Charmed – S1E14 – Secrets and Guys
While this episode has some interesting and important revelations, I cannot say that this is the strongest season one episode that we have seen, or that we will see. There are some good scenes and comedic moments, but there really is not very much meat to the episode as a whole.
The best part of the episode, by far, is the revelation that Leo is a whitelighter, and the interactions this creates for Phoebe and Leo. The scene where she catches him is priceless. Even though, as an audience, we already knew Leo was magical, the dialogue allows us to learn along with Phoebe what exactly Leo is, and what his role in the magical community is. He is definitely good, as he is essentially a guardian angel. While I take issue with the powers they show him having, as several never appear again, I think it is nice to get everything out in the open with regards to his character. Speaking of this, we learn that any romance between him and Piper is forbidden by the “founders,” presumably because witches are never to know about the existence of their whitelighters. Again, this is disproved later, though the idea of the forbidden romance persists. The story with Piper and the chef was an obvious ploy to extend the Piper/Leo conversation throughout the course of the episode. It was pretty pointless, and the chef guy is just straight up annoying. Like I said. This episode lacked meat. There were some filler scenarios going on. One of my favorite moments involving the chef though was Phoebe misinterpreting Piper’s outrage at quake as her being upset with Leo. It’s always fun when they play with the misinterpretation stuff, and Alyssa Milano’s facial reactions in this scene are priceless.
Prue and Max are the other main story of the episode. I don’t know that I would really qualify this as a demon story per se, but obviously Max is an innocent that Prue is meant to save. The sole purpose of Max’s story was to provide an opportunity for Prue to overcome the self doubt she has in her ability to raise a child in a supernatural world. It is somewhat strange that she has so little faith in her own mothering skills, when she practically raised Piper and Phoebe. However, that was within the natural and not the supernatural world. Max and Prue were alike in many ways. Both are determined to do whatever it takes to protect their loved ones, both have a gift that they are struggling to help someone important in their life accept, and they even both have powers which are forms of telekinesis. Apart from his helping Prue, I did not get much out of Max’s story, mostly just finding it predictable and annoying.
Overall, Secrets and Guys is not a bad episode. There are just so many better episodes, some of which we have already seen. Obviously the biggest takeaway is the fact that Leo is a whitelighter, and the establishment of the forbidden romance trope with him and Piper. Other than that, there’s not much meat. I am looking forward to the next few episodes which I know pack more of a punch. Let’s get to them!
Best Moment:
-Phoebe finds Leo floating in the living room.
Best Sibling Moment:
-The 2 scenes in the attic. Some great dialogue and comedy, but also provides the before and after of Prue’s self-revelation.
Best Quote(s):
Leo: I thought I'd tell her that as much as I love her and as much as I would like to stay in San Francisco, I can't, and I don't know how long my work will keep me away.
Phoebe: No, no, no. What you just said was as much as you would love to stay and have sex with her, you have a wife and kids in another part of the country. Try again.
Leo: Uh, Piper, you know how much you mean to me and more than anything I wish things could work out but they can't and no one is more sorry than me.
Phoebe: Translation: I found someone I like even better.
Leo: I'm completely confused.
Phoebe: So, did you save Max or did Max save you?
While this episode has some interesting and important revelations, I cannot say that this is the strongest season one episode that we have seen, or that we will see. There are some good scenes and comedic moments, but there really is not very much meat to the episode as a whole.
The best part of the episode, by far, is the revelation that Leo is a whitelighter, and the interactions this creates for Phoebe and Leo. The scene where she catches him is priceless. Even though, as an audience, we already knew Leo was magical, the dialogue allows us to learn along with Phoebe what exactly Leo is, and what his role in the magical community is. He is definitely good, as he is essentially a guardian angel. While I take issue with the powers they show him having, as several never appear again, I think it is nice to get everything out in the open with regards to his character. Speaking of this, we learn that any romance between him and Piper is forbidden by the “founders,” presumably because witches are never to know about the existence of their whitelighters. Again, this is disproved later, though the idea of the forbidden romance persists. The story with Piper and the chef was an obvious ploy to extend the Piper/Leo conversation throughout the course of the episode. It was pretty pointless, and the chef guy is just straight up annoying. Like I said. This episode lacked meat. There were some filler scenarios going on. One of my favorite moments involving the chef though was Phoebe misinterpreting Piper’s outrage at quake as her being upset with Leo. It’s always fun when they play with the misinterpretation stuff, and Alyssa Milano’s facial reactions in this scene are priceless.
Prue and Max are the other main story of the episode. I don’t know that I would really qualify this as a demon story per se, but obviously Max is an innocent that Prue is meant to save. The sole purpose of Max’s story was to provide an opportunity for Prue to overcome the self doubt she has in her ability to raise a child in a supernatural world. It is somewhat strange that she has so little faith in her own mothering skills, when she practically raised Piper and Phoebe. However, that was within the natural and not the supernatural world. Max and Prue were alike in many ways. Both are determined to do whatever it takes to protect their loved ones, both have a gift that they are struggling to help someone important in their life accept, and they even both have powers which are forms of telekinesis. Apart from his helping Prue, I did not get much out of Max’s story, mostly just finding it predictable and annoying.
Overall, Secrets and Guys is not a bad episode. There are just so many better episodes, some of which we have already seen. Obviously the biggest takeaway is the fact that Leo is a whitelighter, and the establishment of the forbidden romance trope with him and Piper. Other than that, there’s not much meat. I am looking forward to the next few episodes which I know pack more of a punch. Let’s get to them!
Best Moment:
-Phoebe finds Leo floating in the living room.
Best Sibling Moment:
-The 2 scenes in the attic. Some great dialogue and comedy, but also provides the before and after of Prue’s self-revelation.
Best Quote(s):
Leo: I thought I'd tell her that as much as I love her and as much as I would like to stay in San Francisco, I can't, and I don't know how long my work will keep me away.
Phoebe: No, no, no. What you just said was as much as you would love to stay and have sex with her, you have a wife and kids in another part of the country. Try again.
Leo: Uh, Piper, you know how much you mean to me and more than anything I wish things could work out but they can't and no one is more sorry than me.
Phoebe: Translation: I found someone I like even better.
Leo: I'm completely confused.
Phoebe: So, did you save Max or did Max save you?