S01.E22: The Source Awakens

[Lady Calypso]

Quote

SEASON FINALE — Maggie (Sarah Jeffery), Mel (Melonie Diaz) and Harry (Rupert Evans) grow wary of Macy’s (Madeleine Mantock) new-found power. Meanwhile, Macy keeps creating alternate realities, but they don’t end up being the perfect versions she was hoping for. Meanwhile, Maggie and Mel still struggle with what will happen in their personal lives. Ser’Darius Blain, Nick Hargrove and Ellen Tamaki also star. Vanessa Parise directed the episode written by Jessica O’Toole & Amy Rardin & Carter Covington (#122). Original airdate 5/19/2019. 

[Keywestclubkid]

Im lost, so the charmed ones are in control now yet have no knowledge of the magical world really? No elders no big deal? like what the what? just Im just left with What? 

Edited May 20, 2019 by Keywestclubkid

[AnimeMania]

My favorite scene was Macy leans on the small table and it collapses into a pile of toothpicks and she falls to the floor.

They seem to have gotten all the heavy stuff out of the way, perhaps they will go lighter next season.

[iMonrey]

I generally like the idea that the Charmed Ones should be the new Elders since they're supposed to be the most powerful witches in the world and it never made sense to me that someone else was their boss. Aside from that, hopefully they have dispensed with The Source, which was a recurring threat throughout the original series. 

[RachelKM]

I actually liked it.  And I'm sort of pleased with where they are now.  This show had a lot of issues this season.  But this finale seemed to wipe the slate with a lot of the issues and even openly acknowledged a few in dialogue. 

Also, that last spell to get rid of the source from Macy was the first time they seemed to use the PO3 in a way that seemed worthy of the title.

[Primal Slayer]

It was an ok episode, Macy as The Source put her powers to use and gave us some interesting alternate realities to play in even for the slightest. The sisters got to actually be sisters and it was because of their sisterhood that they were able to save the say which was great. Just wish that their powers and the book of shadows were put to more use, as in let us hear some fun spells! 

Now with the Elders dead, the sisters are at the top of the magical food chain and may be in charge of magic? I really hope the new showrunners just do a soft reboot of all of this and get the series together. 

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I generally like the idea that the Charmed Ones should be the new Elders since they're supposed to be the most powerful witches in the world and it never made sense to me that someone else was their boss. Aside from that, hopefully they have dispensed with The Source, which was a recurring threat throughout the original series. 

TCO aren't immortal so it would make sense that there are magical beings who have been around doing the heavy lifting to ensure magic and innocents stay safe, especially when TCO are new.

[Camera One]

That finale was kind of a mess.  The various alternate realities were too short and undeveloped to have any sort of impact.  It might have been better if they had just chosen one and gone with it.  

The whole subplot with Macy's dark side and taking on the Source actually made her unlikeable.  She was my favorite before, but now I don't like her that much.  

You'd think they would have given Macy one last scene with Galvin saying goodbye.  It seems like the writing for this show is going more for cool visuals or "epic" moments rather than properly planning out proper sequence and resolutions.  Mel disappears after freezing time so now Nico will never try to contact her again?  I mean, what was the point of that dramatic farewell wave?  And Parker asking Maggie to run away with him makes no sense either.  He's either afraid of hurting her, or not.  I'm assuming he wants to move away because of the bad memories from that town?  

Going into a second season, there should be a lot of potential for growth and much to explore... I'm really not getting that with this show.  Hopefully, next season will be better.

[bara007]

there are new writers next season 🙂

They are supposed to keep up with the mythology with more detail...

[tennisgurl]

I actually like the idea of TCO as the new leaders of the supernatural community, especially considering what a bunch of useless assholes the Elders turned out to be (yeah, they at least kept that from the OG show!) and I think it sounds like a fun way to have them navigate the supernatural world and have some cool issue of the week type stories, and tie in some arching stuff. It was also nice to see some old characters again, I think this show could benefit from some more reoccurring magical characters, the magic stuff is usually way more interesting than the "real world" stuff anyway. 

