A Witch's Tail (2)

Season 5, Episode 2, Aired
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Episode Summary

Piper, Paige and Leo struggle to convince Phoebe, now a mermaid, to come back to her life as a Charmed One, when she decides to "swim" away from her problems with Cole. Meanwhile, Piper casts a spell to stop her panic attacks but instead of facing her fear, she suppresses it, endangering herself and her baby, when a sea Demon comes after her mermaid sister, Phoebe. In order to help Phoebe, Paige takes drastic measures and enlists the aid of Cole, and his newfound demonic powers.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (14)

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  • Is that the best you got?

    8.5
    "Great"
    By iltarion, Jul 21, 2011 Report Abuse
    From the moment Piper puts on the leather pants, this is a substantial and certain improvement over Part 1.

    The leather pants that I believe were first broken in by Prue in Ms. Hellfire are virtually always the sign of good things to come, (unless Piper is possessed, which then debacles are surely to follow). Ironically, Piper's fearless spell merely replicates the Piper from Hell Hath No Fury. Regardless, this Piper is about 1000 times more enjoyable to watch than the impotent, panic attack Piper was. The urgency of Charmed is always ramped up a couple notches when it is one of the sisters who stands to be lost, and not an innocent. That is the first and most important difference between this episode and the last. Phoebe is the one whose role as a witch hangs in the balance. Frankly, some of Phoebe's dialogue is good comedy, but the rest of her subplot is borderline annoying and not the stronger part of this episode. I do appreciate the outfit, however.

    Paige by now has firmly taken Prue's role of superwitch, and it is basically up to her to save the day here, with some mostly ineffectual help from Leo. Her red hair is straight this week and looks much better with the orange top and white pants. Love the look this week. Her scenes with Cole are probably the best part of this episode, except for the end. They are well-written and very well acted, as Julian just continues to be too good to properly vanquish from the show. Paige casts another spell here, on Cole, and has clearly taken Phoebe's role of spellcaster pretty much for the remainder of the series.

    I also appreciate one last scene with Darryl and Cole talking like they are friends. It is a good scene and a pleasant reminder of when the sisters, Leo, Cole, and Darryl were all friends who fought together against evil. I believe that too brief time from Season 3 to Season 4 was the best of times for Charmed, though don't get me wrong, good things and great episodes are still to come.

    The very benign torture scene with Piper is a classic, and we have a very explosive vanquish. I actually didn't like that they redid the scene from Fear to Eternity with Piper this time around. Lame. The special effects were markedly improved from last time, at least. Great closing scenes with Paige leaving her job, Cole and Phoebe on the beach, and Piper adding to her baby book. Very touching. Well done. There is some hope for Season 5 after all.moreless

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  • The Little Mer-Witch

    4.5
    "Poor"
    By lenzinoH20, Jun 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    A Witch's Tail (2)-Piper, Paige and Leo struggle to convince Phoebe, now a mermaid, to come back to her life as a Charmed One, when she decides to "swim" away from her problems with Cole. Meanwhile, Piper casts a spell to stop her panic attacks but instead of facing her fear, she suppresses it, endangering herself and her baby, when a sea Demon comes after her mermaid sister, Phoebe. In order to help Phoebe, Paige takes drastic measures and enlists the aid of Cole, and his newfound demonic powers. Sigh, Part 2 feels like a pointless extention of Part 1. It's just 40 minutes of Phoebe as an annoying mermaid and more, unnecessary Cole bashing! Now all of a sudden Cole is such a hugh threat to Phoebe? Paige's whole rant to Cole at her job was beyond harsh and completely undermines Cole actually keeping the Source at bay when he was possessed. You actually start to feel bad for Cole here, he's just trying to show Phoebe he actually cares and wants to do some good, yet every keeps giving him sh!t....yeah, because helping Phoebe and her sisters kill the Source as well sacrificing himself to the Source which got him possessed wasn't enough. At least Phoebe comes to her senses at the end and admits she still has feelings for Cole.

    Piper becoming bada$$ witch for a hour was the only real highlight of the episode. You can tell Holly Marie Combs was having a blast showing off Piper's tough, no holds bar side. I especially loved her confrontation with Necrom and her delivery of "It's that the best you got?" It's also great to see Piper overcome her fear, especially since her experience underwater with her mom is like how Prue overcame her fear of drowning in "From Fear to Eternity." Not to mention, getting healed by her baby was a nice twist. It's too bad the rest of the episode drags the plot and never really adds anything to it. "A Witch's Tail (2)" ends this supposed epic 2-parter on a dud. The writers really need to stay away from the fluffy mythology stuff like mermaids! SMH....moreless

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  • This one was much better than the first part and a lot more organised.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Lady_Lancaster, Mar 29, 2011 Report Abuse
    Phoebe, now a Mermaid, likes the idea of swimming away from all of her problems with Cole and her sisters and that seems quite sensible considering all that she has to face. The problem being, it's never that easy and she soon finds that out when the nasty old sea hag, hell bent on revenge, decides to make life as difficult as possible.

