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...

[–] saikano_75 8 years ago

I only watch season 5 in hopes Pheobe and Cole would get back together. Didn't happen though but I never watched the seasons following the fifth one. I didn't even bother to watch the rest of the season after he died. Well, maybe one or two episodes afterward to see if she missed him.

But I don't think season four would have been a good ending. Sure Piper is pregnant and they chose to continue being witches, but that is the first season they find out they have a new sister and while I didn't like Paige, I think the fifth season showed us a bit more about who she was. They could have ended it differently besides going the future son comes to help you fight titans route.

[–] Tiger_Cat 8 years ago

At the end of season four, when they made the informed choice of remaining witches. From that day on, every time one of them complained about being witches, all I could think of was that they chose it.

[–] MsCurlsNCurves 8 years ago

For me, I would've loved for the show to end after Phoebe turns evil and vanquished Cole (I'm not sure what season that was or if it was the 1st or last time that they had killed Cole) but the episode where she's crying in bed and they go to comfort her (that episode still gets me in tears). And I guess perhaps a few more episodes to tie up loose ends and give everyone a happy ending...

But then again I really loved loved Zankou...well...mainly Oded Fehr...but still he was a pretty cool villian. If they would've erased all the crazinessential that happened in between and left out all the foolishness during the Zankou season and then made that finale the series finale I would've been happy.

You could tell the show had been over-stretched. Everything became repeated and lame. Piper and Leo in the constant back and forth....the horrible rollercoaster of Phoebe's love life...and Paige never knowing how to get her life together. She says one thing then changes her life to totally contradict what she just said....smh

[–] JustEs 8 years ago

What you're talking about happened in Season Four. I know a fan who skips Season Five and Six during her rewatches, pretends that there's a sign that says, "Two years later..." and then starts Season Seven at 'Styx Feet Under', which has them saving an innocent - the reason why they decided to keep their powers - then stops at the end of Season Seven and I've tried and it and it works pretty good.

You might want to try that.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MsCurlsNCurves 8 years ago

Great idea! And I just started binge watching this on Netflix last night! Perfect timing!

[–] msturner416 8 years ago

Maybe season 4 or 5. That would've been the perfect ending point. But "Charmed" started to fall apart when Prue died.

[–] FireWave 8 years ago

I know a fan who skips Season Five and Six during her rewatches, pretends that there's a sign that says, "Two years later..." and then starts Season Seven at 'Styx Feet Under', which has them saving an innocent - the reason why they decided to keep their powers

Do you want to say that sisters didn't save innocents in 5th and 6th season?

[–] JustEs 8 years ago

No, that's just the reason why she starts with that particular episode in S7. Without SS & S6, those episodes in S7 don't seem as bad - the sisters seem more like the ones in S4, and that's what we don't like about S5, S6 and S8 - we don't like the sisters in them. They're the ones in the signature I use at other sites:

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo61/Just_Es/Sigs/wod4.jpg

LIKE A CHARACTER LOBOTOMY,
courtesy of The WB
and their hatchetman, Brad Kern

I miss our snarky Piper who cared about innocents more than herself,
our smart Paige who had graduated from college and should've been a social worker
and our sweet Phoebs who loved magic more than sex.
Prue was lucky to die when she did...

[–] FireWave 8 years ago

No

What?! That is simply not true. Miley, Craig Wilson, Melissa, Kevin, Ava Nicolae, Sam, Glen Beland, Jessica, Spencer Ricks, other magical beings such as leprechauns, nymphs, Katrina, both Montana and Callaway family, Jason Dean ( My three witches, Used Karma</I> ), they broke Faustian Deal for Larry and for hundred and hundred other souls by vanquishing Zahn freeing them and giving them peace, Derek and his son ( Piper sure cared a lot for an innocent here just like she cared very much about Maya Holmes in <i>Run, Piper Run), they protected student body of Magic School from Horseman, Ramona Shaw and so on. They saved world big time both in Season's 5 and Season's 6 finales.

I respect an opinion about not liking sisters in any of seasons , I really like that we have different point of views, but saying they didn't save innocents over the course of 2 years is false.

