Charmed (season 4)

Charmed (season 4)
DVD cover art for the fourth season of Charmed
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	The WB
Original release	October 4, 2001 – May 16, 2002

The fourth season of Charmed, an American supernatural drama television series, began airing on October 4, 2001 on The WB. Airing on Thursdays at 9:00 pm, the season consisted of 22 episodes and concluded its airing on May 16, 2002. This season also saw the introduction of Rose McGowan as Paige Matthews—half-sister to Prue, Piper and Phoebe—and a slight alteration of the opening credits, due to the third season departure of Shannen Doherty as Prue. Paramount Home Entertainment released the complete fourth season in a six-disc boxed set on February 28, 2006.

Synopsis

Following Prue's death, this season brings the arrival of Paige Matthews - half sister to the Halliwell's. Their mother Patty had a love affair with her Whitelighter, Sam, and discovered she was pregnant. Knowing she would never be able to keep the baby she gave her child to a local church so she would be given to a kind family.

Piper and Phoebe are trying to cope with their Prue's death, learning to accept and teach Paige the ways of witchcraft while learning how to use their own expanding growing powers. They also focus on destroying The Source once and for all. Phoebe and Cole go through many difficulties in their relationship, such as Cole finding his place once he becomes human. The Charmed Ones must also deal with the new positions they find themselves in; Paige goes from being an only child to having two siblings as well as trying to fill the shoes of Prue, Piper must deal with becoming the oldest sister and head witch giving her more responsibility, and Phoebe, who previously had been care-free, becomes the middle sister and must mediate between her two sisters, as well as starting her first full-time job as an advice columnist.

Cole is still fighting with the evil inside him, only this time it is The Source. Although he plans to rebuild the Underworld and destroy The Charmed Ones, the human inside plots to convert Phoebe and have her rule by his side as his Queen, with The Seer as their right-hand woman.

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell
• Alyssa Milano as Phoebe Halliwell
• Rose McGowan as Paige Matthews
• Brian Krause as Leo Wyatt
• Julian McMahon as Cole Turner (19 Episodes)
• Dorian Gregory as Darryl Morris (8 Episodes)

Recurring cast

• Debbi Morgan as The Seer
• David Reivers as Bob Cowan
• Michael Bailey Smith as Shax and Belthazor
• Bennet Guillory as The Source of All Evil
• Rebecca Balding as Elise Rothman
• Finola Hughes as Patricia "Patty" Halliwell
• James Read as Victor Bennett
• Jennifer Rhodes as Penelope "Penny" Halliwell
• Peter Woodward as The Source of All Evil

