The Three Faces of Phoebe

Season 4, Episode 14, Aired
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Episode Summary

Phoebe develops a case of cold feet over marrying Cole and casts a spell which brings a young innocent Phoebe and an old cynical Phoebe to the Manor to help her make a decision. Meanwhile, while Cole is horrified to find that the Source is now taking over his entire being, the Source's chief rival, who believes the Source is dead, is convinced by the Seer to kill the Charmed Ones in order to earn the allegiance of the entire underworld.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (12)

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  • Three equally clueless Phoebes...

    7.5
    "Good"
    By iltarion, Mar 25, 2011 Report Abuse
    Obviously there is no place to go but down after vanquishing the Source, and this is a ambivalently average episode with some very good elements balanced against some annoying storylines.

    On the good side, the Seer is back and better than ever as she continues to manipulate not only Cole but another fool demon who thinks he's ready to be the Source. Julian is sensational, of course, as the conflict builds inside of Cole. I could argue that Charmed was at its best when Cole was an ally of the Charmed Ones, but there is no question that Julian is at his best when conflicted and evil. The faceoffs between Old Phoebe and Cole are the clear highlight of the show besides Paige's orbing.

    Unlike many of the reviewers, I liked the Paige subplot. I would first point out that Paige did not cast a spell for personal gain last episode, but to aid an innocent. Therefore, I'm not sure why the consequences. Anyway, I thought it was a good continuation from last week. I think we should see more of that. The point of this subplot was to show how much Paige has learned. She gets it now. Her orbing her sisters at the end is a huge step for Charmed. From this moment on, the sisters no longer need Leo to orb about. Paige orbing her sisters will play a role throughout the remainder of series. Nice way to get around!

    As for the annoying, first and foremost, Phoebe's spell is sorta cool as far as the older and the not much to do younger Phoebe goes, but what was the point again? Phoebe needs magic to decide whether to marry Cole or not? Since when? And now you know why Old Phoebe is angry about the whole thing. Sort of unrealistic that Phoebe would turn out old and bitter just over Cole considering she goes through about 5 boyfriends just in the years immediately after. Secondly, in what universe did Kurzon think he could be the Source? Personally, I don't care for this entire idea. You either are the Source or you are not. There is no gather enough demons under you, go through a crowning, and become the Source. Lame. Hey, maybe I could be the Source?moreless

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  • The Three Faeces of Phoebe

    4.9
    "Poor"
    By maxpower03, Jan 27, 2011 Report Abuse
    I'm usually one of Alyssa Milano's harshest critics, mainly because I want to stick my tongue into an electrical appliance whenever she appears on screen. But, occasionally, she acts pretty well. This is one of the (few) occasions where she is good throughout, probably because her character name is in the title but, y'know, whatever...

    The Three Faces of Phoebe sees the slutty one getting cold feet over her imminent wedding to Cole and conjuring up two different versions of herself, a free-spirited and excitable young Phoebe and an old, more experienced Phoebe, to decide whether or not she should go through with it. Meanwhile, The Seer continues her quest to turn Cole into the new Source and Paige gets a promotion at work.

    The main storyline of this episode seems pretty pointless. Despite placing Alyssa, once again, in center stage, it doesn't do much to evolve season four's arc plot, instead leaving Phoebe with the moral that she has to make her own decisions for once, instead of relying on others. Yes, that's it. Alyssa is good in the episode and genuinely convinces, same goes for Frances Bay (aka "The Marble Rhy Lady" on Seinfeld) who gives a good performance as the older, more cynical Phoebe.

    It was a good decision to turn Cole evil again as he's, to be honest, a boring character when not plotting somebody's doom. But it's a shame that the demon story in this episode wasn't that great. Harry Van Gorkum is pretty much demon-of-the-week material and does nothing to make his character Kurzon any more memorable than all the other Cole-related demons on the show.

    This wasn't a memorable episode by any length but does give Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan chance to show off their, sometimes underused, acting talents. Despite that, the demon storyline is easily forgetful and the whole "three Phoebe's" story ends up being kinda pointless.

    Rating: C+moreless

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  • Me, Myself and I.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By MovieMark, Nov 03, 2009 Report Abuse
    The complication phase of the season, 'The Three Faces'' sees the beginning of a more mature show than we're usually used to, with genuine threat, as Cole slowly loses out to the source's invasion. The episode starts off okay enough, but things gradually get better and better as the hour progresses, resulting in a final confrontation with future-Phoebe and Cole that creates a menacing depiction of what present-Phoebe has in store within the coming episodes. There are, of course, a few things that don't work. Paige's subplot had no relevance whatsoever, even though it featured heavily in the last episode and gets more air time here, and for what? We know from past stories that personal-gain is bad so why bother with such a pointless plot? Rose might as well have not been in this episode.

    The past/future storyline was enjoyable enough. I didn't care much for Phoebe's 10-year old mini-me, but I did enjoy her interludes with her geriatric self. Despite having only a handful of scenes, Frances Bay really sells it that she is in fact Phoebe Halliwell. Alyssa plays wonderfully off of Frances' believably stubborn performance, and there's a level of 'tell her already!' to the proceedings, making things far weightier than expected.

