Yes, yes, yes!!! Oh my god I could go on and on about this (which I pretty much do, so I apologize in advance...)
So since I started watching mid-Season 4 when I first came across the show, I didn’t really know anything about how Prue died except for the fact that she did. The sisters never really bring up the manner in which she died (except mentioning it was Shax, not like they said, “Yeah, he just tossed her right through a wall and that was it”—I mean they probably wouldn’t put it exactly like that if they were to explain it to Paige or something, but you know what I mean) so by the time I finished watching Season 8 and started Season 1, I had imagined something so totally different, especially as I got to know Prue. Like you mentioned, she was the quote and quote “Superwitch” so when I first sat down and watched All Hell Breaks Loose, I figured some kind of epic battle or fight scene was going to happen and she’d died in this way. Something along the lines of maybe fighting to the death to protect her sisters (and maybe Dr. Griffiths but I honestly never cared for him especially since he turned on them so quickly after saving his life initially). Even with a title “All Hell Breaks Loose” I would have expected something better. All hell did break loose, but Prue’s death was just such a disappointment for me. I remember when I finished the episode I literally said aloud, “That’s it? That’s how she dies?” I guess I set my expectations a little too high
This is why script-wise, I HATE this episode. Literally nothing makes sense. (Thanks Brad Kern, NOT.) If Shannen had not directed this episode and we had not had the incredible scenes between her and Holly at the end, I don’t think I’d like this episode at all.
Prue and Piper going up against Shax was like it was the first time they’d ever faced an evil being before. Like you said, Prue not using her telekinesis period was absolutely stupid. Same in regards to Piper with either freezing or blowing up Shax. Sure, she’d just received her molecular combustion power and even though she was still a little shaky with it, she had a 50/50 chance that she’d either freeze him or blow him up which would have either given them time to react and get out of the way before Shax unfroze or at least eliminate him temporarily. One of the things that absolutely irks me is that after Prue is thrown through the wall, Piper just gets up, literally SLIDES into the same position Prue was just in (watch that scene again and I kid you not, she SLIDES into Prue’s previous spot), and then she’s thrown into the wall. Piper, honey, didn’t you just watch your sister get thrown through a wall? WHY WOULD YOU JUST GET UP AND REPEAT THE SAME THING YOUR SISTER DID??? Phoebe didn’t need a premonition to tell her THAT was gonna happen. (It was almost like Piper was just like, “Kill me, I’m done with this witch nonsense anyway, I hate being a witch, just let me start over so I can have that normal life I keep complaining about wanting so badly.” Lol
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When I really think about this episode (you can probably tell I have a lot of feelings about this episode based on my response), all of the stuff that happened could have been avoided SO easily. Like right from the get-go. I always wondered why Prue and Piper sent Phoebe up to the attic to find the vanquishing spell for Shax when the three of them could have just taken Dr. Griffiths up to the attic with them, all been standing by the BOS, and when Shax came barreling in, all they had to do was read the spell and he was done for. BOOM. They’re good. And then Leo or the Elders could have taken away Dr. Griffiths’ memories so he didn’t try to expose them as witches and everything would be good (at least, until the Source made his next move, obviously). Does this scene kind of sound familiar? Oh, that’s because that is EXACTLY what they did with Paige in Charmed Again, Part 1. Paige comes to the Manor, Phoebe introduces her to Piper, and soon they’re in the attic, standing in front of the BOS, and ready to read the vanquishing spell to get rid of Shax. Now, I realize had it been written like this in Season 3 then AHBL really wouldn’t be much of an episode. BUT the sisters would have been a hell of a lot smarter doing that than waiting around for Phoebe to come downstairs with the spell, especially when they knew Shax was on their tails. I also realize Phoebe had just gotten a premonition that they were going to be attacked by Shax (but her premonition showed her they’d succeeded) and they didn’t have much info on him, but Prue mentions he was the Source’s assassin to Dr. Griffiths so the three of them had to know he was an upper level demon. Sure, it could be said they didn’t know it was a PO3 vanquishing spell, but I don’t know, after three years of being witches and thinking about how the PO3 was so important/required for a lot of vanquishes, wouldn’t they have kind of figured the PO3 would be needed here? So I could literally blame all three of them for not using their heads right from the start. Sometimes I wish we could have seen the lead up to them running into the Manor, what Phoebe saw in her premonition, something more about Dr. Griffiths and why the Source wanted him dead. But even so, it wouldn’t have changed their actions. All it really would have done is given the audience a little more clarification of what they already knew about Shax and the upcoming attack.