Edit: I have just seen comma after your no, which I overlooked when I was reading first time. I am glad the reason isn't "not saving innocents" for her to skip S5 and S6. 😃

[–] JustEs 8 years ago

All I said was the reason my friend skips those earlier episodes is because this is the first S7 episode where they save an innocent, the reason they kept their powers in 'Witch Way Now'. I also said earlier (and in my earlier post) that she (and I) do not like S5, S6 or S8 because the sisters seem like totally different people than they do in S1-4. In S7, ESPECIALLY if you skip S5 and S6, they seem more like the ones who are in S1-4.

Now if you like S5 or S6 or S8 or those earlier episodes of S7, go right ahead and watch them and enjoy them - I never once said that you shouldn't. But what I said is if a fan doesn't like them in those seasons, they should give this a try. Everyone who has, has come back and said they like that version of Charmed better. But that's only people who don't like S5, S6 and S8.

Me saying no means THAT and NOT that I think they didn't save any innocents in the latter years until that episode. Of course they did. Not as many, but they did.

I never said anything that went against anything that you said previously and if you'd read my entire posts, you'd know that.

So I'll ignore the rest of your post since you very obviously didn't take time to read my entire posts, nor will you probably read all of this one, so for the first time in a very long time, I'm going to put someone on my Ignore list.

Reply if you want, but I won't read a word - if you're not going to read an entire post in order to see what the person means, it's no longer worth my effort to read or answer back.

Enjoy whatever parts of Charmed you like and enjoy your life.

Blessed be.

[–] FireWave 8 years ago

I edited my message to say that I understood your reasons why you don't like seasons 5 and 6. But as you have already stated, you were the one who didn't want to read my reply because you thought I hadn't read yours.

I couldn't care less if I am on your ignore list or not. 😁

[–] maryrock-58-690964 8 years ago

Season 5 should have been the finale. Season 6-8 were unnecessary and a lot of stupid stuff happened.

[–] gremlioni 8 years ago

I actually love Charmed seasons 1-6; my favorite seasons being seasons 3-6. Cole was dynamic and really shone in seasons 4 and 5. I liked the future complications in Season 6, but it did have its logistical issues. If I could tweak Season 6, I would not have had the experience with Gideon when Wyatt was a tot be what turned Wyatt bad, unless Gideon had kidnapped him and kept him until he was in his teens or something. Then there was Season 7, when Wyatt got turned by a teddy bear. It kind of made me think that perhaps it was Wyatt's destiny to turn out evil, because he's too powerful. What would have been interesting is if Chris had come just to observe Wyatt and be a good influence on him, or had come to bind or take his powers. I love Chris and Wyatt's confrontation in Season 6, Criss-Crossed where Wyatt offers Chris second chances at forgiveness because they are brothers.

I also would have done a better job with Magic School. I mean, it was cute, but when exactly was it made? And why did the sisters only find out about it in Season 6? It popped out of thin air, literally, and suddenly it's been around forever and everyone knows about it and is suddenly concerned with the education of the next magical generation. Seeing that the sisters and other witches and magical beings they'd met before then seemed to know nothing of the school, meant that none of them had gone. So... I always assumed your family taught you. So, is magic school more for orphans who got caught exposing their untamed magic? It'd have bee interesting if that were the case, and if it had just been founded that season. It also would have been cool if Paige had made creating a school be the purpose she was looking for in life instead of temp jobs.

Now I do agree, the first seasons of the show (1-4) were darker, and I did like the dark tone, and the latter seasons were more comedic. I think seasons 5 and 6 could have been darker, but I will admit I did enjoy the silly fairy tale episodes and the quirky humor that made the show Charm[ing] :D. It would have been great had they found a way to mix the two, like Buffy, funny but dark and creepy when needed be.

In my opinion, the show should have ended in season 7 with the "death" of the sisters and the exit of Darryl. Season 7 wasn't so bad. I used to think it was terrible, but I've re-watched it recently. It was all right and could have been a very decent conclusion. New lives for The Charmed Ones, but they'd be jerks for abandoning babies. Something that was very interesting in season 8 was when the Elders came to take the babies away from Victor, saying that he couldn't raise, train or protect Wyatt and Chris. If they'd gone with that thread and the sisters having to expose themselves for that purpose or having to kidnap the babies and be on the run... I don't know what kind of plot and season they could have built around that, but it would have held my attention.But no, Season 8 was bleh and meh, and I couldn't stand Billie and Christy.

