Post by codebox on Dec 28, 2019 19:21:16 GMT -5
This is of one the saddest things to happen in the show. Much like Piper I want to make a thread here about Phoebe. In Seasons 1 & 2 Phoebe was such a great character and the more I watch them the more I not only loved the character, but get a greater sense of what she could've been. Like with Piper I did some direct comparison in Phoebe/Alyssa's change of tone, expression and motivations because honestly I had a harder time watching later season Phoebe than I did Piper and I'll explain why.
When we are introduced to Phoebe there is some disconnect, but not in the way the audience would disconnect from her.
I liked the idea of three sisters, where two of them don't see eye to eye, it adds layers to the development. Prue and Phoebe's relationship was honestly the most developed and interesting relationship in the entire show than any relationship the sisters actually had not counting Paige. I mean really, compare this to Piper/Leo, Phoebe/Cole and this is far better executed by comparison.
On top of that I really loved Phoebe's introduction the most of any sister. Seeing the smile on her face when she opens the front door, how freespirited she comes off, she was always a delight to see onscreen. That hug between her and Piper to the conversations between her and Prue you're not just seeing Phoebe here you're seeing three sisters in general the pros and the cons in a meaningful way.
youtu.be/o5fSeiKpMpA?t=179 Even them vanquishing their first demon Jeremy, the look on Phoebe's face when they say the Power of Three spell her eye are close and she looks really into it, I love how accepting she was of them being witches from the start. In contrast to the then timid Piper and harsh Prue.
Even after the first episode. One of my favorite scenes of all time from the show is from Dead Man Dating. The Amazing Phoebe. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx7A1hHCffE&t=128s
By far one of Phoebe's best scenes in the show. I love how she's so quick to rush into using her powers for personal means, true in Wiccan terms and by the rules at this point it's not good, but with Phoebe's character it's relatable. If someone has powers realistically there's always an urge to do something for personal gain. And what makes Phoebe here using it great is that she wants to do something for Prue for her birthday, a completely selfless act and seeing her smile while she gives fortunes easily showcases her freespirit. It's also a great scene that showcases Alyssa's more comedic timings as well.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zP9XPmMEK4 Then we also have another Phoebe scene where the first finds out Leo's a Whitelighter, just seeing Phoebe sitting there with a coffee mug casually talking to Leo is yet a huge difference between how she would communicate later on. Even upon seeing his reveal her comedic gestures never failed to many me smile. It's a lot of little details like these that gave Phoebe's onscreen prescenes a nice welcome, even her signs of concern were well meaning. I also enjoyed Phoebe smiling going "Me keep a secret? Hello wrong Halliwell"
The thing I loved about Phoebe the most was her enthusiasm in being a witch. Such as here where they are cornered into giving up their powers by Rex Buckland www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJzqs4K5wtE&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpLzb63J3Nk27in3dYVnt0w0&index=22 the scene where they discuss losing their powers Phoebe's concerned with the consequence of not only being witches, but not having the power to help people. Even when they are saying the incantation to banish their powers Phoebe's reluctance in wanting to do it was endearing to me because of her love for the craft. I loved her disgusted reaction the following it with an "okay"
Another thing I loved about Phoebe was how being the youngest sister tied into not knowing their mother. That scene at the end of That 70's Episode where she smiles at the picture she took in the past while saying "That is the best picture of me I've ever taken"..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO6xCti0Rks&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpLzb63J3Nk27in3dYVnt0w0&index=35 Even during the last scene of the Season 1 finale, the way Phoebe walks outside with Piper to comfort Prue when they talk about Andy and being witches the way Phoebe reaches over to Prue with a peaceful gesture asking if she's okay and how she's going to miss Andy, just them having a conversation as sisters makes me really enjoy the simple, yet effective pace of Season 1. Phoebe always manage to make even the scenes where someone was down so cheerful.
Thus we lead into Season 2, which is considered by mean to be the season where Phoebe truly shines and I 100% with this wholeheartedly. This is easily Phoebe's best season (shame its her last) And how does this season introduce her? Well www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByrHbct_aWM it's even better than Season 1! The first moment she comes through that door and her first words are "sister witches" complete with a new style. I want to say Phoebe's look in Witch Trial is easily her best look in the show. Just how excited Phoebe is walking through that door because its their first anniversary of becoming witches. I even love the casual conversation Phoebe has with Piper here. Again Phoebe's gestures and attitude are the biggest contrasts here.
One of my favorite scenes happens here youtu.be/fsceE9i2PNY?t=170 Seeing Phoebe be the voice of reason, trying to get Prue to confront her problem in running away from her problems and how she was the one who always brought them together. I loved Phoebe's line of "We've done a lot of good as witches too" the way she says that never fails to get a smile out of me, she always manage to make the best of even the more heartwarming or bad scenes. Which is why Prue's grief over Andy is one of my favorite scenes.
I even adore the scene where they vanquish Abraxas and Phoebe says "and we didn't even have to get naked" youtu.be/3jyiGfauooc?t=190
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg-uQJKTso0&list=PLBySOURxrNbZW0Q-jFQSLmE8jNmNSp-tF&index=7 Even here when Phoebe walks into the kitchen with Prue and Piper and admits she backed Prue's car into a pole, even if she was afraid of confronting her. To me this scene cemented the bond Prue and Phoebe had built up since episode 1, Prue casually mention while Phoebe's action was irresponsible, she wasn't stupid in a calm and pleasant manor, almost as if she was happy seeing Phoebe admit her mistake in a responsible manner. Compare this to Power Outage where even after wrecking Prue's car Phoebe just doesn't care about the consequence because she's too involved with Cole. (Trust me this point is important in a bit)
She was even willing to take responsibility for the damages and gets carried away with the Smart Spell. Once of my favorite Phoebe scenes. I also love the scene where Phoebe herself faces off against Malcolm using her martial arts skills, proving she could hold her own against evil without needing an active power. Contrast this to later (especially Season 8) where she'd barely fight at all and became absolutely useless. I loved seeing Phoebe be the one to take charge during the climax here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4quCBoJe8E&list=PLBySOURxrNbZW0Q-jFQSLmE8jNmNSp-tF&index=12
youtu.be/czozftCbPfA?t=89 Even here in The Devil's Music she's plotting on how to vanquish Masselin, it's already everything I loved about early Phoebe, plotting to fight the next demon and being the one to make the best out of bad scenes, like here. She's the best thing about Piper ranting about Leo (a moment I'm not particularly fond of, but do like how Piper ends up calling the shots later)
Even in Heartbreak City something interesting to note about The Cupid breaking down Phoebe's love interests in her past (pre-series) Phoebe doesn't look particularly invested in love at the moment, in fact she seems rather distant with the concept of it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bT-GoHbqBk&list=PLBySOURxrNbZW0Q-jFQSLmE8jNmNSp-tF&index=38 this is a stark contrast to later season Phoebe where love becomes the entire central point of her character, which is jarring to me how Phoebe became the one so involve and up in her butt about love every single scene or plot she had later on when it was barely the focus of her to begin with.
