Favourite Charmed Period Sisters Edition: Phoebe

[West]

Inspired by my charmed period and string of episodes thread, why not go for the sisters.

First up Is Phoebe. I'll hope to get the threads going for all the four sisters.

I divided it up into nearly 20 periods, and tried to work them to Phoebe's storylines and arcs.

I look forward to hearing what peoples favorite Phoebe periods are and I decided to allow everyone to pick 5 choices.

[West]

As expected, everything after Sleuthing with the Enemy is low or nothing.

Clearly season 2 Phoebe rules, as I expected.

[erikamarie]

I chose the last period because I thought it is very easy to love the young Phoebe, full of enthusiasm and impulses, so carefree, but we aren't in our twenties forever, we grow, we face practical difficulties, failures, wrong loves, sorrows and anguish

The last Phoebe fulfilled the transition between late adolescence and adulthood, she has become a sensible, serene woman and witch, I liked her in the last season

[Esmeralda]

I'm afraid I didn't see that at all. If I had five choices, I would've taken the first part of Season Three. But the only time I liked her starting with "Sleuthing with the Enemy" was during "I Dream of Phoebe" and "Show Ghouls".

[erikamarie]

I Dream of Phoebe it's a funny episode but I believe that you are too much influenced by your disappointment: what'ld be the development of an insecure girl, grown with the syndrome of abandonment, the fear of not being loved, after the killing of a sister and the destruction of the only relationship that she allowed herself to live?

[Deleted]

As expected, everything after Sleuthing with the Enemy is low or nothing.

That's how my vote went.

[Deleted]

I really quite disliked Phoebe during S5 and much of S6. I think she redeemed herself at the end of S8 a bit though.

[Esmeralda]

Oct 23, 2015 19:07:33 GMT -5 @deano said:

I really quite disliked Phoebe during S5 and much of S6. I think she redeemed herself at the end of S8 a bit though.

What did she do that had her redeem herself? For me, the only sister who redeemed herself in S8 was Paige, and that's because she was forced to when the Elders turned her into a living whitelighter.

[Deleted]

Oct 23, 2015 20:36:59 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Oct 23, 2015 19:07:33 GMT -5 @deano said:

I really quite disliked Phoebe during S5 and much of S6. I think she redeemed herself at the end of S8 a bit though.

What did she do that had her redeem herself? For me, the only sister who redeemed herself in S8 was Paige, and that's because she was forced to when the Elders turned her into a living whitelighter.

Maybe 'redeem' is the wrong word, but I found her less annoying than she was in S6. I thought she was on the right track in early S7 when she got her premonition power back, but then... Leslie... Dex... Coop... so, yeah...

I think she was the most likeable during the Kill Billie eps at the end of S8, whereas Piper was out for bloodshed and Paige looked liked she'd just showed up for the check (whoops, I mean Rose).   

[Esmeralda]

Oct 23, 2015 21:07:48 GMT -5 @deano said:

Oct 23, 2015 20:36:59 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

What did she do that had her redeem herself? For me, the only sister who redeemed herself in S8 was Paige, and that's because she was forced to when the Elders turned her into a living whitelighter.

Maybe 'redeem' is the wrong word, but I found her less annoying than she was in S6. I thought she was on the right track in early S7 when she got her premonition power back, but then... Leslie... Dex... Coop... so, yeah...

I think she was the most likeable during the Kill Billie eps at the end of S8, whereas Piper was out of bloodshed and Paige looked liked she'd just showed up for the check (whoops, I mean Rose).   

Hehehee. I guess it's been so long since I've watched those episodes that I will just have to take your word for it.

I know I liked Phoebe when she played with Wyatt, but that was really about it.

[Deleted]

Paige looked liked she'd just showed up for the check (whoops, I mean Rose).

Rose was probably counting down the hours until she was free. 

[Deleted]

I picked the first 5 choices.  "Sleuthing with the Enemy" really was the death of Phoebe's character.

[Astral Echo]

Is it cheeky that I voted twice? I loved Season 2 Phoebe, particularly the first half of the season. But I also voted for S4 part 2 as the back end of that season really showed how strong an actress Alyssa Milano is and I have a soft spot for the Queen of the Underworld!

[Deleted]

Oct 23, 2015 22:06:11 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Hehehee. I guess it's been so long since I've watched those episodes that I will just have to take your word for it.

I know I liked Phoebe when she played with Wyatt, but that was really about it.

Haha! I think I just preferred her when she wasn't obsessed with screwing guys.

Oct 23, 2015 23:30:52 GMT -5 @tim66 said:

Paige looked liked she'd just showed up for the check (whoops, I mean Rose).

Rose was probably counting down the hours until she was free. 

God knows why she stayed so long. I'm pretty sure she wasn't put under a 5-year contract when she started.

[Esmeralda]

Oct 24, 2015 20:31:00 GMT -5 @deano said:

Oct 23, 2015 22:06:11 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Hehehee. I guess it's been so long since I've watched those episodes that I will just have to take your word for it.