The episode itself felt pretty rushed, especially with the alternate universes. I had trouble keeping track of who was in what universe at what time and what changes had to made, etc they really should have focused on just one and built it from there. Galvin, Niko, and Parker all being apparently left behind felt pretty rushed and random as well. Especially Galvin, it felt weird that he and Macy never really got a goodbye. I did like that when Macy took in the source, she didnt turn all "muahaha evil!" so much as she lost perspective and became self serving and started using magic to solve every problem she or anyone had ever had without thinking it through. 

This episode had a rocky start and ending, but a pretty good middle, so I think the show has the potential to improve a lot next season.

[Impish Dragon]

I think this whole season was a bit rushed.  But I think the finale helped set up a lot of potential for season 2, so I will be checking it out.  Hopefully they stick more with the magical aspect. 

Was it my imagination or did the finale imply that Harry had romantic feelings for Macy? 

[Adira]

This whole season, and the finale especially, felt so rushed.  I wish they built up to the release of the Source of all Evil over multiple seasons and then maybe dedicated an entire season (or half of one) to Macy taking on the Source and doing a lot of bad stuff with it while the sisters and Harry work to save her from herself.  The sisters just haven't been together long enough for it to have had the emotional impact they were going for in that last episode.  And Macy has been a little too dark this season to make her seem redeemable.  From the get-go, she was always kind of trying to do her own thing and there was very little Power of Three stuff going on.  And then Macy embraces her demon powers and gets dark and selfish.  Then she takes on the Source.  And then she decides to banish Mel from the family in order to try to get the mom alive??  And I'm supposed to CARE about her??  It was just really hard to take.  If they had taken their time and tried to really build up the relationships, I might've cared a lot more (like when Phoebe finds out Cole is the Source of All Evil and decides to embrace his demon side... you already KNEW Phoebe and already were connected to her and her sisters so you really were emotionally invested in that story line).

Not a fan of how it all ended either.  No more Elders so the sisters get to make decisions for the magical creatures?  That made sense when they did that in original Charmed because it happened many seasons into the show.  These three sisters have only been the Charmed ones for less than a year and one of them is half evil!  But sure, let's let them make decisions for a whole community they know nothing about...

[iMonrey]

Agreed the season overall was really rushed. Not enough time to invest in Mel's relationship with Niko to care when they had to break up. None of the relationships felt earned for that matter, not even Macy's with her new sisters. They've known each other a relatively short amount of time. There were enough plot ideas in this season to fill five or six seasons. The Source came and went in only two episodes. 

Good to hear there are new writers next season. Maybe they will slow the heck down and give the show a chance to breathe. 

[theatremouse]

I didn't hate where it landed, but everything about this episode felt too easy. They went way too quickly from Big Giant Apocalyptic Problem to Nevermind, we'll just drink this thing/do this thing/say this thing, tadaaaa we're done. There was about as much suspense as reading a chocolate cake recipe.

[krankydoodle]

On 5/23/2019 at 8:59 AM, Impish Dragon said:

Was it my imagination or did the finale imply that Harry had romantic feelings for Macy? 

I didn't think that was what they were getting at during the scene with Macy reading Harry's mind, but their last conversation at the cemetery definitely seemed to point in that direction.

I agree with a lot of the comments here that it was rushed (as was so much of this season) and that diluted the impact of what should have been big moments, but I still enjoyed it enough to keep watching next season.

[Jacks-Son]

On 5/19/2019 at 7:14 PM, Keywestclubkid said:

Im lost, so the charmed ones are in control now yet have no knowledge of the magical world really? No elders no big deal? like what the what? just Im just left with What? 