Something to note about Heartbreak City that didn't occur to me upon writing this, but Phoebe at the beginning of this episode is pretty much Paige during the entirety of The Fifth Halliwheel, which took notes from a lot of scenes in this. It's why I loved the baking scene between Phoebe and the Cupid.
Another great Phoebe scene comes after Piper's stance in being a witch, Piper will still showing clear hesitance in being a witch only will be normal if Prue and Phoebe also consent. What gets me about this scene is Phoebe's line "well I'm always gonna want to be a witch" just her optimism in wanting to stay a witch always had me wanting more of Phoebe. www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Z7Mw_8LZ8&list=PLBySOURxrNbZW0Q-jFQSLmE8jNmNSp-tF&index=58
Even the ending of Chick Flick where she talks to Billy about restoring her faith in the male species. One of the best Phoebe scenes. But that's enough with Seasons 1 & 2, by this point to be quiet honest Phoebe would be my favorite character. However something happened, something very wrong happened and that would be Cole Turner. Or as I say the Death of Phoebe Halliwell. That same freespirit who would light up any scene she was in and always into fighting demons would now be more interested in her love story and caught up in her desires of love over the well being of her sisters and their wiccan duties. AKA Halliwell Love.
Initially Phoebe's transition from Season 2 to Season 3 was good. Establishing her and Prue as the headwitches in Piper's absence. Even In All Halliwell's Eve our dear Phoebe manages to leave with one last scene. youtu.be/OtNh-sJTeL4?t=137
But sadly after that Phoebe completely changed for the absolute worst! The difference here between Piper's eventual downfall and Phoebe's was there were pros to offset Piper's cons throughout Season 2. For every scene she was awful with in Leo and Dan she got a scene with her sisters or by herself that brought her positive layers back onscreen. When Phoebe gets wrapped up in Cole almost anything involving who she was is stripped away with just a one episode transition with nothing to counterbalance these increasing issues. She gets certain ones like Sin Francisco, Pre-Witched and Trial by Magic, but these come so few and far between.
In fact watch Season 1-Halliwell's Eve to Sight Unseen-Season 8 this transition happens at a complete 180 turn around. That same Phoebe who always brought the best in scenes now makes every scene she's in unpleasant and almost insufferable to watch. Get ready guys, because from here on out I absolutely can't STAND this character and PhoeME becomes absolutely obnoxious.
Why is it just Cole that changed Phoebe's whole persona? Whereas before there wasn't a single instance that love would change Phoebe in the slightest as seen in Heartbreak City or even one-off's like Eric. It all starts with Cole falling into Prue's demon trap www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX9VlBMtM1o&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIqQEyVcCuY3m_CgV8l-3w7&index=21 Instantly there are many things wrong with Phoebe's character here firstly is her tone and change in disposition, the way she says "For god sakes Prue he looks really hurt" sounds like she really does not like Prue at all or that Prue has done something HORRIBLY wrong, combined with how Phoebe turns around to look at Prue with such a look of scorn or and disgust, almost the same look you'd give someone who was evil. Then she proceeds to describe Prue as "crazy and not thinking" straight, simply because she was so dense about her love for Cole she refused to connect the dots.
Phoebe suddenly growing this defensive attitude was certainly off putting. But that's only ONE scene though. To me the episode that truly cemented the Death of Phoebe Halliwell and bloomed PhoeME was Power Outage. Now I know what some might say, how is THIS the turning point and not it's preceeding episode Sleuthing with the Enemy? Oh that's easy and let me explain. If you go back and watch it there are a couple of key details that showcase it easily during the scene where during P3 Prue casually mentions Phoebe getting a ticket in her care twice, only for Phoebe to just not give it a second thought. because she was too busy talking with Cole, already this is directly the opposite of what happened in Painted World where Phoebe took responsibility to try and get Prue's car repaired.
Then after the girls went to P3 discussing different plans with Phoebe being in charge of the homeowners meeting they had, a comment Phoebe stated annoyed me. She meets Cole in a parking lot near her college on her way to return Prue's car and Cole walks to ask Phoebe about their relationship and going out on a date and Phoebe with no second thought responds with "I can get Piper to handle the meeting, she'll be furious, but eh she'll just surpress it and take it out on me later" She basically just took advantage of Piper's then meek nature just to say "eh forget it I'll dump all my responsibilities onto her"..
Then the very next scene during the homeowners meeting Phoebe tries to sneak away from Piper hoping she wouldn't notice so she could leave her with her mess. and when Piper questions Phoebe on how it isn't fair that she has all the responsibilities dumped on her Phoebe responds with "I know, but the last thing I expected was for Cole to ask me out" really so just Cole asking you out is enough of a reason to take Piper for granted? To top it off when Piper comments on how she had to sacrifice her doctor's appointments for this Phoebe responds with "Well Leo was a doctor before he died" how insensitive! Not only that Phoebe ran Prue's car out of gas to the point where she missed her job.
To give Phoebe some credit I did admire her sense of overwhelmness in how having a huge fight with Prue and Piper caused her to breakdown. However something occurred to me, she does all her talking and consulting with Cole (yes he was all she had to go to at the time), however once she returns back to the manor she doesn't exactly have any words of consulting toward her sisters, it's Piper who apologizes to her for her mean comment when enraged and Prue who apologizes for not always treating her as if she's grown away from her irresponsible past. However when it comes to Phoebe she has no words of consultment at all, she just mostly agrees and makes comments in response.
I found it odd that Phoebe never apologized directly to Piper for taking her granted just so she could see Cole, it was PRUE who apologizes on behalf of taking Piper for granted. Then at P3 Phoebe is the one who makes an oaf to not keep important secrets away from her sisters, only to break that oaf in the very next episode even when Prue brings it up to her!
Phoebe in this episode is just so different than how she was before, just treating her sisters as an inconveneience, this sudden need to constantly focus on herself and her over involvement with love, none of this aligns with the Phoebe beforehand. Everything from Phoebe's facial expressions, tone and priorities were completely different, almost as if Phoebe was a different character entirely.
It would only get worse the following episode where she outright lets Cole go breaking the bond between her and her sisters by lying to them, already a guy she's barely known for 7 episodes is apparently important enough to lie for over 2 years worth of bond and trust between her sisters. Things only get worse in the second half where after Cole comes back, Phoebe's ENTIRE disposition changes, no longer does she have the same freespirit or joyous attitude she did before, but she's either looking contempt or defensive.
