Reactions and Comments: Season Five

[Drama]

long winded? What do you mean by that?

We have Melinda and Chris. Those aren't long.

First name: Melinda
Middle name: Patricia
Last name: Halliwell

Melinda Patricia Halliwell

First name: Christopher
Middle name: Victor
Last name: Halliwell

Christopher Victor Halliwell

I think I missed something about that...

[xrs]

Lanning Hologram: "Everything that follows is a result of what you see here..."

Spooner: "What do i see here?"

Lanning: "The three laws lead to one INEVEDABLE conclusion: Revolution..."

Spooner: "Who's revolution?"

Lanning: "THAT, detective, is the RIGHT question..."

(I, Robot 2004- previously unmentioned)

"Let's see where this leads us... and why"

classical xrs line


This "note" (is it a note?) is posted much later than it should. I had a free day so i thought i would catch up with my favourite "show". After four hours of gawking i finally got it. You, the writers, evolved.

What is an evolution? If you believe those who believe in it, its a physical process. But i don't. I believe it is a mental one. And that is what happened with these 4 episodes. Not a big evolutionary step, mind you ( i'll explain that later) but an important one, nevertheless. One for the writers of C:RR. And another one i hope for all the rest who "watch" RR, readers or not of this post.

I'll start with 5.09, not because of the plot, but of the characters. Now normally i'm a "plot" guy, meaning that my primary concern is the plot, but i fell i need to comment on that episode first, because i loved the depth of the characters emotions. A funny episode, you might think, but it gives us a better insight on the characters' soul. As much as they may seem trivial, "character revelation episodes", if they are written realisticaly, have the advantage of giving more "deapth", more credibility to your characters (yes, in a non commercial way, they are now YOUR characters, not Korny's- i mean Kern's- of even Constance M. Burge's). They are the "cream" of the "cake". We can relate more to the characters, in a "multidimentional" way (not like the "one dimentional" characters we saw at the "Kerniad"). I think the complete lack of diversity was the last nail that Kern put on "his" Charmed "reality's" coffin. On the contrary, in RR, the depth of the characters help us stay "in touch" with them, enhancing the illusion of realism in RR. Thank you for that!

Note 1 on 5.09: I thought that Cole and Phoebe would have a smooth sailing from now on. I stand corrected... again (i'll get you for that!). Very good plot twists on that front, really. Didn't see that secondary plot emerging... Nor Cole and Abigail. I hope that Phoebe comes around (that woman... anyway). Oh, and F... the Elders and their "rules".

Note 2: I usually don't like "paige in love" secondary plots. I changed my mind (kind of). Very good love triangle betwwen Paige, Glenn and Henry! Funny too! Keep it up and you may convert me to a fan of these plots (and THAT is notoriously difficult, i assure you). Btw, if you had actually shot that episode on screen, you would have made the CGI people's lives a living hell with PAIGLENN! Who ever thought that ludicrous name? Very funny!

Note 3: Drake! If you don't get it, i'll repeat it: Drake! Exellent character work!

Note 4: Poor Matt! Memory loss? Could it be from memory duct inhalation? Baah! Good Charmed witches don't do that...


And that note brings us back to the PLOT!

5.08, 5.10 and 5.11 are all about the Plot, ladies and gents. Although only two of the three episodes offer us any substantial info on the how and the Why of all things. 5.10 is a big no-no when it comes to plot understanding; it confuses, not clarifies things. Coincidence? I think not! It was intentional.

But another thing wasn't. The "evolution" process of you, the writers. That was "natural", inevedable. Let's recap it. When you started RR, you wanted to "set things right". No more ambitions were evident then (i do not know what goes on in your minds, nor i claim to). In your writing, though, the lack of any "evolutionary" sign was clear. To put it mildly, when i first came "into contact" with RR i thought it was an attempt to set things right, to redeem Charmed, to the best of your abilities. A continuation, merely, from were S3 left off, minus the "Kerniad". Nothing more. But YOU changed, as writers; and with it your scope, your "creative" aim. If you don't believe it, see the original episodes from RR's S4. It is because of that change, that we are here today, that i'm writing (along with many others, not so "talkative" though) this "note". So why am i writing this? One word: Maturity.

