefore felt like a cheat if she used that lineage simply to get a scholarship.  Well done show!  I like that the writers not only wrote that in, but also decided to weigh in and come down on a certain perspective and didn't leave it up to some wishy-washy non-decision. Not many shows have the willingness to bring up the topic.  I also like that Maggie asked Macy for advice.

Bye bye Galvin.  Never liked him, so if he's gone, good.  He didn't deserve her also as far as Niko vs Jada, I think the show had already decided to go with Niko breaking the memory/history wipe.  Although I kind of liked Jada and thought her Elder-hate was enlightening to Mel despite the whole Fiona strategy destroying the Sarcana.  I thought Jada was this modern reboot's answer to Leo.

I actually miss Harry, and Tessa is a hoot, but this show needs more male characters, preferably a person of color.  @UNOSEZ you mention a dearth of African-American males in fantasy shows.  If memory serves me right, you and I used to bitch about Dolls' death in the "Wynnna Earp" forum. I was the Flushing, NY guy and you were raised nearby.  Am I imagining things?  If so, I apologize.

Good episode with plenty of fun, except the death of all the Sarcana members.  Speaking of that, I think Mel should have brought Niko back into that hidden room.  Those ARE people whose deaths' should be investigated and no one is more qualified to assist in that investigation than Niko.

no that was me.. I thought about mentioning dolls' in the post but i figured I'd stick to the cw... I know galvin wasn't great.. But as I'm almost sure if someone is sent in to replace him it'll be a very "CW" actor.. And as you know I've seen that story a few too many times

[Jacks-Son]

4 minutes ago, UNOSEZ said:

But as I'm almost sure if someone is sent in to replace him it'll be a very "CW" actor.. And as you know I've seen that story a few too many times

Nice to hear from you again.  Glad my memory is still working.  Isn't the CW's tagline, "Open to All"?  Plus I ran across this boast: The CW touts that nearly two-thirds of its showrunners/executive producers, writers, and directors are women or people of color."? 

The CW Puts Diversity at the Center of Its New Fall Marketing Campaign

[UNOSEZ]

5 minutes ago, Jacks-Son said:

Nice to hear from you again.  Glad my memory is still working.  Isn't the CW's tagline, "Open to All"?  Plus I ran across this boast: The CW touts that nearly two-thirds of its showrunners/executive producers, writers, and directors are women or people of color."? 

The CW Puts Diversity at the Center of Its New Fall Marketing Campaign

Oh the CW is better than most.. But trends still persist... Except shows that are majority -minority ( charmed... Black lightning... Jane the virgin)  the topics on the shows rarely broach "sensitive " topics... Men of color still seem to be on the outskirts most of the time.. The majority of the women of color seem to only date white men... I only remember like two couples on all the shows that didn't have at least one white partner... So.. Definite strides made and I'm sure they'll continue to do so... More diverse yes.. But all the way to inclusive not yet

[Jacks-Son]

6 minutes ago, UNOSEZ said:

The majority of the women of color seem to only date white men.

Ahem.. Iris West/Eddie, Iris West/Barry Allen.  At least Cisco had Gypsy but Cisco isn't very Latino-ish.  Yes, trends are very difficult to battle.  MY main complaint, and this is mostly apparent in "Black Lightning" is that every person of color is either a drug dealer or traffics in prostitution and worse of all, EVERYONE carries a gun.  I loathe the image of African American youths walking around with a gun.  I think that image contributes to the mentality that Black men are borderline criminals who carry guns.  They need to stop contributing to that image and promote more POC who are peaceful.  I thought "Cloak and Dagger" would approach it differently, but the last episode had a multitude of Black youths openly forcing young girls into prostitution and hunting Cloak with guns ready.  To make matters worse, when the girls were saved by Cloak & Dagger, the police still insisted that the girls be charged with prostitution.  That, to put it plainly, is fucked up.

[UNOSEZ]

20 minutes ago, Jacks-Son said:

That, to put it plainly, is fucked up.

True it is.. But its also not a lie... I don't mind gangbangers being depicted as gangbangers... I mean they're out there in the real world.. I do mind ONLY seeing bangers... If that's the only way ima see some black/brown/yellow/red on my screen I'm upset.. If its balanced I can't be too mad... 

[Jacks-Son]

My comment about it being fucked up was meant specifically towards the police charging kidnapped young girls forced into prostitution  with Prostitution, although it is also fucked up with the depiction of most black youths as gangbangers with guns and not just any guns, automatic weapons.  Oh yeah, lets continue with this stereotype.  As far as "Charmed", it appears that almost all of the Elders are White women and the one Elder of color was killed, with nary another comment.

**Make that two Elders of color were killed; the Charmed Ones' mom and the Elder (Priyanka Bari) who drew on Macy's Demon side to find out that Charity was her killer.  You know, on second thought, after going through IMDB's cast members for this show, it has a heck of a lot of POC  in the cast.  Good on you, show, now stop killing them off.