This sums up my reaction.  The finale, Hell, the last couple of episodes have made it a confusing mess for me.  Heck, I had trouble telling Charity and Fiona apart.  While I love Craig Parker's body of work, both as Lord Rahl ("Legend of the Seeker")  and Narcisse ("Reign"), but his talents were wasted in this season, he's an excellent "Bad Guy". Parker as the Source??  Why would Alistair choose him and not become the Source himself?  Did the vessel need to be a being of both Dark &  Light?  Besides unknown Elders being murdered, it was surprising that Hunter was able to kill each of those powerful beings, I didn't care that each Elder died, because I had no prior knowledge of them.  The show should have introduced each Elder gradually during the course of the season.  Now, the Charmed Ones are supposed to be the Elders??  Newbie's??  Heck, that's their Chain of Command?  No wonder the Sarcana revolted.

Macy's constant refrain of "I'll fix this" or some variation, was ridiculous.  At what point do you accept that you're making things worse instead of fixing them?  The old saying comes to mind: "Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results".  For such a brilliant scholar, she has zero common sense, and zero patience for a different opinion.  Not good qualities in Elder Replacements; I wonder if she'll follow Prue's fate eventually.

Speaking of Prue, this finale led me to a rewatch of OG Charmed.  Aaahhhh, I get my Piper fix from yesteryear, too bad none of these TCO could match the OG TCO.  I like Mel. Maggie just looks and acts like a teenager, and Macy showed some dubious decision-making skills.  Keep Harry and Niko, and maybe Lucy, and find some way to bring back Tessa (she was fun and I liked her sassy attitude).  Marisol Vera (Valerie Cruz) can be on my screen anytime.  She was awesome as Murphy on "The Dresden Files".

Hopefully season two will correct some of the weirdness of this season.  I think the actresses should try to build on chemistry.  I never got the sense that these Charmed ones actually cared for each other.  They each seemed to care more for their SO than their sisters.

p.s. I forgot to add, I thought it was a nice homage to OG Charmed having Macy close the front door telekinetically like Prue did in OG.

Edited June 2, 2019 by Jacks-Son

[Blue Plastic]

At the end Harry looked like Dick Van Dyke waiting for Mary Poppins to arrive.

I don't care much for Macy anymore either, as other posters have said.  I think that how she acted when she took on the Source's power was how she really feels.  She's just able to hide it better when her demonic aspect is dormant.

Definitely strange that Macy wasn't shown saying goodbye to Galvin.

Why did Parker need to leave?  Not that I'm sorry to see him go!  But surely Macy would be willing to work on a treatment for him in the lab, even though his mother is dead.

Maybe this show will be able to pace itself better in a second season.  They went through about 80% of original Charmed's 8 years of plots in just 1 season!  Definitely did not have the same emotional impact because the characters' relationships are still too new.  It got better for me as the season progressed, but it's still too early in the Mel/Maggie + Macy relationship for some of these plot points to resonate.

[gryphon]

On 6/1/2019 at 10:02 PM, Jacks-Son said:

Speaking of Prue, this finale led me to a rewatch of OG Charmed.  Aaahhhh, I get my Piper fix from yesteryear, too bad none of these TCO could match the OG TCO

Indeed.  While watching the series, I couldn't help but notice that I didn't feel any real attachment to the new CO.  I remember crying at some of the original Charmed episodes because I felt for the characters....not so much for the new ones (yet).   

In the original, there was another maternal presence--the Grandma who mostly raised them, so maybe I'm missing that to round things out?   

Mel, to me, does not look old enough to be the middle sister---maybe that's what throws me off sometimes.   I'm just not sure what it is, but hopefully the new Charmed Ones will grow on me....

[Jacks-Son]

53 minutes ago, gryphon said:

Mel, to me, does not look old enough to be the middle sister---maybe that's what throws me off sometimes.   I'm just not sure what it is, but hopefully the new Charmed Ones will grow on me.

The only one whose age bothers me is Maggie.  She comes off as a really, young, social butterfly; even younger than Phoebe was in season 1.   If any OG CO expert can remember how Piper's powers expanded to her blowing demons up rather than just freezing non-demons.  One of my favorite episodes was "Baby's First Demon" if I remember the plot. The one where Piper went to the Bazaar and was blasting demons left  right and generally being a bad ass!

