Did you like Phoebe receiving Empathy?

[BriannaWarren2.0]

I would have enjoyed if Phoebe gained psychic based powers, rather than Empathy, which I would have written to be a sub-species of a Witch (I guess, that is what you would call it, having Witch be an umbrella term with Empath and Firestarter subcategories of a supernatural Witch) I would have enjoyed if it if Phoebe's powers weren't so up in the air, especially if she had been the one to gain Astral Projection with Prue reclaiming Blinking for Witches, a challenge I can see Prue being able to accomplish. 

I would have enjoyed if Phoebe was able to create a psychic link with a demon and was able to use meditate to figure out what the demon was planning or to even help the victims escape. 

[zachary]

I voted yes, but let me expand. I wouldn’t have minded it if the show didn’t already have a pre-established concept of what Empaths are and how they’re involved in the Charmed Universe; they’re supposed to be humans reborn into beings that feel what other’s feel and involve themselves in social/human-services, like Doctors, therapists, social workers, etc.

So my issue is that Phoebe isn’t reborn as an empath, it wasn’t canonically stated that she was supposed to become an empath in this life, just like Prue wasn’t.. Phoebe was just a witch.

That being said, because empathy is in the realms of telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and other psychic abilities, I didn’t mind her developing that power. It’s actually set-up in S1’s “The Power of Two” where Phoebe’s premonitions advance, and she’s able to feel what the subjects in her visions are feeling.

As much as I think levitation is fun, I think she should’ve developed empathy as a secondary power, and then astral projection or something.

Like BriannaWarren2.0 said, I also would’ve enjoyed it if they expanded on her psychic connection that she had with the succubus and Bo Lightfeather.

[BriannaWarren2.0]

Jun 3, 2023 21:05:07 GMT -5 zachary said:

I voted yes, but let me expand. I wouldn’t have minded it if the show didn’t already have a pre-established concept of what Empaths are and how they’re involved in the Charmed Universe; they’re supposed to be humans reborn into beings that feel what other’s feel and involve themselves in social/human-services, like Doctors, therapists, social workers, etc.

So my issue is that Phoebe isn’t reborn as an empath, it wasn’t canonically stated that she was supposed to become an empath in this life, just like Prue wasn’t.. Phoebe was just a witch.

That being said, because empathy is in the realms of telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and other psychic abilities, I didn’t mind her developing that power. It’s actually set-up in S1’s “The Power of Two” where Phoebe’s premonitions advance, and she’s able to feel what the subjects in her visions are feeling.

As much as I think levitation is fun, I think she should’ve developed empathy as a secondary power, and then astral projection or something.

Like BriannaWarren2.0 said, I also would’ve enjoyed it if they expanded on her psychic connection that she had with the succubus and Bo Lightfeather.

I think that was Charmed's writers main issue, they would introduce something and then immediately drop or not remember what happened in previous episodes, if Phoebe had to be an Empath then she should have died and resurrected has one. 

[West]

Jun 15, 2023 19:11:27 GMT -5 BriannaWarren2.0 said:

Jun 3, 2023 21:05:07 GMT -5 zachary said:

I voted yes, but let me expand. I wouldn’t have minded it if the show didn’t already have a pre-established concept of what Empaths are and how they’re involved in the Charmed Universe; they’re supposed to be humans reborn into beings that feel what other’s feel and involve themselves in social/human-services, like Doctors, therapists, social workers, etc.

So my issue is that Phoebe isn’t reborn as an empath, it wasn’t canonically stated that she was supposed to become an empath in this life, just like Prue wasn’t.. Phoebe was just a witch.

That being said, because empathy is in the realms of telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and other psychic abilities, I didn’t mind her developing that power. It’s actually set-up in S1’s “The Power of Two” where Phoebe’s premonitions advance, and she’s able to feel what the subjects in her visions are feeling.

As much as I think levitation is fun, I think she should’ve developed empathy as a secondary power, and then astral projection or something.

Like BriannaWarren2.0 said, I also would’ve enjoyed it if they expanded on her psychic connection that she had with the succubus and Bo Lightfeather.

I think that was Charmed's writers main issue, they would introduce something and then immediately drop or not remember what happened in previous episodes, if Phoebe had to be an Empath then she should have died and resurrected has one. 

It's like a new toy. They had fun with it then got bored threw it away and bought a new one in this case introducing something else. Lol

I personally would've been fine if we got no new powers and instead they did a better job advancing their original ppowers. Or advanced Phoebe's Premonitions better and found ways to connect it to that. I didn't think Empathy or levitation had much to do with Premonitions. Empathy maybe if it tied to her Premonitions more.

[Melinda Halliwell]

A way Phoebe's empathy could've tied in with her premonitions more is through her feeling a strong emotion which either set of her getting a vision without touching something like when she entered the room and got one from the psychic remnants there when Prue got cursed or she connects to people like with Succubus and so forth.

