Used Karma

After seeing the WB’s previews of Used Karma, I have to admit I wasn’t
looking forward to watching this episode. However, knowing how the WB twists
the previews and shows only the bits where someone is either naked or half
naked, I tuned in and was pleasantly surprised.

I was wondering when they were going to reveal to Jason that Phoebe is a witch and (Although, if the writers had a handy-dandy little “writer’s bible,” they’d know it isn’t possible for Phoebe and Jason to have been together for 15 months, as they met when Wyatt was a few weeks old and he hasn’t turned one yet.) I thought it was great how Jason found out and loved the look on his face when the girls orbed in. I liked his reaction, mainly because it seemed in character for him. He doesn’t seem like the type of person who would accept magick easily. It was also nice to know that he is smart enough to realize the nymphs and the leprechaun were magickal.

The break-up scene between Phoebe and Jason was actually pretty sad, despite the fact that I don’t care about Jason’s character at all. The writers rarely give Alyssa Milano anything emotional to say, but when she said to Jason, “But I do love you,” I nearly teared up. It was the best acting I have seen from her in a long time, what with the mostly-slapstick material she is given.

I still am confused and annoyed with the sisters’ belief that Richard should not yet practice magick, as I have yet to see anything that suggests that he cannot handle it. Yes, his tampering with his karma in this episode was morally wrong, but no more so than Paige and Phoebe conjuring a sexy Latino for Piper for a day and then allowing said sexy Latino to self-destruct. I am also confused as to why Richard would feel the need to cleanse his karma because of his family, when as far as we know, he did not participate in the feud between the families, that is, until his father was killed, which was
understandable. However, that evil little look he had when he went into his family’s potions room was strange. I hope we get to see what he was doing in there.

I’m not really up on my Mata Hari history, so when Phoebe was hit with the karma-cleansing light and saw the soldiers shooting her, I was more than a little lost. I also think the writers could have went into more detail explaining why Phoebe was affected by the spell, why the spell backfired and why the Mata Hari possessed her. I know they said some words, but half of them didn’t make sense so I felt lost through the episode.

When the Mata Hari ruined Jason’s merger conference, I was practically screaming at the television “Where are The Cleaners!!” This would have been the perfect time for some continuity, and at the very least give Leo a little line telling the sisters not to worry about the mess, The Cleaners will take care of everything.

I was really not impressed with the swarm demons. They seemed to pose no threat to the sisters, but hopefully after wiping away the last demons on Chris’ list (by the way, where was Chris this week?) the sisters can concentrate on other issues, like, oh, I don’t know, protecting the innocent?

After the ending of Prince Charmed, I was hoping to see some follow up with Piper and Leo. There was a little bit with them talking about Wyatt, but I would have loved to see her thank him for the bracelet, or ask him how he found it, something to hint at their future! All I can do is hope for the best in future episodes.

Speaking of future episodes, I cannot wait for next week’s. The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell looks fantastic. Without Piper’s body attached to her head it shouldn’t be too hard to hide her pregnancy!