I get where you’re coming from with the whole who’s to blame for Prue’s death. There’s a lot of ways you can look at it. Yes, Prue’s lack of fighting against Shax and not using her common sense to just telekinesis Shax out of the way instead of simply pushing Dr. Griffiths out of the way is on her. So Prue pretty much brought it upon herself to get herself thrown through a wall and ultimately die. Considering this and the scenario in the previous paragraph with vanquishing Shax in the attic with the original PO3, I agree with you about how Phoebe can’t directly/solely be responsible for Prue’s death. In all honesty, the sisters’ stupidity throughout the episode after the first go with Shax is what leads to her ultimate death by the end of AHBL. Like Prue being like, “Oh, yeah, let’s just go vanquish a demon. During the day. In the middle of street. Where ANYONE can see us.” What Prue? Why? All you had to do was wait a bit. If anything, Shax may have struck again at the Manor but at a later time and this time they would have been prepared to vanquish him (as long as Phoebe didn’t venture off to the Underworld to be with Cole, that is...) I mean, they already had a run in with almost exposure with Inspector Lohman in Out Of Sight in Season 1 when he saw Prue try to save the kid at the park from the Grimlock with her telekinesis. That should have stuck with her at least enough to be like, “Hey, maybe we should lay low for a bit so we’re not seen by any bystanders and get some more info on Shax so we can be prepared to completely vanquish him the next time around.” Think of how much time she spent gathering info on the Triad in Season 3 and narrowing down the potential suspects until she came to find Cole was most likely the demon they’d sent after them? But with Shax it was like screw being prepared let’s just kick this demon’s a**!
Oddly enough, after the opening scene with them vanquishing Shax out in the open (or Piper merely blowing him up—funny how she blows him up outside but doesn’t even think to do it in the Manor... Guess they didn’t want to cause more damage to the house than they needed since things literally be breaking every day in that house?), Prue kind of gains some of her sense back. Suddenly she’s thinking, “Maybe we didn’t really vanquish Shax,” and “If a vanquishing spell was in the BOS, then shouldn’t we need more than our individual powers to completely get rid of him?” and she even asks Leo to check with the Elders just to make sure. Where was this thinking when Shax attacked? Where was this thinking when she decided it was a good idea to go outside in broad daylight and attempt to vanquish a demon?
Now, for me, the reason why I place some blame on Phoebe for Prue’s death is because of her needing to go to Cole like right after they faced Shax when it was clear they didn’t have a definitive answer whether they were safe from another attack or not. I know Piper and Phoebe felt they’d gotten rid of him, but Prue was still unsure and alluded that they might need the PO3 in the event he was still alive. Maybe you could have waited just a bit longer to go to Cole until it was certain that Shax was actually vanquished? Especially considering that once she was in the Underworld, there was no way of contacting her until Cole brought her back. I mean, was Cole really in more immediate danger than they were themselves? I don’t know. I feel she was selfish for putting Cole first over her sisters. It’s not like this was just some ordinary warlock or demon or evil being they had been up against. This was the Source’s assassin. I feel she should have stayed, but this was PhoeME we were talking about lol. Season 1/Season 2 Phoebe would have stuck by her sisters’ sides.
