I wish energy balls would have been a good power too

[charmerjosh]

Juuust sayin. Not sure why they limited them to demons. Would have been a great power for Phoebe to have.

[Assassin Witch]

I truly do not think powers are good or evil. Logically, it makes no sense.

[Esmeralda]

Mar 17, 2018 14:04:21 GMT -5 Assassin Witch said:

I truly do not think powers are good or evil. Logically, it makes no sense.

I agree that's what they should be, but I don't think that's how Classic Charmed did it, so it might not be how the reboot does it. I got a giggle out of the fact that the same power was given one name if it was done by someone good and another name if it was done by someone evil (glamour/shape-shift, anyone?)

Which is why I HATE naming powers and prefer just describing them.

[Ruth Marie]

I didn't really care how demons always had energy ball or fireballs. That got old so fast. I would have preferred seeing different demons just having different abilities, but I'm sure that means more effort from the writers for coming up with creative stories.

[w1llow]

There was Richard and his family. Also the Phoenix witches. Both those examples are kind of morally ambiguous at best, so maybe that's why. But yeah, Charmed was very inconsistent about the whole "powers are neutral" thing. I mean, in season 4 they had a whole episode that stressed that point to a firestarter and then a few episodes later they point out that Phoebe is turning evil by having her use a fire power.  

I would've much preferred if it had all been about the intent of the magic and not specific powers. Then maybe there would have been more variety with the magic demons used in later seasons. Like in seasons 1-2 demons would have distinct abilities. 

[ljones]

Mar 17, 2018 1:17:36 GMT -5 charmerjosh said:

Juuust sayin. Not sure why they limited them to demons. Would have been a great power for Phoebe to have.

Yeah, I never understood why certain powers were limited to demons, when the latter also possessed powers similar to witches.

[charmerjosh]

Apr 13, 2018 21:43:32 GMT -5 ljones said:

Mar 17, 2018 1:17:36 GMT -5 charmerjosh said:

Juuust sayin. Not sure why they limited them to demons. Would have been a great power for Phoebe to have.

Yeah, I never understood why certain powers were limited to demons, when the latter also possessed powers similar to witches.

Only thing I can think of is that they had to keep storylines simplistic because of the young kids who watched. Perhaps young fans would be confused if both good and bad had energy balls

[lordumbrex]

Mar 17, 2018 15:33:18 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Mar 17, 2018 14:04:21 GMT -5 Assassin Witch said:

I truly do not think powers are good or evil. Logically, it makes no sense.

I got a giggle out of the fact that the same power was given one name if it was done by someone good and another name if it was done by someone evil (glamour/shape-shift, anyone?)

Those are two different powers. Shapeshifting actually becomes the person/thing, a glamour is simply an illusion appearing as a person. Further evidence is that Slick, a bully but a good witch, was stated to be a shapeshifter, not a person with the power to glamour. 

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2018 8:07:14 GMT -5 w1llow said:

There was Richard and his family. Also the Phoenix witches. Both those examples are kind of morally ambiguous at best, so maybe that's why. But yeah, Charmed was very inconsistent about the whole "powers are neutral" thing. I mean, in season 4 they had a whole episode that stressed that point to a firestarter and then a few episodes later they point out that Phoebe is turning evil by having her use a fire power.  

I would've much preferred if it had all been about the intent of the magic and not specific powers. Then maybe there would have been more variety with the magic demons used in later seasons. Like in seasons 1-2 demons would have distinct abilities. 

That irritated me so much. After a lovely explanation from Piper to Tyler about his power not being evil, they went and ruined it! Leo even called fire-throwing an "upper-level demonic power"   What he ought to have said is that certain powers (energy balls, firepower) are ASSOCIATED with evil, but they are not evil in and of themselves. Telekinesis, for example, was used by every character and their dog by the end of the series. 

I think it would've been cool to see Prue develop the energy ball power, as her power was energy based. Or Paige could've developed an orb-based version. 

[gzv969]

Agreed. I also wish that energy balls were neutral to either bad or good. But as for fire, it seems any form of weapons with fire were restricted to evil use. Flame throwing, fire energy balls. Except for fire starters, anyone could be one, good or bad. But often the good ones often ended up being lured to evil or their powers stolen from them by evil.

