Charmed - The Tallyman Arc - Review: "Hair of the Youngest, Blood of the Eldest. . ."

 

He came, he rhymed, he poofed himself away. The Tallyman and his associates went for the Charmed ones in the weirdest possible way, but once again the power of three prevailed, delivering 3 individually strong episodes, nurturing the sisterly bond, and laying down a strong groundwork for the episodes ahead. Let's divulge the individual episodes and character arcs. 

Ripples

After the end of "Unlucky Charmed", Ripples was a majorly important episode. The fallout of Maggie's actions had to have an impact and allow us to get a deep inside into what is actually happening with Maggie. The cold opening was so raw, the petrified look on Maggie`s face. her not really understanding how she could`ve done it. Marvelous work by Sarah Jefferey, kudos also kudos to the director of this episode Joe Gallagher who perfectly capture the moment.  It took a lot for Maggie to hit rock bottom and she hit it as hard as she could ever imagine. Mel pushing Maggie wasn't really helping as the guilt was eating Maggie up already. Maggie knew that what she did was wrong but she wasn't ready to face the guilt and judgment from others as she was judging herself enough for all of them. The burden of being the best witch/person she can be, took its toll on Maggie and she was just looking for simpler times. The Maggie-Mel moments this episode were just that good and their arcs for the season are slowly but strongly flashing out.

Kaela's story in this episode has me a little bit conflicted. There is a lot of chemistry between Kaela and Kapil Tallwalker's Dev but Dev is not fitting the Charmed world imo. His energy is sort of disruptive and while there are scenes where he fits the world with his openness and charm, the way he acts out in some scenes takes too much away from the actual moment. I did appreciate him teaching Kaela how her powers work and how her emotions and experiences nurture her powers. But Dev had another role during this episode, he put some doubt into Kaela's mind inspiring her to look for her bio parents. In Unlucky Charmed, Kaela stated that she knew who she was and that her heritage didn't matter, yet Kaela understands the world and power hierarchy. People doubting the Charmed ones will just bring obstacles in their way. Another thing I appreciate is how the writers continuously are showing Kaela's love for witchcraft, she reads the books and explores the world. 

The Tallyman meanwhile continued his creepy mission. The carnage he continuously spreads has a purpose and he is going after the Charmedones' reputation and he is doing a terrific job. This episode also revealed that the Tallyman is a Goblin. A memory of the Tallyman revealed that in this universe Goblins are able to manipulate machines and but the Tallyman wasn`t able to do that. He was a different type of Goblin and an outcast sort of, playing into his weak-mindedness about I`ll talk in a jiffy. 

Other Tidbits:

- Wished we saw more of the Merman and not only his tale. Damned, be expensive CGI. 

- Mel got slightly more into her new time powers. Wonder how moving objects into the future will work for them down the road. 

- The final moments with the three Ladies together worked just so well. 

- The Tallyman's video going viral was a good conclusion to the story. 

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Sandwich

Episode 5 of this highly entertaining season, so far, was written by co-showrunner Joey Falco and directed by series regular Rupert Evans. The thing I liked most about this episode was the balance. The episode was smart, emotional, funny, and delivered various tidbits important for the remainder of the season. 

After Donnie, a Hobgoblin and former Ripples employee took Blue Camillia hostage it was up to Mel's new powers to save the day. I found it odd, how the sisters haven't noticed Harry being away for a week or so but it was a good plot point to start the episode and put the sister in danger. One big plot point I liked about this episode was that Mel's interference always meant to work out this way. Mel's powers were always supposed to work like this and Kaela and Maggie were always meant to save Camillia. Cause this way they established a difference between Mel's time displacement and Maggie`s premonitions. Mel as the overconfident witch she is used her powers carelessly and transported her fellow Charmedones to 1926.  Mel working her way through the present time repercussions of her powers was a good storyline to follow and thought our eldest Charmed one a lesson or two in the process.  

The interaction between Mel and Roxie was fairly interesting. I didn't feel any overwhelmingly romantic sizzle at this moment but Rupert choose the soft filter while shooting their scenes . Roxie has a lot of secrets and mighty walls protecting them. Shi Ne is really giving in to the role and creating a formidable ally or/and villain. The reveal of Lady C being Roxie`s wife and a Muse, will probably have a major part in the story going forward.

