The magic of The WB’s Charmed is how it harkens back to simpler times. No smartphones, just women living in the moment, battling the forces of darkness.
Premiering in 1998, girl power was at its peak, as the similar occult-leaning series Buffy the Vampire Slayer had already proven its worth on the same network for two years. At its heart, the Wicca series was a show about sisterhood and there was no sister more formidable than Prue Halliwell.
Played by the late, great, Shannen Doherty, Prue was the eldest of three (later four) sisters who were the most powerful witches in the world. Her telekinetic powers were a force to be reckoned with and made her the clear leader of her coven.
But with great power comes great responsibility and at the end of season 3, Prue protected her sisters by making the ultimate sacrifice. Prue’s departure from the series was due to on-set tension, but that doesn’t diminish her role in Charmed. That character was a driving force for the show and was central to some of its greatest episodes. Here are the best ones:
10. Season 3, episode 10: “We All Scream For Ice Cream”
Let’s face it, the concept of an evil ice cream truck is campy at best. However, the strength of the episode is that it mends the long-standing rift between Prue and her father, Victor (James Read). After discovering an ice cream truck that seemingly sucks innocent children into a cold abyss, Prue follows to save them. What she discovers, however, is something quite different. The children are actually demons and the Ice Cream Man’s (Bob Clendenin) job is to trap these evil creatures. But hokey concepts aside, the core of the episode is an emotional one.
Prue learns that despite having an absent father, Victor always loved her. In fact, in her childhood, he saved her from the exact same truck. This incident led to Grams banning Victor from the girls’ lives because his mortality was a liability. Prue understands that her perception of her father is skewed and it is the first step to mending a bridge long burned.
9. Season 3, episode 5: “Sight Unseen”
Charmed has always been adept at subverting expectations, no more so than in the season 3 episode about a stalker terrorizing the sisters. At first, The Charmed Ones are concerned with a new evil foe trying to break into their home, but they soon realize that evil can take on a more human face.
The stalker turns out to be P3 bartender, Abbey (Boti Bliss), who is obsessed with Prue. The episode could have gravitated toward sexual obsession for a hashtag girl power theme, but instead, it proves that evil can take many forms. Abbey’s obsession with Prue also shows the eldest Halliwell sister that despite all her personal trials, she is still a confident and fearless person.
8. Season 3, episode 15: “Just Harried”
Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, Prue’s repressed feelings have unintended consequences in this episode. Though unwittingly, Prue sabotages Piper’s (Holly Marie Combs) wedding to Leo (Brian Krause) through the actions of her astral self. While sleeping, Prue’s subconscious travels away where she can sow her wild oats. This has less to do with resentments about not getting married and more with her responsibilities as an older sister.
She was never able to be as free as Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) or follow her heart like Piper. Though ill-timed, Prue deserves to have some semblance of fun after taking on so much responsibility. This episode shows Prue as we have never seen her before and allows her to connect with the darker parts of herself.
7. Season 1, episode 8: “The Truth Is Out There… And It Hurts”
Prue’s attempt to have it all comes with some harsh realities. Her boyfriend Andy (Ted King) knows that she has a secret but she isn’t quite ready to tell him that she’s a witch. Instead, she casts a 24-hour truth spell to see if he can handle who she is. This is a heartbreaker for the couple.
With only minutes left to go in the spell, Andy states that he doesn’t know if this is something he can accept. His answer breaks up the couple and Andy forgets the whole thing ever happened. Prue lives with the devastating realization that Andy can’t accept her for who she is.
6. Season 1, episode 22: “Dejá Vù All Over Again”
The season 1 finale of Charmed is the sisters’ real brush with tragedy. Throughout the season, Prue struggles to balance her personal life and the supernatural only to realize that you can’t always have it both ways. Andy finally accepts Prue’s destiny as a witch, but at great personal cost.
Stuck in a time loop, he realizes the only way to save Prue and her sisters from a vengeful demon is to sacrifice himself. Prue lives to fight another day but loses the love of her life. This is a turning point for her, turning her into a harder version of herself, but a more dedicated witch. She becomes a powerful presence, determined never to let such a loss ever happen again.
5. Season 3, episode 5: “Primrose Empath”
In this season 3 episode, Prue learns a valuable lesson about wanting to increase her power. A run-in with a cursed demon leads her to accept the gift of empathy. Though feeling what others are feeling may seem fun at first, she soon becomes overwhelmed by the entire spectrum of emotions. It is a powerful episode for Doherty’s acting abilities and shows once again why Prue is the most powerful Charmed One.
4. Season 2, episode 8: “P3 H2O”
A mythology episode at its finest, the eighth episode of season 2 delves into Prue’s emotional trauma over the death of her mother. When the demon that killed Patty Halliwell (Finola Hughes) resurfaces, she is forced to confront all of her repressed fears of drowning. Prue prides herself on being the strength of the family, but the death of the sisters’ mother is her Achilles’ heel. The episode also introduces Patty’s former Whitelighter, Sam (Scott Jaeck), who endures the guilt of being unable to save her. These intense topics make for an unforgettable episode.
3. Season 1, episode 13: “From Fear To Eternity”
In the first appearance of the fear demon, Barbas (Billy Drago), Prue has to face one of her greatest fears. This episode sets up the mythology that Prue has never been able to get over the devastation of her mother’s drowning. She holds on to this as fear of drowning itself, which Barbas takes advantage of. Barbas is an iconic villain who keeps returning to torment the Charmed Ones and has a particular admiration for the oldest sister.
2. Season 3, episode 22: “All Hell Breaks Loose”
The heartbreaker of all heartbreakers, Prue’s final episode has to be included. Though the best of them, Prue ultimately dies protecting an innocent from a demon named Shax and breaks the Power of Three for the time being. The inevitability of Prue’s death had been planted before now, making the conclusion of her story one of the best episodes on Charmed.
1. Season 3, episode 16: “Death Takes a Halliwell”
Without this episode, Prue’s departure from Charmed would not have been satisfying. For the three seasons that Doherty portrayed the character, Prue battles her grief and trauma about her mother’s death and comes to terms with her own mortality. Season 3 is where she learns the harshest of lessons: You can’t save everyone. Sometimes it is someone’s time and when Death comes calling, there is nothing to be done. This episode makes Prue’s departure all the more heartbreaking but gratifying at the same time.
Published: Jul 22, 2024 12:54 pm