The conversation she has with Prue at the beginning of Sleuthing with the Enemy would also qualify, as not only does she skip out demon fighting, she's focused on just Cole. We have Phoebe rushing to pack her bags as if she wants to get away from Prue, then right when Prue mentions Phoebe got a parking ticket in Prue's car Phoebe just walks over it with a "Oops I'll pay for it later" as if she were a careless teenager who sees it as no big deal, she's completely uncaring of the fact she used Prue's car and got a ticket in it and was in a rush to get away from simply to avoid being questioned by her, in this scene it already feels less like watching sisters and more of a frustrated mother trying to talk to her annoyed teenage daughter. PhoeME was on full display in this scene. Not helping that when Prue casually mentions about Phoebe never liking any of her boyfriends showcases hypocrisy. So Phoebe can disapprove of who her sister's date, yet a sudden suspicion about Cole and she's quick to just dismiss her sisters entirely and barely engage conversation? Not to mention what about Andy? She completely forgets about him even though she was the one comforting Prue about his death and how it wouldn't be the same without him.
And this gets worse with episodes like The Demon Who Came In From the Cold, that scene where Phoebe goes "of course Prue you're always looking for a way to get Cole out of our lives" while she turns her head in disgust. To the ending of Exit Strategy where she finds hesitation to help Piper and an unconscious Prue simply because it would mean leaving Cole behind www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msv3VpcA20w&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIqQEyVcCuY3m_CgV8l-3w7&index=81, it didn't even look like she attempted to dodge the energy ball only for Phoebe to show absolutely NO concern for Prue just to get back to Cole quickly. Could Phoebe not have just walked down the stairs? Only for her to smash the potion meant to save him because she walked in on a misunderstanding. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXlosLWXVZA&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIqQEyVcCuY3m_CgV8l-3w7&index=82
That scene only served to drive further how Phoebe had fallen from who she was before. Everything from the look on her face, to her priorities or even her sisterly bond all of it just seemed to vanish and only showed concern for her sisters when it matter to her specifically. To be this only served to show how selfish Phoebe had become, she seemed to care more about forming Cole's image to fit her rather than Cole himself.
All of a sudden her sisters just became second place in her mind and whatever priorities she had became more valued and important and almost nothing was placed into her love of witchcraft anymore. Phoebe all of a sudden just had a need to place her needs and Cole above anything and everything, all while having this obnoxious defensive position about anyone who has questions about it. Even to the point where the Mosoleum became a second home, spending less time with her sisters.
Even in All Hell Breaks Loose she's quick to just ditch Prue and Piper on the assumption Shax is gone, despite Prue still believing he's not as quoted by Prue "Well something doesn't feel right, why was there a vanquishing spell in the book hasn't that always meant our individual powers weren't enough?" Even when Piper saying "We won't be able to contact you if something happens" her only response is being with Cole makes her safe, what about if Prue or Piper NEED YOU?! That kind of arguement is one sided, of course her doing this leaves both of her sisters without a way to use the Power of Three because she deemed saving Cole the most important priority. With Phoebe saying the spell in the beginning Leo was able to heal them in time. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEen_4LaKKw&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIqQEyVcCuY3m_CgV8l-3w7&index=90
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilcLx_D3xTk&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIqQEyVcCuY3m_CgV8l-3w7&index=92 In fact Prue's frustration proves my point with her line "I hope Phoebe is doing better down there than we are up here" it never occurs to Phoebe they are in danger until Leo informs her. Only then does she make it a point to help them. Kinda sad how one of the last things said by Prue was “phoebe where are you” before she died.
Already what makes Phoebe worse here than Piper was in the Leo/Dan situation was the persistent nature of the situation and how she constantly would undo everything she had built up before while completely burying anything that resembled her past persona. While Piper simply bordered on pros and cons bouncing back and forth. Thus I'm hating almost every scene she's in by extension. She no longer feels like she brings light, but rather her entire priority is focused over herself and love.
Even during her own graduation party the entire thing was just made about if she should see Cole, rather than a celebration of her achievement with her own sisters and Leo. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PpZdHmAUrE all while she makes the situation Cole went through about herself.
Cut to Season 4 and Prue's funeral and Phoebe already doesn't leave the best impression. Sure it's nice of her to consider picking up the slack since Piper is distraught at losing Prue, but how Phoebe handles Prue's death was utterly absurd. Firstly she refuses to go to the funeral unless Cole goes with her claiming "she needs him there" completely ignoring the fact he's being chased by bounty hunters, even Cole himself advises against it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD0QXPS-cMw&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIfRVN5TD2XEHhtBpq2Ch7N&index=3 Phoebe responds with "Yeah so what else is new?" as if them following them to the funeral doesn't seem concerning in the slightest, I also hate how she gives Leo a "talk to the hand" gesture the moment he tries to add not having the Power of Three leaves them unable to vanquish Shax.
Only for said hunters to destroy Prue's funeral. What makes this scene worse is Phoebe never bothers confessing to Piper that she's the one who invited Cole leading to the situation to happen, never owning up to her mistakes. Which is a constant problem with PhoeME. Old Phoebe was about making up for past mistakes, only to now make mistakes and never act upon them.
Little did we know Trial By Magic would be the last time Phoebe had any ounce of her old personality, fighting in court to save an innocent man.
Afterwards Phoebe's new self centered personality would further escalate to character assassination territory. With episodes like Marry-Go-Round where she becomes the worst person on her own wedding day, treating Paige like garbage. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR5Fhn7_PgE&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIfRVN5TD2XEHhtBpq2Ch7N&index=106 .. I still loathe this scene where she goes off on Paige for her wedding dress, it doesn't feel like fighting between sisters, but rather Phoebe taking all this discomfort she feels at Paige's distrust of Cole and blowing it back at her, even her line "My sister is another story"
And then we have The Fifth Haliwheel where every single trait Phoebe has involving Cole is all insufferably cobbled together into one episode. Her overly defensive nature when obvious signs about him being connected to evil show up, only to end with her in a bitter and disgusted expression, to her complete refusal to see the other side of the story when it comes to Paige... TO this day both her and Piper leaving her alone at P3 is one of the WORST scenes in the whole show and is completely backwards.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCG-9VXPjFM&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIfRVN5TD2XEHhtBpq2Ch7N&index=116 I hated everything about this new version of PhoeME in this scene, her tone and expression toward Paige, to just leaving her at P3.