Edited April 24, 2019 by Jacks-Son
**

[tennisgurl]

Isn't Galvin a doctor? How does he have the skill set to be running around digging through caves in remote locations looking for ancient artifacts, Indiana Jones style? Does he hang out at rock climbing walls on the weekends, and have a bachelors in archaeology?

I liked that episode, I thought it was pretty tightly written, and we had lots of good sister interaction throughout. I like the new White Lighter, I think she could be a good push that the sisters need to get moving on their training. They already are thinking more strategically with their powers, so as unpleasant as she is, I think she could be a good recurring character for a bit. I do miss Harry though, and his bougie British breadcrumbs. 

The subplot with Maggie really starting to realize that she is part black on her dads side was really well done, and I hope they continue to explore it. Its a really interesting idea, finding out you have this whole side of you and your history that you just found out, it has a lot of good potential. 

So Galvin is done and gone? Well, I liked the actor just fine (I thought he was really good at playing evil) but I never liked him all that much, and this kind of confirms it. He just couldn't handle all that Macy was is, and that sucks, but there we are. It is kind of weird that they spent so much time on him and their romance though I guess. 

I hope that Mel and Jada can try it again, I think them a lot more than Niko/Mel. Jada was an asshole to Mel about Harry, but they can work on stuff. 

[UNOSEZ]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Jada was an asshole to Mel about Harry, but they can work on stuff. 

She was... But at the same time.. Mel wasn't even trying  to understand what it was Jada was doing with her sarcarna sisters at the time( not that I did either.. But I know it was something terribly important that they'd been working on for a long time)  and the second Jada was like.. I got stuff going on too... Mel dropped her and the sarcana... Harsh.... What exactly was Maggie's culture then... I know that the mom was a Latina.. But did Maggie ever come across as someone cognizant of her Latina side either?... She's pledging majority white sororities...  Every dude she was attached to was white.. Never saw her say anything in Spanish or Spanglish... Did they ever say what country the mother was from ( PR... DR... Cuba... Panama... Spain...??)  I loved the story and it rang true ( the little they touched on it)  she reminded me of kids in my Private HS in Northern VA... I had come from magnet schools in Brooklyn..and there were noticeable distinctions between say the west Indian kids and the straight up African American kids... Differences tween the puerto ricans and the dominicans... The Italians did things a bit diff than the plain old "white" kids.... But when I got to this new HS it was like the stepford wives ( didn't know what it meant at the time.. But that's what my mom said when I told her the majority of the kids seemed the same) 

[Stardancer Supreme]

Maggie identified as Latina through Marisol.  I agree that her side story was done really well.  So what about Mel's father?  Tessa did say that TCO shouldn't work on their sisterly bonding, but there are too many questions that need to answered about Marisol in order for them to bond properly.  Mel seems out of place since Macy and Maggie are full sisters.

[Jacks-Son]

As the son of a Cuban mother and a Jamaican father,  I can understand Maggie's difficulties.  Growing up,  I had the same identity issues.  First growing up in a Cuban/Puerto Rican culture and then as more and more of my father's Jamaican relatives came into the picture, it became a bit confusing.  People wanted to fit me in a box,  but I didn't know what box applied. Having a Spanish name didn't help either.  I finally ended up just calling myself Caribbean. 

Edited April 27, 2019 by Jacks-Son
#TMI

[Camera One]

This episode was definitely more engaging.  It looks like the Writers are capable of ramping things up leading up to the season finale, and the various plot threads are coming together.  

I'm really disappointed that Mama Roz got killed off for a demon of the week.  Macy didn't even get to react to that, and she was closest to her.  She got killed because of Galvin going off on that adventure to find a cure for Macy.  That type of disrespect to supporting characters treated like random redshirts is something that bothers me a lot on shows.

I liked Maggie's subplot struggling with her identity... I'm glad the writers are able to include personal stories like that in the midst of the more mythology-driven story, or else it's just a mindless action show.

I surprisingly sort of like the new whitelighter.  I liked how she could be convinced, but she also challenged them.  I liked Harry but his role on the show was bland.

Fiona being a psycho mass murderer isn't a surprise, and rather simplistic.  I mean, was that really necessary?  It looks like Jada is being portrayed as a sort of coward for leaving when the going gets tough.  If we're supposed to be rooting for Nico, they need to develop her a bit more because it's just irritating when she pushes and pushes, when she has no powers so ends up being another potential victim to protect.

Edited April 27, 2019 by Camera One

[AnimeMania]

I was hoping the magic that Mama Roz knew would be incorporated into the arsenal of The Charmed Ones along with the magic of the Sarcana (Sisters of Arcana). I am sure all the elders practice the same kind of generic magic. I was hoping The Charmed Ones would explore the Magicks of all countries.