But like I said previously, Prue’s impulsive decision to go look for Shax during the daylight hours was also stupid so once again, there’s blame for her own demise on herself (and Piper’s death later on). This is what leads to the exposure and craziness that ensues. Piper even later tells her they should haven’t followed Shax into the street. And when Prue counters back with they didn’t have a choice, Piper is like “didn’t we?”. So Piper was the smart one here. I just think back to Season 1 in The Truth Is Out There... And It Hurts after Prue cast the truth spell and Piper’s solution to dealing with the consequences with the spell is to lock all the doors, call in sick for work, and stay in their own bedrooms until it’s over. Early Season 1 Piper’s solution to everything always seemed to be to hunker down at the Manor. This would have been a great time to follow this with the exposure! Keep the BOS close, stay in the Manor (do not go outdoors for ANYTHING), lock themselves in the basement or attic or something just as long as they stayed away from the windows, and wait until they got some help from Leo or until they could get Phoebe back. But no, they had to go save Dr. Griffiths again (did he have to be saved at that exact moment?) and expose themselves even more when they temporarily defeated Shax again outside the hospital and then Piper gets shot after they get back to the Manor and later results in Prue’s death in the time reset.
(Also, why was Shax stupid too? If evil was so worried about exposure as well, as we see Leo mention later in the episode, then why was Shax going after the sisters out in the open where he could be easily seen by the nonmagical community? The Source wouldn’t want exposure. Don’t you think he’d want Shax to be more careful? And wouldn't Shax know if he made that big of a mistake the Source would just eliminate him? The Source would no doubt find someone else to take care of the Charmed Ones then.)
Prue really did fight harder against Jeremy than Shax. Here she was, trying to PROTECT her sisters from Jeremy, even if that meant putting herself in harm’s way. And this was their very first encounter with a warlock/demon/evil being ever. She didn't even have control of her powers yet or know much about being a witch! (She even put up more of a fight against the SWAT team members at the end of AHBL than she did with Shax for crying out loud!) If this is how she died going up against Shax, protecting her sisters like I’d imagined it being before watching AHBL for the first time, and somehow she got thrown through the wall after she’d gotten her sisters (and Dr. Griffiths, I guess lol) out of the way from Shax and had being tossed mid-fight with him, then I’d be okay with her death. Like maybe Prue and Piper have been able to keep Shax at bay with their powers before Phoebe comes running down the stairs, Phoebe could use some of her fighting skills on Shax, then somehow Prue gets separated from her sisters and Shax is about to go after them when Prue intervenes, sends him flying, giving her enough time to get her sisters out of the way (and again Dr. Griffiths because she’d obviously save him too as much as I could care less about him but she’d go for her sisters first then him), and then just as she turns to go back to her sisters to recite the spell, Shax catches her off guard and tosses her through the wall. And when time rewinds itself, and Phoebe is not there this time, I could see her still saving Piper in this way and just as she’s about to send Shax flying, he gets her first and then she goes through the wall. (I hope this makes sense??? Forgive me. I know I’m rambling at this point...)
I definitely don’t believe Prue was in a state of shock here. The Abbey thing as you bring up makes sense with her being in shock. She woke up nearly blind, having no idea what happened to her. But with Shax, she knew he was coming. She felt a “chill” and intuitively, she knew something was about to happen. So I really don’t know what happened with Prue and her deciding to push Dr. Griffiths out of the way rather than using her telekinesis for anything. She literally could have sent him flying one way and Shax the other. Or at least send Shax barreling one way to give herself some time to grab Piper and Dr. Griffiths and haul it up those stairs to meet Phoebe with the vanquishing spell.