[BriannaWarren2.0]

I love that idea, I would love to see Phoebe with energy balls. 

Although powers shouldn't be alligned with good or evil, they should have been netural from the start, it would make it more interesting to watch and wouldn't make the demons they face automatically identifiable.

[Maite Halliwell]

This was one of my first thoughts about Charmed. I don't know if I'd necessarily want any of the sisters to have it, because I like their powers and energy balls doesn't suit any of them, but I have seen good ways of how the sisters use them if they had them in the past.

But in general, I wish powers didn't have an alignment, because it makes no sense. Especially because Charmed already doesn't really make sense with how they aligned the powers. And I do hate how demons and warlocks ended up just having generic, same-old powers. This is most demonstrated, for me, in Bride and Gloom, because the sisters and book should not have been affected in the way they were when evil.

[ljones]

But as for fire, it seems any form of weapons with fire were restricted to evil use. Flame throwing, fire energy balls. Except for fire starters, anyone could be one, good or bad. But often the good ones often ended up being lured to evil or their powers stolen from them by evil.

Except for that kid named Tyler from Season Four. Or that witch who had been murdered by Jeremy in the series premiere.

[Esmeralda]

Nov 3, 2020 6:55:27 GMT -5 BriannaWarren2.0 said:

I love that idea, I would love to see Phoebe with energy balls. 

Although powers shouldn't be alligned with good or evil, they should have been netural from the start, it would make it more interesting to watch and wouldn't make the demons they face automatically identifiable.

Phoebe with energy balls really doesn't make sense any more than her having levitation or empathy. Perhaps that's why that would've been a good idea.

What I keep remembering is what we found out in 'The Witch is Back', that warlocks wanted to kill witches in order to gain their power. If that's the case, any case that a warlock has was probably originally a witch's power. Not sure if that also works with demons (although I'll always wish warlocks had remained the main enemy with us seeing demons as often as we saw angels, which is only a few episodes), but it definitely works for witches and warlocks. That means that one of Phoebe's powers could be shimmering. I'd prefer her having that over energy balls.

[Maite Halliwell]

Nov 8, 2020 7:18:08 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Nov 3, 2020 6:55:27 GMT -5 BriannaWarren2.0 said:

I love that idea, I would love to see Phoebe with energy balls. 

Although powers shouldn't be alligned with good or evil, they should have been netural from the start, it would make it more interesting to watch and wouldn't make the demons they face automatically identifiable.

Phoebe with energy balls really doesn't make sense any more than her having levitation or empathy. Perhaps that's why that would've been a good idea.

What I keep remembering is what we found out in 'The Witch is Back', that warlocks wanted to kill witches in order to gain their power. If that's the case, any case that a warlock has was probably originally a witch's power. Not sure if that also works with demons (although I'll always wish warlocks had remained the main enemy with us seeing demons as often as we saw angels, which is only a few episodes), but it definitely works for witches and warlocks. That means that one of Phoebe's powers could be shimmering. I'd prefer her having that over energy balls.

I wish they kept more to having warlocks as the enemy too. Phoebe's description of them in the first episode is what would be an interesting angle to keep the whole show (that their main enemies look the same as them, live the same as them, because then it wouldn't be always obvious to them who the bad guy is). I also wish they kept more consistent when it came to blinking, instead of just letting any old warlock have it (including the sisters in bride and gloom). I wouldn't exactly want what you do when it comes to demons, however, because I would want to see them more often than that, I just wish they were leaned on far less, and was far less generic (so any demons we'd see would be individual, and not just a random demon that exists because).

Energy balls really don't suit Phoebe-- I don't think she should have a power that's offensive in nature-- but I don't exactly like the idea of her shimmering either. If Phoebe was to be able to move her body into a different location, I'd rather it be astral projection or nothing at all. If course, when debating what demon power would best suit Phoebe, it mostly boils down to energy balls or shimmering (and their fire counterparts) because that's basically what the show relied on.