Then we have Saving Private Leo the moment where Phoebe's character assassination becomes utterly ireedeemable in my eyes and truly cemented PhoeME as the worst character on Charmed as well as my least favorite character. And what scene to further illustrate this than ths scene www.youtube.com/watch?v=WansTb_HRRU&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIfRVN5TD2XEHhtBpq2Ch7N&index=122 Phoebe is so concerned and involved with her love life at this point, that even when a situation that doesn't involve her sisters is a distant priority to her. Whatever happened to the Phoebe who preached about "I'll always want to be a witch" or the one who was already ready for a vanquish? Now she's completely disinterested simply because fighting ghosts would inconvenience her going to a party with Cole, while trying to make it a "Sisters vs Cole" debate. Even though this situation was ABOUT LEO, she completely acts apathetic to how this situation is affecting Leo all she cares about is herself at this point. Even throwing Piper moving out once to try and justify her self centered priorities.
Afterwards she becomes the Queen of the Underworld through her own violition and from that point onwards she becomes nothing like the Phoebe we grew to love. From getting an advice column that had nothing to do with the degree she pursued in college, which only served as a way to fill her newly selfish persona. Everything just became about work, or her column and how needing to be at her column or meetings was all Phoebe's world became about and saving innocents and witchcraft became less and less of a priority, she became Kern's vision rather than a developed character. What I hated the most about Phoebe's new persona aside from this self centeredness and self involved priorities, is how almost every line she said was done in such a condescending or hateful manner..
Look at this first scene where an innocent comes to them for help what is Phoebe's first form of response? To just completely dismiss the innocent in a condescending tone while acting like someone doing something not what she would do is somehow "wrong" simply because helping said innocent interferes with her divorce hearing. By contrast the way Alyssa plays Phoebe from this point onward she has such a dismissive, hateful and condescending attitude in her tone she becomes a chore to watch onscreen. youtu.be/ahChqr-rrcU?t=108
She also formed this constant hypocritical nature. www.youtube.com/watch?v=voonwR48_Pw&list=PLsS8tcJsAAWu3Wxt-O8KdToFGlAyN5s8h&index=4 to quote Paige here "who are you guys and have you done with my sisters" is very accurate. All Phoebe cares about is divorcing Cole, as if it will suddenly free her, only for her to come back moments later and criticize Piper for having a panic attack.
I hate the scene where Cole shows up and calls him an evil B****** and that she should've stayed where he belonged, what an insensitive/cruel person. www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW_N6KRBDVs&list=PLsS8tcJsAAWu3Wxt-O8KdToFGlAyN5s8h&index=5
Then we have to what is the worst offender of the Cole arc, the climax of Sam I Am www.youtube.com/watch?v=faANzoJBdd8&list=PLsS8tcJsAAWu3Wxt-O8KdToFGlAyN5s8h&index=68 This is just Exit Strategy all over again. "I think you're a threat and have the means to stop you (or THINK I do in this case) but I'm so petty and vindictive that I would endanger innocents just to spite you and make a point." The absolute state of what this once lovable heroic character became
Come Season 6 and she gains "empathy" (or apathy as I call it) yes this character who hasn't been empathetic in 3 years all of a sudden has empathy. And what does she do with this power? Does she bring back our loveable Phoebe? of course not, she creates a whole new beast altogether right when she already felt different previously. All she uses this power for is to intrude on the lives of people around her while asserting what she thinks is right for them just because she "gives advice" or complain how their feelings will inconvenience her own feelings while having a complete lack of understanding of empathy or how people feel. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVSvEfU2x5Y&t=180s this is easily the worst persona of Phoebe in the entire show and similar to how Season 8 was Piper at her worst, Season 6 is Phoebe at her worst.
At this point Phoebe had complete uncare for any rules involving magic, even breaking personal gain rules. Such as her infamous vanquish of Rick or assaulting Spencer Ricks with potions. Soul Survivor even has her telling Paige to give up on magic altogether because dating is more important.
Not helping is Sleepy Halliwell leading her to her "dating destiny" to which no dating has become the sole priority of this character whereas earlier dating was barely on her agenda. In Season 7 Phoebe has this annoying obsession with her column to an even worse degree than usual, to the point a large amount of episodes are spent with Phoebe prioritizing in to a much more magnified degree. The worst example being Scry Hard where after Piper and Leo are shrunk and trapped in a dollhouse, presumed missing by both Phoebe and Paige, Phoebe's response is to prioritize her column over the fact Zankou took over their house and have Piper and Leo captive, only focusing on the Paper. "And there are 50 jobs on the line if the paper doesn't come out".. The column in Season 7 is virtually become her new Cole where she'll just have her sisters/the world second fiddle to that instead. It also doesn't help she gained a sudden sexist attitude toward men and used it to benefit her new found egotism, especially the way she treats Brody and Leslie. (She can intrude on Paige's boyfriends, yet the moment Paige or Piper suspect something is wrong with her's she flies off in a fit of rage or gets dismissive.)
In Season 8 she has more of "sighs" with each line and speaks with a condescending passive dismissive tone in her voice, especially when it comes to telling Billie not to focus on her sister because their own priorities are more important than hers. In Season 8 even when Phoebe isn't focused on love she still hats plots or themes revolved around love only to go back to love again, and she can't understand why she can never date, despite refusing to believe in her premonitions after falsely forcing a man into a relationship and refused to use her premonitions specifically because they didn't benefit her. Phoebe's facial reactions in Seasons 7 & 8 weather it would be worrying or just annoyance would never seem as if she cared about anything.
To add to that point The thing I hate the most about this new direction Phoebe is in is when Alyssa/Phoebe does this condescending " *sigh* I'm sorry sweetie, but I just have to concentrate on me right now, I just don't have time to deal with this now" everything is now just about her. Almost all of Phoebe's lines are said with an uninteresting or condescending sigh starting at Season 6 and her facial expression would further mimic this in Season 7 and especially 8, especially when it comes to dismissing Billie's needs whenever it came to Billie finding her sister.
Basically where I'm getting at Phoebe's change of character was saddening because of how much she changed out of nowhere, suddenly destroying and becoming the persona she wanted to destroy in the beginning. While gaining such a self centered and conceited attitude about anything and everything and it all had to be about herself or dates all the time. The same Phoebe who was the "heart" is now refusing to vanquish someone she drove to suicide simply because it didn't apply to her terms. Her constant tone I just found more grating and irritating than Piper, who occasionally had acting moments that came through in an episode. (I may not like Scry Hard, but I appreciate Piper being supportive of Leo considering its a later season episode) but Phoebe is consistently frustrating with no breaks aside from a few episode examples and dating Drake, who brought out the best in Phoebe.