So, to make a long answer short, lol, I'd have ended with the last episode of season 7.

[–] FireWave 8 years ago

I mostly agree and I am glad that there is someone who enjoys seasons 5, 6 and 7.
Everything you stated about Magic school would actually be pretty good and season 6 did have proper way to go to season's 1 darker roots when it comes to demons. They introduced Trok Demon, Manticores, Smoker Demons, Phantasm and they could have made them main antagonists in some of the episodes or even keep them around longer in episodes in which they originally appeared. It could have add to darker tone. At least, they handled Spider Demon very well.

[–] gremlioni 8 years ago

I agree with you about those demons being on the show for longer, especially the Phantasms. They were creepy and should have been handled more like supernatural possession that required exorcisms. And, it should have been hard to do. I wanted more moral dilemmas like on Supernatural when demons possessed humans and well, the hard decision of do I kill them or do I fight to get them demon free (but the fight is harder than tossing a potion and is very dangerous.)

My chief complaint with a lot of the demons in latter seasons is that they were too easy to deal with. Sneak up on them, throw a potion, chant a spell. If you weren't the big bad, they could deal with you easily. I understand that they are OP heroes, but it kept me wondering how they got into so much trouble all the time if they were that strong. Most of their problems came from them being intellectually slow on the uptake.

[–] Bag_of_Cancer 8 years ago

It should've ended with season 4. The Charmed Ones are reconstituted with Paige added to the fold, Piper and Leo are still in a good marriage, Phoebe and Cole end up together in a non-poisonous relationship (Cole is completely possessed by the Source rather than anything ambiguous), the Source is obliterated, life goes on.

Cena doesn't overcome any odds. He's a wrestler with a God Mode cheat on.

[–] loui_b452 8 years ago

I often divide up the Charmed Seasons into 3 categories that make me appreciate them more. I'm sure people would heavily disagree with me but it's the only way I can mentally make sense of where the series started and where it ended up...

Season 1-4: TRUE Charmed
-These Seasons managed to capture the appropriate tone as well as the foundation themes. The show was meant to be a look into the lives of 3 previously estranged sisters who discover they're also prophesied witches. They must reconnect with one another both to salvage the love lost from their time a part AND for the sake of survival from a life none of them ask for. While on the surface, you would think magic is the most important aspect of the show, you'd quickly see that sisterhood is what really matters. It's not about them being witches. It's about them being a family. Prue, Piper, and Phoebe fall into place as a familial unit that also relates to their life as witches. Prue, as the eldest, takes on an almost maternal role. She's very protective of her younger sisters. Thus, she's the lead witch in any conflict as she'd be the lead sister in any situation. Piper is the mediator. She solves problems too but is more passive. It's why she becomes the potioneer. She concocts a solution on her own and then presents it to her sisters or the task at hand. Phoebe is the baby. She's seen as the most vulnerable to both the familial unit and their lives as witches because she's the most naive. BUT, she's also the heart of the family as she keeps her sisters from drifting apart again. And, in turn, just as she reactivated the Power of Three, she keeps it intact.

Further, when we get to Season 4, we get symbolism of "How close can one be to a sister that you didn't grow up with?" Paige's character very much represented a step-sister or a half-sister. We see Piper and Phoebe offer two different reactions to how most would handle it. Piper is reluctant and sometimes harsh of the situation. She didn't have the same connection with Paige as she did with Prue and Phoebe and honestly wasn't trying to...at first. Piper has to learn to love, which is totally understandable. Meanwhile, Phoebe accepts Paige from the start. She actively tries to see her as a sister. While she has to deal with not being the baby anymore, she doesn't hold Paige at fault for this. And with Paige we see the awkwardness of the "new" sister. She doesn't know how to feel but tries ever still.