However, out if some of the few others we saw, I think I'd like her to have shape-shifting, especially because this is one of the main powers I believe really shouldn't have been assigned a side. Shape shifting would give her more of an active power, but would still be very passive-- because it wouldn't help her in a fight, but it would help them collect information.

Although my favourite to lean on is technically not a evil exclusive power, but we only ever saw evil using it in this way. I'd like to see Phoebe be able to astral project, but not like Prue, but like how Rex and Barbas used it-- unable to be seen yet able to out thoughts into people's mind.

This would be interesting because it's still quite passive, as she'd have to leave her body defenceless in order to do it, but she could assist more in a fight-- for example, she could astral project next to the enemy and make them think they don't want to fire the energy ball or stuff like that. Especially because the better she gets at it the more she could, if seeing her sisters in danger, quickly astral project, get the demon to not fire an energy ball, go back to her body and use her fighting skills. It'll also be interesting because she'd, especially when she first develops it, have to really make sure she doesn't missuse it (by making good people think things instead of evil).

The final power I consider when pondering scenarios like this is not one I'd actually choose, if I had to, but one I think would go well with what Phoebe's powers are. It's cheating a little bit, since it's only something as far as I remember Barbas had: I'd take Barbas' ability to "see" what his victims were afraid off with his hand motion, and change it to Phoebe waving her hand and being able to see what people are feeling. This power is pretty much useless in a fight, but it would mean her empathy wouldn't interfere with her every day life because it would be an active choice to see their emotions,and would help her with innocents, because she'd be able to see and feel what they do, so she can tailor how she comforts and reassures them. I'd also like if it was similar to Barbas' as in when he talks about the fear and the victims experience it, but instead, once Phoebe has accessed the emotion, she can talk them into no longer feeling it-- with a time limit, so it's only there to help calm down the innocents-- or her sisters-- so they can focus more clearly on telling them what happened or what they know.

[Julian]

Nov 8, 2020 11:04:38 GMT -5 Maite Halliwell said:

Nov 8, 2020 7:18:08 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Phoebe with energy balls really doesn't make sense any more than her having levitation or empathy. Perhaps that's why that would've been a good idea.

What I keep remembering is what we found out in 'The Witch is Back', that warlocks wanted to kill witches in order to gain their power. If that's the case, any case that a warlock has was probably originally a witch's power. Not sure if that also works with demons (although I'll always wish warlocks had remained the main enemy with us seeing demons as often as we saw angels, which is only a few episodes), but it definitely works for witches and warlocks. That means that one of Phoebe's powers could be shimmering. I'd prefer her having that over energy balls.

I wish they kept more to having warlocks as the enemy too. Phoebe's description of them in the first episode is what would be an interesting angle to keep the whole show (that their main enemies look the same as them, live the same as them, because then it wouldn't be always obvious to them who the bad guy is). I also wish they kept more consistent when it came to blinking, instead of just letting any old warlock have it (including the sisters in bride and gloom). I wouldn't exactly want what you do when it comes to demons, however, because I would want to see them more often than that, I just wish they were leaned on far less, and was far less generic (so any demons we'd see would be individual, and not just a random demon that exists because).

Warlocks had such a rich history and could have been a good counterpart to witches for the whole series. I mean, a majority of the demons on Charmed could just be warlocks with unique powers.

What I liked about warlocks, is they can blend into the world very well, and it would be hard for the sisters to wonder who is a warlock and who isn't.

I found the demons to be too generic later on too, and half of them felt so boring when we got to the last few seasons, apart from Zankou. I did like some of the demons in the first four seasons though, they had good ones. But, it wouldn't have bothered me too much, if the half the demons had been just been warlock. Although, I still think I'd have wanted them around, just balanced out with the demons.

Energy balls really don't suit Phoebe-- I don't think she should have a power that's offensive in nature-- but I don't exactly like the idea of her shimmering either. If Phoebe was to be able to move her body into a different location, I'd rather it be astral projection or nothing at all. If course, when debating what demon power would best suit Phoebe, it mostly boils down to energy balls or shimmering (and their fire counterparts) because that's basically what the show relied on.

Energy balls feels kinda an odd power for Phoebe, and felt too demonic for me.

