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Charmed Season 6 Episode 8

Sword and the City

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8.6

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 11/9/03

The Charmed Ones are called upon by The Lady of the Lake to help protect Excalibur, the legendary Sword in the Stone. Numerous magical beings arrive at the manor to try their hand at pulling the sword from the stone, but it's Piper who finally pulls Excalibur out of the stone, causing a surprise figure to appear.moreless

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Fan Episode Reviews (12)

Sword and the City

10

By TrueTvWatcher, Apr 24, 2012

Sword and the City was a perfect episode of Charmed and I really enjoyed watching because the story was awesome and well written. I love how Wyatt's story line is coming together as there have been many hints as to his importance and we finally get an idea of just how great. It was also entertaining to see the Charmed take on The Sword in the Stone myth. Meanwhile Phoebe learns an important lesson about being a good sister and Paige helps Phoebe get organized at work. Every thing was great about this episode and I look forward to watching what happens next!!!!!!!!!moreless
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Contender for worst title? Me thinks so.

5.0

By MovieMark, Mar 14, 2012

I'm surprised that it took Charmed 6 years to finally decide to tackle the legend of Excalibur. What's even more of a shock is that it's a Piper-centric episode! Remember Piper? The sister that has had absolutely nothing to do this season? Yep, that one, the one with the hair. And child. And zero boyfriends and no husband. Is she even a main character anymore?

There's actually a lot to enjoy here: Piper, if nothing else, nabs some decent action scenes, yet again. (What's happening, Phoebe, eh? Stunt double just TOO obvious this year?) With Valley of the Dolls and Sword and the City under her belt, Piper is definitely this season's go-to action barbie! There's also some decent-ish drama to be milked from Paige's new romance with Richard. While the sisters change personality types at the bat of an eyelid, one consistent trait with Paige has always been her longing for independence and romance. It has been and will be a continuous plot device, but whenever she has a new boyfriend, there's usually a period of mistrust and cattiness between Paige and her siblings. It's this kind of sisterly dynamic that elevates the hour, reminding us that, on occasion, this is still a show about sisters, and not primarily annoying demons and silly creatures of the week.

Having said that, this episode has an abundance of annoying creatures and stupid looking demons. They rallied up of all of the soul-destroying fairytale creatures from last season and plopped them into a sub-plot with ditzy, ''oh, aren't we whimsical?'' music playing in the background. Just... no. It's like watching a career crash, Ms Lohan style, and no matter how bad it gets, you can't help but throw the occasional glance, in case Charmed manages to pull through the 12-step programme and get over its excessive use of lame characters.

At the end of the day, it's your typical ''possessed sister'' storyline; a no frills, minor thrills deal that's essentially a rehash of the premier episode. Same kind of storyline, different demon. What elevates this above the last few offerings is the fallout between Phoebe and Paige, which is unfortunately resolved before the credits roll. Pity.moreless
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Queen Piper and Her Knights of Vanquish

7.0

By lenzinoH20, Sep 07, 2011

Sword and The City-The Charmed Ones are called upon by The Lady of the Lake to help protect Excalibur, the legendary Sword in the Stone. Numerous magical beings arrive at the manor to try their hand at pulling the sword from the stone, but it's Piper who finally pulls Excalibur out of the stone, causing a surprise figure to appear.

Isn't it just like those Charmed writers to rip off another fairytale story and make another gimmic episode? While, the whole Sword in the Stone plot is as ridiculous as you'd expect from Charmed, the episode actually has (forgive the pun!) charm to it. I did love the opening fight with the sisters against the Dark Knight and the Executor demons. Not to mention, once Piper pulls the sword from the stone, we get some great sword fights with her and Mordaunt. Edward Atterton definately brought the right touch of mystery and eventual menace to the role. Also, it's just great to see Piper let loose and kick some a$$. Holly certainly looked like she was having fun during her "Queen Piper" moments. I actually like the idea of Wyatt inheriting Excalibur, considering it adds to the mystery of how powerful Wyatt will be some day. Knowing he'll one day wield such a powerful weaponwill eventually contribute to future plot points, especially in "Chris-Crossed".

I do have to say, once again, that bringing in those magical creatures never helped Charmed and the scenes with them trying to pull out Excalibur went on for too long. Also, Richard continues to stink up the screen with his nonexistent personality. Seriously Paige, dump him already!!! All and All, "Sword and the City" is cheesy and silly yet manages to be enjoyable most of the time.moreless
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Queen for a day

7.8

By Blinksterboy, Aug 08, 2008

I wish they'd stop doing these stupid episodes. Charmed is supposed to be about three modern women who happen to be witches, not queues of magical creatures re-enacting a fairy tale.

The story has a few twists but it's hardly gripping. When a watery figure appears in a blocked basin(!) the Charmed Ones go in search of King Arthur's magical sword and Piper ends up drawing it from the stone. She is tempted to use it for evil by a demon who then steals it from her, only to find Wyatt is its true keeper.