Episode list

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (millions)
67	1	"Charmed Again (Part 1)"	Michael Schultz	Brad Kern	October 4, 2001	4301801	6.0[1]
Leo was able to save Piper, but was unable to heal Prue. Piper and Phoebe must now deal with the loss of their oldest sister, and the loss of the Power of Three. However, The Source discovers an unknown sister named Paige Matthews, the daughter of Patty and her Whitelighter, Sam, who had been kept hidden. Paige, the now-youngest Halliwell can restore the Power of Three and reunite the sisters' strength as witches.
68	2	"Charmed Again (Part 2)"	Michael Schultz	Brad Kern	October 4, 2001	4301801	6.0[1]
Piper and Phoebe must find Paige to destroy the demon Shax and to stop The Source from getting to her first, allowing them to become once again the Charmed Ones and re-constituting the Power of Three. Piper and Phoebe put forward the idea to Paige that she should move into the manor with them.
69	3	"Hell Hath No Fury"	Chris Long	Krista Vernoff	October 11, 2001	4301069	5.0[2]
Paige takes the Book of Shadows into her work to cast spells which help her co-workers. Meanwhile, Piper, who is filled with anger over the death of Prue and the recent actions of Paige, is turned into a member of a supernatural band of vigilantes known as the Furies.
70	4	"Enter the Demon"	Joel J. Feigenbaum	Daniel Cerone	October 18, 2001	4301071	5.7[3]
Paige makes a major blunder when carelessly mixing potions for Piper while secretly wishing she could be in Phoebe's shoes training for combat, and ends up switching bodies with Phoebe. While the two sisters try to reverse the spell and struggle to harness each other's powers, they must battle a Zen Master's powerful disciple who has turned evil against his mentor and opened up a portal between two worlds.
71	5	"Size Matters"	Noel Nosseck	Nell Scovell	October 25, 2001	4301070	5.3[4]
Phoebe and Piper do not take Paige seriously when she has a weird feeling about a creepy old house, landing Phoebe in the clutches of a hideous demon named Gammill (Robert Englund) and shrunk to a powerless five inches tall. When Paige and Piper also walk into the demon's trap, his collection is complete. Special Musical Guest: Dave Navarro
72	6	"A Knight to Remember"	David Straiton	Alison Schapker & Monica Breen	November 1, 2001	4301072	4.7[5]
Paige's favorite (self-made) childhood fairy tale—which she could never remember being able to recall parts of—suddenly becomes real, bringing her face-to-face with her past life as an Evil Enchantress from Medieval times and into the arms of a knight in shining armor. Phoebe and Piper go back in time to vanquish the Evil Enchantress and end up trapped in the Dark Ages, leaving Paige and Leo to rescue them. At the same time, Piper and Phoebe have to periodically fight an electrical demon who is plaguing them, but they need a Power of Three spell to vanquish it.
73	7	"Brain Drain"	John Behring	Curtis Kheel	November 8, 2001	4301073	4.7[6]
The Source sends Piper into a deep coma, where she perceives an alternate reality thanks to a demon named Alastair. Phoebe and Paige must find a way to return her to reality and save her from giving up their powers while she is delusional.
74	8	"Black as Cole"	Les Landau	Abbey Campbell, Brad Kern & Nell Scovell	November 15, 2001	4301074	5.1[7]
In the midst of mulling over his marriage proposal, Phoebe comes face-to-face with Cole's demonic past when a widow tracks him down seeking vengeance for her husband's murder. Meanwhile, Paige encourages Piper and Leo to test their readiness to become parents.
75	9	"Muse to My Ears"	Joel J. Feigenbaum	Krista Vernoff	December 13, 2001	4301075	4.5[8]
Phoebe, Paige, and Piper must stop warlocks who are enslaving the world's muses to use their divine creative inspiration for evil. In the midst of the assault, Cole becomes testy about Phoebe's rebuffing his marriage proposal and is concerned that without his demonic powers he can no longer protect the love of his life.
76	10	"A Paige from the Past"	James L. Conway	Daniel Cerone	January 17, 2002	4301076	3.4[9]
With Leo as her guide, Paige goes back in time to her teenage years, in an attempt to resolve her feelings about the accident that killed her parents. Meanwhile, Piper must prevent ghosts, who have inhabited Phoebe's and Cole's bodies, from fulfilling their mission.
77	11	"Trial by Magic"	Chip Scott Laughlin	Michael Gleason	January 24, 2002	4301077	4.1[10]
While serving on jury for a murder trial, Phoebe has a premonition that reveals the defendant is innocent despite the overwhelming evidence against him. As she desperately stalls in the jury room, Piper, Paige, and Leo frantically try to discover the real killer in time to free the wrongly accused man.
78	12	"Lost and Bound"	Noel Nosseck	Nell Scovell	January 31, 2002	4301078	3.9[11]
When Paige discovers that an 11-year-old runaway named Tyler is a Firestarter Witch, she whisks him to the manor for safekeeping, but soon discovers that his foster parents are demonic bounty hunters who are trying to take him to a Demon Academy where he will become a bodyguard for The Source. Meanwhile, Phoebe is given Grams' wedding ring by Cole, but to their surprise the ring has been cursed to transform the wearer into a traditional 1950s suburban housewife.
79	13	"Charmed and Dangerous"	Jon Pare	Alison Schapker & Monica Breen	February 7, 2002	4301079	4.7[12]
The Source breaks an age-old agreement between good and evil by stealing The Hollow, an ancient vapor which he uses to absorb Piper and Paige's powers. Meanwhile, Phoebe must allow Cole to help them, despite her having a premonition involving Cole sacrificing his life to save her from evil, but there may be more to the premonition that Phoebe cannot see.
80	14	"The Three Faces of Phoebe"	Joel J. Feigenbaum	Curtis Kheel	February 14, 2002	4301080	4.7[13]
Phoebe develops a case of cold feet over marrying Cole and casts a spell which brings a young innocent Phoebe and an old cynical Phoebe to the Manor to help her make a decision. Meanwhile, while Cole is horrified to find that The Source is now taking over his entire being, The Source's chief rival, who believes that he is dead, is convinced by The Seer to kill the Charmed Ones in order to earn the allegiance of the entire Underworld.
81	15	"Marry-Go-Round"	Chris Long	Daniel Cerone	March 14, 2002	4301081	4.5[14]
As Phoebe prepares for her wedding day, she is completely unaware that The Source has taken over Cole's body. Meanwhile, when The Seer tells Cole that if he can marry Phoebe in a "dark way", it will insure that their future son will be the most powerful, evil being ever.
82	16	"The Fifth Halliwheel"	David Straiton	Krista Vernoff	March 21, 2002	4301082	4.8[15]
Paige, who feels like a fifth wheel among her happily married sisters and their husbands, becomes firmly convinced that Cole is still evil. While the new, temporary Source and The Seer secretly plot to impregnate Phoebe using Cole's body. Meanwhile, the sisters try to save a columnist as Cole tries to get Paige out of the way through his demonic contacts in The Underworld. Special Musical Guest: Rebekah Ryan
83	17	"Saving Private Leo"	John Behring	Daniel Cerone & Doug E. Jones	March 28, 2002	4301083	3.9[16]
When two ghosts from Leo's past return to seek revenge, Leo faces his demons by submitting, causing Piper's life to be threatened, and leaving Paige to deal with the situation. Meanwhile, Cole tries to convince Phoebe they need a home of their own.
84	18	"Bite Me"	John T. Kretchmer	Curtis Kheel	April 18, 2002	4301084	3.6[17]
A Vampire Queen tries to dethrone Cole as ruler of The Underworld and attempts to turn Paige against her sisters by turning her into a vampire. Meanwhile, Phoebe begins to feel under the weather due to her pregnancy not being under normal circumstances.
85	19	"We're Off to See the Wizard"	Timothy Lonsdale	Alison Schapker & Monica Breen	April 25, 2002	4301085	4.2[18]
Phoebe tells Piper and Paige that she is pregnant, and that Cole is the father. Meanwhile, Piper and Paige team up with a wizard to stop the coronation of the new Source, unaware that it is Cole and Phoebe is soon to be his Queen of the Underworld.
86	20	"Long Live the Queen"	Jon Paré	Krista Vernoff	May 2, 2002	4301086	4.7[19]
Phoebe accepts her new role in Cole's life, but she still sets out to save an innocent after she has a premonition and even seeks her sisters' help in protecting the man. Meanwhile, Piper's heart doesn't seem to be in it as she prepares to defend her family against any new threats from The Underworld.
87	21	"Womb Raider"	Mel Damski	Daniel Cerone	May 9, 2002	4301087	5.0[20]
The Seer plans to steal Phoebe's unborn baby so she can raise the child to become the next Source and prevent the throne from passing on to another demon. Meanwhile, the baby begins to take over control of Phoebe's body, which proves dangerous to Paige.
88	22	"Witch Way Now?"	Brad Kern	Brad Kern	May 16, 2002	4301088	5.2[21]
When the Angel of Destiny offers the sisters a chance to relinquish their powers and lead normal lives as a reward for vanquishing the Source of All Evil, their decision is put on the back burner. The sisters try to avoid an FBI agent who has them under surveillance, while also dealing with Cole's calls for help, who is trapped in another realm, holding onto his love for Phoebe. Meanwhile, Piper finds out that she is pregnant.