Although my favourite to lean on is technically not a evil exclusive power, but we only ever saw evil using it in this way. I'd like to see Phoebe be able to astral project, but not like Prue, but like how Rex and Barbas used it-- unable to be seen yet able to out thoughts into people's mind.

This would be interesting because it's still quite passive, as she'd have to leave her body defenceless in order to do it, but she could assist more in a fight-- for example, she could astral project next to the enemy and make them think they don't want to fire the energy ball or stuff like that. Especially because the better she gets at it the more she could, if seeing her sisters in danger, quickly astral project, get the demon to not fire an energy ball, go back to her body and use her fighting skills. It'll also be interesting because she'd, especially when she first develops it, have to really make sure she doesn't missuse it (by making good people think things instead of evil).

What about some type of invisiblity power. I don't like the idea though of her being able to out thoughts into people's mind, it's way too strong, and would make it too easy in fights. It is just like being able to orb away from safety, it would kinda take the fun out of battling demons, if Phoebe could just astral project and tell a demon not to fire all the time.

[Maite Halliwell]

Nov 8, 2020 18:16:47 GMT -5 Julian said:

Nov 8, 2020 11:04:38 GMT -5 Maite Halliwell said:

I wish they kept more to having warlocks as the enemy too. Phoebe's description of them in the first episode is what would be an interesting angle to keep the whole show (that their main enemies look the same as them, live the same as them, because then it wouldn't be always obvious to them who the bad guy is). I also wish they kept more consistent when it came to blinking, instead of just letting any old warlock have it (including the sisters in bride and gloom). I wouldn't exactly want what you do when it comes to demons, however, because I would want to see them more often than that, I just wish they were leaned on far less, and was far less generic (so any demons we'd see would be individual, and not just a random demon that exists because).

Warlocks had such a rich history and could have been a good counterpart to witches for the whole series. I mean, a majority of the demons on Charmed could just be warlocks with unique powers.

What I liked about warlocks, is they can blend into the world very well, and it would be hard for the sisters to wonder who is a warlock and who isn't.

I found the demons to be too generic later on too, and half of them felt so boring when we got to the last few seasons, apart from Zankou. I did like some of the demons in the first four seasons though, they had good ones. But, it wouldn't have bothered me too much, if the half the demons had been just been warlock. Although, I still think I'd have wanted them around, just balanced out with the demons.

Energy balls really don't suit Phoebe-- I don't think she should have a power that's offensive in nature-- but I don't exactly like the idea of her shimmering either. If Phoebe was to be able to move her body into a different location, I'd rather it be astral projection or nothing at all. If course, when debating what demon power would best suit Phoebe, it mostly boils down to energy balls or shimmering (and their fire counterparts) because that's basically what the show relied on.

Energy balls feels kinda an odd power for Phoebe, and felt too demonic for me.

Although my favourite to lean on is technically not a evil exclusive power, but we only ever saw evil using it in this way. I'd like to see Phoebe be able to astral project, but not like Prue, but like how Rex and Barbas used it-- unable to be seen yet able to out thoughts into people's mind.

This would be interesting because it's still quite passive, as she'd have to leave her body defenceless in order to do it, but she could assist more in a fight-- for example, she could astral project next to the enemy and make them think they don't want to fire the energy ball or stuff like that. Especially because the better she gets at it the more she could, if seeing her sisters in danger, quickly astral project, get the demon to not fire an energy ball, go back to her body and use her fighting skills. It'll also be interesting because she'd, especially when she first develops it, have to really make sure she doesn't missuse it (by making good people think things instead of evil).

What about some type of invisiblity power. I don't like the idea though of her being able to out thoughts into people's mind, it's way too strong, and would make it too easy in fights. It is just like being able to orb away from safety, it would kinda take the fun out of battling demons, if Phoebe could just astral project and tell a demon not to fire all the time.

The sisters not knowing who's a warlock and who's not is the main reason I wish they kept more to warlocks-- especially as you said, most of the demons could've been warlocks. I think as well warlocks makes the world building make far more sense than the mass of demons do. I definitely do agree that there was some good demons, and that I'd still want them around.

