CHRIS: How'd you know I'd be here? 
4x02 "Whitelighters Beware" Episode Review/Recap
Aug 21, 2017 19:21:00 GMT
Prue Brianna Johnna Halliwell and Davina like this
Post by TotallyWitchy on Aug 21, 2017 19:21:00 GMT
SPOILER REVIEW BELOW!
TEASER
Clearly, the stand out moment of the teaser was the satisfying and subtle revelation of Matthew's true identity, of being Chris and Bianca's unborn child. (Charmed flashbacks anyone??) Jo and Matthew felt like real characters this episode, not just two random mysterious people. It was a satisfying display of emotions from both characters, and it was very easy to fall in love with the familial relationship between Jo and Matthew. It became clear that the two cousins care deeply about each other, and this love is not romantic like our dear Pyatt, but instead is familial. Matthew makes Jo go back in time without him, and gives her a spell that is similar - but still different - to that of the one Chris used in Charmed. Jo ends up going back in time, and it can be safely assumed that she is on her way to 2035! While her intentions seem to be good, I'm keeping both eyes open with this girl! Can't trust anyone! The teaser delievered mystery, intrigue, answers, and questions. Overall, this teaser was great and set up the episode nicely for Jo's arrival!
Rating for teaser: A!
ACT ONE
Act One starts with a nice Prue and Wyatt moment, where we see them talking about the pregnancy. They also talk about telling the family (after two weeks of them already knowing) about their pregnancy. Then, comes a rather awkward conversation where Wyatt says that he's happy, but Prue tells him to thank his sister and Damon. Apparently, Prue's empathy powers overwhelmed her and she was picking up on Melinda and Damon's sexual energy. While this is good for Melinda/Damon fans (which I happen to be), it makes for awkward dialogue, since Prue arguably wasn't herself when Pyatt's baby was conceived. To add to the slight awkwardness, Wyatt shows happiness at knowing when their daughter was conceived. And yes, Wyatt presumes the child is a girl, and reminds Prue that when they went into the future to save Phoebe (in the Pilot episode) the child they saw was a girl. Prue reminds him that the future can change. Wyatt then has some adorable one-sided dialogue with the baby, where he asks if it's a girl, and jokes that she is.
Downstairs, Junior comes in from a presumed hard-night of partying, and earns a sisterly lecture from Tamora. The tension between them is clear, and it becomes evident that whatever happened between Junior and Olivia was bad enough to make him spiral. Wyatt and Prue go downstairs where they announce their pregnancy, and the whole family is happy for them - except Junior who shows little interest in the whole matter. Melinda asks Prue how it's possible since Prue was on Birth Control during the time of the conception. Prue tells her about New Orleans, and that alcohol can counteract the effects of the pill. This eventually leads into a very cute conversation about what powers the baby will have, and it is interesting to see everyone's different ideas and opinions.
In the Underworld, a dark wizard (Jannes) sends a Darklighter (Ajax) after the Destined Ones, much to Ajax's discontent. The scene between Jannes and Ajax is very short, and while it would have been nice to see more of them interacting and learn more about Jannes, it was also nice to not have a long Underworld scene. Anyway, the scene cuts to P3 where Prue is drinking tea and ends up spilling it, at the same time that Jo arrives at the club. The two have some interaction, and Prue seems a little abrupt with Jo telling her twice that the club is closed. Jo states that she's there because she needs a job, which leads to some light conversation between the two. Anyway, Melinda ends up hiring Jo because she believes that Prue and Bianca will need more help now that they are pregnant. While this is a reasonable assumption, it is a little odd that Melinda believes that the women already need help when they're only a few months pregnant each.
After Jo is hired, the Darklighter, Ajax, attacks the girls and shoots at Bianca first. Bianca's baby shows a remarkable power of Orb Shield, which is remarkable considering that the child is only a few months old. While I love the idea of Bianca's baby having powers from the womb, it seems a little early for the baby to being showing powers. However, I like that the child so far is written equally to Pyatt's baby. After the baby shows powers, the Darklighter attacks Prue and Melinda takes the arrow for her cousin in an attempt to protect her sister-in-law from getting hurt. Jo then shows the power of Telekinesis - a powerful form at that, and saves the girls from what could have turned into a big fight. Ajax leaves, and shortly after Prue and Bianca confront Jo about her being a witch.
Overall, act one was entertaining and pushed the plot ahead a bit, and even had some great character moments. While I didn't love all the dialogue, it was very sweet and fun regardless.
Rating for Act One: B!