In the end, the show gives us the message that sisterhood comes in many forms but is important no matter what. The punchline of the show is even without the magic, this was always a show about relationships between family, the people they bring into the family (boyfriends, husbands, friends), and how they grow as a family. The magic aspect was secondary.

Season 5-7: PARODY Charmed
-These are the seasons that flipped the themes on their head. It was no longer about sisters who just happened to witches but witches who just happened to be related...I guess. And ALL the characters were exaggerated to express this. Before, Piper was getting over her meekness to be more assertive. In the later Seasons, she's just plain MEAN. In earlier seasons, Phoebe was very open to new ideas and a lover of love. Now, she's dating everything that moves and is VERY into herself. While Paige began as a girl trying to find her place in the life she now had, she becomes wayward on all fronts. Leo, Cole, and even Darryl also become exaggerated.

Meanwhile, while magic was taken seriously in the earlier seasons, it's now a complete joke on all popular magical properties. Where Seasons 1-4 too inspiration from previous historical lore, Seasons 5-7 straight up ripped off Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, ect. If there was a popular magic show/movie out, Charmed was gonna parody it. ESPECIALLY if it got the sister into outfits. Oh how the show LOVED its outfits. The skimpier the better.

These are also the seasons where being a demon really didn't matter anymore. As long as they were covered in leather and threw energy balls, the show didn't care. Heck, they didn't even have to do that. As long as they shimmered in for Piper to blow up, all was good.

Season 8: The Failed Experiment
-So, most know that Charmed: Season 8 was written purely to create a Billie spin-off. And. it. went. HORRIBLY. The sisters didn't even act like they did in previous seasons. While in the first 4 Seasons, they were sisters and in the next 3 Seasons they were friends, the final season, they were old roommates. Billie proved to be as likeable as adult Chris. Which is sad because that meant she was the MOST likable character. Now, I like Chris as a character but I know full well I'm in the minority on that. But, for BILLIE to be the most endearing character of the season??...

Further, the rules no longer mattered. Atleast in the PARODY seasons, Charmed tried to keep up with its continuity. Season 8? There was little to no regard for the simple rules and storylines it made up. They even forgot PAIGE was present during the Source's vanquish. The Biggest Bad they ever faced....and Paige herself thought Prue was the one present for it.

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[–] Larsii90 8 years ago

This is completely accurate. To be able to enjoy Charmed these days you kind of have to ignore all those stupid problems with S5-8, because nothing makes sense anymore by then and you cant really compare the two parts of the series. Best thing is to honestly ignore the last five seasons, watch the first four and tie up those few loose stories thats left after season 5 in your own head. That's what I try to do :P

[–] loui_b452 8 years ago

LoL!! Seriously. But, don't get me wrong. I like ALL of Charmed. But, to watch the show without getting upset, I have to think of it as three separate series.

Charmed Season 1-4 will always be my most beloved. I put it's tone ans care for it's themes on par with other supernatural-fighter shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel: The Series, Supernatural and Grimm. All great shows that understand that it's okay to occasionally delve into the "wackiness" of the supernatural world as long as they maintain what made the show itself so iconic and something to be taken seriously

Charmed Seasons 5-7 are enjoyable but in that Hercules, Xena Warrior Princess, Beastmaster kinda way. There is SOME gravity to the plot but it's honestly just a popcorn/couch potato t.v. show that we're meant to enjoy but RARELY go any deeper than that. There's some care for continuity but really, we're more here for the adventure than the story BEHIND the adventure. In a way, they're almost parodies of more serious shows. Impressive parodies but still nothing to put our thinking caps on for.

Admittedly, Charmed Seasons 5-7 go to a WHOLE new level of "What the heck am I watching" than the other shows mentioned, though. You could literally FEEL with a "Were gonna get the girls in skimpy outfits" episode was coming on. Or a "Yeah, we know we're ripping this idea from a popular movie in theaters right now. Wanna fight about it?!?" episode. No subtly in sight. The other shows TRIED to cover their camp with occasional serious topic or character development. But Charmed Seasons 5-7??...Charmed weaved those "useless" ideas into a nymph outfit, put it beside a leprechaun, and hoped to GOD Phoebe wouldn't flirt with it in hopes of being her new baby daddy. But who cares because Piper is already yelling at it while Paige can't decide whether to put it on or have an existential crisis about it....Also, Wyatt's there for some reason.

