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Post by stratego on Mar 5, 2021 15:18:22 GMT -5
I like the idea of Cole and Julian McMahon gave a very good performance, but I feel they dropped the ball a few times with the storyline. First they played their cards way too soon by revealing Cole's true identity in the very first episode. I would've postponed this to much later in the season, which would also mean the sisters don't discover it until later. In the meantime I would've spent more time developing Cole and Phoebe's relationship, where you can understand she loves this guy when the time arrives to vanquish him.
Now I understand the Cole story arc was supposed to end early on in the season, so it made things complicated when they eventually decided to extend the character's stay on the show. But even then I would've done things differently. Instead of the sisters finding out his identity and Phoebe NOT vanquishing him in episode 8, Cole would've gone on the run after killing the Triad, leaving Phoebe to wonder why her boyfriend left town. Then he returns again several episodes later telling Phoebe he needs her help to hide from some criminals he prosecuted who were out to get him or something and convinces her not to tell her sisters. Of course, the sisters do eventually find he's actually Belthazor.
Afterwards, it could play out the same way as the actual storyline after Piper and Prue discover Cole has not been vanquished. They want him gone, but Phoebe believes he's a changed man. There's one other thing I would change, though. I thought "good Cole" was way too corny and not believable. I think it would be more interesting if there was a constant conflict between his human part really trying to be good and his demon part that just can't help being bad. This means that in the finale Cole is on the side of the Source and really wants Phoebe to stay in the Underworld.
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Post by Elle Em on Mar 6, 2021 7:53:47 GMT -5
I agree, Cole could have been done a lot differently. I would have introduced him the same way, but not reveal to the audience who he is until 1/4 of the way through the season. He and Phoebe aren't dating at this point, but flirting and getting to know each other. Then in the next 1/4 of the season, they start dating and we see all the things he's doing to try to kill the sisters.
The next 1/2 of the season, I'll take your idea, Stratego, of having him go on the run but eventually come back, getting Phoebe to help him with what he tells her are criminals who are after him. Then I'd have everyone find out who he really is and her pretend to vanquish him as the season 3 finale.
I'd have the first half of season 4 be Prue and Piper eventually finding out Phoebe lied to them and her trying to make it up to them, plus Cole coming back and proving himself to be an ally by saving Prue and Piper. Then the second half of this season would be about the Brotherhood story and him having to go undercover.
I'm not sure what to do with his character ultimately. I like him as a powerless mortal having to learn how to be good and survive in the world as a human, and I also think he's too interesting of a character with powers to give that up. And I liked the evil Cole and Phoebe story, but it would be so hard for them both to back out of that and get back to normal afterwards that I don't know if I would plan it for them.
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Post by stratego on Mar 6, 2021 11:03:04 GMT -5
I was actually thinking of the minimum changes I would apply, but just like you I would also prefer to push the "vanquishing" all the way back to the end of the season and let season 4 deal with the aftermath and Cole trying to be good. They tried to put way too much in one season. The rather similar Buffy/Angel storyline took 3 seasons, for example.
I'm not sure what to do with the Cole character either, but ultimately I do think he's more interesting as a tragic character who can't be saved. So probably no happy ending for him.
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rebooted
Witch
Started watching at 12
Posts: 1,803 
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Post by rebooted on Mar 7, 2021 22:28:53 GMT -5
There was a backstory with Cole's father's soul. I think that bought out his good side + Phoebe's love for him.
Then there was "void" which the Source fell into when he was possessed in Charmed & Dangerous.
Cole's innocence was connected to his fathers sole. I think this would have been a continued storyline in Season 4 if Prue hadn't died.
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Esmeralda
Charmed
S2 "What If...?"
Fan Fic Winner
Twenty Years Gone....But Never Forgotten.
Posts: 21,920 
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Post by Esmeralda on Mar 15, 2021 12:44:39 GMT -5
Me, if I rewrote Cole, he'd be a pure warlock, not a half, who fools PRUE into THINKING he's good, but then they find out otherwise and vanquish him in the 11th episode of S3 and he never comes back. Prue goes into a depression and that's what leads into her death. The Source and Cole's father are never mentioned.
That way the true stars, the sisters, remain the stars and the show remains sister-centric rather than suddenly becoming male-centric.
In the same way, in order to marry Piper, Leo has to give up his wings and never gets them back, and the sisters get a new whitelighter - Natalie, who doesn't die in 'Blinded by the Whitelighter'.
Change those two S3 arcs and end with 'All Hell Breaks Loose' and we'd be watching a true Charmed reboot, not the rip-off we're stuck with. We may have even gotten "The Charmed Sons" (so it's different than "Charmed") rather than "Supernatural" with perhaps the stars of "Supernatural" playing the boys.
This is similar to how Team Charmed Cafe/Sunday Version (the group re-watching Charmed Sunday night) - is rewriting S3 of our "Classic Charmed Done Our Way" and it's amazing how much more we love the three sisters when THEY star rather than their guys. Our episodes almost always start and end with just the three sisters, so different than Canon Season Three...
As far as we're concerned Nell Scovell has been the showrunner since the start (with her writing all the episodes Kern did) rather than Kern and The WB is letting her and Connie keep it sister-centric. Probably not realistic, but a lot more fun!
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Post by lordumbrex on Sept 25, 2021 21:29:44 GMT -5
Like I did in many of my re-writes, I'd make it an arc in season 4 after he loses his Belthazor powers with him taking temp jobs, where every job he takes has a magical issue that makes him feel more and more helpless. Really explore the feelings of despair and inadequacy he now feels due to him losing his powers. Then, at the season finale, he takes on the Hollow and absorbs the Source's powers. Season 5 would be then having him trying to get out of these powers, but the Source being too strong for him. Have him go so far as using the SOurce's powers to re-write reality, only to have it all go wrong and Phoebe dies in that reality, forcing him to revert back to normal reality. And in the end, he is vanquished in the 100th episode.
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Post by Elle Em on Sept 26, 2021 7:08:45 GMT -5
Like I did in many of my re-writes, I'd make it an arc in season 4 after he loses his Belthazor powers with him taking temp jobs, where every job he takes has a magical issue that makes him feel more and more helpless. Really explore the feelings of despair and inadequacy he now feels due to him losing his powers. Then, at the season finale, he takes on the Hollow and absorbs the Source's powers. Season 5 would be then having him trying to get out of these powers, but the Source being too strong for him. Have him go so far as using the SOurce's powers to re-write reality, only to have it all go wrong and Phoebe dies in that reality, forcing him to revert back to normal reality. And in the end, he is vanquished in the 100th episode. I personally wouldn't want him to be vanquished or even get the Source's powers, but I like your idea of him being the one with the temp jobs. I wish we had gotten more time of him being just a normal human and trying to adjust to a normal life. It's brief, but I love during that one season 4 episode when he works with Paige and his job isn't glamorous at all. If he had kept with those sorts of things, it could have been a great time of personal growth for him. |
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Post by ijones41 on Oct 4, 2021 1:55:42 GMT -5
Screw that.
After reading many of these comments, I get the feeling that Cole made a lot of the show's fans nervous. It seemed as if they could not deal with his ambiguity or power. Perhaps that's why many either wanted him dead or neutered. Then again, this series and many of its fans seemed unable to deal with moral ambiguity. Not really.
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