Did Shannen really think this? I haven’t read/watched any videos of her saying this. But I am newer to Charmed and I’m also new fan of Shannen’s so I haven’t read ton of articles about her or watched many Conventions panels with her. (Do you have a link for an article/video of her saying this or direct me where I could find this? I’d like to read/watch this and see her perspective on it! If it was more recent, it’s always possible she didn’t exactly remember that Prue simply pushed Shax out of the way and then was tossed through the wall. Maybe she remembered it more as her protecting Piper or something...) I’d always wondered if she’d known Prue was going to die and never come back after this episode, how she would have wanted it written/how she’d direct it. But the most passive way possible? I love Shannen, but I’d have to disagree with her here. I am honestly surprised she thought this because I thought Prue’s death, like you, was an insult to her character. It didn’t necessarily have to be an epic battle (maybe this is just too predictable/too much), but Prue’s death could have been done better, I feel. Really for me, it goes back to the whole Prue dying to protect her sisters. That’s not really what happened in AHBL. I’d kind of feel Shannen would feel the same about this. Like I agree with her that Prue being tossed through the wall by Shax is okay (the more passive way than some big fight scene) BUT it would have hit home more if it was dying to protect her family/loved ones, because family means so much to Prue. It would have given her death more meaning. I mean, her death did make death a bit more “real” for Piper and Phoebe and SHOULD have made them more careful later on, showing that even though you had Leo around it’s not like he may always be there to orb in and heal you. And yes, her death was felt impactfully in the beginning of Season 4 with Piper’s grieving (Sorry, but Phoebe’s grieving was just... So-so for me. Felt it at the funeral, not so much the scene with her crying over Prue’s jacket but this could have overall been written better. I think she should have felt at least some guilt for going to the Underworld rather than being with her sisters. I mean, she was carrying the burden of knowing some of what had happened to her sisters originally before time was reset—as that wasn’t supposed to affect them in the Underworld—so wouldn’t that make her feel somewhat guilty when her and Cole escaped from the Underworld and she found out Prue had died after the time reset? Like I could have seen her saying something like this to Piper: “It’s my fault. Had I stayed, had I just waited to go to Cole, none of this would have happened because I would have been there to help you guys. We would have vanquished Shax. You would have been safe. And Prue would have never died.” And now this sparks a new question in my mind: Did she even ever tell Piper about what happened before the time reset? Like the FULL story of what she knew? Like here Piper was angry at Leo for “saving the wrong sister” but she isn’t just a tad bit angry with Phoebe about choosing Cole over them? That would have been interesting to explore in Season 4...).
Anyway, back to how Shannen felt about Prue’s death. I can somewhat agree with her with the more passive thing but I think it should have revolved around her dying to protect her sisters. So it’s not Prue dying by being thrown through a wall that I necessarily take issue with, it’s the way in which it happens that I have an issue with.
Something that I may have been okay with as an alternative? Though I suppose this would mean Piper would be dead, too, so it wouldn’t have necessarily worked completely but... At the end after Piper has died and Prue’s alone her hospital room and the one of the SWAT team guys almost shoots her before time rewinds itself? Like what if she died here? Maybe she was there, holding Piper’s hand, she’s shot, and she dies by her sister’s side. (I can imagine her repeatedly saying to Piper, trying to reassure her sister and herself, “You’re gonna be fine. You’re gonna be fine, sweetie. We’ll be fine...” until she takes her last final breaths and then she succumbs to her own wounds.) I mean, it’s sad thinking this, but I’d actually prefer this to what we got. Realistically this wouldn’t work for the show, I know, but it was just a thought that popped in my head as I was writing this. BUT maybe we change it to Cole finds out something really bad has happened to both Prue and Piper and tells Phoebe and Leo this, Phoebe orbs with Leo to see what has happened to her sisters before coming back to the Underworld to strike the deal with the Source to get Tempus to rewind time, and as time is being rewound and suddenly Leo, Phoebe, and Cole are targeted in the Underworld by the Source’s henchmen (which I’m assuming is what happens and causes them to come back to Earth too late and Prue already being dead), I could see Cole jumping in to protect Leo and Phoebe (Cole being okay with Phoebe leaving to make sure Prue and Piper are okay—despite what the Source “agreed” to as we all know he’s a sneaky you know what—because they are her sisters after all, and Cole protects the two out of a true act of love for Phoebe, reaffirming her belief that there is good in Cole), and then Leo and Phoebe get there just in time for Leo to heal both Prue and Piper. Then, with Phoebe having knowledge of the exposure and knowing they most likely needed the PO3 to end Shax, they could all vanquish him properly (without exposing themselves) and NO ONE dies.
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Oh wow, I’ve written a LOT! (I hope I haven’t reiterated too much of what’s already been said—I haven’t even read anyone’s responses yet! I just saw what you’d posted, Brianna, and kind of just started writing my thoughts down.) Anyway, I should probably stop rambling lol. I haven’t been on here in months and I come back and literally write sixteen paragraphs as an answer to a post! I’ve deprived myself from being on here for too long lol
But oh, All Hell Breaks Loose... This episode really just gets to me. Though despite my annoyance with so much of it, I never fail to tear up at the Prue/Piper scenes at the end and knowing Prue’s dead and not coming back!!!
