WATCH & DISCUSS [REBOOT] 1x15: Switches & Stones

[Assassin Witch]

Charmed | 1.15 - "Switches & Stones"
Original Airdate: March 17, 2019 @ 9PM


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Episode Summary
Maggie shows Macy, Harry and Charity the strange room under Vera Manor but
they quickly learn just how dangerous it is when Mel and Maggie switch bodies and
powers. Macy turns to The Elders for guidance about how to overcome her inner
demon, which in turn leads her to have an eye-opening experience. Meanwhile,
Maggie learns the secrets that Mel has been keeping from her sisters.
Source

[CharmedFaith]

For the most part I think this was one of the better episodes even though it had the usual rushes (Maggie can now use her empathic powers to switch bodies (yes at first it was due to the secret dungeon but by the end of the episode it didnt seem to be the fact))

The fight that lead up to Mel/Maggie switching bodies seemed a bit out of nowhere as I dont remember Maggie being that concerned about her sisters whereabouts and they just needed a reason to swtich them instead of using a spell.

We finally get to see another Elder who has some cool abilities but by the end they really want us to be anti-Elder don't they? They just do what they want. Calling Mels new ability The Evil Sight? Could you come up with something a little bit more creative?

I would've padded out this whole Medusa thing at least 2-3 episodes. Maybe even set her as a big bad and trying to bring back her sisters. It was definitely a storyline that could've been expanded upon in a future season but this series likes to use a million storylines upfront.

And of course we end with Charity as being "evil" and killing Marisol and new Elder lady, cant wait to see what twists they throw at us with this one.

[tyler]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VX-RMSBRAs
Best episode of the season! If you want to know how good or bad is this Charmed reboot, you need to take a look to this YouTube channel. Kristen Maldonado is a OG Charmed fan and her reviews are always very objective. I share everything she said about this episode.
A little negative note: Melonie Diaz (aka Mel Vera) is a very bad actress. Really, her facial expressions are so unrealistic. Too bad, because Madeleine Mantock (Macy Vaughn) and Sarah Jeffery (Maggie Vera) are improving so much.

[neith]

Best episode of the season so far. There are still things to work on but hey, the original wasn't flawless either. As a show on its own, this last episode was pretty standard. If the show could operate on this level consistently then it would be kind of worth it.

[cyma]

Didn't like the episode promo because I barely felt like I knew these characters to care about them being in each others bodies. Same feeling for Classic Charmed body switching episode. Paige was a new character which I barely knew so the body switching didn't work for me. And Alyssa's portrayal of Paige as a toddler sucking on lollipops and talking with a babyish voice didn't make it better.

And later that god awful Piper and Leo body switch for no reason at all.

But this reboot episode turned out surprisingly well compared to all episodes before.

Perhaps even the best compared to others.

The body switching here happened because of the reboot version of Nexus which amplified Maggie's powers. Argument between her and Mel happened regarding Mel not answering her texts. And next morning, body switched.

I find this so much better than Paige mixing random potions and accidentally creating a body switching potion which then blows up in her face after she wishes she could be like Phoebe.

I also enjoyed Macy's plot with the reboot Nexus awakening her demonic power to see through an evil person's eyes. It's kind of similar to what happened with Phoebe in Succubus episode.

Except this was better.

First Macy is able to empathize with Medusa and set her free from the curse. Then with the unwanted help of an Elder, she gets stabbed in the forehead by a purple magic needle and able to see through the eyes of the person who killed her Mom.

And then Mom killer snaps the Elder's neck after Macy's revelation.

Besides the Macy finding out she was bought back from the dead, I enjoyed this cliffhanger.

And Elder Charity just became interesting rather than being pointlessly there.

Also glad to see no Galvin. And just a brief mention by Macy. Also glad Parker appeared for like 5 minutes. Jada also appeared in like two scenes.

Having things happen from the sisters' POV rather than other characters' issues and family members taking the focus away made such a huge difference in quality.

I really hope the sisterly focus and the main three sisters POV focus wasn't just exclusively because of the body switching plot. After teasing us with an actual good quality episode of the reboot, it would be a crime to go back to episodes with pointless romance plots, side character stories and extremely rare genuine sister moments.

[codebox]

Pretty much the best episode of the season by far. It felt evenly paced (at least compared to other episodes which pretty much plagued the season was pacing issues) I enjoyed all the story lines. Macy's got more interesting and continues to be the most interesting character. While I liked Mel and Maggie's plot too in the fact they remembered this show was also about sisterhood the fact Macy is out of the equation still bothers me, as most of the time it doesn't seem like Mel or Maggie is too invested in Macy's plot and just go off doing their own thing, it feels very disconnected.

The body swap was better done here than OG Charmed's "Enter the Demon" with Phoebe and Paige considering it's right after they just added her to the cast. While 15 episodes isn't exactly much either, we at least know more about Mel and Maggie to distinguish between them and the actresses did a good job at pulling off their roles.

But I'm at least glad we got something out of it. The cliffhanger was enjoyable.

Charity's reveal wasn't that surprising to me considering how shady she's been throughout this season. Interested to hear about her motives and why she did it though.

While I don't hate Parker, I still don't care for him. (I think he gets too much hate tbh, but I agree he's not great either) still he's at least retooling than what he was Pre-Pixie episodes.

[Lexi]

Eventually I'll share my thoughts on the earlier episodes but right now I want to jump into this one. I used to recap this at a website that I write at but handed the recaps over to someone else who is a bigger fan of it than I am (and has more time!)

I really enjoyed "Switches and Stones." Loved the Medusa storyline (although had to laugh that a Gorgon was used the same week one was used in Supernatural) and loved that we saw Macy choose to save Medusa instead of just vanquish her.

The body swap was done much better than Classic Charmed did it with "Enter the Demon." Melonie Diaz and Sarah Jeffreys looked like they were at least trying to be each other and the changes to the clothes really helped too. The writers and the producers thought about this part.

I like that the two were able to work out each other's powers but also gained an acceptance of each other and the things going on in their lives. One thing that's been a bug bear for me is Mel's insistence that Maggie gives up being part of the society. This is clearly important to Maggie and it's time for Mel to just shut up about it. So they're different. That's okay! We're all different.

The society is important to Maggie and I'm glad she's decided to go back. I know the society hasn't been a favorite part for many, but to me, it's part of her personalty. She's a college freshman, trying to figure out who she is and this is part of it. Hopefully, this is the end of Mel's insistence that she gives up the society.

Charity's reveal was obvious but I feel like there's more to this. There was a blank look on her face, as if she was being controlled by someone -- maybe Alastair. In fact, she did remind me a lot of Lucy when she was in that Skype call with Alastair and of the time Charity handed Alastair the Harbinger in the paint can.