Season 8 is the most fun, in my opinion. Because it's not even Charmed anymore so I can't even try to be mad. It's as if the show was TRYING to make us hate the sisters to make Billie more likeable in comparison. And for me, it worked. If Season 8 Piper had met Season 1 Piper, she would have despised herself. If Season 1 Phoebe had met Season 8 Phoebe, she would have regretted reconstituting the Power of Three every day. The only character who remotely came off scot-free was Paige and, to be honest, that's not saying much. Most of her character's growth happened in Season 4. After, she's trapped in the parody seasons so growth is kind of a "subjective" thing.

The only thing Season 8 could possibly do to truly make me despise it when thinking of how far gone it is from the foundational theme of Charmed WHILE ALSO trying to play it up: Sisterhood. The Halliwells no longer feel like sisters while the Jenkins feel like they're getting it all wrong. But...we're suppose to find endearment in their "sisterhood?" One group would rather not be around each other and instead be with their boy-toys. The other is too busy manipulating the other.

It could have been worse though. Imagine if Prue was still around by Season 8. I can't even only imagine what an overly-exaggerated Prue would have like. Or Prue in a superhero outfit. Or Prue sacrificing her bond with her sisters to be with man.Or considering saving innocents to be a selfish thing. Yeah, Piper and Phoebe consistently get annoyed with doing good in this season. They go so far as to berate Billie for wanting to save innocents so much.

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[–] perfect_lover2012 8 years ago

This post sums everything up perfectly.

"When life gives you lemons"
Jessica D: sleep with their fathers and have secret lemon children

[–] JustEs 8 years ago

I'd agree with you if there was some way of splitting Season Four. The first part of it was exactly what you said. But once we got to Cole becoming the Source (however he did that, since different fans see that differently and that's not part of this topic), it was no longer about sisters learning how to accept a stepsister/half-sister and therefore no longer had anything to do with keeping the family intact, culminating in Season Eight when Leo is frozen and Piper needs her sisters, but both Phoebe and Paige abandon her to go do her own thing, the climax of "Poor, Poor, Pitiful Piper", aka "PhoeME and Her Fantasy Men", aka "Two Witches Plus One Living Whitelighter Equals The Power of Three?", the Charmed spin-off.

In fact the last half of Season Four was exactly what you said it shouldn't have been but was:

In the end, the show gives us the message that sisterhood comes in many forms but is important no matter what. The punchline of the show is even without the magic, this was always a show about relationships between family, the people they bring into the family (boyfriends, husbands, friends), and how they grow as a family. The magic aspect was secondary.

Not only did the last half of Season Four parody Buffy (hence belonging with the next group), but by the end of Season Four, Cole was more important to Phoebe (as were all men afterwards) and Leo was more important to Piper (like her sons) than the sisterhood. The only one interested in both magic and being a sister was the newcomer, Paige.

Had the show found a way to make accepting Paige a part of the family a part of Season Three while Prue was still part of the family, then ended "Charmed" with 'All Hell Breaks Loose' and then start "Charmed: The New Prophecy", the spin-off that starts with 'Charmed and Dangerous', where having a whitelighter for a father was more important than having a Warren for a mother, and where protecting the Twice-Blessed Brat was more important than protecting innocents, it would've been two separate shows that two different sets of fans could've/would've enjoyed.

Or better, if it the last season of 'Charmed' was only a half-season and skipped from 'Lost and Bound' straight to 'Witch Way Now', but changing it so Cole is still human and Phoebe still loves him, it would've been the perfect way to end Charmed (bringing this back to the topic).

[–] MarkAnthony1990 8 years ago

Have you ever actually watched Buffy?

Saying the second half of season 4 "parodies" Buffy is just incorrect. Yes, season 3 and 4 was the closest in tone that Charmed got to Buffy's style but even then it was not the same and nowhere near close enough to be called a parody.

Babies kill TV shows!

[–] MoshiMoshiYoshi 8 years ago

I liked seasons 5-7. It should've ended after season 7.