I apologize for this long discussion, but it bothers me because had Phoebe not changed the way she did sticking with her Season 2 roots she honestly would've been my favorite sister. A character I loved so much in Seasons 1-2 was completely destroyed by love. What do you guys think, was I too harsh? Do you feel I missed anything or what? Like with Piper feel free to discuss.
When we are introduced to Phoebe there is some disconnect, but not in the way the audience would disconnect from her.
I liked the idea of three sisters, where two of them don't see eye to eye, it adds layers to the development. Prue and Phoebe's relationship was honestly the most developed and interesting relationship in the entire show than any relationship the sisters actually had not counting Paige. I mean really, compare this to Piper/Leo, Phoebe/Cole and this is far better executed by comparison.
On top of that I really loved Phoebe's introduction the most of any sister. Seeing the smile on her face when she opens the front door, how freespirited she comes off, she was always a delight to see onscreen. That hug between her and Piper to the conversations between her and Prue you're not just seeing Phoebe here you're seeing three sisters in general the pros and the cons in a meaningful way.
youtu.be/o5fSeiKpMpA?t=179 Even them vanquishing their first demon Jeremy, the look on Phoebe's face when they say the Power of Three spell her eye are close and she looks really into it, I love how accepting she was of them being witches from the start. In contrast to the then timid Piper and harsh Prue.
Even after the first episode. One of my favorite scenes of all time from the show is from Dead Man Dating. The Amazing Phoebe. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx7A1hHCffE&t=128s
By far one of Phoebe's best scenes in the show. I love how she's so quick to rush into using her powers for personal means, true in Wiccan terms and by the rules at this point it's not good, but with Phoebe's character it's relatable. If someone has powers realistically there's always an urge to do something for personal gain. And what makes Phoebe here using it great is that she wants to do something for Prue for her birthday, a completely selfless act and seeing her smile while she gives fortunes easily showcases her freespirit. It's also a great scene that showcases Alyssa's more comedic timings as well.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zP9XPmMEK4 Then we also have another Phoebe scene where the first finds out Leo's a Whitelighter, just seeing Phoebe sitting there with a coffee mug casually talking to Leo is yet a huge difference between how she would communicate later on. Even upon seeing his reveal her comedic gestures never failed to many me smile. It's a lot of little details like these that gave Phoebe's onscreen prescenes a nice welcome, even her signs of concern were well meaning. I also enjoyed Phoebe smiling going "Me keep a secret? Hello wrong Halliwell"
The thing I loved about Phoebe the most was her enthusiasm in being a witch. Such as here where they are cornered into giving up their powers by Rex Buckland www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJzqs4K5wtE&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpLzb63J3Nk27in3dYVnt0w0&index=22 the scene where they discuss losing their powers Phoebe's concerned with the consequence of not only being witches, but not having the power to help people. Even when they are saying the incantation to banish their powers Phoebe's reluctance in wanting to do it was endearing to me because of her love for the craft. I loved her disgusted reaction the following it with an "okay"
Another thing I loved about Phoebe was how being the youngest sister tied into not knowing their mother. That scene at the end of That 70's Episode where she smiles at the picture she took in the past while saying "That is the best picture of me I've ever taken"..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO6xCti0Rks&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpLzb63J3Nk27in3dYVnt0w0&index=35 Even during the last scene of the Season 1 finale, the way Phoebe walks outside with Piper to comfort Prue when they talk about Andy and being witches the way Phoebe reaches over to Prue with a peaceful gesture asking if she's okay and how she's going to miss Andy, just them having a conversation as sisters makes me really enjoy the simple, yet effective pace of Season 1. Phoebe always manage to make even the scenes where someone was down so cheerful.
Thus we lead into Season 2, which is considered by mean to be the season where Phoebe truly shines and I 100% with this wholeheartedly. This is easily Phoebe's best season (shame its her last) And how does this season introduce her? Well www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByrHbct_aWM it's even better than Season 1! The first moment she comes through that door and her first words are "sister witches" complete with a new style. I want to say Phoebe's look in Witch Trial is easily her best look in the show. Just how excited Phoebe is walking through that door because its their first anniversary of becoming witches. I even love the casual conversation Phoebe has with Piper here. Again Phoebe's gestures and attitude are the biggest contrasts here.
One of my favorite scenes happens here youtu.be/fsceE9i2PNY?t=170 Seeing Phoebe be the voice of reason, trying to get Prue to confront her problem in running away from her problems and how she was the one who always brought them together. I loved Phoebe's line of "We've done a lot of good as witches too" the way she says that never fails to get a smile out of me, she always manage to make the best of even the more heartwarming or bad scenes. Which is why Prue's grief over Andy is one of my favorite scenes.
I even adore the scene where they vanquish Abraxas and Phoebe says "and we didn't even have to get naked" youtu.be/3jyiGfauooc?t=190
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg-uQJKTso0&list=PLBySOURxrNbZW0Q-jFQSLmE8jNmNSp-tF&index=7 Even here when Phoebe walks into the kitchen with Prue and Piper and admits she backed Prue's car into a pole, even if she was afraid of confronting her. To me this scene cemented the bond Prue and Phoebe had built up since episode 1, Prue casually mention while Phoebe's action was irresponsible, she wasn't stupid in a calm and pleasant manor, almost as if she was happy seeing Phoebe admit her mistake in a responsible manner. Compare this to Power Outage where even after wrecking Prue's car Phoebe just doesn't care about the consequence because she's too involved with Cole. (Trust me this point is important in a bit)
She was even willing to take responsibility for the damages and gets carried away with the Smart Spell. Once of my favorite Phoebe scenes. I also love the scene where Phoebe herself faces off against Malcolm using her martial arts skills, proving she could hold her own against evil without needing an active power. Contrast this to later (especially Season 8) where she'd barely fight at all and became absolutely useless. I loved seeing Phoebe be the one to take charge during the climax here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4quCBoJe8E&list=PLBySOURxrNbZW0Q-jFQSLmE8jNmNSp-tF&index=12
youtu.be/czozftCbPfA?t=89 Even here in The Devil's Music she's plotting on how to vanquish Masselin, it's already everything I loved about early Phoebe, plotting to fight the next demon and being the one to make the best out of bad scenes, like here. She's the best thing about Piper ranting about Leo (a moment I'm not particularly fond of, but do like how Piper ends up calling the shots later)
Even in Heartbreak City something interesting to note about The Cupid breaking down Phoebe's love interests in her past (pre-series) Phoebe doesn't look particularly invested in love at the moment, in fact she seems rather distant with the concept of it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bT-GoHbqBk&list=PLBySOURxrNbZW0Q-jFQSLmE8jNmNSp-tF&index=38 this is a stark contrast to later season Phoebe where love becomes the entire central point of her character, which is jarring to me how Phoebe became the one so involve and up in her butt about love every single scene or plot she had later on when it was barely the focus of her to begin with.