ACT TWO
Act Two opens up at the Jannes' cave, and he isn't pleased with Ajax at all - and I can't blame him. Who wouldn't be annoyed at the fact your minion failed? The one thing that I am curious about with these two, is why would a Darklighter work for a Wizard? How would their paths have even crossed? Darklighters and Wizards normally stick to their own paths (in Charmed anyway). Perhaps, Jannes is so powerful that Ajax fears he'd die if he'd doesn't follow his masters orders? I'm looking forward to that being shown more. Anyway, Jannes sends Ajax after the Halliwells for round two!
Back at the Manor, Bianca is patching up Melinda wound - much to her chagrin. In the meantime, Prue is questioning Jo's intentions and who she is. Both Bianca and Melinda agree that Jo is a good witch, but Prue isn't quite convinced yet. But, one can hardly blame her for not trusting a new witch, given everything she's been through in the past few seasons. Jo tries to get Prue to focus on the Darklighter, and tells them that Ajax was sent by someone, and argues with Prue about how she knows. She goes on to mention that the Magical Community might already know about the pregnancies. [Side note: Wouldn't it be interesting to see Prue and Bianca's reaction to someone sending them a golden-egg-laying-goose?] Soon after this, Melinda starts reacting to the poison from the Arrow, which worried everyone, seeing as Melinda is a Witch not a Whitelighter-Witch, since as Leo was human when she was conceived. Jo later makes an excellent point that Leo's Whitelighter side may have been engraved in his DNA, which, in turn, was passed onto each of his children. Wyatt is later called to heal her, but more on that in a bit.
Over at the S.F.P.D., Junior, who is still hungover, arrives to find Henry and Christopher waiting for him. This surprises him, seeing as the two haven't always seen eye-to-eye. And who knows what happened over the last two-years between all of them. Junior sees Christopher there and rudely asks him what he's doing here, and is shocked to learn that Henry called him. Henry makes Junior sit in his chair (which is now the captain's chair - yay Henry!) and tells him that if he keeps acting the way he's been acting he won't make it there. He goes on - much to Junior's disliking, to say that he knows what happened wasn't good but he has to move past it. Junior is upset by this and stands, but Henry yells at him to sit back down. Christopher tells him that he knows Junior trusted Olivia and she betrayed him, but he has to get past it. Junior is angered by this and makes some comments about how Christopher isn't his real father, and how Paige, Henry, and Christopher can't be in the same room together. Junior then places his badge on the desk and states that he's taking a sabbatical before leaving. Christopher and Henry share a short scene after that, and it seems they have become more cordial since Season 3.
Now, as far as Jolivia is concerned. Whatever happened between them is obviously still affecting Junior, which rises the obvious question of what the hell happened between them?! When we left them in the end of Season 3 they were very happy, and Junior was arguably ready to settle down with her. Now, he's gone from "love" to hate. My suspicions probably match what all of you are thinking - cheating, lying about her divorce, or, maybe, Junior told her about who he was and she told the media. However, the latter seems to be less likely seeing as how the Halliwell's aren't a media-frenzy. This relationship was never healthy, but it wasn't completely toxic either. I however, am hoping that Olivia makes an appearance soon and all the answers we've been hoping for come out in an explosive way. Either that, or Junior confides in someone close to him. But, we'll see! However Sol decides to reveal the circumstances to use will be good!
Back at the Manor, Wyatt is healing Melinda and everyone is trying to figure out how the Darklighters poison was able to affect her. This is when Jo brings up the point that Leo's genes may have passed down to Melinda, making her a hybrid like her brothers. If this is true, perhaps Melinda's Whitelighter genes are inactive, but she still carries them. This would lead to a very interesting dynamic with her. Also, in Season 3, Leo and Piper mentioned having kept a secret from Melinda for her whole life - perhaps this is it? Though, it is confusing why Liper wouldn't just tell Melinda the truth. Why the big secret? Anyway, Jo tells Pyatt that they should focus on the Darklighter as he was sent by someone. Chris agrees on this, and they realize that the Darklighter must be after the Whitelighters in the family. Meaning that Chris and Wyatt are at risk, along with Prue and Bianca's unborn babies. Prue tells Wyatt and Chris that they need to leave, presumably because they are targets of the Darklighter. Wyatt is upset by this, and reminds her that the baby she's carrying is half Whitelighter, which leads to an adorable banter about what the species of the baby is. Prue thinks the child will take after her and be a Cupid, while Wyatt thinks that the child will take after him and be a Whitelighter. Jo asks them not to fight, and Chris agrees. [Side note: Anyone else love Jo and Chris' interaction in this act?] Chris makes an excellent point that they don't know what species the child is yet, and Wyatt reminds him that the child used a Force Field the other day. Prue is astonished and a little taken aback, stating that it was her new power not the babies. Chris agrees that it is the child's, which upsets Prue as she believes she doesn't need anyone protecting her, especially her own child. They eventually agree to focus on the Darklighter, and Prue has a moment alone. In this moment, she has a very adorable and heartwarming conversation with her baby.