There are 5 stages from which a writer passes, when writing about moral issues: The "infant's", were almost all people are "good"; the "child's", were some people are good, some are evil, but not orvertly so (the original Charmed stayed there); the "adolescent", were most people are potrayed as faulty, many extremely faulty, but there are some genuinely, truly good; the "post-adolescent" were all peple are faulty but with a desire and capasity for good, although the lines between good and evil are now more blurry than ever before (this is were you are now); and the adult with its two shades, the half-light (expertly portayed in movies such as Batman begins and the Matrix- the first one), where people are evil, but some desire to be good, and the "dark" one where all people are evil, bathing in their own infamy, with very few rays of light passing through the eternal darkness of our souls; if you ask me, the truth, the Absolute Realism in a writer is somewhere in between the two adult points of view.
So the real accomplisment of these three episodes is NOT the plot anymore, but the- quote- "Darkness" that makes the COs all the more realistic, all the more true.

You have now gone beyond, in your plot making, that ever before, setting the COs in a AU in which not only evil MAY win but in a world were evil will PROBABLY win "and all hope for the future will be lost". The COs dead, Chris either turned or dead, the Earth plain under the control of total darkness, the Ending of the World, through an apocalypse of unbelievable proportions are now NOT merely possible, but set to BE, unless the apocalypse can be averted (can it be?). In your RR, darkness seeps through like nightfall, engulfing all in its path until only Melinda (?) is left -to be swept away by Evil at the End...

"Pain, Suffering, Death i see" (Yoda, Star Wars).

In a world ruled by evil, in a "bad bad world" THIS is what happens at the End of All Things. Death. Loss. A Gravestone for all we love. Our children may betray us; loved ones turn against us; war and agony, lead to a terryfing End. The world as we know it, decays and fall right before our angst-filled eyes.

All you have to do now is spray a little more dose of "darkness" on the plot, Drama (and you thought i might have been dissatisfied with the "darkness" in your plot), and you will become Legend (at lest in my book). Not by ending "Charmed" "unhappily" (you are writers, you will find a way) but by taking us, by it, through so much hmm... Drama to satisfy the definition given by the great Aristotle 2400 years ago (still good today): "Drama is the plot by which the heroes, through their suffering, shed away their former self, becoming pure, true to their ideals" (Aristotle, "Drama"). In one word: Legendary.

So, let's see what we see: The Shadowy figure is Lillith, with her own agenda of Evil; The children are twins (and we all know how badly Halliwell males handle power) the Queen is still alive, and very much kicking, the girl in Cassandra's prophecy is Melinda (at least it appears so); but many questions are left unanswered: WHO is Matt? What motivates him? Will he be back? Will Piper's assosiation with him come back to bite her in the ass, destroying the relation between her and her sisters? What is Lillith's ultimate goal (for she may turn out to be a formitable adversary, surpassing even the Source- pardon, the Queen of foolishness, taking RR one step further away from the "Kerniad"). The Elders (with their endless shemes) are still alive, the power of 4 is still down AND they have two babies to look after (peachy) with a non-Charmed mom. No worries, right? If the COs don't start "cleaning" up all their enemies, i'm afraid Cassandra's prophecy will come to be reality. Finita la musica.

I congratulate you. You managed to give us NOTHING again (but the prophecy), destoying all my predictions. But let me retaliate a little bit.

As you've seen, although your plot is exellent, you continuity intact, it is still not dark enough, not angsty enough, not absolutely realistic. I expected better, feared worse, thought (especially in 5.10) that you messed up your continuity and, as in S5 premiere, there are still some elements that don't quite fit (the Queens gulliblility, the CO's sloppiness, the Elder's absence- explained only due to having evil shemes of their own- Leo and Lillith's mistakes, etc); BUT, even in comparison to that S5 premiere you have matured. But me, being bitchy (as usual- ask anybody that knows me) i'm not satisfied by an A plot. i want an A+. But, Rome wasn't build in a day and you may have years of writing in front of you (told you, your plots would be your torture). So, i wait. And all comes to the one that waits. Hey, i waited 5 years for this RR!