Something to note about Heartbreak City that didn't occur to me upon writing this, but Phoebe at the beginning of this episode is pretty much Paige during the entirety of The Fifth Halliwheel, which took notes from a lot of scenes in this. It's why I loved the baking scene between Phoebe and the Cupid.
Another great Phoebe scene comes after Piper's stance in being a witch, Piper will still showing clear hesitance in being a witch only will be normal if Prue and Phoebe also consent. What gets me about this scene is Phoebe's line "well I'm always gonna want to be a witch" just her optimism in wanting to stay a witch always had me wanting more of Phoebe. www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Z7Mw_8LZ8&list=PLBySOURxrNbZW0Q-jFQSLmE8jNmNSp-tF&index=58
Even the ending of Chick Flick where she talks to Billy about restoring her faith in the male species. One of the best Phoebe scenes. But that's enough with Seasons 1 & 2, by this point to be quiet honest Phoebe would be my favorite character. However something happened, something very wrong happened and that would be Cole Turner. Or as I say the Death of Phoebe Halliwell. That same freespirit who would light up any scene she was in and always into fighting demons would now be more interested in her love story and caught up in her desires of love over the well being of her sisters and their wiccan duties. AKA Halliwell Love.
Initially Phoebe's transition from Season 2 to Season 3 was good. Establishing her and Prue as the headwitches in Piper's absence. Even In All Halliwell's Eve our dear Phoebe manages to leave with one last scene. youtu.be/OtNh-sJTeL4?t=137
But sadly after that Phoebe completely changed for the absolute worst! The difference here between Piper's eventual downfall and Phoebe's was there were pros to offset Piper's cons throughout Season 2. For every scene she was awful with in Leo and Dan she got a scene with her sisters or by herself that brought her positive layers back onscreen. When Phoebe gets wrapped up in Cole almost anything involving who she was is stripped away with just a one episode transition with nothing to counterbalance these increasing issues. She gets certain ones like Sin Francisco, Pre-Witched and Trial by Magic, but these come so few and far between.
In fact watch Season 1-Halliwell's Eve to Sight Unseen-Season 8 this transition happens at a complete 180 turn around. That same Phoebe who always brought the best in scenes now makes every scene she's in unpleasant and almost insufferable to watch. Get ready guys, because from here on out I absolutely can't STAND this character and PhoeME becomes absolutely obnoxious.
Why is it just Cole that changed Phoebe's whole persona? Whereas before there wasn't a single instance that love would change Phoebe in the slightest as seen in Heartbreak City or even one-off's like Eric. It all starts with Cole falling into Prue's demon trap www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX9VlBMtM1o&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIqQEyVcCuY3m_CgV8l-3w7&index=21 Instantly there are many things wrong with Phoebe's character here firstly is her tone and change in disposition, the way she says "For god sakes Prue he looks really hurt" sounds like she really does not like Prue at all or that Prue has done something HORRIBLY wrong, combined with how Phoebe turns around to look at Prue with such a look of scorn or and disgust, almost the same look you'd give someone who was evil. Then she proceeds to describe Prue as "crazy and not thinking" straight, simply because she was so dense about her love for Cole she refused to connect the dots.
Phoebe suddenly growing this defensive attitude was certainly off putting. But that's only ONE scene though. To me the episode that truly cemented the Death of Phoebe Halliwell and bloomed PhoeME was Power Outage. Now I know what some might say, how is THIS the turning point and not it's preceeding episode Sleuthing with the Enemy? Oh that's easy and let me explain. If you go back and watch it there are a couple of key details that showcase it easily during the scene where during P3 Prue casually mentions Phoebe getting a ticket in her care twice, only for Phoebe to just not give it a second thought. because she was too busy talking with Cole, already this is directly the opposite of what happened in Painted World where Phoebe took responsibility to try and get Prue's car repaired.
Then after the girls went to P3 discussing different plans with Phoebe being in charge of the homeowners meeting they had, a comment Phoebe stated annoyed me. She meets Cole in a parking lot near her college on her way to return Prue's car and Cole walks to ask Phoebe about their relationship and going out on a date and Phoebe with no second thought responds with "I can get Piper to handle the meeting, she'll be furious, but eh she'll just surpress it and take it out on me later" She basically just took advantage of Piper's then meek nature just to say "eh forget it I'll dump all my responsibilities onto her"..
Then the very next scene during the homeowners meeting Phoebe tries to sneak away from Piper hoping she wouldn't notice so she could leave her with her mess. and when Piper questions Phoebe on how it isn't fair that she has all the responsibilities dumped on her Phoebe responds with "I know, but the last thing I expected was for Cole to ask me out" really so just Cole asking you out is enough of a reason to take Piper for granted? To top it off when Piper comments on how she had to sacrifice her doctor's appointments for this Phoebe responds with "Well Leo was a doctor before he died" how insensitive! Not only that Phoebe ran Prue's car out of gas to the point where she missed her job.
To give Phoebe some credit I did admire her sense of overwhelmness in how having a huge fight with Prue and Piper caused her to breakdown. However something occurred to me, she does all her talking and consulting with Cole (yes he was all she had to go to at the time), however once she returns back to the manor she doesn't exactly have any words of consulting toward her sisters, it's Piper who apologizes to her for her mean comment when enraged and Prue who apologizes for not always treating her as if she's grown away from her irresponsible past. However when it comes to Phoebe she has no words of consultment at all, she just mostly agrees and makes comments in response.
I found it odd that Phoebe never apologized directly to Piper for taking her granted just so she could see Cole, it was PRUE who apologizes on behalf of taking Piper for granted. Then at P3 Phoebe is the one who makes an oaf to not keep important secrets away from her sisters, only to break that oaf in the very next episode even when Prue brings it up to her!
Phoebe in this episode is just so different than how she was before, just treating her sisters as an inconveneience, this sudden need to constantly focus on herself and her over involvement with love, none of this aligns with the Phoebe beforehand. Everything from Phoebe's facial expressions, tone and priorities were completely different, almost as if Phoebe was a different character entirely.
It would only get worse the following episode where she outright lets Cole go breaking the bond between her and her sisters by lying to them, already a guy she's barely known for 7 episodes is apparently important enough to lie for over 2 years worth of bond and trust between her sisters. Things only get worse in the second half where after Cole comes back, Phoebe's ENTIRE disposition changes, no longer does she have the same freespirit or joyous attitude she did before, but she's either looking contempt or defensive.