The episode opened up with Maggie burying her feelings in research once again and avoiding connecting with Kaela. Luckily Mel trapped the two in 1926 so they had plenty of time to form a bond. Kaela's current energy overlaps a lot with preseason 2 Maggie. She is energetic and cheerful, showing a lot of similarities with Maggie, before all the trauma she went through. Maggie wasn't ready to open up to Kaela but the two ladies didn't have much of a choice. They were in a dire situation and nothing creates a stronger bond than being put together in a dangerous situation. The return of the Vitra played well into the story and allowed for a bit of a dramatic turn in the second part of the story. It did feel a bit underwhelming how easily she backed off, but Kaela swinging that sword looked mighty cool. 

The episode ended with Kaela finally getting one step closer to her parentage or not as a magical item provided by Ray and Choochie revealed Kaela's bio parents. I enjoy that the episodes this season have a bigger tendency to end with meaningful bonding between the Charmedones and giving their relationship more dimension. That is truly something we've missed in the previous seasons. As for if those people are actually Kaela's parents, highly unlikely, but the disappointment on Kaela's face was speaking volumes. 

Other Tidbits:

- The opening with Donnie going "mad" was executed really well. Rupert is indeed a talented director. 

- The Masturbation scene was just hilarious, I found the acting to be just that good. The three ladies did so much work with their body language and facial expressions. 

- Jordan's card game with Rita and Nita was another great tidbit. Jordan is always such an oddball, him finding his place in the magical world is a story I wanna see more about. 

- Really curious to find out what type of magical being Sunny is. The girl has some mad skills. Is she just a witch with toxic nails or something else completely.

- Sarah and Lucy have such great voices. Their version of Lady Marmalade was simply great.

The Tallyman Cometh

The undoing of the Tallyman might not be the most exciting face-off the sisters experienced, but the lead-up to it was fairly decent. The episode written by Sidney Quashie was directed by Keesha Sharp. 

This episode contains probably one of my favorite scenes of the season so far. Maggie's confession to Ray was just on another level. Sarah Jefferey knocked it out of the park. It was a long road for Maggie this season, the heartbreak she felt over Macy's death was carried through every episode this season. We saw the kindhearted Maggie being closed off, cunning and cold, unrecognizable to the character who opened her heart to everyone. Ray's comeback was one great surprise, I cheered when I saw Felix Solis name in the opening credits. Ray is a weirdo but despite his flaws and flaky attitude he does try his best, and while I haven't forgiven him for how he was treating our girls, he is their dad and was the perfect choice to let Maggie open. The realization that Maggie's absence of premonitions is based on the fact that she blames them for not saving Macy hit hard. Ray's pep talk hit right in the center, Maggie is such a wholesome being and Ray did a great job in reminding her of that.

Ray having a secondary agenda was not a surprise but still an unexpected twist. Ray reaching out to Jordan was a weird choice but I am surely excited about where this story will take Jordan's character. Jordan getting involved in Harry and Roxie's messy storyline was an interesting turn of events. Jordan really cares for Harry and considers him a brother, Jordan Donica brought just the right energy in all their scenes and I hope we see more of that story unfold. Harry meanwhile once again got rid of his powers, only to become a Necrolighter. It is an interesting turn on Harry's story and while it feels sort of pushy it is also natural progress of his story. Harry is consumed by his grief and just like Maggie, it turned him into someone unrecognizable to us. On the other hand, when they finally slap some sense into Harry it might be a helpful power to reveal Kaela's secrets. But before that, this episode revealed the existence of the Veil, a place for creatures with unfinished business, and considering that one of the upcoming episodes is titled Unveiled, Seattle might soon turn into a Ghost town.

Last but not least, the episode brought Tallyman's story to an end. The Tallyman upped his game with a direct threat to the safety of innocent magical creatures and Kaela and Mel wouldn't put up with it. The Tallyman had two agendas this week and he was successful in one of them. Getting the blood of the oldest Charmedone. While we don't know what this prophecy is all about, it does come back to the fact that the mighty forces behind Sunny and The Tallyman have big plans for our girls and they need them alive for it. The end of the Tallyman was certainly anticlimactic but I understand that budgetary and story constriction might play a part in it, also I think the writers tried to showcase how low the Tallyman's intelligence isn't his strong suit and that the failure he experienced made him once again feel worthless. The real Big Bad is gathering a bunch of weak-minded magical creatures to do their bidding and it is paying off so far.

