How the Charmed Ones could have been explained

[Elle Em]

When Shannon was fired, I started to think about how risky it was to base a show around a set number of characters with the concept of The Power of Three. They probably didn't have to fire Shannon, but she or one of the others still could have quit, or there always was the possibility that one of the actresses would have not been able to come back to the show for some reason. So I tried to think of a way to still have the same basic concept of the show without basing it on a set number of people. This way too Paige could still be introduced at some point without someone first dying. 

So here it is: what if Melinda Warren's prophesy foretold only of sister witches known as the Charmed Ones, rather than as specifically three sisters? What if, throughout Melinda's line, all that was required to create the Charmed Ones was that there be multiple witches? So in this case, there would just need to be two sisters, but if there were more, that would be even better, because they'd be stronger with the more people they had. I suppose in this reality, it wouldn't be assumed that Melinda's three powers would be transferred to three sisters.

So in her line of descendants, throughout the years, only one female was born per generation, never forming the Charmed Ones. That changed once Piper was born, as she and Prue together made up multiple witches. When Phoebe was born, it just meant that the Charmed circle was stronger. And when Paige was born, they'd have to come up with a better reason for her not growing up with her sisters rather than her status as fourth sister potentially messing up the Power of Three.

So what do you think? Should the Charmed Ones consist of all the sisters in a generation rather than just three of them? Should it then be possible that they can still find Paige without one of the older three dying? And do you think that the sisters would still come together to do their magical jobs if there wasn't the emphasis on the three of them, but just on the idea of Charmed power?

[Esmeralda]

I don't think I like that idea because then you would indeed have a set of Charmed Ones in a lot of different generations, whenever a Warren had more than one daughter - it wouldn't make the Charmed Ones special. It also means that Melinda would've only had two powers, which wouldn't make *her* special.

No, I like the whole concept of the Power of Three and think it's part of what made the show work.

And if anything, I would've preferred just one season without Prue, with Piper, Phoebe, Leo and Cole trying to survive *without* the Power of Three but not having to worry as much about the Source or other Big Baddies because they wouldn't have the Power of Three and be as powerful so the Source wouldn't be as concerned with them. They could go back to protecting innocents, which is what made them special, much more than which Big Bad they vanquished.

(With thanks to Assassin Witch, who came up with that concept quite a while ago.)

But thanks for the interesting speculation - something I'd never considered.

[Elle Em]

Jul 9, 2016 7:16:54 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

I don't think I like that idea because then you would indeed have a set of Charmed Ones in a lot of different generations, whenever a Warren had more than one daughter - it wouldn't make the Charmed Ones special.

In my imagination for this idea, I'd have no more than one girl per generation. So technically, each generation had powers but not Charmed powers, not until Piper came along and there was more than one witch. 

[Esmeralda]

Jul 9, 2016 9:53:10 GMT -5 Elle Em said:

Jul 9, 2016 7:16:54 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

I don't think I like that idea because then you would indeed have a set of Charmed Ones in a lot of different generations, whenever a Warren had more than one daughter - it wouldn't make the Charmed Ones special.

In my imagination for this idea, I'd have no more than one girl per generation. So technically, each generation had powers but not Charmed powers, not until Piper came along and there was more than one witch. 

Ah, gotcha. That makes sense.

So you would also say that most witches only have one power, so Melinda Warren having two would make her special. Does this mean that both Prue and Piper would have two right away, one of Melinda's and one of their own - or would they get the other one later on?

I actually like the idea of the Charmed Ones just being two - those two! So Prue would be the one who would end up with Cole. Yes, I like that. And when Prue dies (ie Shannen gets fired), Piper can find Paige - played by Alyssa, not Rose - who would have Prue's power and one of her own.

Yes, I like this version of your idea a lot.

[adzpower]

I quite like this idea, it makes the idea of The Charmed Ones a little different, any set of Warren ancestral sisters could use it or I should say have their own version of the Charmed Power. Cool.

[Deleted]

Too bad they kept making a big deal about this Power Of Three thing.  

Kern really should have thought things through before firing Shannen.  Surely his male ego could have tolerated her for one more year (Shannen's contract would have been up at the end of Season Four).  If Kern and Shannen couldn't come to an agreement by then, just end the show at Season Four (when Holly and Alyssa's contracts were also up).

[Elle Em]

I'm not sure how all of the powers would have worked out as far as what powers Melinda had or what powers Piper and Prue got from her. And despite how much I like Prue and Piper as a team, the real magic of the show for me was having the not-so-perfect sister dynamic of Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and later, Paige. With this idea, Prue (or Piper or Phoebe) wouldn't have to die for the remaining sisters to meet Paige. And I imagine that although they could be strong enough for a lot of things with just two witches, they would find over the years that they were stronger when they all bound together. It would be like the idea of the Power of Three without making each member of the trio feel obligated to be a witch. The Charmed circle would simply be stronger the more sisters it had participating. That could be one of the major ideas of the show, that although they could make it on their own, or without one sister present, they were better together.

As far as Prue with Cole, it's been a while since I've watched any season with Cole in it. I'm on a rewatch right now and I'm about to start season two, but it's something I'll look into more closely when I get to season three.

