A Witch in Time: The Kiss of Destiny.

By Lisa Eiseman
Scoopme.com

"There is no armor against fate;
Death lays his icy hand on Kings."
- James Shirley

Destiny has once again reared its ugly head on Charmed. Yet, seeing the fate that destiny dealt wasn’t old or reused, but another interpretation of a well-executed storyline.

Finally, finally the viewers are treated to some real meat for the season. This episode seemed to have everything we were clamoring for: death, peril, death, team effort, death, mention of the Source, death, spells, time travel, and finally death again.

Hands down, this is the best episode this season thus far. The viewers were treated to a plot line that involved everyone, had an innocent that was at least semi-cared about, and premonitions of what is to come for the season. This episode couldn’t have come at a better time for the series. Many have been judgmental of the season; this helped to bring the stakes back up to par on what is expected of Charmed.

While it is understandable that Phoebe would want to save an innocent from death, that does not always happen. In this case, the only reason Phoebe saw Miles’ death was because of the intense physical feelings the two had for one another. Miles’ death wasn’t a result of a "magical" death, but that of a human error. Simply, it was Miles’ time to move forward from this world.

As devastating as that was for Phoebe, one must give her credit; she did save him during the first time loop. Time and again, she saw the different ways that Miles was to meet his death. It would be hard to imagine how she could try and stop all the accidents, etc. for six months (think about her saving him three times a day for ~ 183 days = 549 times she would have saved him). No wonder, in the end she lost her own life.

What was a delightful surprise was the fact that Cole would somehow become the Source again, in only six months, and would still care about Phoebe so much that he sent his advisor back to try and keep Phoebe from losing her life in the future. It has been established that when Cole allows for the evilness inside him to start taking over, he loses his "human feelings." The only thing that kept his human side still evident has been his love for Phoebe; evidently his love is still very strong six months down the line.

At last, the writers give us a clue as to what will happen with the future of the series. Since both Cole and Piper (she does know doesn’t she?) know that he becomes the Source again down the line, the sisters will have to reevaluate their relationship with Cole and then make a decision on how they should handle him and his powers. No, this isn’t a repeat of last season’s finale, but it is a different story with a new twist. The sisters know that Cole is actively trying to suppress the evil that exists within him.

While it may be presumptuous for the viewers to look too far into the premonitions that the writers gave us in this episode, it must hold some truth. Every time the show has looked at the future, it has shown some degree of truth that has eventually occurred. It would be silly to think that some of this predicted future would not come true.

While Miles’ death is only one link in the chain, it will probably be a pivotal link. Phoebe has lost another loved one to the hands of destiny. While the sisters all accept that they cannot change destiny, they have learned that sometimes an alteration can be substituted. Since, Phoebe will not be trying to save Miles for six months, her time will be able to be devoted to other matters that the Charmed ones will face.

As powerful and team building as this episode was, it still felt a little more Phoebe and Piper centered and not so much Paige. It seemed that Paige was still lost like a third wheel. She was present during some of the pivotal scenes, but absent from the other parts of the episode. Again, the question is do they really need three girls if it wasn’t for the whole Charmed mythology?

Overall, this episode was close to perfect. It offered remnants of the old Charmed, with predictions and tidbit for what we can expect for the future. With only one complaint (and one that can be remedied quickly), things are really looking up for the season.

• We did see Miles in the last episode, but jumping into bed with him so quickly was reminiscent of early Phoebe.
• Really enjoyed the fact that the sisters have been dressing more "covered" lately. But what was up with the shoes in this episode? Phoebe was wearing some fuzzy boots while running to the shootout and Paige had on Velcro shoes. Are we trying to change shoe fashion?
• Having Piper’s baby be able to heal her mother’s body at any time is very ingenious. This was very evident last night when Piper was stabbed badly with a dagger.
• Even though we knew there was an "out" after making Paige and Phoebe dust, it still took my breath away during the commercials thinking they might possibly be dead.
• Too bad Phoebe won’t be able to remember that Cole volunteered to watch over Miles so that he wouldn’t die while she was gone. It seems like every little nugget of trust he earns eventually is taken away from him.

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Review provided courtesy of ScoopMe.com