Other Tidbits:

- The Kaela-Mel bonding was sweet throughout the episode. Also loved the number of spells and magic we saw in this episode. Kaela manifesting a bow and arrow was borderline cringe but also adorable.

- Am I the only one finding it was way too convenient how Roxie is part of this story and how Sunny escaped her captivity?

- The way the ladies used the Power of Three to enhance Maggie's premonition was great. The visuals were great.

- Wonder if Ray can shed some light on Kaela's heritage. Excited to see the two of them interact.

The Characters: 

Mel

The now Oldest Charmedone went through a lot during these three episodes. After facing Ruby in Unlucky Charmed, Mel realized the error of her ways and tried to reinvent herself. She knew that her Hot Girl Summer was just a way to avoid her pain and that it wasn't truly fulfilling her. Seeing Ruby with Swan was a major shocker for Mel and pushed her out of her comfort zone. She realized that sticking to the memory of what she could've had with Ruby will just bring more torment to her and won't make her happy. As usual, Mel also took on the role of the family's Martriach and she is just so good at it. Melonie thrives in the scenes where Mel is protective of her family and takes charge, even if she makes mistakes in the process. 

Kaela

Over these 3 episodes, we see Kaela discover so much about herself and showcase who she is. The writers gave her enough space to discover who she is with Mel, Maggie, and magic itself. Kaela is such a confident person, secure in who she is, and being a Charmed one challenged that on so many levels. And if that wasn't enough, she met Dev. He is a mouthful, to be honest. As said, his energy is so disruptive at times, but I really enjoy his soft moments with Kaela in episode 6. They felt so honest and pure, making me believe there is a future for the two of them, cause the way they look at each other is just another level. The great thing about Kaela is she knows herself so well, she knew where another encounter with Dev would lead to and she wasn`t there yet. But both of them care so much, their individual speeches to each other opened their respective worlds and hearts to each other.

Maggie

There is a lot to unpack with Maggie and while it finally seems that she started digging out of the hole she put herself in she has a long way to go. It is weird how sometimes we are our toughest judges. Maggie put the weight of her sister's death on her shoulders and couldn't forgive herself for that. That even prevented her from embracing Kaela. It felt so out of character, considering how open Maggie was to Macy and embracing her into their family. Giving the two of them screen time in episode 5 was very fruitful, they were in a situation where they had to depend on each other, and to do that Maggie had to open up to her. Maggie unraveling Infront of Ray made me tear up. The fragility in Maggie's voice, the pain in her words, it was such an important scene for Maggie and the person she`ll become in the future. The missing piece of Maggie`s puzzle is her relationship with Jordan and I hope that she fixes it sooner rather than later. 

Jordan

The way Jordan won over our hearts since the season 2 premiere is just as wholesome as his character. He is so straightforward and often speaks out as the voice of the fans. His screentime over these three episodes was limited but when he appeared on screen, he had an impact. Jordan embraced his healer nature with his whole heart but still searches for his grand purpose in this magical world he got embedded into. Jordan not being up for any of Roxie's bull shit was so great and so on point with his character. Hope his words got to Harry and will finally help Harry heal.

Harry

Harry, oh Harry! I once considered him a smart boy, but grief changes us and it took a really bad turn on Harry. His life as a Whitelighter was full of losses and after losing Macy he didn't know how to go back to who he was. Doing something so careless like giving up his powers, felt so out of character, especially with Mel and Maggie being in potential danger. I did like his reaction to the news Maggie was in jail, it brought back a glimpse of old Harry and I do miss him. Let's hope he has enough fight in him to come back from it. 

The Tallyman and The Unseen

As said earlier there is an MO in the way the Unseen operates (ICYMI an upcoming synopsis revealed the Unseen as the new antagonists now that the Tallyman is no more), they look for the damaged and gullible to do their bidding and create havoc in the magical community. It is an interesting premise and their endgame got me really curious. Considering the items they are getting from the Charmedones I wonder if they are trying to revive someone, a former Charmed one maybe, Melinda Warren or do they just wanna break the Veil. In the upcoming episodes, we are about to meet Dianna (Natasha Henstridge), a former Whitelighter, wondering what side she plays for. 

That's a wrap from me. What are your thoughts on the previous episodes and what theories do you have in mind for the remainder of the season. Share your thought in the comment section below. #Charmed airs every Friday for the next 7 weeks at 8/7 central on the CW. Catch up on the previous 5 episodes on the CW app.