MovieChat Forums > Charmed (1998) Discussion > When should it have ended?

When should it have ended?

posted 8 years ago by Larsii90
43 replies | jump to latest

As part of the majority of fans on here that think S5-8 comes nowhere near the greatness S1-4 had, I'm wondering when I think the show should have ended, and not stretch it into obsene absurdity in S6-8 (Magic School, Avatars and Billie/Christy anyone?) part of me want to say at the end of S4, because I really think it works as a series finale; they decide they want to stay witches after The Angel of Destiny's offer, Piper gets pregnant and everyone kind of has an happy ending without any major cliffhanger or loose ends. But then again I would be bothered because there would be so much potential still left, had they gone in another direction for S5 and on. In my dreams, they would still do S5 with most of its episodes, but kept it as dark as S1-4 and cut out the most absurd and childish episodes like the superhero, nymph and leprichaun episodes... and then have a similar finale as the real one, where they talk about their time as witches and write it in the book, giving us a look into their futures. OR if they did go with the original plan B of saving the Phoebe as queen of all evil storyline to S5, making it a multiple episode storyarc, the series finale could be Centennial Charmed, with a series finale last minutes speech from a narrator. I also think the focus on Wyatt in the beginning was a little much, so I would prefer it if Piper just learned she got pregnant in the end of the show. Curios on you guys' ideas...

[–] Larsii90 8 years ago

Forgot to write the top reasons to my dislike for S5-8. Although that list is long, I have to say the lack of focus on sisterhood/family, absurd stories and characters (like mentioned above) and the overall extreme change of tone from dark comedy/fantasy/drama to light/comedy/fantasy drama are the top reasons.

[–] smck_82uk 8 years ago

Ideally after 4 or certainly after 7.

They think we're the demons now - Prue Halliwell ~ All Hell Breaks Loose ~ Charmed

[–] JustEs 8 years ago

I'd prefer it ending either when Shax says "The end" and SMASH at the end of "All Hell Breaks Loose" or when it was originally supposed to end had it not been renewed at the last minute, after Phoebe says "Here we go!" near the end of "Something Wicca This Way Goes?" (and it included that question mark back then) and KaPOW!

I'd much prefer *not* knowing what's going to happen and letting each fan figure out for themselves what happened next, besides setting up a spin-off.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] JustEs 8 years ago

That would also have made a very good spot to end it. Perhaps they could've flipped "Beware" and "Apocalypse".

[–] FireWave 8 years ago

Well, I am a fan that really think that latter seasons are also good. Maybe I would have ended it after season 7, but I actually wanted even one more after season 8 because I thought that they could do and show much more.
I am rewatching season 5 these days and it really is great, at least to me. I am glad they were never got afraid to try new things in this show: both dark and light/ ones. Universe of magic doesn't have limits.

You can't cheat Dheath, unless you're not Sidney, Gale and Dewey... :)

[–] Larsii90 8 years ago

Im rewatching S5 right now too, and I agree it's rather good. I just don't like the episodes that are stretched a little too far into absurdity, just because I feel they almost became a parody of themselves. You can even see that the lighting and colours are brighter and more colorful, taking the dark tone away. But I enjoy S5 overall, and many episodes in S6. This is just my opinion :)

[–] FireWave 8 years ago

Well yes, everything was brighter, but they didn't try to hide it ( hence Piper's exploding power being messed up in Siren's song among many other examples ). It was all intentional to be that way. But they really managed to catch essence of real danger throughout whole season 5: sister's potentially killed in A with In Time, Paige killed in episode in Egypt, Barbas episode was really terrific, etc. If you ask me, season 2 is the silliest of them all.

And I also love season 6. The most dynamic season for sure.

1, 4 and 6 are my faves along with 5/7 :)

You can't cheat Dheath, unless you're not Sidney, Gale and Dewey... :)

[–] Larsii90 8 years ago

Yeah no I know it was intentional, I just prefer the darker tone, but every season has its moment for sure

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Stratego 8 years ago

I think it should've ended after season 3. It was already declining anyway. I never liked season 4, it was too dark, too much a copy of Buffy. I doubt I would've liked it that much better if Shannen had stayed.

[–] Cherry23 8 years ago

The only season I thought had no redeemable features was 8, so I would have ended the show after 7

[–] gzv969 8 years ago

It should never have ended. Wish we were going into season 18 by now or Season 10 of a spin off with Wyatt and Chris and the kids

[–] WishfulDreamer 8 years ago

I believe I'm in the minority, but I felt the magic mostly stopped after Season 2. I try to get through Season 3 and beyond and the writing just seemed to have taken a huge nosedive.

[–] Larsii90 8 years ago

Yeah I think you are haha. I like many parts of S1 and the majority of S2, but I think S3 and 4 are the strongest. These are all just opinions tho :)

[–] sandvette9 8 years ago

I just watch it in the morning because it is a fun fantasy and a guilty pleasure. I am retired and I get to do one of my favorite things, not get up at 6:00am.

[–] JustEs 8 years ago

I'm definitely with you - and, typically - in the minority.

It seems like most fans prefer S3 and S4, but I definitely prefer S1 and S2, especially if you start at '1x17: That Seventies Episode' which is when I first started liking Prue. Then I liked all of the sisters until I started getting sick of Piper's whining about a normal life in 'How to Make a Quilt out of an American' while also not liking the way she treated Leo after 'Give Me a Sign', and ended up hating PhoeME during 'Sleuthing with the Enemy'.

So from 1x17: 'That Seventies Episode' to 2x16: 'Murphy's Luck' is my favorite "season" of Charmed.

So especially if you flipped 2x22: 'Beware What You Witch For' and 2x21: 'Apocalypse Not' with the sisters willing to give up their sister to save the world as the final, Season Two would've been my perfect spot to end it.

[–] lwarner2005 8 years ago

Seasons 5-7 weren't as good as the first 4 seasons imo, but for me there were enough fun and watchable episodes to justify their existence. They had a good closing episode with Something Wicca This Way Goes, not the least of which was that the title put a nice bookend to the series to match with the first episode of season 1. The last 3 seasons weren't great, but ending after season 7 would have left them with some semblance of respectability.

Season 8 was a train wreck. The show had clearly outstayed its welcome by this point, and they were introducing new characters that no one liked in a desperate attempt at a spin-off to keep riding the Charmed gravy train into infinity. It didn't work, and it wasn't worth the attempt.

[–] Larsii90 8 years ago

Yeah I agree with you on most of this too. What's sad is that (according to an interview with Brad Kern) by the time season 7 was about to wrap up, it was the only time they've never had a guaranteed renewal for a new season, so that's why he made the finals that works as a season and series finale (although I would NOT want the show to end with the sisters just going around being other people), then it did get renewed, but their budget was cut with hundreds of thousands, and they were forced to add these new characters that none of us like. I wish they just called it a day already before S8. It's so cheap, and I hate how they replaced all their outside scenes to be filmed at the studio lot. Looked very fake, and the cast even look bored doing the show. Not to mention you couldn't really recognize the characters anymore either. I do however like the series finale tho