I know I liked Phoebe when she played with Wyatt, but that was really about it.

Haha! I think I just preferred her when she wasn't obsessed with screwing guys.

For me, it was her being obsessed with finding the guy who could donate the sperm so she could have Ladybug. Another one of the many reasons I think the flash-forward at the end is just part of Piper's delusion as she dies after the "Kill Billie" attack - no way I can see Phoebe sticking with Coop once she has Ladybug. Not unless motherhood changed her into the Phoebe I love in Season 9 of the comics. Now Phoebe in Season 10 - that's what I think S8 Phoebe would become...

[Deleted]

Oct 24, 2015 22:45:57 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Oct 24, 2015 20:31:00 GMT -5 @deano said:

Haha! I think I just preferred her when she wasn't obsessed with screwing guys.

For me, it was her being obsessed with finding the guy who could donate the sperm so she could have Ladybug. Another one of the many reasons I think the flash-forward at the end is just part of Piper's delusion as she dies after the "Kill Billie" attack - no way I can see Phoebe sticking with Coop once she has Ladybug. Not unless motherhood changed her into the Phoebe I love in Season 9 of the comics. Now Phoebe in Season 10 - that's what I think S8 Phoebe would become...

Interesting that you prefer her in S9, I've never read the comics, what is she like?

The Coop storyline was ridiculous, one minute she couldn't stand him, then suddenly she was besotted with him, all in the space of about 3 episodes. And the whole idea of the Elders pimping Coop out in the first place to fall in love with her, pure nonsense.     

[Esmeralda]

Oct 25, 2015 13:46:01 GMT -5 @deano said:

Oct 24, 2015 22:45:57 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

For me, it was her being obsessed with finding the guy who could donate the sperm so she could have Ladybug. Another one of the many reasons I think the flash-forward at the end is just part of Piper's delusion as she dies after the "Kill Billie" attack - no way I can see Phoebe sticking with Coop once she has Ladybug. Not unless motherhood changed her into the Phoebe I love in Season 9 of the comics. Now Phoebe in Season 10 - that's what I think S8 Phoebe would become...

Interesting that you prefer her in S9, I've never read the comics, what is she like?

The Coop storyline was ridiculous, one minute she couldn't stand him, then suddenly she was besotted with him, all in the space of about 3 episodes. And the whole idea of the Elders pimping Coop out in the first place to fall in love with her, pure nonsense.     

Among the biggest bunch of BS in Season 8, no doubt about it. All just a rush to make sure that all three women were married, as if a woman can't be happy without a man and children. And all part of making me wonder if ALL of Season 8 is just a delusion as they all die after the explosion in "Something Wicca This Way Goes"....Hehehehe, o course, I could push that all the way back to "All Hell Breaks Loose" without much problem...

But Paul Ruditis took that (as he took so many things in Season 8) and made them into something beautiful that made sense. I'll repeat the paragraph from his e-book "The War on Witches" which takes place between S9 (which Paul wrote) and S10 (which he didn't) and it should help you see the difference in Phoebe...

"You could have been there, too," Coop said. "I can watch the girls if you need to spend some time with Prue. It's not like people return from the dead every day."

"Around here they do," Phoebe said.

"You can go if you want. I won't get jealous."

Phoebe stopped her pacing and took a breath. She worried that this was the conversation they'd been avoiding since Cole returned into their lives. "Cupids have some kind of resistance to jealousy?"

"No." Coop took her back into his arms. "But we have a close relationship with trust." He kissed her on the top of her head, which was easy, as she was considerably shorter than him. "I trust you. Believe it or not, I even trust Cole."

"Really?"

"He was allowed back on Earth to redeem his soul," Coop reminded her. "Do you think he'd jeopardize that just to steal you from me? What kind of future would you have if he damned himself to some demonic wasteland?"

"There hasn't always been a lot of logic in my past with Cole," Phoee said. There had been a lot of emotion. A lot of passion. And a lot of hate. It was the most complicated relationship she'd ever had in her life and the most draining. She thought she'd moved past it - she had moved pat it - but having Cole around again just reminded her of what could have been.

"Sometimes love isn't logical," Coop said. "It's usually at its best when you don't have to think about it. When it just is. Like us."

"That's not what I tell my readers," Phoebe said. "Relationships take work. They take thought."

"There's a difference between work and a challenge," Coop said. "We work on our relationship every day, but it's never a challenge. At least, not an insurmountable one. From what I know about you and Cole, you literally went to Hell and back together. That kind of passion is exciting, but it's not usually sustaining. We don't have that."

"You make us sound like an old, boring married couple."

Coop leaned in with her over the Book of Shadows. "We're standing beside a book of magic while trying to find an evil being that can strip witches of their natural-born powers. Life with you, Phoebe Halliwell, is many things. Not one of them is ever boring. But we're lucky. Our love was blessed from above."