    Overall, it's your bog-standard Charmed demon-of-the-week plot elevated by some impressive character development and neat advances to the overall arc. The show will continue to provide such strong outings and that's mainly down to the fact the show, for the first time ever, has managed to find a balance between arc-related activities and stand-alone fare.moreless

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  • The Power of 3...Phoebes?

    8.6
    "Great"
    By lenzinoH20, Jun 19, 2008 Report Abuse
    The Three Faces of Phoebe-Phoebe develops a case of cold feet over marrying Cole and casts a spell which brings a young innocent Phoebe and an old cynical Phoebe to the Manor to help her make a decision. Meanwhile, while Cole is horrified to find that the Source is now taking over his entire being, the Source's chief rival, who believes the Source is dead, is convinced by the Seer to kill the Charmed Ones in order to earn the allegiance of the entire underworld.

    A dark, intriguing episode that sees Phoebe's intuition kicking days before her wedding and Cole struggling with the Source, who is now within him. Alyssa Milano is great throughout and makes Phoebe's worrying seem very real. The whole "should I marry Cole?" spell which brings her future and past self may seem a bit unresolved at the end, but the scenes between Phoebe and her future self well make up for that. Frances Bay is wonderful as Phoebe's old self and both she and Alyssa play off each other so well. Samantha Goldstein (young Phoebe Halliwell) is also good and provides the light-hearted material in an overall dark episode.

    Julian McMahon nearly steals the show this time as the Source grows stronger from within Cole and Cole struggles to hold on to his humanity. The scenes between him and the Seer are excellent, with her trying to let him give in to the Source's power. Also, I loved the Seer going behind Cole/the Source's back and using Kurzon to destory the Charmed Ones. Although, Harry Van Gorkum is a bit over-the-top at times in his performance and Kurzon himself is written as a second rate Source. But despite that, the episode quite well and the ending where Cole lies to Phoebe is dark development as the Source is obviously taking over and there seems to be no hope for Cole. All and All, "Three Faces of Phoebe" is an effective episode with great performances and some dark developments.moreless

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  • Is there something I should know?

    9.6
    "Superb"
    By Blinksterboy, Mar 11, 2008 Report Abuse
    After last week's fun and games, I was afraid the producers might do what they normally do and give us another meaningless filler plot. Not a bit of it! From the opening scene we're straight back into the season arc and it's even better than before.

    Cole's storyline is awesome. It's edge of the seat stuff and, like last season's Belthazor episodes, Cole's inner struggle brings out the very best in Julian. However good the action, though - and it's an undeniably clever story - I am in two minds about Cole being possessed by the Source. On the one hand, it's great to see him with powers again; his blazing entrances are amazing and, let's face it, he was getting a tad boring as a mortal. On the other hand, it's the beginning of a tragic end for my favourite character and it hurts to see him so tormented.

    Phoebe's spell is excellent. It's a fascinating use of magic and the past and future selves she conjures up are wonderful. Older Phoebe is a complete surprise: bitter, cynical and totally unlike her present self. Alyssa's reaction to her is spot on. Younger Phoebe is less memorable. Although the part is well written, the young actress clearly struggles with her lines.

    Demon-of-the-week Kurzon (who makes up these names?) is very run of the mill and hardly comes across as worthy of being the next Source. The Seer is far more interesting with the way she pulls the strings behind the scenes. Much as I hate the two-faced cow, I hope they don't kill her off too swiftly as she adds a wonderful chill to the show.

    This week also sees an important milestone for Paige, as she orbs from place to place for the first time. All in all, it's a great spell and another classic hour of Charmed: dark, gripping and, ultimately, very sad.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Wiccan law says that you cannot knowingly use magic for personal gain, and when Paige gets a promotion because of the spell she cast on Carolyn, and everyone says it was personal gain. However, Paige didn't use the spell to get a promotion, she actually did it to help Carolyn. AlthoughPaige felt bad about getting the promotion due to using magic,she didn't actually use it forpersonal gain. Edit
    • Even though she referenced Prue whilst on the stairwell with current Phoebe, why did past Phoebe not ask where Prue was? Surely the absence of Prue would have been important to her. Edit
    • This is not the first time one of the sisters has been unknowingly involved with the Source. Previously, in Charmed Again (2), Paige's boyfriend was also possessed (although more literally) by the Source. Edit

  • Notes

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    • International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Tři podoby Phoebe (Three Appearances of Phoebe) France: Face à son destin (Facing her destiny) Edit
    • For this episode, Samantha Goldstein (young Phoebe) was nominated for the 2003 Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Comedy or Drama Series-Guest Starring Young Actress Age Ten or Under". Edit
    • This episode scored 4.7 million viewers. Edit

  • Quotes

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    • Paige: Oh good, breakfast, I'm starving! Leo: Yeah its the orbing, it burns a lot of calories.

      Edit
    • (Leo has just orbed out) Phoebe (just waking up): Does he have to do that so brightly? Edit
    • Piper: This demon didn't even seem to know who we were, which by the way I find insulting. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Title: The Three Faces of Phoebe
      This is an allusion to the novel "The Three Faces of Fascism". Edit
    • Title: The Three Faces of Phoebe
      This is a reference to the movie "The Three Faces of Eve", about a woman named Eve that had Multiple Personality disorder, causing her to have three, very separate, personalities. Edit

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