    Things aren't all that great for Piper either as she attempts to control and internalise her fears, which actually makes matters worse in the long run. But whom do they turn to for help? Why Cole, of course, who else but the ultimate evil in a situation like this?

    Like I said, much better than Part 1, the writing and continuity was stronger and, therefore, far more watchable. Great episode.moreless

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  • How shocking!

    4.0
    "Poor"
    By MovieMark, Apr 14, 2010 Report Abuse
    Warning: Rant ahead!

    Why is Cole a bad guy? THINK about it. Why does Phoebe hate him SO much? Paige tells Cole that he put Phoebe through so much (last season). That's fair enough...except that wasn't Cole, was it? The Seer tricked a human Cole into taking in the Source so he could save his girlfriend from certain death. Ammiright? When they vanquished Source-Cole, Human-Cole was sent to some kind of demon limbo since he wasn't actually a demon, right? He acquired some powers, but he was human. He somehow made his way back to Phoebe who completely freaks out for no reason whatsoever and decides to become a mermaid. So Cole IS human, but has demonic powers. He's basically a man-witch. A warlock. He's not evil at all as far as I'm concerned. Phoebe even tells him she still loves him but cannot go back to him. WHY? I.Just.Don't.Get.It.

    End of rant.


    The rest of the episode is a serviceable piece of fluff. Piper's silly subplot turns into something of moderate interest when she's electrocuted by means of a very elaborate set-piece (nice touch with the eeels). I was also impressed by the messy vanquish - all three sisters are tossed all over the place, and end up in a more dire situation once the demon is killed.

    And the ending, admittedly, was unashamedly sweet, with Patty magically signing Piper's old baby book. D'aww.moreless

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  • Interview with the mermaid

    9.2
    "Superb"
    By Blinksterboy, Apr 22, 2008 Report Abuse
    This is so much better than the first half. Just goes to show what can happen when the story focuses on the sisters rather than some random stranger.

    With the Mylie and Craig plot thankfully over, the sub plots from part one take centre stage. Piper's panic attacks are growing worse, Phoebe is still avoiding Cole (and still a mermaid) and Paige finds herself as the unlikely leader of the three.

    I really enjoyed seeing Phoebe as a mermaid. Her swimming scene is beautifully filmed and there's less of the silly baby talk. I know her costume has come in for some criticism but how else would you expect a mermaid to dress?

    I also enjoyed Piper's fearless spell. It's good to see her being reckless for a change and Holly was clearly enjoying the change of character. Totally agree with Piper about that godawful painting. What was Leo thinking?

    Necron is a quality baddie. After their long struggle with the Source and the Seer, it's good to see the Charmed Ones face someone different. The grey makeup really works and his torturing of Piper is a first for the show. The vanquish is spectacular and I love the way the action carries on afterwards. Good to see Patty again too.

    Paige and Cole have some excellent scenes this week. Their argument at the flat is brilliantly directed and Rose is superb with her quickfire lines. Top marks!

    An interesting ending too. Paige quits her job (how on earth she got that promotion will forever baffle me), Phoebe signs her divorce papers (which means Cole must have agreed to the divorce now the authorities know he is back) and Patty signs Piper's baby book from beyond the grave. Bless!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • When Piper is sitting on the bed, at the end of the episode, the window in the nursery hasn't been put in yet. Also the blue screen is visible through the window. Edit
    • TRIVIA: Guest star, Amanda Sickler, the girl that gave the lunch to Paige in this episode is the same one that will work with Phoebe in the future as her assistant. Edit
    • When Phoebe, as a mermaid, goes down into the water, she opens her mouth to catch enough air to stay under water. But as a mermaid, shouldn't she be able to breath underwater? Edit

  • Notes

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    • This episode scored 6.3 million viewers. Edit
    • This episode features the second cameo of guest star Nancy O'Dell after the episode Deja Vu All Over Again. Edit

  • Quotes

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    • Cole: You need psychological help. Paige: Okay, that's probably true—especially because I cannot believe what I am about to say—but I think Phoebe's still in love with you. Cole: Oh, yeah. "Phoebe hates you so much her body erupted in scales." That's what you said this morning. Paige: Okay, maybe an unfortunate choice of words... Edit
    • Darryl and Cole are discussing Phoebe. Darryl: Let's pretend for a second here, just for the sake of argument, that you saved my butt because you are my friend. So as your hypothetical friend, can I give you some advice? Cole: Yeah. Darryl: Don't do this to yourself. Cole: I can't help it. Darryl: You love her, I get it. And your love, it's epic. Okay. But look what it's doing to you. Cole: Paige says she hates me. She says I should leave for good. You've known her for a long time, Darryl, what do you think? Should I leave? Darryl: I know you don't want to. But what you want really doesn't matter, right? Cole: Right. Darryl: Well, there you go. Edit
    • Piper: It's my job to take care of this family. Leo: Sometimes it's this family's job to take care of you. Edit

  • Allusions

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    • Title: A Witch's Tail
      This is a reference to Shakespeare's play "The Winter's Tale", and a slight reference to the 2001 movie "A Knight's Tale" starring Heath Ledger. Edit

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