PS 1: You tried to redeem Victor- and you did it! I never thought you could! Exellent!

PS 2: Liked the names for the Babies. I had the same in mind for Melinda (Patricia). Never saw the twin plot coming though (i hate you! do you realize that you are destroying my reputation as the plot-seer?)

PS 3: A big THANK YOU for Phoebe's comment in 5.11 about coincidence. It sums up all my basic belief about the Purpose and the Random in our lives.

Now...

We've seen the redemption...

We've seen destiny...

We've seen the revolution/evolution

Let's see where this takes us!

Congratulations

xrs

[4evercharmed]

I preferred Christopher Perry Halliwell though. Hmm... Gonna missed Wyatt Matthew Halliwell.

[Drama]

4evercharmed said:

I preferred Christopher Perry Halliwell though. Hmm... Gonna missed Wyatt Matthew Halliwell.

If you haven't realized it, I'll state it here. Perry is the last name of the Phoenixes. Therefore his middle name cannot be Perry.

[Fourever Charmed]

goddess said:

4evercharmed said:

I preferred Christopher Perry Halliwell though. Hmm... Gonna missed Wyatt Matthew Halliwell.

If you haven't realized it, I'll state it here. Perry is the last name of the Phoenixes. Therefore his middle name cannot be Perry.

Jackie had a theory that on the original show, Chris used Bianca's last name when he came to the future, to throw the sisters off. (I could be wrong, but I don't think the show ever officially stated that Perry was Chris's middle name either.) Anyway, we decided to use that idea, that Perry wasn't a middle name but instead Bianca's last name, for C:RR and make Perry the last name of the Phoenix clan and instead name Chris after his two grandfathers.

[Drama]

Yes. I heard that theory and I truly stick by it. We are not told on the show otherwise and with the connection of Bianca/Chris in Chris-Crossed, it makes sense that he'd use her last name. They were engaged. (Beware, I can talk your ear off about B/C. I don't advise tempting me...lol)

XRS. I'm still digesting your review. I love when you post because it's so in-depth. Don't think we're ignoring you, it's just it's hard to reply back to you.

(i hate you! do you realize that you are destroying my reputation as the plot-seer?)

YAY! I'm glad to read this because...YAY! That means we're doing what we wanted. *giggles*

[Astral Echo]

I'm with Jackie, how do you go about replying to that, it was a truely brillant post and I always love when you do so...I feel like a small child at Christmas.

[Drama]

Oh, yes, that's a great comparison!

[Prudence]

I loved the twins and you brought Chris into it. Great. Also I was wondering since you are answering questions. Remember when they had a time traveling epsiode where Prue and cole were taken to the wild west to stop a curse on a town. Prue had excellent gun-slinger abilites but they never explained how. Maybe your excellent minds can clear it up or show us a sneak of how she learned it. Also great you brought in coop and will miss matt. Also I was thinking about Tempus. Maybe he isn't dead like the source thought or another demon with his power. It is just a suggestion but keep up the great work. Also i have a favor to ask. I don't know if you have written a new episode yet but if you do before next saturday. I ask that you would send it to me. I am leaving for awhile and I don't have a computer. I get on at school or a friends house to read but I won't be able to get on for a long time. Will you send me one last one to settle me over tell I can again. You made such a good epsiode and I'll die waiting so long without reading what happens. If you decide not to or that I'm lieing to just get a new story without waiting. I wouldn't blame you if I was doing this. I just hope I proven I'm trust worthy enough. Also before next saturday I'll say a goodbye to the great writers and fans. I hope when I get back to tell you all about it. I'll be on till next friday if anyone wants to say good bye

[Xenith]

there are still some elements that don't quite fit (the Queens gullibility

And it's time for a quick character analysis and scene dissection...