Energy balls do seem very demonic, but in a world the powers had no alignment, they wouldn't, but why I think they wouldn't suit Phoebe is because they're too aggressive-- Phoebe needs more passive powers.

You make good points about the astral projection power, but how I imagine it, I think, sorts those problems. You might still not like it but I'll just expand a little:

In order to astral project like this, she'd have to leave her body, and how I imagine it is more like Rex, than Prue, so her body would crumple, like she's passed out rather than standing. So this would make her body even more vulnerable because when she goes back into it, she'd have to get up again, and when she's out of it, it'll leave her open to attacks. Also, when astral projecting she'd be invisible to everyone else, but she'd have to stand pretty close to the demon or warlock to implant the thought.

The implanted thought wouldn't stay either, it has some sort of time limit on it. So it's more like if you're about to do something, then you hesitate, and then you do it. So if she said "you don't want to fire that fireball", it would just buy them a little bit of time, but it wouldn't get rid of the desire.

So she could for instance say "you don't want to attack us", and they'd stop, but it wouldn't stop them wanting to stop them leaving, or if she makes them think they can't fire fireballs, they'd still be able to attack, and then soon they'd be able to remember they can fire fireballs, and they can attack them. So she could also make them think they want to shimmer/blink away, which would give them a headstart to get away, or go to the book (leaving in a car, not an orb), but it wouldn't get rid of the desire to kill them, so soon they'd be back, and a lot of the time they wouldn't know how long for. (I imagine 5 minutes max).

She can also only say one command at a time, so if there was two demons, and her sisters were in trouble, this would make things interesting, because she could stop the demon attacking them, but would leave herself exposed to the other demon.

Also it's effectiveness, like Piper's freezing, differs when it comes to how powerful the warlock or demon is. The more stronger, the more resistant they are, which if they're affected at all, it'll potentially only give them a few seconds, or it could not be effective at all.

This would mean that they would keep working more as a team, instead of individuals, as that would make them more successful. Also the power would only work with actions, as in stopping their current action, not what they desire to do. So she couldn't use it to get information.

However, I do love the idea of one of the sisters having invisibility, and it would go with how Phoebe is the physical fighter, but I don't necessarily like the idea of Phoebe with invisibility, I prefer Piper as I like the powers being linked more into what their personality is like. Also in a way, I think it would make Phoebe too strong, or would make rights less interesting, because she'd just turn invisible and kick the demons. Although Piper does get more ability into kicking demons, it'll be interesting to see her struggle with how to defeat a demon invisible, like I can imagine her grabbing a book or a chair and trying to knock them out with it. So whereas I think Piper would struggle using it efficiently, I think Phoebe would straight away be excellent, which would take something away from it.

[ljones]

Why did this series equate warlocks with demons? Warlocks are basically evil witches who had betrayed their oaths. There was no reason to give them long life spans similar to demons. In fact, that never made any sense to me.

Phoebe with energy balls really doesn't make sense any more than her having levitation or empathy.

Phoebe with an empathy ability seems plausible to me. Phoebe using energy balls and levitation did not.

[Aaeiyn]

Mar 28, 2018 8:07:14 GMT -5 w1llow said:

There was Richard and his family. Also the Phoenix witches.

I'm glad somebody mentioned this. I read all the other comments and didn't see anybody else mentioning these two other examples, in the Prue Era (at least, in S3), that have "thrown energy balls" (or, at least, looked like it):

S3E7 "Power Outage" - Leo, posing as Belthazor, in their "earthquake drill", was "throwing around energy balls" (or, at least, looked like it).

S3E11 "Blinded by the Whitelighter" - Natalie, during their alleyway practice, was "throwing around energy balls" (or, at least, looked like it), at Piper. To which, Piper was doing cartwheels and freezing them.

Seems like whitelighters (the "most good", allegedly, species) are capable of "throwing around energy balls" (or, at least, looked like it).

As the above quote stated, in the Paige Era (at least, in S6), we have 2 examples of non-demons "throwing around energy balls" (or, at least, looked like it).

S6E5 "Love's a Witch" - Richard and his family. Same with the rival family.

S6E10 "Chris-Crossed" - Bianca and her mother.