[BriannaWarren2.0]

Jun 16, 2023 2:17:56 GMT -5 West said:

Jun 15, 2023 19:11:27 GMT -5 BriannaWarren2.0 said:

I think that was Charmed's writers main issue, they would introduce something and then immediately drop or not remember what happened in previous episodes, if Phoebe had to be an Empath then she should have died and resurrected has one. 

It's like a new toy. They had fun with it then got bored threw it away and bought a new one in this case introducing something else. Lol

I personally would've been fine if we got no new powers and instead they did a better job advancing their original ppowers. Or advanced Phoebe's Premonitions better and found ways to connect it to that. I didn't think Empathy or levitation had much to do with Premonitions. Empathy maybe if it tied to her Premonitions more.

It really is, I would have enjoyed if someone worked on continuity throughout the series of the show. 

I would have been fine as well with them advancing their original powers rather than throwing them powers that didn't make sense for the characters to receive, I actually would have referred if Paige had Conjuring rather than Orbing Telekinesis. 

Prue - Telekinesis. 
Piper - Stop Time.
Phoebe - Premonitions. 
Paige - Conjuring. 

[rebooted]

Sept 25, 2020 2:39:23 GMT -5 virgowitch said:

Yes and no. In theory Phoebe becoming an empath was a good idea, but the execution was horrendous. I think I would’ve preferred Phoebe becoming a Psylocke type in terms of her abilities. Phoebe being able to see the future, read emotions and shoot psychic energy blasts would’ve made sense for her character and explained her abilities in Morality Bites. Levitation was totally unnecessary and was pretty redundant given Prue could achieve a similar effect with her TK and Paige was later able to hover as her white lighter ability expanded, making Phoebe’s levitation seem redundant.

agreed. 

I dont know what they were thinking with Levitation - as this should have bene an extension of Prue's power.

I would much rather have had Phoebe with Premonition, Astral Projection and Empathy  - non physical powers that could become physical when maybe used all at once. 

[Aaeiyn]

Now that the S6 re-watch is over, I'd like to point out my favorite episodes where Empathy seemed the most useful (there's not a lot LOL):

S6E7 "Soul Survivor"
S6E13 "Used Karma"
S6E14 "The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell"

I'd like to point out where her Empathy power seemed the MOST controlled is actually in S6E17 "Hyde School Reunion". Her Empathy check goes by SO fast, if you're not paying attention to the dialogue. Phoebe sensed the hate from her classmates, but she seemed VERY controlled about it compared to something like S6E5 "Love's a Witch".

Just wanted to point all of that out.

[CharmedFaith]

Hated it then. Hate it now.

They change Empathy from how Prue used the power "briefly" to make Phoebe into a glorified "mimic". Where as Prue was able to use Empathy to actually ENHANCE her powers....somehow it didnt enhance Phoebes. All she did was comicly feel and act out other peoples emotions and copy their powers.

They wanted Phoebe to be "powerful" but also cheap at the same time.

[Melinda Halliwell]

I liked the fact Empathy was an extension of Phoebe's premonitions allowing her to feel what people felt I just didn't enjoy the way the show portrayed that with her channeling other people's powers for example then.

Had Charmed gone the same route as they did with Prue then the advancements to Phoebe's premonitions and levitation would've occurred earlier allowing her to see things without touching objects or people. They would've been more vivid and her projection would have had more influence in the past, present, and future obviously.

Phoebe also would've levitated greater distances and leapt buildings whilst maybe levitating people using her hands like the Warlock Shadow did as well perhaps.

[Aaeiyn]

I'mma push back on the notion that Empathy can only be utilized in the fashion of "enhancing" powers is silly, to me. I didn't like how Empathy was portrayed in S3E6 "Primrose Empath". The way Empathy worked in S6E14 "The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell" is the BEST way it was handled, personally.

I feel like Phoebe "feeling" the pain, of her victims, in her premonitions, should just be an enhancement of her premonitions, only which we do see PRIOR to S6 via S1E20 "The Power of Two" & S2E8 "P3 H20". Which is where AP premonitions come into play via S5E6 "The Eyes Have it" & S8E9 "Hulkus Pocus". It's all an advancement from her premonitions and NOT Empathy.

HOWEVER, Empathy definitely feels more aligned with expanding Phoebe's premonitions without needing visuals.  She can just practically mind read, like Kyra in S7E10 "Witchness Protection", who shares the same ability as Phoebe.

Which is where S6E14 "The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell" comes into play. As Empathy acted similarly to Kyra's Insight into the minds of others, in S7E10 "Witchness Protection". It's too bad the show never really went through with it.

And tried really hard to make Empathy as a TK power see S6E2 "Valhalley of the Dolls, Pt 2", S6E7 "Soul Survivor" & S6E13 "Used Karma". When, it should've operated only like it did in S6E14 "The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell" and similar to Kyra in S7E10 "Witchness Protection".

[Ravenna]

To me empathy makes more sense than her levitating. They're both passive and more mental. Her levitating never made sense beyond giving her a more active power.