Witch Trial

Season 2, Episode 1, Aired
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Episode Summary

On their first anniversary of becoming witches, the sisters face a cloven-hoofed demon called Abraxas, that steals the Book of Shadows and undoes the spells they've cast, releasing old vanquished enemies of the Charmed Ones. If the demon undoes the spell that granted them their powers, they will come back to living normal lives.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (21)

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  • The Book of Shadows takes a trip to the Astral Plane, and suddenly all that was done is threatened with being undone.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By iltarion, Jun 02, 2011 Report Abuse
    Season 2 is off to a rolling start in highly original fashion. In Abraxas we actually have a demon that looks every bit like a demon, in fact, maybe more like a devil. His modus operandi of undoing the magic of the past brings several already defeated enemies back into the sisters' lives.

    Obviously, the sisters have a much easier time with all of them this time around. This is a Prue and Phoebe centered episode, which seems pretty standard for Seasons 1 and 2 when Leo isn't around. Piper has little role other than to hitch along with the magical evangelist, Phoebe, and make out with some random guy. This is explained by Leo being gone for a whole "couple weeks." Seriously? Is Piper the horniest 20-something in San Fran? She can't go a whole couple weeks of her supposed true love being gone without making out with someone else? This insanity unfortunately would continue all through the series whenever Leo isn't around. Ironically, the goddess of love herself, Phoebe, hasn't had a boyfriend the entire duration of the show so far. And yet, she continues to bash Piper about being "due." Idiotic. But I'm trying to keep an open mind.

    The introduction of the neighbors is mostly annoying to me, and their inclusion in the cast credits is certainly a reason for alarm. But again, I'm going to try to approach the whole Dan story arc with an open mind. At least so far, he seems more tolerable than the little girl, whose reason for being on the show obviously is not revealed in this episode. I'm hoping it isn't to talk about tampons.

    Prue is mostly trying to get over the loss of Andy this episode. Even if a little overplayed, it is still understandable. She, surprisingly, becomes our first sister to want to not be a witch any more. This is, of course, repeated several times with all the sisters falling victim at some point in the series. I always find it irritating. Considering all the lives the sisters save and the good that they do, giving up would be the most selfish thing imaginable. It would be almost evil. However, I do admit it can be realistic at times, and in this episode here, we have one of our more realistic manifestations of the conflict. The scene with Darryl is a very good one, and it is great that he is still around. I would think the sisters owe him the true story of what happened to Andy. I was disappointed we didn't get that yet.

    Decent vanquish at the end, though it was an awfully quick jump to the front of the book, but the show is only an hour afterall. And any time Grams is involved, it is a good thing. Its not Charmed Again, but it is a strong start to Season 2.moreless

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  • I love this show.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By hainesg324, Apr 18, 2011 Report Abuse
    This episode contained everything needed to make a great episode of Charmed - crying, tantrums, sisterly chats, humour, and of course, an evil being that can't just be vanquished by a rhyming couplet, they actually have to work hard. I felt extremely sorry for Prue when she started crying over Andy but not too sorry for any of them - how can they all look that amazing when they have just rolled out of bed? I know its television, but it's still not fair.moreless

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  • Pointless Nudity Alert!

    8.2
    "Great"
    By maxpower03, Apr 18, 2011 Report Abuse
    This is an excellent start to the second season and sees the writers relying on old storylines to good effect, unlike the latest episodes, which just re-use old ideas and don't add anything original to it.

    Witch Trial sees the sisters celebrating their one-year anniversary of being witches. Prue isn't over Andy's death and this has begun restricting her powers, as she believes moving on will be forgetting her true love. Meanwhile, a demon steals the Book of Shadows and begins reading it backwards, bringing back demons from the past including the Woogyman and Jeremy.

    Usually I hate episodes with boring new characters, gratuitous nudity and unoriginal ideas but I really enjoyed this. There are tons of sisterly moments and the realization that "the power of one" hinted at in the book actually meant the sisters acting as one was a good twist, immediately making those who dislike Prue's slightly "me me me" attitude sit down in shame. It was really cool seeing old bad guys get resurrected but it was annoying that Nicholas was played by a different actor. Couldn't they have brought back a demon whose actor was actually available?