"Yeah, well, I never really cared so much for the people above doing the blessing," Phoebe said "But I do love you." She turned and levitated several inches into the air until she was face to face with her overly tall husband and gave him a hearty kiss.

That's what I wish Phoebe and Coop had been more like in S8.

[Deleted]

Oct 25, 2015 16:34:45 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Oct 25, 2015 13:46:01 GMT -5 @deano said:

Among the biggest bunch of BS in Season 8, no doubt about it. All just a rush to make sure that all three women were married, as if a woman can't be happy without a man and children. And all part of making me wonder if ALL of Season 8 is just a delusion as they all die after the explosion in "Something Wicca This Way Goes"....Hehehehe, o course, I could push that all the way back to "All Hell Breaks Loose" without much problem...



But Paul Ruditis took that (as he took so many things in Season 8) and made them into something beautiful that made sense. I'll repeat the paragraph from his e-book "The War on Witches" which takes place between S9 (which Paul wrote) and S10 (which he didn't) and it should help you see the difference in Phoebe...

Sadly true, so typical of Kern and the WB's perspective - women are either to be sex objects or housewives. 

"You could have been there, too," Coop said. "I can watch the girls if you need to spend some time with Prue. It's not like people return from the dead every day."

"Around here they do," Phoebe said.

"You can go if you want. I won't get jealous."

Phoebe stopped her pacing and took a breath. She worried that this was the conversation they'd been avoiding since Cole returned into their lives. "Cupids have some kind of resistance to jealousy?"

"No." Coop took her back into his arms. "But we have a close relationship with trust." He kissed her on the top of her head, which was easy, as she was considerably shorter than him. "I trust you. Believe it or not, I even trust Cole."

"Really?"

"He was allowed back on Earth to redeem his soul," Coop reminded her. "Do you think he'd jeopardize that just to steal you from me? What kind of future would you have if he damned himself to some demonic wasteland?"

"There hasn't always been a lot of logic in my past with Cole," Phoee said. There had been a lot of emotion. A lot of passion. And a lot of hate. It was the most complicated relationship she'd ever had in her life and the most draining. She thought she'd moved past it - she had moved pat it - but having Cole around again just reminded her of what could have been.

"Sometimes love isn't logical," Coop said. "It's usually at its best when you don't have to think about it. When it just is. Like us."

"That's not what I tell my readers," Phoebe said. "Relationships take work. They take thought."

"There's a difference between work and a challenge," Coop said. "We work on our relationship every day, but it's never a challenge. At least, not an insurmountable one. From what I know about you and Cole, you literally went to Hell and back together. That kind of passion is exciting, but it's not usually sustaining. We don't have that."

"You make us sound like an old, boring married couple."

Coop leaned in with her over the Book of Shadows. "We're standing beside a book of magic while trying to find an evil being that can strip witches of their natural-born powers. Life with you, Phoebe Halliwell, is many things. Not one of them is ever boring. But we're lucky. Our love was blessed from above."

"Yeah, well, I never really cared so much for the people above doing the blessing," Phoebe said "But I do love you." She turned and levitated several inches into the air until she was face to face with her overly tall husband and gave him a hearty kiss.

What a nice little scene, actually makes the Phoebe-Coop relationship somewhat believable. 

[Esmeralda]

Oct 25, 2015 18:28:34 GMT -5 @deano said:

Sadly true, so typical of Kern and the WB's perspective - women are either to be sex objects or housewives.

Unfortunately very, very true.

What a nice little scene, actually makes the Phoebe-Coop relationship somewhat believable.

Honestly, in Season 9, Phoebe's and Coop's relationship is my favorite of the three, totally opposite of S8 (and S10).

[Deleted]

Oct 24, 2015 20:31:00 GMT -5 @deano said:

God knows why she stayed so long. I'm pretty sure she wasn't put under a 5-year contract when she started.

She actually was:

“I loved the people, I loved that show,” McGowan said of Charmed. But: “It was very difficult for me to do. It was not my world.” McGowan had thought she would continue working in film, but, she said wearily, “someone blacklisted me in the industry, and I couldn’t get a job in movies. I have a bunch of brothers and sisters, and I had to help put them through college.”

McGowan would not say who blacklisted her, nor did she say what form those recriminations took. She did say that when she signed on for Charmed, she told her agent and lawyer she would do the show for two years, and then unknowingly signed a five-year contract — which is how long she remained on the show. “I was kind of robbed of five years,” she said.

It’s a trap and a cycle, she said: “There’s a point where you go on for long enough, and you’re like, How am I going to make a living if I don’t do this? I missed a window of going to school. I missed a window of developing other lives.”

www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/rose-mcgowan-is-starting-a-revolution#.ggD1MdBZn

If she had her way, she would've been gone after Season 5, Season 6 at the latest.  She only stayed because she was bound by contract.