And Kern really didn't think through much about the basis of the show, did he? I mean, the whole concept was the Power of Three. The show might as well have been named "The Power of Three," and yet he ignored it, and then pushed through this whole idea of a long-lost sister, which was extremely risky. As much as I like the introduction of Paige and who her character was in season 4, I'd have much preferred all of the original sisters staying for four really solid seasons, ending with the Source vanquish and the idea that the sisters' lives will still contain magic, but be a lot more peaceful.

[Deleted]

And Kern really didn't think through much about the basis of the show, did he? I mean, the whole concept was the Power of Three. The show might as well have been named "The Power of Three," and yet he ignored it, and then pushed through this whole idea of a long-lost sister, which was extremely risky. As much as I like the introduction of Paige and who her character was in season 4, I'd have much preferred all of the original sisters staying for four really solid seasons, ending with the Source vanquish and the idea that the sisters' lives will still contain magic, but be a lot more peaceful.

One has to remember that Charmed was not Kern's show, he didn't create it.  He just managed to take it away from it's creator, Constance Burge. 

The whole sisters three thing was put there when Burge, not Kern, was in charge.  Kern just didn't give it the same consideration that Burge did.

[Deleted]

Hm, very interesting. I like the idea of 'Charmed Ones' not being restricted to three sister witches. I like the idea of other witches besides the three sisters being able to access the power, if done correctly.

My idea is that the Power of Three is not just a Halliwell/Warren privilege but can be harnssed by any three witches who each possess one of 'the Three powers' - Telekinesis, Freezing, Premonition - the three rarest and most coveted powers on Earth. Melinda could access the Power of Three all by herself as she possessed all of these powers, which is what made her so unique. Going forward, none of her ancestors could access it as there were never 3 Warrens with those powers at any one time, not until the Halliwell sisters.

But given that the Halliwells come into contact with several of their time-travelling relatives, and also other powerful magical beings, they could use the Power of Three with other people in special circumstances, for example:

- Paige (Telekinesis) Piper (Freezing) and the Seer (Premonition)
- Prue (Telekinesis), Patty (Freezing) and Phoebe (Premonition)
- Billie (Telekinesis), Past Piper (Freezing) and Kyra (Premonition)

Obviously those scenarios would never happen but it was just to demonstrate my point.

[erikamarie]

Actually the show proposed by Burge was about three friends,it was Vincent who rejected the idea and proposed three sisters
Three friends'ld have been easier to handle, just think of Charlie's Angels

I like bettere the original idea of the Power of Three as something unique and the observance of prophecy about three sisters who were the culmination of the powers of Warren descendants
This'ld prove that the power of the three sisters together is greater than Wyatt's

As Es, I'ld have preferred a season or at least ten episodes without the Power of Three but with Piper, Phoebe, Leo and Cole that are able to eliminate - quietly, cunningly -the Source to avenge Prue and save Cole
At that time they'ld introduce Paige, witch not prophesied but able to join the Power of Three

[Elle Em]

Friends would have been easier, but sisters gave the show a special quality. They had that dynamic where as much as you may dislike one another, you still love each other. That couldn't have been accomplished if they were friends.

The idea of Piper, Leo, Phoebe, and Cole vanquishing the Source sounds really cool. They'd have to be extra creative to make up for not having Prue. But I don't know if Paige would fit into that storyline. She'd seem rather pointless if they were able to survive their toughest battle without her.

[Esmeralda]

Jul 13, 2016 7:11:54 GMT -5 Elle Em said:

Friends would have been easier, but sisters gave the show a special quality. They had that dynamic where as much as you may dislike one another, you still love each other. That couldn't have been accomplished if they were friends.

Agreed, totally. We never would've had the tension in Season One as Prue and Phoebe learn to trust each other and depend on each other. It's one of many reasons why I don't like the latter seasons - those three are three demon-hunters who happen to be related, not three sisters who happen to be witches.

The idea of Piper, Leo, Phoebe, and Cole vanquishing the Source sounds really cool. They'd have to be extra creative to make up for not having Prue. But I don't know if Paige would fit into that storyline. She'd seem rather pointless if they were able to survive their toughest battle without her.

Do you mean it would be pointless to include her after they get rid of him? That I can't agree with, unless you mean that you'd do the entire Season Four without her and either introduce her in Season Five or have the series end after Season Four. For me, either would be better than what we got.

And if Piper, Phoebe and Paige couldn't vanquish him with the Power of Three, but needed the Power of the Matriarchs (one of Kern's stupider ideas) then Piper and Phoebe could've done it just by using the Power of The Matriarchs - no need for either Paige or Prue. Stupid, huh? Just like the Jenkinses where TWO witches were more powerful than the Charmed Ones. Kern was DETERMINED that the Power of Three truly meant nothing. His Power of One - Piper - was much more important than that.

[Elle Em]

Yeah, I mean if they don't need Paige to vanquish the Source, why bother introducing a whole new character? Her being added to she show was because there had to be three sisters to complete the Power of Three, something that was necessary a lot of times in the series. But if Piper and Phoebe were the only two sisters present up through the Source's vanquish that they handled on their own (or with Leo and Cole, or with the matriarch spell), then why even introduce Paige at all afterwards? They've shown that they have evolved to not need the Power of Three.

But of course I'd still like to have her as a character, because she represented more than just filling that third space. I liked the way her character changed the show in season 4, and how she and her new sisters interacted. It's like the way that Prue was in the show, how having those three separate personalities having to work together made things interesting. I think it would get boring with just Piper and Phoebe, as the show was rooted in sisterhood, and those two don't have many issues and don't clash too often.