It's not short on action, and there are some reasonable guest actors; it's just a bad storyline. If this sword brings ultimate power, how come the Source never tried to use it? It also annoys me that the phrase "ultimate power" is used every time the writers want to make something look important.

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say I didn't enjoy Holly's performance as evil Piper. I also thought the sword fights were rather clunky. Added to this, there's no Chris this week and Paige and Phoebe have a tedious subplot in which both are annoyingly preachy.

By far the best scene is the one where Mordaunt destroys the demons at the round table then stabs Piper. Although I clocked straight away he was evil I didn't expect a mass vanquish. The effects are great and Piper's stabbing is a genuine shock.

So Phoebe doesn't trust Paige's new boyfriend? Good! Serves Paige right for all the times she was mean to Cole. But, then again, Cole never had Richard's amazing sink unblocking power. There's no justice in the world.moreless
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Excalibur meets Charmed.

8.5

By dmarex, Nov 19, 2007

Yet another interesting Season 6 episodes brings us a lot of fun, drama and action combined together. I never thought I'd see it, but even Excalibur made its way to the Charmed ones. The interesting story revolving around Piper being the protector of the sword begins with a hilarious line of freaks trying to take the sword out of the stone.

As soon as the mysterious man arrived, I was convinced that nothing good can come of him, and I was right. The Paige/Phoebe thing wasn't as interesting as the rest of the episode, but a touch of family drama is welcome. Paige and Richard's relationship will definitely grow in time, and I'm suspecting something big might happen later.

The conclusion was also okay, with Wyatt saving the day (once again). That kid has got power. We didn't see Chris in this episode, but I'm not bothered by it. Plus, when am I going to see Piper and Leo together again?moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Holly Marie Combs	Piper Halliwell
Alyssa Milano	Phoebe Halliwell
Brian Krause (I)	Leo Wyatt (Season 2+)
Rose McGowan	Paige Matthews (Season 4+)