    The only bad point about this episode was the introduction of Dan and Jenny Gordon. At least Dan served a point, kinda, but Jenny was just completely pointless. She suddenly popped up, got into the opening credits, asked for tampons, asked for sex advice and then just vanished. I'm grasping for a "why?" here. Complete waste of time.

    Shannen Doherty was the standout actress of the episode and her breakdown over Andy's death was truly heartbreaking to watch. Holly was also good, especially seeing her blatant embarrassment about stripping off in the park for the wiccan ceremony. Alyssa also acted well but her painfully obvious capped teeth annoyed the hell out of me...

    This is probably the best season premiere Charmed ever had. It successfully opened up a ton of new storylines whilst still remembered those left over from season one.

    Rating: B+moreless

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  • They have been witches now for one year.

    8.2
    "Great"
    By prada212vogue, Apr 18, 2011 Report Abuse
    It's good to see that the fashion for the show has increased in a good way because season one was dreadful. There is still room for improvement though. Why were Piper and Phoebe mad at Prue because just because she is the eldest doesn't mean that vanquishing this demon is all down to her.

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  • a demon steals the book of shadows and Prue is gun shy.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By BKuncle, Apr 18, 2011 Report Abuse
    I'm very conflicted about this episode. There were a few things I really disliked. One of them was the funny looking demon. The other was Prue being weak. It was an interesting storyline that Prue was having problems with being a witch after Andy's death. But once they were facing the demon in the attic (by the way I thought it was a silly plan. Prue was supposed to hold off the demon while Phoebe and Piper got the book back. Wouldn't it make more sense to have Piper freeze him ?) Prue couldn't go through with it. That seemed out of character to me as I think she would overcome her problems once her sisters were in danger. The fact that I'm conflicted comes in because the next scene is one of my favorites in the whole series. The sisters at first yell at Prue and she starts crying over what happened to Andy and her sisters confort her and explain how it wasn't her fault. It gets me every time.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • TRIVIA: Darryl says that he works alone since Andy's death but in the episode She's A Man, Baby, A Man, he has a new partner - although this one is murdered too. Edit
    • In this episode, Nicholas has a deformed demonic voice. However in the episode That '70s Episode where he was introduced, he spoke with a normal voice. Edit
    • TRIVIA: The sisters vanquish four different Demons in this episode. The warlock Jeremy, the Woogyman, the warlock Nicolas and Abraxus. This will also mark the first episode that shows the sisters vanquishing more than one demon at a time with separate powers of three spells. Edit

  • Notes

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    • International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Zkouška (Trial) France: Célébration (Celebration) Edit
    • This episode scored 5.1 million viewers. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Piper: No, I understand. Okay, bye. (She hangs up. Phoebe walks in.) Phoebe: Who was that? Piper: Rob, the banker. Or rather, his assistant. Telling me that my loan has been denied. Phoebe: Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. Piper: That's okay. Just wasn't meant to be, I guess. Really glad I never slept with him, though. What was I thinking? Phoebe: About Leo, maybe? Piper: Ugh. Phoebe: Wine? (She holds up the bottle of wine.) Edit
    • Nicholas: You remember the feeling, don't you? (Prue falls to the floor.) Prue: "Lavender, mimosa, holy thistle, cleanse this evil from our midst scatter..." Nicholas: You're overheating. Your brain cells are frying. It's over. Prue: "Scatter its cells throughout time. Let this Nick no more exist." (Nicholas is vanquished. Prue collapses on the floor.) Edit
    • Prue: Hello? Piper: Prue, thank god you're there. Jeremy... Prue: Piper, calm down... Piper: Just attacked me. Prue: Jeremy? That is impossible. We vanquished him a year ago. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Abraxas is a mythological demon who is also known as Satan's brother. Edit
    • Phoebe (to Piper about Dan): I saw him first!
      Phoebe once again tries for a man that will end up with her sister, Piper - the first being Leo during season 1 when they first met him. Edit
    • Title: Witch Trial
      This is a reference to the witch trials that occured mostly in Salem, Massachusetts. Edit

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