The conversation she has with Prue at the beginning of Sleuthing with the Enemy would also qualify, as not only does she skip out demon fighting, she's focused on just Cole. We have Phoebe rushing to pack her bags as if she wants to get away from Prue, then right when Prue mentions Phoebe got a parking ticket in Prue's car Phoebe just walks over it with a "Oops I'll pay for it later" as if she were a careless teenager who sees it as no big deal, she's completely uncaring of the fact she used Prue's car and got a ticket in it and was in a rush to get away from simply to avoid being questioned by her, in this scene it already feels less like watching sisters and more of a frustrated mother trying to talk to her annoyed teenage daughter. PhoeME was on full display in this scene. Not helping that when Prue casually mentions about Phoebe never liking any of her boyfriends showcases hypocrisy. So Phoebe can disapprove of who her sister's date, yet a sudden suspicion about Cole and she's quick to just dismiss her sisters entirely and barely engage conversation? Not to mention what about Andy? She completely forgets about him even though she was the one comforting Prue about his death and how it wouldn't be the same without him.
And this gets worse with episodes like The Demon Who Came In From the Cold, that scene where Phoebe goes "of course Prue you're always looking for a way to get Cole out of our lives" while she turns her head in disgust. To the ending of Exit Strategy where she finds hesitation to help Piper and an unconscious Prue simply because it would mean leaving Cole behind www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msv3VpcA20w&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIqQEyVcCuY3m_CgV8l-3w7&index=81, it didn't even look like she attempted to dodge the energy ball only for Phoebe to show absolutely NO concern for Prue just to get back to Cole quickly. Could Phoebe not have just walked down the stairs? Only for her to smash the potion meant to save him because she walked in on a misunderstanding. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXlosLWXVZA&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIqQEyVcCuY3m_CgV8l-3w7&index=82
That scene only served to drive further how Phoebe had fallen from who she was before. Everything from the look on her face, to her priorities or even her sisterly bond all of it just seemed to vanish and only showed concern for her sisters when it matter to her specifically. To be this only served to show how selfish Phoebe had become, she seemed to care more about forming Cole's image to fit her rather than Cole himself.
All of a sudden her sisters just became second place in her mind and whatever priorities she had became more valued and important and almost nothing was placed into her love of witchcraft anymore. Phoebe all of a sudden just had a need to place her needs and Cole above anything and everything, all while having this obnoxious defensive position about anyone who has questions about it. Even to the point where the Mosoleum became a second home, spending less time with her sisters.
Even in All Hell Breaks Loose she's quick to just ditch Prue and Piper on the assumption Shax is gone, despite Prue still believing he's not as quoted by Prue "Well something doesn't feel right, why was there a vanquishing spell in the book hasn't that always meant our individual powers weren't enough?" Even when Piper saying "We won't be able to contact you if something happens" her only response is being with Cole makes her safe, what about if Prue or Piper NEED YOU?! That kind of arguement is one sided, of course her doing this leaves both of her sisters without a way to use the Power of Three because she deemed saving Cole the most important priority. With Phoebe saying the spell in the beginning Leo was able to heal them in time. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEen_4LaKKw&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIqQEyVcCuY3m_CgV8l-3w7&index=90
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilcLx_D3xTk&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIqQEyVcCuY3m_CgV8l-3w7&index=92 In fact Prue's frustration proves my point with her line "I hope Phoebe is doing better down there than we are up here" it never occurs to Phoebe they are in danger until Leo informs her. Only then does she make it a point to help them. Kinda sad how one of the last things said by Prue was “phoebe where are you” before she died.
Already what makes Phoebe worse here than Piper was in the Leo/Dan situation was the persistent nature of the situation and how she constantly would undo everything she had built up before while completely burying anything that resembled her past persona. While Piper simply bordered on pros and cons bouncing back and forth. Thus I'm hating almost every scene she's in by extension. She no longer feels like she brings light, but rather her entire priority is focused over herself and love.
Even during her own graduation party the entire thing was just made about if she should see Cole, rather than a celebration of her achievement with her own sisters and Leo. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PpZdHmAUrE all while she makes the situation Cole went through about herself.
Cut to Season 4 and Prue's funeral and Phoebe already doesn't leave the best impression. Sure it's nice of her to consider picking up the slack since Piper is distraught at losing Prue, but how Phoebe handles Prue's death was utterly absurd. Firstly she refuses to go to the funeral unless Cole goes with her claiming "she needs him there" completely ignoring the fact he's being chased by bounty hunters, even Cole himself advises against it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD0QXPS-cMw&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIfRVN5TD2XEHhtBpq2Ch7N&index=3 Phoebe responds with "Yeah so what else is new?" as if them following them to the funeral doesn't seem concerning in the slightest, I also hate how she gives Leo a "talk to the hand" gesture the moment he tries to add not having the Power of Three leaves them unable to vanquish Shax.
Only for said hunters to destroy Prue's funeral. What makes this scene worse is Phoebe never bothers confessing to Piper that she's the one who invited Cole leading to the situation to happen, never owning up to her mistakes. Which is a constant problem with PhoeME. Old Phoebe was about making up for past mistakes, only to now make mistakes and never act upon them.
Little did we know Trial By Magic would be the last time Phoebe had any ounce of her old personality, fighting in court to save an innocent man.
Afterwards Phoebe's new self centered personality would further escalate to character assassination territory. With episodes like Marry-Go-Round where she becomes the worst person on her own wedding day, treating Paige like garbage. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR5Fhn7_PgE&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIfRVN5TD2XEHhtBpq2Ch7N&index=106 .. I still loathe this scene where she goes off on Paige for her wedding dress, it doesn't feel like fighting between sisters, but rather Phoebe taking all this discomfort she feels at Paige's distrust of Cole and blowing it back at her, even her line "My sister is another story"
And then we have The Fifth Haliwheel where every single trait Phoebe has involving Cole is all insufferably cobbled together into one episode. Her overly defensive nature when obvious signs about him being connected to evil show up, only to end with her in a bitter and disgusted expression, to her complete refusal to see the other side of the story when it comes to Paige... TO this day both her and Piper leaving her alone at P3 is one of the WORST scenes in the whole show and is completely backwards.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCG-9VXPjFM&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIfRVN5TD2XEHhtBpq2Ch7N&index=116 I hated everything about this new version of PhoeME in this scene, her tone and expression toward Paige, to just leaving her at P3.
