Is Prue self-righteous?.

As much as I love and admire the character of Prue....yes. Very, very yes. There was even an episode based around how much pride Prue had in her own self-righteousness.

I liked the dynamic of the original Charmed Ones because there was a balance to them. Not just as a team but as sisters. Prue, without a doubt, had the strongest personality. She was just so..."Prue." She yearned to be the toughest, the smartest, the prettiest, the most successful, ect. Being Prue meant being the most....which, is not always a good thing. Prue's own ego was often her downfall. She always thought she was right and very little could tell her otherwise. AND even when admitting she wasn't, Prue felt SHE was being the bigger person for it.

This is why Piper and Phoebe were needed in Prue's life. On paper and even from watching the show, you'd think they needed Prue more but it was honestly the other way around. Without Phoebe grounding Prue in reality and Piper mediating between Prue, Phoebe and any other conflict, Prue would have gone on thinking she was always right and it would have gotten her killed. And I don't mean just in being a witch. Without regulation, Prue being Prue meant sacrificing herself to her career and general success. Sacrificing herself to being the most. We see a bit of it in Morality Bites. Without Piper and Phoebe to regulate Prue, she becomes just too much.

Don't get me wrong, Piper and Phoebe certainly needed Prue. Piper was an individual who needed to be pushed and Prue was happy to oblige. The meek Piper we see in Season 1 and half of Seasons 2 melts away because her big sister just keeps pushing her to be more open. Likewise, Phoebe's wayward attitude is forced away because Prue demands her sister have direction. The two needed someone who was the most so that they could become people who were better.

In regards to Prue's self-righteous attitude, this was just a consequence of being Prue. The Charmed Ones are meant to be good and put innocents first. But, there's a balance in this. The world needs them but they aren't machines. They're totally allowed to try to have their own lives so long as they were still fulfilling their duties. Prue...well, Prue never truly grasped this. She was told "be a good witch" and heard "be a SUPER witch who's willing to throw everything away for the sake of the innocent. Even if that means killing yourself or endangering a sister to do it!!" Thus, Prue overdoes even the concept of "being good" to an extreme and thinks she's totally justified in this act. And, how is one to argue someone wanting to be more good? Only Phoebe argues that it's okay to be bad sometimes but SHE'S the one always messing up.

So, shrouded in a belief that she had to be so, so strong to protect her sisters, Prue took it upon herself to not only get on her high horse but command an entire stable of "I'm the most good and therefore the most right in any given situation!!" It was why it was so hard for Prue to accept death. In Prue's mind, death = bad. Prue stops bad. So....why couldn't Prue stop death? Not being able to stop death itself was like a blow to Prue's very massive but very fragile ego.

I empathize with Prue. I know what it feels like to take things deemed good to an extreme and feel justified all the same. Problem is there's a fine line between "self-righteous" and "prideful." Without her sisters, Prue crossed that line too often.

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I mean yeah, but the writers were well aware of it and it was a clear characteristic of Prue. That's just one thing that made her more interesting, and to be fair... Prue WAS the s***, so she was entitled to feel a little like that I think. Haha

Yes. And she believed no one a better than her. That's why she got hit with the sin of pride in Sin Francisco. And Piper and phoebe called her out on it as it got amplified in that episode. By the way that's one of my favorite episodes.

Piper is at the bar. Prue comes up to her and offers her a glass of wine.]

Prue: Here you go.

Piper: Oh, no, no, no.

Prue: Piper, it's okay to indulge, just don't over indulge.

Piper: I guess we can thank Lucas for teaching us anything in moderation.

Prue: Hey, there was nothing that Lucas could teach me.

Piper: Oh, really?

Prue: I'm doing it again, aren't I? That whole pride thing. I swear, I'm working on it.

Piper: It's a constant struggle.

Prue: Here's one thing that I'm willing to admit I don't understand. You, Phoebe and Leo were able to get rid of your sins with a selfless act. I committed many selfless acts yet why did I have to wait for Lucas to be vanquished to get rid of my pride?

Piper: Well, Lucas said that pride was the one thing you can't beat. I think what he meant was there's no such thing as a selfless act to pride.

Prue: I threw myself into a pit for the Pastor.

Piper: Yeah, but you did that to win. So any good you did during your prideful state was for the greater glory of Prue.

Prue: Alright, fine, then here's to Leo, for saving me from eternal torment.

(They clink their glasses.)