Reception

In 2016, Gavin Hetherington of SpoilerTV ran a series of Charmed articles in the run-up to the 10th anniversary of the series finale. The fourth was a complete season review of season four, in which Gavin comments that the season was certainly different to season four with the introduction of Paige following Prue's death.^[22] He said that Paige's introduction "made sense", and that "the pace goes a little quick here." He concludes that it is one of the good seasons of the show, and especially complimented Rose McGowan's portrayal of Paige.

References

1. "Tv Ratings: Thursday October 4, 2001". TvTango.
2. "Tv Ratings: Thursday October 11, 2001". TvTango.
3. "Tv Ratings: Thursday October 18, 2001". TvTango.
4. "Tv Ratings: Thursday October 25, 2001". TvTango.
5. "Tv Ratings: Thursday November 1, 2001". TvTango.
6. "Tv Ratings: Thursday November 8, 2001". TvTango.
7. "Tv Ratings: Thursday November 15, 2001". TvTango.
8. "Tv Ratings: Thursday December 13, 2001". TvTango.
9. "Tv Ratings: Thursday January 17, 2002". TvTango.
10. "Tv Ratings: Thursday January 24, 2002". TvTango.
11. "Tv Ratings: Thursday January 31, 2002". TvTango.
12. "Tv Ratings: Thursday September 22, 2002". TvTango.
13. "Tv Ratings: Thursday February 14, 2002". TvTango.
14. "Tv Ratings: Thursday March 14, 2002". TvTango.
15. "Tv Ratings: Thursday March 21, 2002". TvTango.
16. "Tv Ratings: Thursday March 28, 2002". TvTango.
17. "Tv Ratings: Thursday April 18, 2002". TvTango.
18. "Tv Ratings: Thursday April 25, 2002". TvTango.
19. "Tv Ratings: Thursday May 2, 2002". TvTango.
20. "Tv Ratings: Thursday May 9, 2002". TvTango.
21. "Tv Ratings: Thursday May 16, 2002". TvTango.
22. Hetherington, Gavin (April 23, 2016). "Charmed – 10th Anniversary Special – Season 4 Review: “Bring Back My Sister. Bring Back the Power of Three.”". SpoilerTV. Retrieved April 24, 2016.

External links

• List of Charmed episodes at the Internet Movie Database
• List of Charmed season 4 episodes at TV.com
• Charmed at epguides.com