Charmed: The Complete 7th Season

Season 7 is a very interesting year for the world of Charmed. When it is bad, it is REALLY bad but when it is good, it is REALLY good. It really is a hit or miss situation.

The best episodes would have to be the ones near the end of the season but there are also some spread out through the season. Some of the best: Something Wicca This Way Goes, Witchness Protection, Charmed Noir, The Seven Year Witch, Srcy Hard and Death Becomes Them.

The worst episodes: A Call To Arms, The Bare Witch Project, and Once In A Blue Moon.

The Complete Rundown:

1. A Call To Arms - When Piper and Leo attend a Hindu wedding, they become possessed by Hindu gods. This episode is alright, but doesn't seem strong enough to be a season opener.

2. The Bare Witch Project - A student at magic school accidently conjures Lady Godiva, and the sisters must help return her to her time so she can finish her ride. Slightly better than the premiere but still doesn't live up to "Classic Charmed"

3. Cheaper By The Coven - Chris' wiccaning is upon us and the sister summon Grams for help, but when a spell goes awry, the sisters revert to their teenage selves. Fun episode that brings back favorites like Grams, Patty and Victor.

4. Charrrmed! - A pirate comes to town searching for the fountain of youth. Most people did not like this episode, but I did find it entertaining. Depends on your tastes.

5. Styx Feet Under - The Angel of Death is back after Paige casts a spell that blocks all death. Very well done episode, really good acting here.

6. Once In A Blue Moon - The sisters are transformed into beasts. Bad episode. Really boring.

7. Someone To Witch Over Me - Guardian Angels are being captured. Meanwhile Leo goes on a vision quest. Fans of Drew Fuller will enjoy this because Chris makes an appearance.

8. Charmed Noir - Paige and Angent Brody are trapped in a 40's Noir book. One of the best episodes of the season. Smart, fun and true to the time period.

9. There's Something About Leo - The sisters find out Leo is an avatar and the consequences are dire when Kyle Brody finds out. Interesting episode.

10. Witchness Protection - The Seer is under attack and the sisters reluctantly help her. One of my favorites, Charisma Carpenter is great as the Seer and she finally gets more screen time than in Cheaper By The Coven and Styx Feet Under.

11. Ordinary Witches - Paige takes Kyle back to the past to find out how his parents died. Interesting episode, but more leading up to the next episode/s.

12. Extreme Makeover: World Edition - The sisters are about ready to makeover the world, when Kyle casts a paranoia spell on them. Good episode. Serves as a part one to Charmageddon.

13. Charmageddon - Leo forms an unlikely alliance with Zankou so he can try to reverse the change. Good episode, conclusion to Extreme Makeover: World Edition.

14. Carpe Demon - Drake, an ex-demon, applies for a teaching position at magic school and ends up taking Phoebe on a wild ride around San Francisco as Robin Hood.

15. Show Ghouls - Phoebe and Drake are transported back to 1899, to help find out what happened at a cabaret. Fun episode.

16. The Seven Year Witch - Piper ends up in a coma, Leo loses his memory and tries to find his way back to his family and Cole returns to restore Phoebe's faith in love. GREAT episode, and also features the final appearance of Cole.

17. Scry Hard - Wyatt shrinks Piper and Leo into a dollhouse. Good episode, exciting.

18. Little Box Of Horrors - The sisters must find Pandora's box before someone unleashes the evil inside. Good episode but not as exciting as some episodes before it.

19. Freaky Phoebe - An ugly sorceress switches bodies with Phoebe. Alright episode.

20. Imaginary Fiends - Wyatt's imaginary friend is a demon who is trying to turn him evil. Good episode, also sees the return of Adult Wyatt.

21. Death Becomes Them - Dead innocents from the sisters' past comes back to haunt them, thanks to Zankou. Great episode. Dramatic, emotional and all around good. Also serves as a part 1 to Something Wicca This Way Goes.

22. Something Wicca This Way Goes - The girls finally go after Zankou when he gains control of the Nexus. Great episode. Was originally intended to be both a season finale and a series finale. Conclusion to Death Becomes Them.

As you can see, there are many more good episodes here than bad. There are just as many clunkers here than with any other season, perhaps even less than usual. With the show still up in the air, the finale was intended to be a series finale if necessary, but thankfully we get one final season.

I recommend this to all fans of the show, especially seeing as we are now in the home stretch. 7 down, 1 to go! Enjoy it while it lasts!

The best thing about Charmed was that it was pure entertainment involving both drama and comedy, with the balance between the two depending on the theme of each individual episode. It wasn't supposed to show Wicca in a good light or a bad light or even a remotely correct light - it was just a clever metaphor for the relationship between the sisters, which was the real point of the series. It was supposed to be sappy and corny at times. It was supposed to be like a soap opera. I never loved Rose McGowan as Paige, but, to be truthful, I never liked Shannon Dougherty as Prue that much either. I always enjoyed watching until Billie joined in the last season. How could it be that a witch, not related to the Charmed Ones, is more powerful than they? If so, why were they even called the Charmed Ones in the first place? That is why this seventh season should have been the final one. I thought that the plots in season eight were at times more powerful and clever than season seven, but Billie's antics just got in the way of enjoying it. Plus, the season seven finale did such a good job of wrapping everything up it just seemed like an appropriate place to end the series.

Season seven is definitely much better than season six. It seemed like Charmed drifted for a season and a half after Cole's death in the middle of season five since the show had so much invested in that storyline, but here they are back on track. Being an "Angel" fan, I particularly liked Charisma Carpenter's guest appearances, even if she does come across like the Buffy-era Cordelia except with magical powers. I also liked "Cheaper by the Coven" where the sisters revert to their teenage personas and Wyatt creates a demon in the image of his dad because he feels like it is his fault that Leo isn't around and Gideon is dead. It shows just how much the parents' relationship affects their children, and also how much parents dont realize that their interactions with each other affect their children. This episode sees Piper and Leo putting aside their differences to help their son, and it was really great to see that again. Overall, highly recommended.

I've read some negative reviews of Season 7, but I have to say it's one of my favorites. After a lot of lighter, more comedic episodes in seasons 5 and 6, Season 7 returned the series to the darker glory days of seasons 3 and 4. I loved the story arcs in the season, and the writing and direction were dead on.

Season 7 picks up where season 6 ended; adult Chris is dead and Leo can't stop grieving and move on. As his marriage to Piper continues to fall apart he is courted (in rather strange fashion) by Avatars (we saw them in Season 5 in the episode "Sam I Am," where Paige is reunited with her real father, Sam)to change the world and end the struggle between good and evil. Woven into this storyline are Paige's romance with the Avatar-obsessed Agent Brody (Kerr Smith) and Phoebe's romance with Les (Nick Lachey) and her sabbatical to find herself. The Avatar story only lasted half the season but segued nicely into the rise of Zankou. As Zankour terrorizes the sisters during the final half of the season in his quest for the Book of Shadows and the Nexus, Phoebe has a romance with an ex-demon and returns to school. Paige decides running magic school isn't for her; she passes the baton to a newly mortal Leo and is thrust into double duty as a witch and a whitelighter. Piper, after nearly dying, tries to rework her marriage to Leo, who gives up his powers to be with his family.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 104 reviews  4.7 out of 5 stars