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"Witch Trial"�

9/30/99

Season Premiere Several months have passed since Andy's tragic death, but it still
plagues Prue who feels responsible. Meanwhile, Piper's time is devoted to starting up her own nightclub, and dealing with life minus her love Leo. Phoebe starts congregating with other witches, in an effort to embrace her own powers. And in the midst of all this, a powerful demon called Abraxas manages to steal the Book of Shadows and begins reversing all of its spells. This causes many of the sisters' formerly vanquished foes to reappear. Also, the Halliwells get new neighbors in the form of a misguided teenager and her uncle (who happens to look like a movie star).�

The episode would've been MUCH better if it had played fully into its premise of the
resurrection of the Charmed Ones' old enemies. Instead, it focused on Prue's self-blame over Andy's death, which isn't bad, but the writing didn't support the plot very well, and as a result the episode seemed to drag where shouldn't have, and zip through the important scenes. I surely hope that the upcoming episodes can rise above this grim season opener.�

"Morality Bites"�

10/7/99

The episode begins with the Prue, Piper and Phoebe exacting revenge on a careless
neighbor who leaves his dog's dung on the Halliwells' front lawn. Later, Phoebe
has a premonition of her own demise - burning at the stake in the year 2009 - and
she and her sisters decide to use a spell in the Book of Shadows to travel to the
future to stop it. When they arrive, they're shocked to find out that not only did
they arrive in the bodies of their future selves, but their lives have taken downward
spirals. Prue is rich, but has no personal life or compassion to speak of. Piper has
a beautiful daughter with Leo, but finds that she and him are on the verge of a
divorce. And Phoebe arrives on death row for killing a man, and finds that she
actually committed the crime - while exacting revenge on a killer. All three sisters'
powers have grown incredibly, and using them, Piper and Prue managed to break
into the prison, and get to Phoebe just in time to save her - but they don't. Phoebe
decides that she should die for her crime instead of escaping, and asks Piper to
unfreeze the guards which would ensure her execution.�

In the most heart wrenching scene so far in the entire series, Prue and Piper stand and watch Phoebe burn to death. The episode not only delves into some very emotional issues, but it's by far the darkest episode to date, and when the Charmed Ones are returned to the present at their homes for no apparent reason, they learn that they were being taught a lesson - one that they had forgotten when they exacted revenge on the careless neighbor at the start of the episode.�

�"The Painted World"�

10/14/99

Prue receives a visit from a mysterious customer who's anxious to sell off a painting
that has haunted her family for years. After the women eagerly leaves the painting,
Prue notices a light inside the painting - and uses a magnifying glass to identify a
man inside the painting. Meanwhile, Phoebe totals Prue's car, and casts a smart
spell on herself (that would last for 24 hours) so that she can get a job to pay for
the body work. When Prue becomes trapped in the painting and goes missing, Piper
steals the painting and brings it back to the manor where she too inadvertently
becomes trapped inside. Within the painting, Piper joins Prue, who has been
conversing with a seemingly innocent man (named Malcolm) who had been trapped
in a painting for 70 years by a witch. The super-intelligent Phoebe has no trouble
finding a way to bring people out of the painting, but her plan backfires when she
releases Malcolm to find that he's a warlock, intent on destroying the Charmed
Ones.�

Once again, an episode with a seemingly silly premise turns out to be quite good. Aside from the over-worked plotline, the episode seems to play into the traditional roles of Prue, Piper and Phoebe with ease. A glimpse of a sharp, intelligent Phoebe is certainly something that won't be soon forgotten. The episode adds in a few more scenes with the Halliwells' needy new neighbors.

"The Devil's Music"�

10/21/99

After a period of slow business, the Halliwells' nightclub P3 is finally taking off.
When Piper books the popular band Dishwalla to play, Leo informs her that some
of the band's female fans have been disappearing during their performances.�
Apparently, Dishwalla's manager has made a pact with a soul-harvesting demon in
order to get himself fame and fortune. But before the sisters can stop him, they
have to deal with the angst of the rebellious Jenny, Piper's rocky relationship with
Leo, P3's looming hostile takeover by a ruthless businessman, and Detective
Morris's nosing around Prue again.�

Another superb episode, as the sisters deal with a seemingly endless stream of
problems all centered around Piper's night club "P3". Once again, Leo and the
Halliwells' rebellious next door neighbor Jenny get mixed up in the chaos surrounding a frightening demon called Masselin.�

"She's a Man, baby, a Man!"�

11/4/99

Phoebe becomes psychically linked to a man-killing demon called a succubus,
which stalks men at a local dating service. When Prue casts a spell that would lead
her to the succubus, she ends up turning herself into a man, and must deal with
new hormonal problems while trying to fend off the demon. Meanwhile, Piper has
booked the Cranberries to play at P3.�

Very inventive episode: just as the sisters are dealing with "man troubles", Prue
accidentally turns herself into one, thusly gaining some first-hand insight. The demon
"succubus" follows a long line of weird demons, from Woogies to Wendigos, and of course, the sisters - and the brother they never had - kick some demon butt.�

"That Old Black Magic"�

11/11/99

When a couple of treasure hunters accidentally unleash a 200-year-old evil witch
who murders good witches, the Halliwells find that the only way to stop her is to
enlist the aid of a clueless teenage "chosen one".�

One of the best episodes of the season, in my opinion, because it involved some more emotional depth and definitely some turmoil. Leo gets jealous as neighbor Dan moves in on Piper, forcing him to make some hard admissions. Kyle, the teenage "chosen one" (as identified by Leo) is very unsure about jumping into a battle with a powerful witch, adding even more roadblocks into the sisters' path. The overall chaos of the episode is well-placed and keeps the show moving at a good and exciting pace.� Clever spoofs of the Blair Witch Project, as the evil witch Talula murders three documentary filmmakers in the San Francisco forest. �

"They're Everywhere"�

11/18/99
Prue and Phoebe cast a warlock-finding spell that gives them the ability to read
minds. Meanwhile, they also have to fend off a couple of dangerous warlocks
seeking the key to the future.�

Wonderfully paced episode that has plenty of wit to go around. I especially like the
scene when Prue confronts her new boyfriend Jeff's seemingly gruesome secret. Piper also tries to get away from things with her neighbor, but constantly gets bogged down by "family business".