Charmed – S1E5 – Dream Sorcerer
This was a pretty good episode. It is kind of cool that they try to find ways to incorporate non-supernatural demons into the story. It adds an element of realism, and adds a level of creepiness because of the “guy next door” effect.
So, there are two main stories going on in this episode. The first, and probably most significant, is Prue’s dream sorcerer story. I can sum it up in five words. Dude is just plain creepy. It is almost to the point where I feel uncomfortable watching the dream scenes. I’m not sure if that’s quite what they were going for, but if so, they nailed it. I liked the way that they tied in Andy and Morris without them ever knowing that Prue was involved in the same case they were working on. Morris’ line near the end suggests that he is starting to think that maybe Andy isn’t as crazy as he first believed about there being a supernatural nature to some of their cases. Though, Berman wasn’t actually supernatural, he was a scientist. I sincerely hope that dream science like the kind depicted in this episode never ever comes into existence, and in my highly skeptical view, it never will. The fact that Prue is able to use her power while in the dream allowed for a reasonable “vanquish” of the episode bad guy, but I have some issues with the ethics of having Prue kill a mortal. The episode is written in a way that the sisters never actually find out that he is not a demon, which lends to the idea that it is okay that Prue killed Berman. I suppose you could make the argument that it is self-defense, but I feel like that just adds in more layers to the ethical dilemma presented. I can brush it off because it is fiction, but from a critical and ethical perspective I do take some issue with presentation of the mortal in this episode. However, I should note that they never make it out to be an okay thing to kill mortals in this show, and I do not in any way believe that that was the message they intended to present. I just think there was some gray area that existed within the presentation because of the nature of the situation. Hopefully what I just wrote made sense.
Meanwhile, Phoebe and Piper are on a mission to find love. Of course their taste in guys reflects the personalities that have been established. Phoebe likes them wild; Piper likes romance. The fact that Phoebe added in that she wanted her guy to recycle was a rather humorous, but I suppose ecofriendly addition. I feel like it is a little bit of a plot contrivance for them to be able to cast a love spell with no personal gain consequence, and to then be able to reverse it and have everything exactly the way it was before. Not to mention the fact that this presents yet another ethical dilemma in the fact that Hans slept with Phoebe, but now has no recollection of having done so. There is something not quite right with that scenario. However, the sisters do learn a valuable lesson about how love can’t be forced, and that it has to come from within the natural world in order to be real.
The bits with Prue and Andy were actually fairly sweet. He unknowingly saves her life, and then brings her comfort food when she’s in the hospital. Thank you Piper for calling him, they need a little push every now and then.
Overall, I actually do like this episode, despite feelings about the ethical dilemmas within it. Both the main story and substory kept my interest, and they integrated them together well. There is a good mix of comedy and drama, and the siblings are all on good terms, which is always nice to see.
Best Moment(s):
-Hans recycling.
-Kit being affected by the love spell.
Best Sibling Moment(s):
-Prue catching Piper and Phoebe working on a love spell. A typical “busted by big sister” moment
-The scenes at the hospital, both when Piper and Phoebe tell Prue not to leave them, and the end scene where they bring Prue all of the flowers that they got from guys under the lust spell
Best Quote:
Phoebe: You want a man who is single, smart, endowed?
Piper: Employed.
This was a pretty good episode. It is kind of cool that they try to find ways to incorporate non-supernatural demons into the story. It adds an element of realism, and adds a level of creepiness because of the “guy next door” effect.
So, there are two main stories going on in this episode. The first, and probably most significant, is Prue’s dream sorcerer story. I can sum it up in five words. Dude is just plain creepy. It is almost to the point where I feel uncomfortable watching the dream scenes. I’m not sure if that’s quite what they were going for, but if so, they nailed it. I liked the way that they tied in Andy and Morris without them ever knowing that Prue was involved in the same case they were working on. Morris’ line near the end suggests that he is starting to think that maybe Andy isn’t as crazy as he first believed about there being a supernatural nature to some of their cases. Though, Berman wasn’t actually supernatural, he was a scientist. I sincerely hope that dream science like the kind depicted in this episode never ever comes into existence, and in my highly skeptical view, it never will. The fact that Prue is able to use her power while in the dream allowed for a reasonable “vanquish” of the episode bad guy, but I have some issues with the ethics of having Prue kill a mortal. The episode is written in a way that the sisters never actually find out that he is not a demon, which lends to the idea that it is okay that Prue killed Berman. I suppose you could make the argument that it is self-defense, but I feel like that just adds in more layers to the ethical dilemma presented. I can brush it off because it is fiction, but from a critical and ethical perspective I do take some issue with presentation of the mortal in this episode. However, I should note that they never make it out to be an okay thing to kill mortals in this show, and I do not in any way believe that that was the message they intended to present. I just think there was some gray area that existed within the presentation because of the nature of the situation. Hopefully what I just wrote made sense.
Meanwhile, Phoebe and Piper are on a mission to find love. Of course their taste in guys reflects the personalities that have been established. Phoebe likes them wild; Piper likes romance. The fact that Phoebe added in that she wanted her guy to recycle was a rather humorous, but I suppose ecofriendly addition. I feel like it is a little bit of a plot contrivance for them to be able to cast a love spell with no personal gain consequence, and to then be able to reverse it and have everything exactly the way it was before. Not to mention the fact that this presents yet another ethical dilemma in the fact that Hans slept with Phoebe, but now has no recollection of having done so. There is something not quite right with that scenario. However, the sisters do learn a valuable lesson about how love can’t be forced, and that it has to come from within the natural world in order to be real.
The bits with Prue and Andy were actually fairly sweet. He unknowingly saves her life, and then brings her comfort food when she’s in the hospital. Thank you Piper for calling him, they need a little push every now and then.
Overall, I actually do like this episode, despite feelings about the ethical dilemmas within it. Both the main story and substory kept my interest, and they integrated them together well. There is a good mix of comedy and drama, and the siblings are all on good terms, which is always nice to see.
Best Moment(s):
-Hans recycling.
-Kit being affected by the love spell.
Best Sibling Moment(s):
-Prue catching Piper and Phoebe working on a love spell. A typical “busted by big sister” moment
-The scenes at the hospital, both when Piper and Phoebe tell Prue not to leave them, and the end scene where they bring Prue all of the flowers that they got from guys under the lust spell
Best Quote:
Phoebe: You want a man who is single, smart, endowed?
Piper: Employed.