Now, I have mixed feelings on this act. While I loved a lot of the character moments and action, Prue kind of bothered me in this act. I love Prue, don't get me wrong, but the way she reacts to her child having powers from the womb is surprising. Her feelings aren't pride for her child or even shock, but instead, is jealousy. Maybe even a bit of inferiority. This all comes back to the core of who Prue is - she's a control-freak. She wants to be the one with power at all times, which does make for a very interesting protagonist and definitely makes for an interesting dynamic with the other characters. I was just surprised that this would blend in with her feelings toward the unborn child. But, I did love Prue's conversation with the baby, and is one of my favorite dialogue so far this season. It even beats out the Jo/Matt scene in the beginning of this episode.
Overall, the act was interesting and fun. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns, as well as the character moments. The act continued nicely from the previously one, and set up nicely for the next one.
Rating for Act Two: B!
ACT THREE
Act three starts off with Ajax consorting with a bunch of other Darklighters, who is trying to convince to attack the Halliwells with him. The Darklighters disagree at first, but Ajax manages to convince them to go along with him. Let me just say, that from the beginning of this act, I knew that they wouldn't survive. But, I was not expecting the badass fight scene that we did get when the Darklighters attacked.
Now, as much as I want to get to the amazing fight scene, there is a scene before it that is worth mentioning. A Junior and Melissa scene - something we have never, ever got before. It's a first in Destined, and very interesting to see these two interact. Junior, of course, is very salty and not in the mood to talk, but Melissa talks to him anyway. She tells him that she knows about what happened with Olivia (not exactly what just that something bad happened between them), and that she's there for him if he wants to talk about it. She's a good friend, and it's great to see Melissa interact with other members of the Halliwell family besides Prue, Wyatt, and Chris. While he relationship with each of them is unique and interesting in of itself, she hasn't interacted much with anyone else. This, is a good refresher from her normal scenes. Junior is rather harsh towards Melissa, and Melissa lets it slip that his family needs him to fight a Darklighter. He then darts out after checking his phone. It seems that he needs someone to light a fire under him. (Side note: How cool is it that Melissa ordered a Bourbon?)
Back at the manor, Pandora is hit with a Darklighter Arrow. This made me get chills at the idea of her dying. The fight scene afterwards is so cool, I loved it! Everyone was using their powers at an equal level, being put in danger, and it was written so well that I could "see" it happening. Also, Prue's baby continues to mess with her powers in a very familiar way - by creating flowers from the Molecular Combustion power. In case this little reference alluded anyone, this is similar to how Wyatt messed with Piper's powers from within the womb. Prue, of course, does not appreciate the gesture her baby is trying to make (perhaps it wants to spare them the cleaning time?) Wyatt and Chris are also hit with an arrow, Charlotte and Cassandra fend off a Darklighter, and Melinda manages to take a Darklighter hostage.
Next, we see Paige healing Wyatt. Tam mentions that Sebastian is in a meeting and she didn't want to bother him, and Paige states that it isn't a problem. She is also told that Charlotte and Jo vanquished the Darklighteres, and Paige is surprised that PRue didn't. However, she does find the humor in the fact that Prue's baby manipulated her powers like Wyatt did. This humor alludes Prue, and Jo defends the baby. This causes a verbal banter between the two. Wyatt has a sweet conversation with the unborn child, and everyone's mood lightens after this. Paige levaes after they insist they don't need her help, and Chris tries to get Bianca to go home. She tells him that the baby can protect her with it's shield. I'm glad that Bianca is not being "pushed aside" now that she's pregnant, and is still strong even if she does have a more sensitive side now. Prue then tells Jo that she'll find out who she is, and Jo states that she will reveal everything once the Darklighter is dead.
Down in the Undeworld, Jannes is less then happy with Ajax. Ajax reveals that the whole Darklighter community agreed not to go after the Halliwells as it would be suicide. Jannes is unhappy with the fact that Ajax doesn't want to go after them, and demands that he does, to which Ajax fearfully agrees. Personally, I'll be happy when Jannes does get vanquished.
This act was fun, strong, and had an amazing fight scene that was articulated perfectly. It managed to keep humor, suspense, and fear going 24/7. Wyatt's paternal side is also shown in this act which is sweet, and Chris' pride of his unborn son is beautiful. We also got to see character interactons that we've never seen before.
Rating for Act Three: A!
ACT FOUR
FINAL ACT
FINAL THOUGHTS
Interesting trouble, but trouble none-the-less.
I wonder