Sunday, October 21, 2018

REVIEW: 'Charmed' - Macy, Mel and Maggie Wonder If Their Mother is Communicating With Them in 'Let This Mother Out'

The CW's Charmed - Episode 1.02 "Let This Mother Out"

After getting a message from the spirit board to not trust Harry, the sisters are conflicted and ultimately concoct a plan to see if he is telling the truth. Desperate to believe the person warning them is trying to protect them, they end up going against their better judgment. Harry soon realizes that the sisters are up to no good and tries to help before it's too late. This new sisterly unit is not fully unified, with Mel and Macy struggling with who's the real big sister and Maggie caught in the middle.


In 2018, it has become very difficult to keep up with every television show out there. It's even more difficult to provide adequate coverage on this site about the episodes that air every week. Not every show can get full coverage because of my busy and hectic viewing schedule. As such, some reviews will now be condensed to give only some summary thoughts. But it also affords a space for me to jot down my thoughts on the various episodes. And so, here are my thoughts on this week's episode of The CW's Charmed.

"Let This Mother Out" was written by Jessica O'Toole & Amy Rardin and directed by Vanessa Parise

This second episode actually retreads a lot of the ground already covered in the premiere. The Charmed Ones are still getting used to their newfound powers and life as a new family unit. Moreover, the debate wages on whether or not they can trust Harry. Sure, it's amusing how they settle on the name Meghan Markle to refer to him so that he isn't summoned all of the time. But it's actually fascinating to see how quickly the show addresses this concern. It's mostly just the show reversing the twist that occurred at the end of the premiere. Instead, it highlights how spirit boards can't be trusted because there could be anything on the other end trying to manipulate them into doing what they want. The sisters want to believe that their mother is communicating with them again. They believe that she is warning them about their Whitelighter. They trust her insights and opinion. And yet, this story functions with the back and forth or whether this is Marisol. It mostly shows how the sisters now have to trust each other. They have to come to decisions as a team and not simply following a majority rule. They have to understand and listen to one another. Right now, both Mel and Macy are acting as the older sisters to Maggie which mostly means just throwing her in the middle when they get into a disagreement. However, Maggie is the one who can ultimately tell that this spirit is not actually their mother. Sure, she may know a lot of information that seemingly only Marisol could know. But it's the way she responds that ultimately proves the demon's deceit. She always propped up the idea that the sisters were stronger together than they were apart. As such, she would never suggest that one of them is better than the other. That allows Mel to immediately stab this spirit and trap it long enough for Maggie to show it its own reflection. It also means that the sisters now trust Harry. They believe in him because he continues to help them and this spirit is proven to not be their mother. However, Harry never actually tells them that he didn't kill their mother and that he doesn't want their powers for himself. He actually finds a number of clever ways to talk around the questions asked of him. He only lets the sisters know as much as they need to in any given situation. And so, they may trust him but they don't like him. Their bond was much more natural when it came to welcoming Macy into the family and wanting to give her the answers she seeks about why she was abandoned in the first place. Elsewhere, this episode does a lot of set up for the season. Some of it is meaningful. Some of it mostly just presents as intriguing teases. Mel and Niko's relationship is obviously going to be a huge focus of the season. It's one that is already being presented as incredibly loving. And yet, there will be the deceit that comes from Mel keeping her powers a secret from the woman she seemingly loves. Meanwhile, Maggie breaks up with Brian mostly because she can't hear her own voice when she is with him. That remains a struggle for her. She doesn't know how to control her powers. However, it's really inspirational that the grand message of this episode is that women are stronger when their voices are lifted up and empowered. And finally, Macy investigates another demon attack at the lab. It doesn't really go anywhere too quickly. It just establishes that the harbinger of Hell has arrived and may be the third sign of the apocalypse that the Charmed Ones have to stop.