The Queen while being the host of an enormous power is still the Oracle at her base. She's used to relying on her gift of foresight, and using the power of information to stay in command. When Lilith entered the picture, with her potentially knowing invaluable information about the prophecy, it put the Queen in an difficult situation. If she tries to take a strong controlling position, then she risks losing the information or worse Lilith taking it to someone who might use it to gain the power to challenge her. So she bides her time, and as she put it "played along" with Lilith. Based on what has been seen of the character, her overthrow of the Source, destruction of the Brotherhood's leader, etc. it's safe to assume that given the Queen would have eventually betrayed Lilith, once she had gotten what she wanted from her.

But the magic outtage happened before she had the chance. The great power of the Source, and her own gift of vision seemingly vanished. And although the the Queen may have known that this was going to eventually happen (notice how she is not questioning the "why"), the Oracle was not really prepared for it. The cracks in her confidence can be seen almost immediately as her emotions emerge as she worries that her plans may have been wasted. Things only get worse when Lilith implies that she has something immune. Her insecurity rises to the surface, just as it did when she thought the Source planned to replace her with Piper. She's vulnerable, and she's losing control. (Which she may or may not be willing to admit to herself) If anyone else has magic, then she needs it. Suddenly that's more important than any other plans that she may have had, such as playing nice with Lilith. She lashes out in attempt to take control of the situation. "Tell Me". When that is shrugged off, the desperation really begins to set in and the cracks continue to grow, until almost like a child she demands to be given what she "deserves". And like a child when it seems she may get her way, that's all that matters. After a near disaster, she thinks she's firmly back in control. She's become overconfident, which makes her an easy target for Lilith to turn on.

So basically what I'm saying is that although the Queen may have showed a moment of gullibility, I don't believe that it was out of character or out of nowhere in relation to the character. (Please note that the above was only an interpretation of the Queen/Lilith scene from Unborn Identity. FC may or may not have had a slightly different idea to the dynamics going on in her head as she was writing the episode. However I stand by my point that it wasn't an OOC moment or blatant dumbing down of a character such as perpetrated by the original writers of Charmed many times in later seasons)

[Drama]

prudence said:

Remember when they had a time traveling epsiode where Prue and cole were taken to the wild west to stop a curse on a town. Prue had excellent gun-slinger abilites but they never explained how. Maybe your excellent minds can clear it up or show us a sneak of how she learned it.

I don't see the relevance of bringing it up anytime soon. There are people who learn fast, and with all the movies out there, you can imitate it. Also, "That 70s Episode", look at Andy. Cowboy. Maybe she's practiced a lot.

Also I was thinking about Tempus. Maybe he isn't dead like the source thought or another demon with his power.

Tempus is dead. The type of power he had to use to turn back time did him in, especially after what he did in "Deja Vu."

Also i have a favor to ask. I don't know if you have written a new episode yet but if you do before next saturday.

We do not give out episodes. The beauty of a virtual series is that you don't have to wait until reruns. You can read it when you return.

[Charmed Destiny]

I like the idea of how you guys used Perry as Bianca's last name, it shows the connection that Chris and she had. But I still think that Perry could be his middle name with the P tradition his family has.

[Drama]

Seems like with Piper's children, the tradition changed - just family names.
Melinda - Warren
Patricia - Piper's mother
Christopher - Leo's father
Victor - Piper's father

I really like how it's in the family. Too many Ps could get confusing...lol

[4evercharmed]

Let's hope that the third child of Piper will be Wyatt. I can't believe Wyatt being the youngest. LOL

Speaking of Tempus... Have u watch Season 3 finale? Cole did told Phoebe that Tempus did not get vanquished, they only injured him.

[PhoenyxAngel]

That would be pretty cool if it was the opposite. In the original reality it was Wyatt, Chris, and we believe Melinda. Now it could go the other way around. Melinda and Chris, then Wyatt. I would like that.