[mammaM]

On 6/11/2019 at 6:13 PM, Jacks-Son said:

The only one whose age bothers me is Maggie.  She comes off as a really, young, social butterfly; even younger than Phoebe was in season 1.   If any OG CO expert can remember how Piper's powers expanded to her blowing demons up rather than just freezing non-demons.  One of my favorite episodes was "Baby's First Demon" if I remember the plot. The one where Piper went to the Bazaar and was blasting demons left  right and generally being a bad ass!

I thought Maggie was really young. I thought that the show made Maggie and Mel a few years younger than Phoebe and Piper, and Macy a few years older than Prue. Of course, I can't find where I read that so maybe I'm hallucinating😂. 

As for Piper blowing things up, I think it happened right around when she got married. I remember a scene where she's on line for a passport (?) and goes to freeze something and blows it up instead.

[JenLily]

On 6/11/2019 at 5:13 PM, Jacks-Son said:

If any OG CO expert can remember how Piper's powers expanded to her blowing demons up rather than just freezing non-demons.

If I remember correctly, they explained it as she was able to wield her powers to do the opposite of what they originally did. In other words, she froze the demons by slowing their bodies/cells/whatever and then as her power grew and her control over them grew she was able to speed up their bodies/cells/whatever so that she could make them blow up instead. Something like that.

[mammaM]

On 6/11/2019 at 6:13 PM, Jacks-Son said:

The only one whose age bothers me is Maggie.  She comes off as a really, young, social butterfly; even younger than Phoebe was in season 1.   If any OG CO expert can remember how Piper's powers expanded to her blowing demons up rather than just freezing non-demons.  One of my favorite episodes was "Baby's First Demon" if I remember the plot. The one where Piper went to the Bazaar and was blasting demons left  right and generally being a bad ass!

Oops, I misread, thought you said "when Piper's powers expanded" not "how Piper's...." . So sorry about the wrong answer 😘

[Jacks-Son]

@mammaM  & @JenLily, thanks to both of you.  I don't think I paid that close attention when her powers expanded.  OG Charmed was fun, but they did have a tendency of using cheap gimmicks once in a while. Pheobe's Kung Fu, Billie's ridiculous powers. come to mind.

Thanks for the tips on when these powers presented themselves.  I'm going to do a slight mini-rewatch amidst my standard re-watch of all shows in my rotation.  I'll search episode recaps and see if I can pinpoint when Piper's awesome kickass powers first manifested.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Jacks-Son
Kudos to the tipsters. 😁

[Chas411]

So what thoughts of Harry’s did macy read?? I missed that. 

Delighted to say goodbye to drabbiest love interests EVER. Hopefully they’ll reboot and introduce some new decent love interests down the line in season two.

[Chick2Chic]

On 7/29/2019 at 3:53 PM, Chas411 said:

So what thoughts of Harry’s did macy read?? I missed that. 

I think romantic leanings / thoughts towards Macy

[Speakeasy]

On 8/6/2019 at 9:42 PM, Chick2Chic said:

I think romantic leanings / thoughts towards Macy

Late to the party and behind the times (no season 2 for me yet)because of geography-hello!

Does it make me a hipster douche that I wanted Macy to get with Harry from the episode where they found out about the necromancy onwards... But now the show looks like they're doing that I don't want it?

Does it make me a racist if I'm happy Galvin's dead because he was bland and annoying?

Does it make me... I don't know but probably a bit dysfunctional, if I want Niko to get her memories back and Mel to be all hopeful that she can make amends... And Niko just tells her:

'you know the last thing I remember from the old timeline? (Mimes freezing motion) I wouldn't even have remembered anything, and still, you couldn't look me in the eye and tell me you were sending me away, taking my choices and memories, my life... not if you might have seen me cry, or if I might have answered you back...'

I like Mel I just kind of also want to see her suffer... That's not right, is it?

I also want Sorority Lucy to become their new Token Muggle who's in on the secret-and I will make no apologies about wanting to see more of her because she's adorable😁