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Brian Leckner	Head Executioner Demon	Guest Star
Bjorn Johnson	Cranky Satyr	Guest Star
Danny Woodburn	Dwarf	Guest Star
Amanda Sickler	Female Staffer	Recurring Role
Balthazar Getty	Richard Montana	Recurring Role
Scout Taylor-Compton	Fairy	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (17)
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- Although Drew Fuller is mentioned in the credits, he doesn't actually appear in this episode.
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- When Mordaunt is vanquished at the end of the episode, he becomes both Wyatt's first victim and the three hundredth evil being to be vanquished on the show.
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- How could Piper see the fairy in this episode? In season 3, they had to cast a spell and believe in order to see fairies.
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- TRIVIA: Edward Atterton, who played Mordaunt in this episode, played Excalibur-wielding King Arthur in the Mists of Avalon TV miniseries.
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- TRIVIA: This is one of only 2 episodes in season 6 that Drew Fuller (Chris) didn't appear in. Also in the opening credits pictures of him are replaced with pictures of the girls from the season 5 episode "A Witch's Tail (2)".
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- TRIVIA: This is not the first time Rose McGowan has worked with Matthew McGrory, who plays the ogre. In 1998 they both appeared in the Marilyn Manson video "Coma White".
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- TRIVIA: This episode shows another power for Wyatt - telekinesis, like Prue, which he uses to lift the sword and send it flying into his enemey. This also marks Wyatt's first vanquish of evil.
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- TRIVIA: This is the second time we see Paige using her telekinetic power without calling for it, as she orbed Excalibur up to the attic by waving her hand.
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- Mordaunt says here that Merlin was fake, but in the episode "We're Off to See the Wizard", the wizard says that Merlin was real.
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- One of the knights conscripted by Piper had gray skin - that was the same demon that Piper blew up in the episode "Soul Survivor".
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- When the dwarf leads Piper to the sunroom, we see a muse trying to pull out the sword, but why can Piper and everyone else see a muse? It is stated that muses can only be seen by angelic creatures such as a whitelighter or those who are wearing the ring of inspiration in the episode "Muse To My Ear". So Piper and other magical creatures shouldn't see anything at all.
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- Piper and Paige vanquished the creepers in Necromancing the Stone and if killing the leader kills all of them,why did Mordaunt kill a creeper if he should already be dead?
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- Paige previously said she never grew up on fairy tales - so how would she know about Merlin?
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- What is the deal with Richard Montana? He can throw energy balls, "heal" (for all intents and purposes) objects, and he's telekinetic! That's a lot of power for a witch, more than the Charmed Ones at least.
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- In the original legend, Excalibur wasn't the sword in the stone. The sword in the stone was just a test to prove the worthiness of young King Arthur. Excalibur was given to him later. The two swords are usually rolled into one in most retellings of the legend.
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- Mordaunt absorbed the powers of a Grimlock, a Creeper, a Banshee and the soul releasing demon. They might have power but shouldn't be called the ultimate power even with all of those combined.
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- Doesn't the upper level demon vanquishing potion require a piece of flesh or a tissue sample? Piper had none whatsoever from the Dark Knight.
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QUOTES (23)
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- Phoebe: Wow! Who works here?
  Paige: You do. Who rocks? That would be me.
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- Piper: Chris! Chris! Get down here! (Leo orbs in) Where is Chris?
  Leo: Busy. What's going on?
  Piper: Busy with what?
  Leo: Other charges. I took him off your account again.
  Piper: Our account?
  Leo: You know what I mean.
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- Phoebe: I can't tell you what to do. I mean how weird is that?
  Paige: Well, it's no weirder than usual.
  Phoebe: Oh! I see.
  Paige: Just kidding. Sort of.
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- (Paige shows up at Phoebe's office)
  Phoebe: Hi. I thought you had a new temp job today.
  Paige: I do.
  Phoebe: Why aren't you there?
  Paige: Apparently, I am.
  Phoebe: What?!
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- Piper: So you want me to add "baby-sit the sword" and "mix vanquishing potion" to my never-ending to-do list...
  Paige: Look, sword is stuck in the stone. You know it, I know it, the bad guys know it. Nobody's gonna get it out until King Arthur pulls it out and when that happens there'll be lots of fire works.
  Piper: And when that might be?
  Paige: How should I know? Maybe a couple thousand years?
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- Phoebe (talking about her advice column): This woman is worried about her mother marrying the wrong guy. Actually, she thinks he might be the devil incarnate.
  Paige: Didn't we vanquish the devil incarnate?
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- Paige: What're you doing?
  Piper: Trying to fix the garbage disposal. (as she looks at Richard) What're you doing?
  Paige: Messing around.
  Piper: Ah uh.
  Richard: Sorry. I should've told you I was here.
  Piper: No. Don't be silly. Paige is a big girl. She can hang out all she wants to. Not that she does...a lot. I mean...
  Paige: You can stop now.
  Piper: Right!
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- Phoebe: Oh...I'll tell you, Elise better find me a new assistant, because pretty soon she's gonna have to "Ask Phoebe" to take my foot out of her-- (phone rings, interrupting her tirade)
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- Piper (to Wyatt, about Excalibur): Now honey, promise me that before you ever touch this thing you'll play lots of baseball and football and do lots of other normal stuff .
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- Mordaunt: Welcome to your new destiny.
  Piper: Oh crap.
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- Phoebe: We're videoconferencing. We just open our laptops, and there we are. In color.
  Piper: Hmm, in each others laps.
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- Paige: What's wrong with the disposal, anyway?
  Piper: Not disposing. Washer not washing, cable not cabling.
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- Piper (regarding the sword in the stone): You think you can orb this into the attic?
  Paige: Absolutely
  Paige thinking, orbs the sword in the stone to the attic.
  Piper: Away from any furniture?
  A loud crash and bang is heard from upstairs.
  Paige: Sorry!
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- Piper (to Wyatt after he uses the sword, to vanquish Mordaunt): Okay sweetie, that's very, very good. Ah, but we need to put this thing away. So you don't take an eye out. At least untill you're 18.
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- Paige: So what should we do then Merlin?
  Mordaunt: Oh no, my name's Mordaunt. Merlin's just a fairy tale.
  Piper: Ha Ha!
  Mordaunt: But Camelot was not.
  Paige: Ha!
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- Paige tries to take the sword out of the stone.
  Paige: Well you can't blame a girl for trying.
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- Paige (attempting to orb the sword away from Piper): Excalibur!
  (Piper grips the sword and prevents Paige from taking it from her.Paige is shocked.)
  Piper: Don't do that again.
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- Phoebe: Oh Paige! You're fired.
  Paige: Actually, I quit.
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- (Paige and Phoebe approach a demon, with axe in hand)
  Phoebe: I am liking these odds.
  (The demon shimmers away)
  Paige: Wuss.
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- Phoebe: Her Majesty has left the building.
  Paige: Or her Madness.
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- Mordaunt: Welcome to your new destiny.
  Piper: Ahh crap.
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- Phoebe: The sword in the stone?
  Piper: Oh you gotta be kidding me.
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- Dwarf: Kiss my grumpy ass!
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NOTES (4)
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- International Episode Titles:
  Czech Republic: Meč ve městě (Sword in the City)
  France: Excalibur (Excalibur)
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- In interviews, Holly Marie Combs has stated that this was the episode they were filming when she found out she was pregnant.
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- This episode is known as "Queen Piper 1" in Australia.
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- The WB used the promo title "Charmed in Camelot" for this episode.
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ALLUSIONS (2)
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- Phoebe: Her majesty has left the building.
  
  This is a play-off of the phrase heard after every Elvis concert. "Elvis has left the building."
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- Title: Sword and the City
  
  This is a reference to both the TV series, Sex & The City and the animated Disney film "The Sword In The Stone".
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