Weekly TV Reviews: Charmed s3 ep9

 

Family reunions are a witch...

Macy is still struggling with what happened with the board meeting, Harry goes to convince Abby to help them, and Jordan shows up to meet Maggie just before he and Macy are attacked by a mysterious figure. The duo then ends up in a brightly lit high school building where Jordan immediately recognizes as his old school. Abby is searching for some salvation by finding redemption which sticks Harry with a determined Abby to help him. 

1.) Macy & Jordan

The two of them have spent little one-on-one time together so it's interesting to see them teamed up in a piece of Jordan's past. The duo is seeking a way to find a way out which leads them to look for the keys and requires them to dig through his memories to find a way out. From high school to the army, Jordan and Macy take a door into where he was stationed last in Afghanistan. We love this episode so far to see more to Jordan's back story. We've seen a lot of his curse and his determination for his future so it's nice to him confront moments in his past that he's still holding onto. The prison they're in forces Jordan to relive the death of his translator which is a guilt that he still has buried deep down. The second key lays around the neck of the man responsible for Jordan's curse. The format of the memory prison they're in is a cool way of exploring Jordan's character in-depth and adds another layer to the season's theme of identity. Most of the episodes have a layer that focuses on identity and explores the characters on a deeper level allowing this to be driven by their growth versus the events around them. 

Macy and Jordan have a great moment where they talk about the burden they each hold that keeps them from getting to be angry and having the freedom to do so. One good thing comes out of the entrapment with Jordan able to confront his curse and his past. After last week's episode, this is a great commentary on it with Macy having pushed her feelings down to keep going because she can't just get angry or lash out. Season one of Charmed was setting itself apart from the original. The second season seemed to not quite know where to land. This season seems to have found its voice and its rhythm, allowing the story to be driven by the characters and their voices as women, people of color, sisters, witches, individuals, and this is what makes it so much stronger than the previous seasons. 

The biggest highlight of the episode is that Jordan's curse has finally been broken which means he's no longer a magical issue toward the sisters and it's a great relief to see him be able to take control of his future.

2.) Harry & Abby

Abby makes good on her word by taking Harry to see someone to help translate an ancient demon language. He is reminiscent of a wizard who offers to teach her ways to control her demon side if he releases him from exile. Harry and Abby bicker over opposite viewpoints but this leads them to make a discovery hidden under the floorboards. They touch a glowing medallion only to be blown backward and as a result both end up feeling numb... with no negative emotions. The duo is now plagued with zero emotion and pure logic which the demon uses to his advantage to get Harry to kill Abby. Logic wins in the sense that Harry figures out the best way are to leave the demon behind and take the translation. 

3.) Maggie & Mel

Maggie and Mel confront a woman searching through their books in the attic only to learn that it's their cousin. Their cousin comes with a few bones to pick such as getting back the book of shadows and making it clear that their families weren't exactly on friendly terms. They deliver the bad news that the book is gone only to discover that she's the one that locked away Macy and Jordan. As things go from bad to worse for the duo trapped in the purse, the sisters bond with their cousin about her obsession to find the book so she can prove to her family that she is worthy of having witch powers. Family wins out in the end as they ask their cousin to stay so they can help her manifest her power which is a touching moment and suggests we may be seeing more of her. 

Nothing goes entirely well for the Charmed Ones as Harry breaks the translation ... and has apparently not seen "The Mummy" as he reads aloud from the book. The episode ends with chaos unleashed in the form of scorpions surrounding them. Things are definitely heating up. 

Quotes:

"I'm cursed with a burden that I don't deserve." - Jordan

"There are no shortcuts to redemption." - Harry