Weekly TV Reviews: Charmed s3 ep4

 

The last episode ended with the Charmed Ones and Harry being shocked when they attempted to touch. This episode picks up three months later, and thus, taking us into what was the official start to season three. The beginning finds the sisters navigating their mornings while trying not to touch in any way which goes all well and good until Harry orbs in with a flower, immediately throwing the sisters backward. Macy is searching for a way to break the curse on them and the flower is her latest chance at helping them regain their ability to touch/be close to magical entities. 

Thoughts on "You Can't Touch This": 

1.) Back in Life

Now that they fought the Faction and won, the sisters are back in the real world as their actual selves which means even their house is uncloaked. Though, the sisters can't touch anything magical - even those cursed by magic. This provides a hiccup in their love lives as Maggie can't go for a relationship with Jordan, Mel is dating Ruby from five feet away, and Macy and Harry still can't fully be together. Maggie's attempts to talk with her professor are largely ignored and immediately shrugged off when the professor prefers to talk with a male student. Mel, meanwhile, is back to teaching and is clearly thriving back in her old role of activist and we're living for that. 

The episode also introduced a new trans character named Kevin who is being bullied by two transphobic guys. We're loving seeing Mel in the role of a teacher and students like Kevin will benefit greatly from her being in their lives. We're also loving the inclusion of the sisters back in the world which is pushing their worlds open and we're hoping to see even more diverse characters in their lives. Being apart is clearly taking its toll as Harry is doing his best to keep a distance and Jordan sends his (sad) hello with Harry to give to Maggie. Though we're enjoying the storyline (and find it quite COVID clever) that's keeping them literally apart from everyone else, we hope that it doesn't last TOO long. 

Maggie's adjustment in the real world is having a few hiccups with a new nemesis named Antonio, a sexist professor, and a panic attack in the middle of class. Maggie has always been an innocent character in terms of the way she's the world with such sincerity and wonder, which has made her one of the first we connected with. She also is the first and quickest to add humor to every scene she's in along with a great deal of heart. 

2.) Whispers 

Mel is all settled on the couch as everyone comes storming through just being an unseen force (whispers) makes its way into the house and into Mel? Mel is then seen waking up with glowing eyes, seemingly in a trance, and then out in the woods digging a hole. This results in the sisters waking up after having a night with little sleep. This unseen force is then seen lurking while Maggie attempted to calm down a panic attack. Once again, we see this strange force working its odd trance-like abilities on the sisters. This time Maggie (with glowing eyes) went out digging and we see more of their objective with her delivering a bag of bones to add with other strange-looking bones. Next on the entity's list is Macy who in the middle of working out ends up with the same encounter as the other two sisters. Cue Harry failing to find Macy and Mel comparing dream notes with Maggie (digging in a cemetery and bringing a bag of bones back to the command center). Then we finally get to see our creature of the episode when we see Macy completing a spell that delivered a whirling shadowy figure. Though by episode end we still aren't quite sure what this strange creature is for even Harry doesn't have any idea. We were left with a clue and know that the monster is tied to a tablet with old symbols, with the knowledge that the creature is an ancient demon. We are excited to see an expansion to the mythology and are excited to see the show dive into ancient roots. 

3.) Harry & Macy

We love seeing Macy back into science, with last season saw her a little less into her field, and we're loving seeing Harry and Macy as a duo. What made these two work so well from season one is their chemistry and this is what made them immediately a favorite ship. Harry is trying to keep up the faith and to come up with options while Macy is falling further into despair as she doesn't believe there's any hope to figure out a way to break the new curse on them. Maggie's advice to Harry is a shining moment in the episode as she reminds him that emotional intimacy is even more important and should not be forgotten. 

Additional Tidbits: 

We loved seeing Mel and Macy fighting a demon ghost thing in their pajamas. Often in supernatural shows, the main characters always seem to take the time to get dressed (often spectacularly) before heading out to fight a demon. We love seeing them in their pajamas, hair a mess, and with their coats on going out to get to Macy and then going into the middle of the woods to fight the strange creature. 

A rip in reality is never a good sign. Neither is a figure that we can't see making its way out of it. 

Quotes:

"Just my luck that I finally get together with the woman of my dreams and she's allergic to me." - Harry

"Goo-Zilla." "Gooey McBad-Teeth." - Charmed sisters trying to determine a name for the creature