[Jacks-Son]

3 hours ago, Camera One said:

If we're supposed to be rooting for Nico, they need to develop her a bit more because it's just irritating when she pushes and pushes, when she has no powers so ends up being another potential victim to protect.

Excellent points!    👏  They need to bring her up to speed with the whole Charmed Ones are not the Sarcana,   They broke the ice with her time stop now they need to go full tilt.   I like Nico and obviously Mel is still in love with her. So stop messing around and put those two love birds together.  Show dull Greta the door!   Also,  more Craig Parker please,  the man was born to play the bad guy.  He was great in "Legends of the Seeker" and "Reign", so make use of the actor and don't skimp. 

Anybody know if there is a 4th sister in this reboot?  I wasn't too big a fan of Page or Biilie,  but substituting them with actresses who can actually act,  may help. 

[UNOSEZ]

On 4/26/2019 at 12:23 AM, Jacks-Son said:

As the son of a Cuban mother and a Jamaican father,  I can understand Maggie's difficulties.  Growing up,  I had the same identity issues.  

Guyanese mother Brazilian Father... But I was the inverse,  I grew up in the west Indian home... And both of my mother's parents were bi-racial themselves so we talked thru and navigated some of those tricky identity issues.. But it boiled down to I'm a Guyanese boy from Brooklyn Cuz that's how I grew up.. But yeah outside ppl asking what I was.. What my mom was.. Why this person and that person didn't look related to me.. That I did get

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I was hoping the magic that Mama Roz knew would be incorporated into the arsenal of The Charmed Ones along with the magic of the Sarcana (Sisters of Arcana). I am sure all the elders practice the same kind of generic magic. I was hoping The Charmed Ones would explore the Magicks of all countries.

They were supposed to.. Maybe they didn't want to scare off the older fans who didn't outright rebel when the reboot was announced and wanted to ease them in.. With a bit of Yoruba here and some santeria there... I hope its explored further as that particular avenue was one of the things

[Jacks-Son]

2 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

Guyanese mother Brazilian Father...

@UNOSEZ:  My baby sister married a Guyanese man and his family (the older ones) wasn't too thrilled. Their daughter (my niece) isn't exactly well received either and she's not too fond of them.  My Cuban relatives didn't approve of my mother's marriage to a Jamaican.  That's the crap I never understood.  I was raised in a New York City projects and we were ALL poor so nobody had the audacity to look down their nose at another ethnicity.  Poverty should be the equalizer.  It's not like the Cubans were paragons of virtue and had any reason to feel superior. Hell, most of the Cubans married Puerto Ricans, so there may be a clue there.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Jacks-Son
Boring shit.

[Lady Calypso]

So, I only got to watch this episode today, so my reactions are late.

I enjoy their new Whitelighter a lot. I took her comment about slacking off all semester and now having to cram for the final as a meta-commentary on all of their magic growth taking place offscreen and now they're going to try focusing on it more onscreen. I like Tessa a lot because her pushing the girls was what I was hoping for. Harry HAS been way too soft on the Charmed Ones and they need to be truly challenged. 

Plus, the Veras are getting too cocky for their own good. Tessa wasn't even that bad. Sure, scaring them for their first interaction wasn't great, but she wasn't on Regina George levels. The sisters are just too comfortable in getting away with things that they can't stand when someone tells them what to do. They ARE still new witches, even if the show pretends that they're not, and despite them being some of the most powerful witches out there, that doesn't mean they should get away with everything when it's clear they don't know what they're going to be dealing with. 

Show, stop making Niko a thing. I think it's too late for her. Plus, I love Jada. The show's biggest mistake, besides with the actress, is getting rid of Niko/Mel five episodes into the series, with the two only having about ten minutes of screentime total. That's not how you showcase a supposed long-term couple when Niko disappears for a handful of episodes after barely getting an introduction. And now it feels like they're forcing this half-assed love triangle between Niko, Mel, and Jada and for me, the answer is obviously Mel/Jada.

Also, stop making Galvin/Macy a thing. It says a lot when Macy's first reaction to seeing her boyfriend is to...hug him like a friend. It's a shame, because the actor is better than Niko's actress (as showcased with an earlier episode with him learning about witches and this one with him having to act evil), but the character sucks ass. I wouldn't mind if Galvin died and they ended up using the actor again in some other role. Or they just need to repurpose Galvin entirely somehow. Hey, if they could have a history rewritten spell, they could have a personality rewritten spell. I'm advocating for the actor to stick around....just not the character of Galvin.

Maggie learning about her being half black and what that means is actually interesting. And this time around, a sister's powers expanding wasn't handled half assed. They actually showed Maggie learning about her particular power expanding in a specific way. It did feel easy, as it has with all of the expanding powers and abilities on this show, which is the issue. They may be the Charmed Ones, but they should still have some difficulty in controlling their powers. They can have their powers grow, since they are powerful, but it shouldn't be this easy.