Then we have Saving Private Leo the moment where Phoebe's character assassination becomes utterly ireedeemable in my eyes and truly cemented PhoeME as the worst character on Charmed as well as my least favorite character. And what scene to further illustrate this than ths scene www.youtube.com/watch?v=WansTb_HRRU&list=PLP-IKZP4kCpIfRVN5TD2XEHhtBpq2Ch7N&index=122 Phoebe is so concerned and involved with her love life at this point, that even when a situation that doesn't involve her sisters is a distant priority to her. Whatever happened to the Phoebe who preached about "I'll always want to be a witch" or the one who was already ready for a vanquish? Now she's completely disinterested simply because fighting ghosts would inconvenience her going to a party with Cole, while trying to make it a "Sisters vs Cole" debate. Even though this situation was ABOUT LEO, she completely acts apathetic to how this situation is affecting Leo all she cares about is herself at this point. Even throwing Piper moving out once to try and justify her self centered priorities.
Afterwards she becomes the Queen of the Underworld through her own violition and from that point onwards she becomes nothing like the Phoebe we grew to love. From getting an advice column that had nothing to do with the degree she pursued in college, which only served as a way to fill her newly selfish persona. Everything just became about work, or her column and how needing to be at her column or meetings was all Phoebe's world became about and saving innocents and witchcraft became less and less of a priority, she became Kern's vision rather than a developed character. What I hated the most about Phoebe's new persona aside from this self centeredness and self involved priorities, is how almost every line she said was done in such a condescending or hateful manner..
Look at this first scene where an innocent comes to them for help what is Phoebe's first form of response? To just completely dismiss the innocent in a condescending tone while acting like someone doing something not what she would do is somehow "wrong" simply because helping said innocent interferes with her divorce hearing. By contrast the way Alyssa plays Phoebe from this point onward she has such a dismissive, hateful and condescending attitude in her tone she becomes a chore to watch onscreen. youtu.be/ahChqr-rrcU?t=108
She also formed this constant hypocritical nature. www.youtube.com/watch?v=voonwR48_Pw&list=PLsS8tcJsAAWu3Wxt-O8KdToFGlAyN5s8h&index=4 to quote Paige here "who are you guys and have you done with my sisters" is very accurate. All Phoebe cares about is divorcing Cole, as if it will suddenly free her, only for her to come back moments later and criticize Piper for having a panic attack.
I hate the scene where Cole shows up and calls him an evil B****** and that she should've stayed where he belonged, what an insensitive/cruel person. www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW_N6KRBDVs&list=PLsS8tcJsAAWu3Wxt-O8KdToFGlAyN5s8h&index=5
Then we have to what is the worst offender of the Cole arc, the climax of Sam I Am www.youtube.com/watch?v=faANzoJBdd8&list=PLsS8tcJsAAWu3Wxt-O8KdToFGlAyN5s8h&index=68 This is just Exit Strategy all over again. "I think you're a threat and have the means to stop you (or THINK I do in this case) but I'm so petty and vindictive that I would endanger innocents just to spite you and make a point." The absolute state of what this once lovable heroic character became
Come Season 6 and she gains "empathy" (or apathy as I call it) yes this character who hasn't been empathetic in 3 years all of a sudden has empathy. And what does she do with this power? Does she bring back our loveable Phoebe? of course not, she creates a whole new beast altogether right when she already felt different previously. All she uses this power for is to intrude on the lives of people around her while asserting what she thinks is right for them just because she "gives advice" or complain how their feelings will inconvenience her own feelings while having a complete lack of understanding of empathy or how people feel. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVSvEfU2x5Y&t=180s this is easily the worst persona of Phoebe in the entire show and similar to how Season 8 was Piper at her worst, Season 6 is Phoebe at her worst.
At this point Phoebe had complete uncare for any rules involving magic, even breaking personal gain rules. Such as her infamous vanquish of Rick or assaulting Spencer Ricks with potions. Soul Survivor even has her telling Paige to give up on magic altogether because dating is more important.
Not helping is Sleepy Halliwell leading her to her "dating destiny" to which no dating has become the sole priority of this character whereas earlier dating was barely on her agenda. In Season 7 Phoebe has this annoying obsession with her column to an even worse degree than usual, to the point a large amount of episodes are spent with Phoebe prioritizing in to a much more magnified degree. The worst example being Scry Hard where after Piper and Leo are shrunk and trapped in a dollhouse, presumed missing by both Phoebe and Paige, Phoebe's response is to prioritize her column over the fact Zankou took over their house and have Piper and Leo captive, only focusing on the Paper. "And there are 50 jobs on the line if the paper doesn't come out".. The column in Season 7 is virtually become her new Cole where she'll just have her sisters/the world second fiddle to that instead. It also doesn't help she gained a sudden sexist attitude toward men and used it to benefit her new found egotism, especially the way she treats Brody and Leslie. (She can intrude on Paige's boyfriends, yet the moment Paige or Piper suspect something is wrong with her's she flies off in a fit of rage or gets dismissive.)
In Season 8 she has more of "sighs" with each line and speaks with a condescending passive dismissive tone in her voice, especially when it comes to telling Billie not to focus on her sister because their own priorities are more important than hers. In Season 8 even when Phoebe isn't focused on love she still hats plots or themes revolved around love only to go back to love again, and she can't understand why she can never date, despite refusing to believe in her premonitions after falsely forcing a man into a relationship and refused to use her premonitions specifically because they didn't benefit her. Phoebe's facial reactions in Seasons 7 & 8 weather it would be worrying or just annoyance would never seem as if she cared about anything.
To add to that point The thing I hate the most about this new direction Phoebe is in is when Alyssa/Phoebe does this condescending " *sigh* I'm sorry sweetie, but I just have to concentrate on me right now, I just don't have time to deal with this now" everything is now just about her. Almost all of Phoebe's lines are said with an uninteresting or condescending sigh starting at Season 6 and her facial expression would further mimic this in Season 7 and especially 8, especially when it comes to dismissing Billie's needs whenever it came to Billie finding her sister.
Basically where I'm getting at Phoebe's change of character was saddening because of how much she changed out of nowhere, suddenly destroying and becoming the persona she wanted to destroy in the beginning. While gaining such a self centered and conceited attitude about anything and everything and it all had to be about herself or dates all the time. The same Phoebe who was the "heart" is now refusing to vanquish someone she drove to suicide simply because it didn't apply to her terms. Her constant tone I just found more grating and irritating than Piper, who occasionally had acting moments that came through in an episode. (I may not like Scry Hard, but I appreciate Piper being supportive of Leo considering its a later season episode) but Phoebe is consistently frustrating with no breaks aside from a few episode examples and dating Drake, who brought out the best in Phoebe.
I apologize for this long discussion, but it bothers me because had Phoebe not changed the way she did sticking with her Season 2 roots she honestly would've been my favorite sister. A character I loved so much in Seasons 1-2 was completely destroyed by love. What do you guys think, was I too harsh? Do you feel I missed anything or what? Like with Piper feel free to discuss.
